She was frowning. “That shouldn’t have happened,” she muttered.
“Why not?” He found her reaction incomprehensible because his was entirely the opposite. As far as he was concerned, this was the best thing that had happened to him in two years.
“We—we don’t get along.”
“It seems to me we’re getting along just great. Okay, so we had a rocky start, an argument or two, but we’re over that. I’m willing to give it another shot if you are.”
“I…I—”
She seemed to be having a problem making up her mind. That got him thinking she could use a little help, so he kissed her again.
When the kiss ended, he gave her a questioning look; wide-eyed, she blinked up at him.
Just to be on the safe side, he brought her into his embrace a third time. Once he’d finished, she was trembling in his arms.
“Let me know when you decide,” he whispered, then turned and walked away.
Pleased with himself, Lonny strolled toward his pickup. As he neared the Ford, he saw his ranch hand leaning against the fender, head lowered.
“You ready to go?” Lonny asked.
Tom nodded, climbing into the truck. Only when the interior light went on did Lonny notice that he had a bloody nose. A bruise had formed on his cheek, too.
“You been fighting?” he asked, shocked by the boy’s appearance.
Tom didn’t answer.
“What happened?”
Tom remained silent.
“You don’t want to talk about it?”
Tom shrugged.
“I’m guessing this involves a woman,” Lonny said, starting the engine. His guess went further than that—Michelle Larson and Kenny Brighton were part of the story. Was Michelle having trouble choosing between Tom and Kenny? It struck him as highly possible. Because he knew from the events of this evening that women seldom seemed to know what they wanted.
Ten
J oy couldn’t believe she’d let Lonny Ellison kiss her again—and again. She didn’t understand why she hadn’t stopped him. It was as if her brain had gone to sleep or something and her body had taken over. As she lay in bed on Saturday morning after a restless night’s sleep, she was aghast at her own behavior. Groaning, with the blankets pulled all the way up to her chin, she relived the scene outside the community center.
She could only imagine what Lonny must be thinking. She hadn’t even been able to answer a simple question! He’d as much as said he was willing to start their relationship over and asked if she wanted that, too. She should’ve said she didn’t want anything to do with him, although her heart—and her hormones—were telling her yes.
As soon as they were kissing—okay, be honest, heatedly kissing—she’d panicked. First, she and Lonny Ellison had nothing in common, and second…well, second—She put a halt to her reasoning because the truth was, she had no logical explanation for her response to his kisses. It wasn’t like this two years ago. Okay, their kisses back then had been pleasant but not extraordinary. Not at all.
Maybe she’d gone without tenderness or physical affection for too long. That, however, wasn’t true. She’d received no shortage of invitations and had dated various men in the past year. There’d been Earl Gross and Larry Caven and George Lewis. And Glen Brewster. She’d dated all four of them for short periods of time. She’d kissed each of them, too. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been any spark and they’d seemed to recognize it just as Joy had. She remained friendly with all of them, and they with her. Of course, two years ago, there hadn’t been what she’d call sparks with Lonny Ellison, either. Unless that referred to their arguments….
Now Lonny was back in her life and this couldn’t have come at a worse time. Not only would Josh be visiting, he seemed interested in resuming their relationship. Once he was in town and they’d had a chance to talk, she’d know if there was a chance for them. Until then, she’d have to deal with her ambivalent feelings for Lonny.
Tossing aside her covers, she prepared a pot of coffee and while she waited, she logged on to her computer. She checked her e-mail, scrolling down the entries, and paused when she came to a message from Josh. Another entry caught her attention, too, one from Letty. She read Letty’s first.
From: Letty Brown
Sent: Saturday, May 27, 6:45 a.m.
To: Joy Fuller
Subject: Where Did You Go?
Joy:
I looked for you last night after the auction and couldn’t find you. My brother disappeared about the same time you did.
Joy groaned and wondered if anyone else had noticed that they’d both left just after the bidding on her peanut butter cookies.
In case you’re wondering, the auction was a big hit. Your apple pie sold for $30.00 to Clem Russell, but the highest price paid for any one item was Myrtle Jameson’s chocolate cake, which went for a whopping $175.00. (Unless you count the Larsons’ coconut cake, which sold twice, to Tom and Kenny Brighton.) All in all, we raised more than a thousand dollars, which makes this the most successful fund-raising event ever. I wish you’d been there to the end.
Is everything all right? My brother didn’t cause any problems, did he? Oh, did you hear about the fight? Tom, Lonny’s ranch hand, got beaten up—three against one. Apparently Kenny and a couple of other boys were involved. I think it might’ve had something to do with Michelle Larson. Did you see or hear anything? That happened around the time you left. Bill Franklin broke it up and told Chase about it later.
I’ll be in town later this morning. If I have time, I’ll drop by. Chase and Lonny will be gone most of the
day, since they’re moving the cattle, trying to get the herd to the best pastureland.
Hope to catch up with you later.
Letty
Joy quickly answered her friend and told Letty she’d be in and out of the house all day, so if she did stop by Joy couldn’t guarantee she’d be home. In her response, Joy ignored the subject of the auction and why she’d left.
Joy said she didn’t know about the teenagers fighting; she didn’t add that she’d heard something as she hurried to the parking lot. That was just before Lonny caught up with her. Needless to say, she didn’t mention that, either. The less said about Friday night, the better.
As she hit the Send key, Joy realized she was avoiding her friend because of Lonny. That was a mistake. Letty had become her best friend in Red Springs, and Joy was determined not to let Letty’s brother come between them.
At least Letty’s e-mail assured her that Lonny would be on the range all day. Knowing there was no possibility of running into him, she was free to do her errands without worrying about seeing him every time she turned a corner.
Her first order of business was stocking up on groceries. Last week, in her effort to escape Lonny, she’d purchased the bare essentials and fled. Now she was out of milk, bread, peanut butter and almost everything else.
After downing a cup of coffee, Joy dressed in jeans and a light blue cotton shirt. At a little after nine, she headed out the door, more carefree than she’d felt in weeks. As usual, she saw a number of her students and former students on Main Street and in the grocery store. She enjoyed these brief interactions, which reminded her how different her life was compared to what it would’ve been if she’d stayed in Seattle.
Not until she’d loaded her groceries did she remember that she hadn’t even read or responded to Josh’s e-mail. It was only natural to blame that on Lonny, too. Preoccupied with him as she was, she’d forgotten all about Josh.
One thing was certain—this kissing had to stop. Both times they’d been standing in a parking lot, exposed to the entire community.
Oh, no!
The potential for embarrassment overwhelmed her as she slammed the trunk lid of her PT Cruiser. There’d been a fight near the community center—which meant people had been outside, maybe more than a few. So it was possible that…oh, dear…that someone had seen her and Lonny wrapped in each other’s arms. At the time it ha
d seemed so…so private. There they were, the two of them, in this…this passionate embrace, practically devouring each other. Her face burned with mortification.
No—she was overreacting. People kissed in public all the time. Red Springs was a conservative town, but she hadn’t done anything worthy of censure. The only logical course of action was to put the matter out of her mind. If, by chance, she and Lonny had been seen, no one was likely to ask her about it.
“Hello, Ms. Fuller.” Little Cassie Morton greeted her as she skipped past Joy.
Cassie had been her student the year before and Alicia, her mother, was a classroom volunteer. Joy liked Alicia and appreciated the many hours she’d helped in class.
“Hi,” Joy said cheerfully. “I see you two are out and about early on this lovely Saturday morning.”
“We’re going grocery shopping,” Cassie explained, hopping from one foot to the other. The nine-year-old never stood still if she could run, jump or skip.
Smiling, Alicia strolled toward Joy. “Looks like you and Lonny Ellison are an item these days,” the other woman said casually as she reached inside her purse and withdrew a sheaf of store coupons.
“Who told you that?” Joy asked, hoping to sound indifferent and perhaps slightly amused.
Alicia glanced up. “You mean you aren’t?”
“I…I used to date Lonny. We went out a couple of years ago, but that’s it.” Joy nearly stuttered in her rush to broadcast her denial.
“Really?” Alicia’s face took on a confused expression. “Sorry. I guess I misunderstood.”
Joy hurried after her. “Who said we were seeing each other, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“No one,” Alicia told her. “I saw Lonny watching you at the auction last night and he had the look, if you know what I mean. It was rather sweet.”
“Lonny?” Joy repeated with forced joviality. “I’m sure he was staring at someone else.”
Alicia shrugged. “Maybe. You could do worse, you know. Folks around here are fond of Lonny. People still talk about his rodeo days. The Wyoming Kid was one of the best bull-riders around before he retired. I think he was smart to get out while he could still walk.” She flashed a quick grin. “Actually, he was at the top of his form. That takes courage, you know, to give up that kind of money and fame. His dad wasn’t doing well, so he was needed at home. Lonny came back, and he hasn’t left since. I admire him for that.”
“I do, too,” Joy said, and it was true. She’d heard plenty about Lonny’s successes, riding broncs as well as bulls. In fact, when they first dated, he’d proudly shown her his belt buckles. He wasn’t shy about letting her know exactly how good he’d been. And yet, he’d abandoned it all in order to help his family. Walked away from the fame and the glory without question when his parents needed him. But he’d never mentioned that to her, not once.
“Lonny’s a real sweetheart,” Alicia said warmly.
Joy nodded, unable to come up with an appropriate response, and returned to her car. Her next stop was the cleaners, where she picked up her pink pantsuit, the one she planned to wear the day Josh arrived. From there, she went to Wal-Mart for household odds and ends. By the time she’d finished, it was after twelve, and Joy was famished.
Eating a container of yogurt in front of her computer, she logged back on to the Internet and answered Josh. He’d be in Red Springs in six days. There was a lot riding on this visit—certainly for her, and maybe for him, too.
The rest of her day was uneventful. In between weekly tasks like mopping the kitchen floor and dealing with accumulated clutter, she did three loads of wash, mowed her lawn and washed her car. By dinnertime, she was pleasantly tired. She wouldn’t have any problem sleeping tonight; she’d made sure of it.
The phone rang only once, late in the afternoon. It was Patsy Miller, president of the PTA. Patsy asked Joy if she’d be willing to serve as a chaperone for the high school’s end-of-the-year dance.
“I’ll have company,” she explained reluctantly, hating to turn Patsy down. Patsy had provided consistent support to every teacher in town, and Joy wanted to repay that.
“Bring your guest,” Patsy suggested.
“You wouldn’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
“That would be great. I’ll ask him and let you know.” As soon as Joy hung up, she went back on-line and told Josh about the dance. It would be the perfect end to a perfect day, or so she hoped. Joy couldn’t think of any better way to show him the town she’d grown to love than to have him accompany her to the carnival and then the dance.
Climbing into bed, Joy went instantly to sleep—the contented sleep of a hardworking woman.
The next morning, she discovered that Josh had answered her two e-mails. Both the carnival and the dance sounded like fun to him, he said. He emphasized how eager he was to see her again—a mutual feeling, she thought with a smile.
When Joy arrived at church on Sunday morning, her spirits were high. Sitting in the front pew for easy access to the organ, Joy couldn’t see who was and wasn’t in attendance. Normally she wouldn’t care. But her weekend so far had been relatively stress-free, and she wanted to keep it that way. If Lonny Ellison was at church, she needed to know for her own self-protection.
When the opening hymns were over, Joy slid off the organ bench and took the opportunity to scan the congregation. Letty and Chase sat in a middle pew; Cricket would be at the children’s service in the church basement.
Without being obvious—at least she hoped not—Joy took one more look around the congregation. As far as she could tell, there was no Lonny. It seemed to her that he usually attended, so perhaps he’d decided to stay away for a week to give them both some much-needed breathing space. Her sense of well-being increased.
At the end of the announcements and just before the sermon, the choir, all dressed in their white robes, gathered at the front of the church. Joy returned to the organ bench and poised her hands over the keyboard, her eyes focused on Penny Johnson, the choir director. With a nod of her head, Penny indicated that Joy should begin.
Just as she lowered her hands, she glanced over her shoulder at the church doors. At that very instant, they opened and in stepped Lonny Ellison. He stood at the back, staring directly at her. Naturally there weren’t any seats available except in front; everyone knew you had to come early if you wanted to sit in the back. After a slight hesitation, Lonny started up the left-hand side—the side where Joy sat. She watched him and nearly faltered. It took all her control to play the first chord.
He’d planned this, darn him. Joy didn’t know how he’d managed it, but he’d timed his entrance to coincide with the music. He’d done it to unnerve her and he’d succeeded. This exact thing had happened last year, too; thanks to him she’d faltered and missed a couple of notes. Anger spread through her like flames in dry grass.
When she turned the sheet music, she inadvertently turned two pages instead of one. Her mistake was immediately obvious. He’d done it again! Penny threw her a shocked look and to her credit, Joy recovered quickly. She hoped Penny was the only person who’d noticed. Still, Joy cringed in embarrassment and her heart pounded loudly. Thud. Thud. Thud. It seemed, to her ears, like a percussive counterpoint to the chords she was playing.
The rest of the service remained a blur in Joy’s mind. She didn’t hear a word of Pastor Downey’s sermon. Not a single word.
Thankfully, the closing song was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” which she could’ve played in her sleep. As the congregation filed out, Joy finished the last refrain. She took several minutes to turn off the organ and cover the keyboard, then collect her sheet music and Bible. Normally she finished two or three minutes after the church emptied; however, this Sunday, she was at least six minutes longer than usual.
By now, she hoped, Lonny Ellison would be gone.
He wasn’t.
Instead, he stood on the lawn by the church steps—waiting for her. He was chatting with a couple of other ra
nchers, but Joy wasn’t fooled. He’d purposely hung around to talk to her.
When she walked down the steps, he broke away from his group.
Joy froze, one foot behind her on the final step, the other on the sidewalk. With a fierce look, she dared him to utter even a word. It was a glare she’d perfected in the classroom, and it obviously worked as well on adult men as it did on recalcitrant little boys. Lonny stopped dead in his tracks.
Then, as if she hadn’t a care in the world, Joy casually greeted her friends and left.
Eleven
S unday morning before he drove to church, Lonny had come into the barn to ask Tom if he wanted to attend services with him. Tom had gone a couple of Sundays, mainly because he’d hoped to see Michelle. The bruise on his cheek had turned an ugly purple and was even more noticeable now. Still, it looked worse than it felt. Kenny had sucker punched him with the aid of two of his friends, who’d distracted Tom.
Tom had declined Lonny’s invitation. He didn’t want Michelle to see the bruise, didn’t want her to think Kenny was tougher than he was.
Tom hated fights, but he wouldn’t back down from one, either. Kenny had started it, and while Tom might be small and wiry, he knew how to defend himself. He guessed Kenny Brighton had gotten the shock of his life when Tom’s first punch connected. In fact, he would’ve smiled at the thought—except that it hurt to smile. If Bill Franklin hadn’t broken up the fight, Tom would’ve won, despite the assistance provided by Kenny’s friends. His drunk of an old man had taught him a thing or two in that department; by the time he was fifteen, Tom had learned to hold his own. Even three to one, he figured he’d stand a chance.
Lonny drove off, and Tom busied himself sweeping the barn floor. Ten mintues later, he heard another car coming down the drive and glanced out. When he saw who it was, he sucked in his breath.
Michelle.
He hesitated, then reluctantly stepped into the yard. He stood there stiffly, hands tucked in his back pockets.