Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
WYL
I sat in the Fine Arts building lobby early Monday morning, eager for Rod’s arrival.
Sharing coffee with him became the highlight of my Monday and Wednesday mornings.
I didn't realize I missed having a friend in my life. In high school, Stewy and I were inseparable. Not in a physical way, but we played football and studied together. Our families played cards together, so we studied together a lot. During my stint in the Marines, I didn’t bother with anything more than have-a-beer buddies or an occasional flag football game.
After basic training, the military transferred me at a moment's notice, so I avoided developing deeper connections.
The outer door at the end of the hallway opened, and in walked the man himself. “Morning, Rod.” I stood, a grin lighting up my face, and offered my hand.
Rod smiled and shook my hand. “Morning, Wyl.” He thumbed toward his office and motioned for me to follow. “You’re here early.”
“Before-class coffee with my favorite professor is at the top of my list.” The pleasant sensation flowing up my arm when we touched stayed with me.
Rod paused to unlock his office. “Let’s put our things in here.” He reached in to turn on the light.
“Thanks.” I sidled past Rod, and brushed against him as I edged into the office. He stayed in his spot in the doorway…hmmm…on purpose? I placed my satchel and hat on one of the guest chairs. He followed me in and put his things on his desk.
In the break room, I gazed at Rod while he made coffee.
Plenty of fine-looking men all over the world caught my eye, but only as eye candy.
The Corps is full of handsome guys. But none of them did to me what Rod did.
I must keep reminding myself our friendship can be nothing else.
He is out of my league in many ways, plus the college policy manual includes a section detailing the penalties for student/teacher relationships.
Rod caught me gazing at him, so I focused on my fingernails.
“What kind of coffee have you been serving? It’s delicious. ”
Rod grinned. “We’ve shared morning coffee…what…five or six times? And did it take until this morning for you to realize you liked it? I buy a dark roast.”
I leaned against the counter next to the sink. “I like a dark roast.”
“Me too.” Rod motioned toward the table.
“Another thing in common between us.” I strolled over to the table, sat, and checked if Rod followed. His expression puzzled me. Uncertainty? What did I say now?
Rod grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. “Did you and Walt do anything interesting this weekend?” He filled the mugs and brought them to the table.
“I hung around the ranch.” I sipped my coffee. “I like caring for the horses, so I gave them extra attention. And I saddled up Sarge for a long Saturday afternoon ride.” I held my mug up in a salute. “Excellent coffee as usual.”
“Sarge? Is he your horse?” Rod's faraway expression confused me. He must have partied all weekend.
“Are you okay?” I snapped my fingers. “Where did your far-off expression take you?”
Rod shook his head. “Sorry. I went where no man should go.”
“Ah…hoping a Scotsman will beam you up or something,” I waggled my eyebrows. “I understand those guys don’t wear anything under their kilts.” Shit. What made me say that? I must be more careful with my teasing, or he'll think I'm coming on to him. I'm not, am I?
“Shut up,” Rod chuckled through the words. “Horses?”
Rod’s blush endeared me. It didn’t take much to make him blush. I'll have fun with that. “Yes, Sarge is my horse. We have three other horses. A label with ROD is pinned to the stall door of one.”
“You pinned me to his stall door? Like an early twentieth-century pinup or something?” Rod drew his lower lip between his teeth.
I decided to play along. “Yeah, but I didn’t have a picture of you, so I photoshopped your head onto the body of the guy who plays Thor in the movies. I hope that’s okay.”
Talk about a blush. Rod turned crimson. I hated to laugh but couldn’t help it. “I’m kidding. I have no idea what Photoshop means or how to alter photos. And I don’t remember the actor who played Thor. I pinned an index card with your name on it to the stall of the horse I picked for you.”
“You picked a horse? For me?”
“Yeah…well…you acted excited about a ride, so I picked out your horse.”
“But we only talked about it once.”
Rod’s grin gave me the warm fuzzies. “And you don’t think I remember our chats? Don’t your students always remember what you say?”
Rod gave me a sideways glance. “You’re kidding, right?
They remember things said in a chat room or on social media, and they can tell you what the latest phone app is or how many likes they receive on a social media posting.
Remembering my lectures does not fit into those categories, so no.
You remembering things I mention is impressive. ”
I didn’t explain why I remembered things he said. Remembering delved into dangerous committed relationship territory. A territory framed with razor wire to keep me out. I smiled and sipped my coffee. “So, how about you? Enjoyable weekend?”
“You bet.” Rod nodded. “I drove down to my place in the Hill Country.”
“Oh? Where?” I heard about the Texas Hill Country area north and west of San Antonio but never went myself.
“Kerrville. Several friends from WBCC retired in the area and convinced me to find a place. Retirement is still a few years away, but I came across a foreclosure in an established neighborhood outside of Kerrville I couldn’t resist.”
“Does the property have acreage?”
Rod shook his head. “The house is on a one-acre lot, as are many of the homes in the neighborhood. The area is wooded, and my lot includes about thirty live oak trees.”
“The house must be quite spacious, like a country estate.”
Rod chuckled and shook his head. “No estate.
" Rod leaned forward on the table. “The house is unique, though. Two bedrooms. Two and a half bathrooms. A small home office. Vaulted ceilings in the living room, den, and kitchen. A pass-through fireplace between the den and the living room. And an open atrium in the center.”
“You must spend a lot of time doing yard work.”
Rod shook his head. “When I bought the house, I contracted a yard service. They take care of the property so I don’t spend my weekends doing yardwork.
The backyard is fenced, so I plan to have a dog someday.
And I have a deck accessible from the den.
Perfect for entertaining or lounging in the evening.
I bought the property two years ago and never regretted the decision. ”
“Your place sounds wonderful, Rod.” I liked the way his face lit up when he talked about it. I couldn’t imagine Rod having anything less than fabulous.
“If you ever travel down that way, I would love to show you around.”
I grinned. “Sounds like I need to plan a trip to the Hill Country.”
Rod stood and motioned toward the door. “Let’s sit in my office. Bring your coffee.”
Rod took his usual seat while I scooted one of the guest chairs closer and set my coffee mug on his desk.
“I talked to Walt after I got home from the concert on Friday. He said your surname sounded familiar, and remembered our grandfather mentioning something about our great-uncle and a guy named Bonner.”
“Oh?” Rod paused. “It sounds like our ancestors crossed paths. I wish we had more history. With our parents and grandparents gone, we don’t have any way to find out.
” He paused again, rubbing his forehead.
“My great-grandfather owned a dry goods store here in Blackfield, so our family history goes way back.
But I'm not aware of any written history.”
“I’ll ask Walt if we can go through Dad’s things. We might find something in his papers.” I snapped my fingers. “And speaking of Walt, he teased me about my guitar playing and suggested I ask you to teach me a thing or two.” I winked.
“Well…You offered to teach me a thing or two about playing guitar. I’m a guitar moron, but always wanted to learn.”
“Walt said I should ask you to the ranch for steaks.”
“Steaks?” Rod’s eyes lit up.
“Yep. How about next Thursday evening? Walt’s traveling to Oklahoma City to check out a horse he’s considering buying, so the place is ours.”
“Let me check.” Rod opened the calendar on his computer.
I never developed a fascination for computer applications.
I can put together a mean program for encryption and understand coding and programming.
Anything more complicated than a simple document or spreadsheet, and any elementary school kid puts me to shame.
Spending all day focused on a computer screen left me with no desire to go anywhere near a computer in my off time.
“Next Thursday evening is perfect.” Rod smiled. “I would love to meet your horses.”
“Fantastic. You bring a salad and your guitar. We’ll make some music after I show you around the place.”
Something odd flashed through Rod’s eyes before a smile lit up his face. “Salad and guitar…check!”
What have I done? Yes, I wanted to know Rod on a deeper level, but it would open up the old wounds from Dusty.
I couldn’t go through a repeat of the Dusty debacle.
Not that I expected Rod to turn on me. What could it hurt to introduce him to the horses and grill steaks and teach him to play a guitar scale?
I need to keep reminding myself of two things: I’m not out to anyone here at home, which complicates things, and a relationship with Rod is a bad idea for both of us.
His Ph.D. put him out of my league. Except for the training the Marine Corps provided, a high school diploma completed my educational credentials. But teaching him guitar…safe, right?
Aside from lecturing myself about what I ought to do, the idea of having Rod on the ranch excited me.