26. 26
26
B onnie finished changing clothes just 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.
T he next afternoon, Bonnie was 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.
“Come home. Come back to me as quickly and safely as you can.”
She exhaled, letting some of the tension she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding onto to release with that breath. She didn’t know what she’d been worried about. Maybe something in the back of her mind had been afraid he would tell her not to come back. That was ridiculous. She was driving his truck. She’d need to take it back to him if nothing else. But he had said come home , not come back here, or come back to the ranch, which told her something. And probably as much about herself as about him.
Bonnie shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to get into some deep philosophic thought about words and how a person used them. Now she needed to worry about getting back to the ranch, traffic around her and Phillip.
Corey kept her on the phone and talked until she’d left the traffic of town behind and was on the highway, only a few cars in sight. Yes, one too far back to see the driver, looked like it could be Phillip’s.
“Do you need me to stay on the phone and talk you in or are you good till you get back?”
“I can make it in.” She fought to keep her voice from shaking. She could do it and she would, but why did he seem to be in a hurry to get off the phone?
“All right. If anything else happens or you get a bad feeling, call. Don’t hesitate. When you get home, park the truck at the cabin like last night, then go inside and lock the door, okay?”
Bonnie frowned, but said she would. Corey disconnected the call. She did her best to do as she was instructed. A little over fifteen minutes later she slowed and turned onto the road that led to the ranch, noticing the cars behind her got closer as she slowed, but by the time she’d turned, they weren’t close enough to identify anyone.
On the trip from the highway to the house, she watched the mirror nearly as much as the windshield, and thought a couple of times that she’d spotted a vehicle behind her, but never saw enough to be sure or whether or not it might be Phillip.
When she reached the cabin, she did as Corey had said. She parked, then got out and did her best not to look around as she hurried inside and locked the door. She didn’t know why she was in such a hurry, but once she made it inside and locked the door, she felt better. Even if only because of the illusion of safety.
Once inside, she dropped her purse on the sofa and turned back to watch out the window. She wanted to know if Phillip was following her or if she’d let her fear and paranoia blow something innocent out of proportion. There was movement off in the distance, but she couldn’t see enough to know if it was Phillip or even a car. Several other spots of movement caught her eye, but since they were nowhere near the road, she dismissed them as men moving around, either working or doing their own thing, or even trees moving in the breeze.
She didn’t know how long she’d stared out the window, wanting to know what was going on before she gave up and turned away. Obviously, she’d been wrong. It hadn’t been Phillip. She’d been letting her imagination get the best of her.