21. Veronica Eden #2
Before she can say anything else, I go into the pharmacy, then make a beeline to the garden center before running back to the truck. Veronica is fixing her makeup in the mirror, and when I walk in, she looks at me, then frowns.
“You’re not the Bo I left our senior year.” She is right. I wasn’t. I’d gone to war, fought alongside brothers in arms and friends I’d never see again. I’d seen the cost of war and the reason for it. Things change when you see the things I have.
“No, I’m not. But you haven’t changed much. You’ve cut your hair.” I look over then back at the road as I turn up the Inn.
“Are you still in touch with Tyler Williams and his little sister, Fay, or something?”
“You mean Falon,” I have to tap down the frustration I feel for her using her old name for Falon. It had been an ongoing thing for Veronica. Tyler guessed that Veronica knew I liked Falon, and that just got under my skin. And it did.
“Yeah, Falon. I never could remember her name.” She knew, she just chose not to say it.
“Yep. Tyler and I served in the Marines together for four years. I’m on reserves, but he decided to stay on active duty. He’s overseas now.” Just then, Veronica places her hand on mine again. “Are you sure you aren't up for dinner? To catch up?”
"I appreciate that," I say. "But I'm taken. I’m dating Falon Williams.” Veronica has the decency to look sheepish.
She blinks, then smiles again, and this time it is gracious. "Of course you are." She glances at Rowdy again. "Lucky her."
"Lucky me," I say.
She laughs. "Well, I'd better check in if I want a room.
“Janet’s always got a room open. It’s good to see you.”
"You, too." She leans over the console and kisses me on the cheek, then gets out with a smile on her lips and a bounce in her step.
I sit there for a second.
Rowdy jumps into the front seat and is now watching with his head tilted and one ear up.
"Don't," I tell him.
He wags his tail and pants.
Veronica waves goodbye at the door, then disappears behind the closed door.
I start the truck and head back home. The street moves around me.
Ed is locking up the post office window, Mrs. Henderson is coming out of the flower shop with a paper-wrapped bunch of flowers, and a couple of kids on bikes are cutting through the hardware store parking lot.
I told Veronica I was taken, and not one time did I get the sinking feeling in my gut or worry about the repercussions. It was like asking for milk at the dairy.
I'm taken. That's easy.
Rowdy puts his head on my knee.
"Yeah," I tell him. "I know."
I look in the rearview mirror, then pause when I saw the lipstick on my cheek. I wipe my cheek to get Veronica’s lipstick off my cheek, then curse her for doing that. I’m not going to hide it from Falon, but it sure did give her the opportunity for the wrong impression before I could explain.
The drive back is long enough to run through the rest of the day in my head.
Drop off Rick and Melodies' mail. Ed asked me to drop it off since I was already going there to drop off Rick's boot. I needed to get the lemongrass pot off the truck before Falon realized Gerald had upsized it, and I could install the new sprinkler head by dinner. I’d stopped and bought pizza delivery for tonight.
That way, Falon can relax without having to cook.
I pull into Rick and Melodie's drive first. Rick is on the porch with a glass of Coke and the newspaper.
"Are you ready for the new boot?" I ask, setting the pharmacy bag on the porch rail.
Rick looks at it and snarls. "Fine." Then tucks it under his chair before Melodie can see it.
"Dawson said?—"
"I know what Dawson said." He looks disgusted by the whole idea.
"I know, but he said to tell you?—"
"I already know. Dawson called." He finishes his drink and then places it on the rail.
"Right." I pick up the empty glass from the rail and take it inside.
Melodie is in the kitchen and looks up when I come in. "Did you pick up Rick’s boot?” she asks, shaking her head.
“Yep, gave it to him on the porch.” I feel like a fink for saying it, but if he ever wanted to walk again, he is going to need to wear it. “Just don’t tell him I told you.” Melodie salutes me, then throws me a cookie from the plate on the counter.
“How's our girl doing today?”
"Good. The farrier came out for Matrix today. She had to meet Rusty and Dane for the rotation meeting. And I believe she had to call in a few orders.”
"She works too hard."
"She does. But she loves it, and she’s good at it. And she has good ideas."
Melodie looks at me over the counter.
"I know she does," she says. And leaves it there.
I place the glass in the sink and head back out. “Well, I’d better go. With any luck, I’ll beat Falon with chores today.”
Melodie laughs. “Not a chance.” And don’t I know it.
By the time I get back to the ranch, the farrier had come and gone, and the yard is quiet. Falon is at the kitchen table with an empty soda can and her binders open. "How was the meeting with Rusty and Dane?” I ask, picking up her empty can and replacing it with a new one.
“Good, I met them at Ethel’s; they were already in town, and I didn’t want them to have to come all the way back only to go back. How were your errands? Did you get Dad’s new boot?”
I kiss the top of her head, and she smiles, but there is something there that isn't quite right.
"Ed was disappointed that you got your boots and he didn’t get his lures."
"I told him not to get his hopes up."
"He's an optimist." I shrug my shoulders, then get myself a soda as well.
"He is." She watches me move around her kitchen. "You get everything?"
"Everything, even the pot from Gerald's."
She narrows her eyes. "He upsized it, didn't he?"
"I have no comment."
"Why did you let him upsize it?"
"It's a better size," I say. "Objectively." He is right, though.
She growls, scrunches her nose. She knows we are right, just doesn’t want to say it.
I lean against the counter and think about Veronica Eden.
Falon looks up when I shake my head. "What?" She looks weary.
"Nothing."
She studies me for a second, then folds her arms over her chest. "You can’t deny it; you have a look."
"I don't have a look."
"You absolutely have a look."
"I ran into someone in town," I say.
She sets her pen down and swallows hard.
"Veronica Eden. She was in our year. She's back for a photography project."
Falon's expression doesn't shift much. "I thought I saw her at Ethel’s.”
"She asked me to dinner."
Falon tries to keep her smile, but it falls the moment I mention Veronica, then again when I mention dinner.