Page 34 of Malice
Malice glanced at his watch. “We’ve got another hour or so and you look fine. This is a ranch. Half the men will show up dusty and sweaty, straight from whatever they’ve been doing all day.”
“You don’t.”
Malice couldn’t help the way he flushed. “That’s because I have a thing about it. If I can help it, I don’t go to the main house without cleaning up first.”
“Why not?” Bonnie tilted her head and watched him.
He was acutely aware that she was only inches away as she still stood in the circle of his arms.
He let his eyes focus across the room. “It’s a leftover from my childhood. I remember when Mom was the one cooking for the hands. They came in every night and ate and that was no big deal, but I also remember her complaints after dinner about the mess they tracked in from never cleaning up at the end of the day. As I got older, I helped her clean up that mess and swore I’d never be part of that problem.” It was his turn to shrug as he looked back down at her. “It’s not that big of deal to clean up a little. Knock the dust from my clothes and change out of mud-covered boots if I can. Or stop before I go in and scrape and knock as much off outside if I can’t.”
“That’s sweet.” She stretched up and kissed the point of his chin.
“I don’t know about sweet. It’s practical. Why make work for someone else if you can help it? Besides, the women here have enough to do without adding the extra work of my carelessly tracking dirt in to their loads.”
“I like that you think like that,” she said, pulling away and turning to pick up the dust cloth she’d been using to help get rid of the grime that had built up in the cabin from disuse.
“Like what?”
“That you think about others like you do. I might not have met you if you didn’t and I think that would be a shame.” She carried her things into the kitchen, leaving him standing there, watching her go, confused about what she’d meant.
26
Bonniefinishedchangingclothesjust in time to leave for dinner. She met Corey at the door as she pulled on her jacket.
“You look nice, but I told you, you didn’t need to change.”
“I wanted to change. It makes me feel more ready to see people and interact. A way to mentally change channels from work to socializing.” She shrugged into her jacket and flipped her hair out of the collar before looking back to find him watching her. “What?”
“If you did it for you, that’s fine. I just don’t want you feeling like it’s expected, or you have to just because I do.” He grabbed a long sleeve shirt off the hook next to the door, then opened the door and motioned for her to go ahead of him.
Bonnie stared at him a second, as she tried to figure out what he was thinking then stepped outside. Corey followed her, pulling on the shirt he used as a light jacket as they descended the steps, then reached over and took her hand.
“You told me the fuckwad didn’t show up but other than that, how was your day?”
“Not bad.” She filled him in on her day, as boring as her job was, there were a few things that could be amusing to share, as they made the short walk to the main house to join the rest of the group for dinner.
Thenextafternoon,Bonniewas on her way back to the ranch after her shift at work when she spotted a familiar car. She froze for a couple seconds, her entire body flashing cold and her brain refusing to function as she tried to figure out what to do now. Only the beep of a horn from the car behind her made her realize the light had changed and she hadn’t moved. After taking her foot off the break and starting across the intersection, she took a deep breath and forced herself to think. What should she do? Had he even seen her?
She’d connected her phone to the Bluetooth in the truck, at Corey’s insistence. He said it would be safer for her, just in case. She hadn’t thought she would need it, but had done it just in case, now she was glad she had. She hit the voice activation button on the dash and told the truck to dial Corey.
While she listened to it ring, she kept her attention on the traffic around her, trying to see if Phillip’s car was still around or if he’d missed her and gone on with whatever he’d been doing. This time of day he’d be headed home after work.
“What’s up, sweetness?” Corey’s voice came over the speakers, filling her with a warmth she hadn’t expected. “Are you all right?”
“I’m okay.” She answered the second question first, then the first. “I just saw Phillip. I don’t know if he saw me. I don’t know what to do.”
“It’s all right, sweetness.” His tone was gentle. “First take a deep breath and try to relax. You’re safe. Next, tell me where you are.”
She told him where she was now, as well as the intersection where she’d seen her ex.
“Good. Now take a look around. Is he there, maybe following you?”
She looked. She didn’t think he was there, but he drove a common model and color, so she couldn’t be sure. The only reason she’d known for sure it had been Phillip was that she’d been close enough to see his face. She told Corey all this as she thought it. “I see at least three cars behind me that could be him, but I can’t see enough about the driver to know for sure.”
“That’s okay. It really doesn’t matter if he’s following you, I’d tell you to do the same thing either way.”
“What?” she asked, her stomach knotted, and it felt like she had a lump of something solid in her throat. It made it hard to talk, but she forced her words through it anyway.