18. 18
18
“I s every meal like that?” Bonnie asked as they walked together back to Corey’s cabin.
“What do you mean?”
“Quiet, polite, almost subdued. I would expect with that many people, mealtimes get loud and boisterous. They always did at home, and there weren’t quite as many people.”
“They are usually louder and usually the only time everyone is there is breakfast. Typical dinner doesn’t always have Ghost and Robyn. And there’s usually one or two men who choose to do something else for dinner. Tonight, everyone was there because Lurch put the word out. He wanted you to meet everyone. I think they were trying to behave so they don’t scare you off.” They walked a few more steps, then Corey spoke up again. “Breakfast is quieter. Everyone’s still waking up, drinking coffee, and trying to get as much food in as they can because they know there’s a long day ahead of them. Give them a day or two, you’ll see how things go.”
“So we go up there for every meal?”
“Breakfast and dinner. Lunch is usually sandwiches, stew or something that can be made in bulk and we can wander in and out as we have time, and it’s left in the bunkhouse. I’ll make sure you get something tomorrow since there’s no food at my place.”
“No need. I’ll be at work.” It was sweet that he planned to make sure she had food, but she wouldn’t be there, so it wasn’t necessary.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Corey said.
“What about it?” She glanced over at him then back down at the path, making sure she didn’t trip over a root or step on a rock and twist her ankle.
“I’m not sure if you should go to work tomorrow. I’m not sure it’s safe. We know he was tracking you, so even if you never told him, he likely knows where you work. I’m afraid he’ll show up there and try to abduct you again.”
They reached the cabin. Bonnie climbed the steps as she tried to put together her argument. She’d thought about that too, but she couldn’t put her life on hold for fear of what Phillip would do. She waited until they were inside, then tugged Corey over to the worn sofa to sit before speaking. She turned so she could face him.
“I thought about that. I did. But I can’t let fear of him rule my life. Today there was something I had to deal with and that made it reasonable for me to call in. Tomorrow if I don’t go to work, I’ll sit here worrying about how to pay the bills, about losing my job, about Phillip.” She shook her head. “I can’t do that. Not to mention it will be letting him win.”
“This isn’t about winning, it’s about you being safe. It’s about you surviving this sawed-off little dickwad.”
She took a deep breath and held it for a moment before releasing it. “You’re right. Win isn’t the right word. I can’t let my fear of him control me. Because that’s no different than letting him control me, and I can’t do that. Not only would it be giving him what he wants, but I’m just not built that way.”
Corey started to protest, but she held up one hand to stop him.
“I’m not saying I’ll be careless. I won’t. but I also don’t think he’ll confront me where there are cameras to catch his behavior.”
“He did with your car.”
“We still don’t know if it actually was him. Maybe he hired someone to do it. I do think he’s responsible, but I’m not convinced he’d get his own hands dirty doing it.”
“I wish I could say I had a connection to the police department so we could know what they were doing, but I haven’t been in town long enough.” Corey shook his head. “I still think you should at least think about taking another day, maybe two, until we have a better handle on what’s going on with that fuckwad. But that’s all I’ll do. Tell you what I think. I’m not going to force you to do what I think you should.”
Amusement at Corey’s refusal to call Phillip by his name and instead using a variety or insulting names made her want to laugh, or at least smile, but this wasn’t the time. He’d likely think she wasn’t taking him seriously. And she was, but she also knew she needed her job. If she was going to continue living on her own, without having to ask her family for help, then she needed to go to work.
Bonnie took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she tried to figure out how to say what she needed to.
“I’m not dismissing your concerns. I’m not even disagreeing with them. But I have to work.” He started to protest but she held up one hand, stopping him as she continued to speak. “I’ll think about taking tomorrow too. I’m not saying I’ll call in again, but I’ll think about it. But if nothing else happens, then I’ll have to go in the next day. I can’t afford to lose my job.”
“Thank you.” Her promise to consider it seemed to take the wind out of his sails. “I don’t want to see you hurt and I hate the idea of you going back without someone to make sure he doesn’t pull that shit he pulled outside the diner again. I hate thinking he might succeed.”
“I get it. I hate thinking about what might have happened if you hadn’t been there to stop him. But I also can’t let fear rule my life. He surprised me. He won’t have that advantage again. I’ll be careful from now on, and you know I have three brothers. I’m not entirely helpless. They made sure of that.” She looked up at the ceiling, noticing for the first time the large beam crossing through the middle of the room, and wondering what kind of insulation the place had. Would it be warm in the winter?
She shook her head, pushing her thoughts back where they were supposed to be. “I can’t say there will be no danger. I won’t lie to you or me like that, but I’ll do my best. I’ll be alert and aware. I won’t ignore my instincts and if I have any thought that there might be something to worry about, I’ll either ask for an escort out to the parking lot or call you for help. Does that make you feel better?”
He sighed, watching her for several long moments. “It does and I guess it will have to do.”
He shook his head then looked back at her, meeting her gaze. Her stomach flipped, making her wonder how things were moving so quickly between them.
“I still don’t like it, but I’m not sure I’ll be happy until he’s not a threat anymore, or unless I’m with you. Right now, neither is a viable option, so this will have to do.”
He shifted in his seat, looked away then back to her. “Now that we’ve been over that, how do you want to spend the rest of our evening? I don’t have a TV yet.” He motioned to the far wall and that it was bare. “I do have a couple books, but I’m not sure they’re something you’d be interested in. I read mostly murder mysteries and police procedurals.”
She let the corners of her mouth quirk up a little as he revealed these bits about himself. “I’m not much of a reader. Do you have a radio? Can we turn on some music? I can pull out one of my sketch books and draw while you read if you like.”
“That sounds good. I don’t have a radio, but I do have speakers for my phone. I can play music there. What kind do you like?”
“I’m not picky. Choose something that you like and can read with, I know some people can’t read with too much noise.”
“I’ve seen that.” He slid forward and watched her a moment, trying to gauge if she was being honest or just trying to tell him what she thought he wanted to hear. “I never got it. Once I’m in the story, I lose track of what’s going on around me.”
She couldn’t help the smile that quirked her own lips. “Kind of like me with my drawing. I use the music to help drown out the sounds of the world so I can focus.”
“You’re really okay with each of us doing our own thing, together?” He seemed hesitant, as if he’d tried it before and something about not paying enough attention to his partner had backfired on him.
“I’m good with it. I have to admit, I’m really bad about zoning out if I don’t get enough time to myself sometimes. I mean I can focus, and I can be social, but it’s sometimes exhausting.”
“I’ve always thought so, but people look at me weird when I say something to that effect, so I’ve learned to not say it anymore.” He pushed himself up off the couch. “Let me see if I can find that speaker. You get whatever you need, and we’ll meet back here in a few minutes?”
“You got it.” Bonnie went into the bedroom and to her bags where she remembered pulling her sketch pad out earlier. It was already in the other room. Instead of needing to dig it out now, she decided to find something more comfortable to wear.
When she made her way back to the living room, she found Corey already on the sofa, a couple paperbacks stacked on the arm next to him while he scrolled through something on his phone.
“What kind of music you want?”
“I don’t care. I’ll listen to pretty much anything. I’m not big on classical or purely instrumental, but otherwise I’m not too picky.”
He watched her for a moment, hit something on the screen. Music with an upbeat tempo and a catchy rhythm started playing through the pill-shaped speaker he’d set on the table in front of the sofa. He let it play for several bars, still watching her, as if he was aware of her reactions.
“That a good volume or you want it different?” he asked. The music was loud enough she had no problem hearing the lyrics, but not so loud they’d have to raise their voices to talk to each other.
“That’s fine.” She picked up her sketch book from where she’d left it on the coffee table and sat beside him on the sofa, close enough that while they didn’t touch just sitting there, if either of them moved more than just a little bit, they’d brush the other. She could have sat at the other end, but she wanted to be closer to him. Still, she didn’t want to assume he wanted her to touch him so casually.
She was still settling in and getting comfortable when he draped an arm around her and tugged her closer, until her side rested against him, then lifted his arm to rest along the back of the couch.
“I don’t like you so far over there. I like you being right here. Close to me,” he said when she gave him a curious look.
Bonnie smiled and snuggled in. She’d wanted to press up against him when she’d sat down, but hadn’t known how he would react so had resisted. And she would have liked to have his arm stay around her, but it would likely have interfered with her sketching.
Now though, warmth spread through her starting with where his leg rested against hers and his shoulder brushed hers as she opened her sketch pad to a clean page. She was going to play with sky lines and well known Wyoming landmarks, seeing what worked well for the mural. It would be all too easy to get used to this.