Chapter Five #2
Holly caught a movement in her peripheral vision and jerked her head around to see who or what it was.
A big burly man carried a burlap bag in his hands and tossed it out into the water.
Then he turned around and ran back across the beach toward a beat-up, old truck.
The thing sounded like the engine was on its last breath when he drove away.
“Did you see that?” she asked.
“The only thing I’ve seen all evening is you,” Bubba said.
“What if there’s …” She jumped up from the quilt and started running.
“What?” Bubba asked and followed right behind her.
“A baby …” she yelled. “That man threw a bag out into the water. Why would he do that?”
With his long stride, Bubba beat her to the water and grabbed up the bag before it began to sink. Holly got a grip on it from the other side, and they worked together to bring it back to the shore.
They untied the baling twine from the top of the bag and found three whining puppies inside. One black with a few spots of brown on its belly, a yellow one, and a light-brown one with four white feet.
Lula Ann picked up the yellow one and held it close to her chest. “Poor baby. Why would anyone try to drown you?”
“I don’t know, but I’d like to tell him what I think of anyone who would do this, or maybe even get a little physical with him.”
“Me, too,” she agreed. “Look, Bubba, their little ribs are showing. They haven’t been fed right. Should we take them to a shelter?”
Bubba had both the other puppies up close to his chest. “No, ma’am.
I’m taking them to the ranch with me. Turbo needs company, and a ranch can’t have too many dogs.
You won’t mind riding in the truck with puppies, will you?
As much as I like fried chicken, I’d be willing to share my supper with them. ”
“You’ll have to be easy with that. Too much, too fast will make them sick. And no, I will not mind riding with puppies.”
“You could keep one if you want,” he offered.
“I travel too much to have a pet,” she answered.
“Then you can name the yellow one and come see it anytime you want,” he said.
“Butter,” she said. “That’s her name.”
“I like that,” Bubba said.
“What are you naming the others?”
“I’ll have to think about it. Elijah might want to help me.”
“Are you serious about me coming to see Butter anytime I want?”
“Absolutely. I’ll even give you the key to the house so if I’m in the north forty acres, you can get inside,” he offered.
Miles thought he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but that did not happen.
The whole evening with Lula Ann kept playing through his head like a movie—in color.
He was about ready to tell her the truth about his name.
In this day and age, that shouldn’t matter at all.
They would laugh and say that it would be one of those stories that they told friends and family in the future.
There is the little white lie that I’m a hired hand on the ranch. That is no laughing matter.
“Why did I do that?” he moaned, and tossed and turned for another hour.
He told himself that a nice woman like Lula Ann deserved more than a playboy.
She needed a good man who would be committed to her and only her.
He wasn’t sure he could ever be that person, but if he could, it would definitely be for her.
Finally, he got out of bed, went to the kitchen, and poured a glass of milk.
He carried it out to the back porch and noticed that the light was still on in the bunkhouse.
A back-and-forth movement and a shadowy figure told him that Elijah was sitting in one of the half dozen rocking chairs on the porch.
He got a bottle of beer from the fridge and carried it out across the backyard.
“You havin’ trouble sleepin, too?” Elijah asked, and reached for the beer.
Miles put it in his hands and sat down in the rocker next to him. “What makes you think that?”
Elijah pointed to his faded chambray pajama bottoms. “You got on your sleepin’ britches, and you are barefoot.
You tried to fall asleep, but it wasn’t happenin’ for you any more than it was for me.
Want to talk about it or spend the night in the bunkhouse?
Havin’ trouble sleepin’ in the boss’s house? ”
“It’s not the house,” Miles admitted. “I did a stupid thing, and I can’t get it off my mind or figure out how to fix it.”
“Does it involve buying this ranch? Do you want to resell it and go home?” Elijah asked.
“No.”
“Then is it what’s her name?”
“What makes you think it’s a woman?” Miles’s question was followed by a long sigh.
“You left before supper, and from your attitude, tonight wasn’t the first time you’ve seen her, is it?”
“I met her last Saturday night at one of those speed-dating events,” Miles answered.
Elijah twisted the cap off the bottle and had a long drink. “Explain to me what that thing is.”
Bubba told him the short version of the event.
“She passed me in the hallway, and I felt something even before I knew her name, which is Lula Ann Smith, and …” He paused.
“I’ve had so many women only interested in Miles Chapman for his money that I lied on the application and said my name was Bubba Jones. ”
“Well, it was only half a lie. Maribelle called you Bubba when y’all were kids, and Jones was your mama’s maiden name.
” Elijah laughed. “But that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of.
What happened to meeting women in a bar, or even church if you’re inclined to go on Sunday to pray that your wild oats from the night before don’t take root?
You can’t figure out jack squat about a woman in five minutes. ”
“Well, I’ve had three dates with her now, and I really like her,” Miles said. Although he knew it was much more than “like” at this point.
“What makes her different than all the other women you’ve been out with since you were about sixteen? And what makes you think that she still isn’t a gold digger who’s seen your picture on that damned social media thing all you kids are so taken up with?” Elijah asked.
“Because she would be looking for Bubba Jones, and the only ones on there look nothing like me,” he answered. “I looked up Lula Ann Smith and not a single one of the ones listed were here, so I don’t think she does much on social media.”
Elijah finished off his beer and set the empty bottle on the porch.
“Looks to me like you got yourself in a mess of trouble. You can come clean with her, but she might not ever trust you again. And a good relationship is built on that very thing. Or you can just cut your losses and walk away. Either way, she’s going to get hurt. ”
“And either way, she’ll see me for the jerk I’ve been.” Miles groaned.
“Oh, what tangled webs a cowboy weaves when he …” Elijah paused and scratched his thinning gray hair. “I can’t remember the rest of the saying, but it’s got something to do with lying.”
“Amen to that,” Miles said. “Looks like I’ve got less than twenty-four hours to make up my mind about what to do or not do. I’m bringing her out here to the ranch tomorrow night, but she has no idea that I’m in the process of buying the place.”
“Want me to make supper for you kids?” Elijah asked.
Miles shook his head. “I can’t drag you into this lie. We’ll grab a burger or a hotdog on the way from her place to here. But I would like for you to meet her and give me your opinion.”
Elijah covered a yawn with the back of his hand. “I’m glad to do that, but remember that I don’t sugarcoat anything.”
“I don’t expect you to,” Miles said.
Elijah finished off his beer and handed the empty bottle to Miles. “Thanks for that. I’m hoping it’ll help me sleep. It’s late, so either come on in the bunkhouse and claim a bed or else take yourself back to the big house.”
“I’ll go on back. Thanks for listening to me.”
“Anytime,” Elijah said.
Holly brought up Facebook on her phone and typed in Bubba Jones.
If she was going to continue seeing Bubba, she had to find out more about him.
She didn’t recognize any of the pictures that popped up, but there was one profile with no photo at all.
She clicked on it to find nothing but a couple of bulldogs dated three years before.
Bubba apparently had no interest at all in social media.
On a whim, she tried Instagram and then TikTok, only to get no satisfaction there.
If he was really a player, he should have had party pictures everywhere—maybe not on his profile pages, but the women he went out with would definitely have tagged Bubba Jones on something.
She was scrolling down when her phone rang and startled her so badly that she fumbled the blasted thing and it went flying out of her hands, across the porch, and landed in the top of a rose bush.
“Hello, hello … Are you there, Holly? Why are you showing me roses up close?” Darlene yelled.
“I’m here,” Holly said loudly, then she slipped on the last step, and ended up sprawled out on the grass. “Give me a minute. I dropped the phone and then fell.”
“Are you okay? Do I need to call 9-1-1 for you?” Darlene’s tone was frantic.
Holly was completely out of breath and had a nice long scratch on her forearm from a thorn when she finally retrieved her phone. “I’m fine. I fell on the grass. I’ve never been clumsy.”
“Love does strange things to a woman.” Darlene giggled.
“I’m not in love!” Holly protested. “I could have an acute case of like, but a sane person does not fall in love after three dates.”
“Maybe Lula Ann is as sane and grounded as Holly.” Darlene said.
“You sure are feeling better,” Holly said. “Doesn’t seem fair that right before I leave, you get well.”
“Fate is downright cruel, isn’t she? She makes me sick so I can’t come to Texas, and then she gives you a sexy cowboy after you lie about your name.
Are you sure you don’t want me to use all the powers at my hands to figure out everything about Bubba Jones?
” Darlene brushed her blonde hair back away from her face.
“I just did that, and it netted me absolutely nothing,” Holly replied with a sigh. “He’s not on any of the social media sites. He’s just a sexy hired hand who knows everything about cows, fences, and pastures but nothing about the internet.”
“Don’t look so down in the mouth, darlin’,” Darlene said. “Send me a picture of him, and I’ll work my magic.”
“Can’t,” Holly admitted. “I don’t have one. I’ve never taken pictures for fear that he’ll want me to forward them to him, and he’d figure out that I’m a liar.”
“You really backed yourself into a corner, didn’t you?” Darlene asked.
Holly gave the phone screen a dirty look. “You are the one who named me Lula Ann Smith, so you get to shoulder some of the blame.”
“Hey now!” Darlene shook her finger so fast that it was a blur. “We both thought it would be fun to step out of our skins and see how the other half lives, so don’t go blaming me. Part of the burden is on your shoulders.”
Holly nodded. “I know, but it’s easier to blame you. What am I going to do?”
“Either tell him or enjoy one more night and then walk away. Those are your options,” Darlene answered.
“I don’t want to do either one,” Holly whined.
“You don’t have a choice. If you need to hide for a week or two, come to New York. We’ll shop and see shows and do all those things that Holly McLean has always enjoyed. I’m not contagious, and I still have some vacation time left,” Darlene suggested.
“Thank you, but I probably just need some good hard work to get my mind off Bubba,” she said.
“Always works for me, but if you change your mind, you know where I am,” Darlene said, and then the screen went dark.
“Isn’t that just like you to have the last word,” Holly fumed until she realized that her phone battery was dead. “Dammit,” she said, and went straight to her computer to send a message to Darlene, but the internet was down.