44. 44
44
B onnie wandered through one of the many stores that filled the more than block long Wall Drug and wondered how on earth this place had come to be. There was a bit of everything, and somehow, she’d never been here. She hadn’t even known it had existed.
“Check this out!” London said, holding a leather coat with at least a foot of fringe hanging off the sleeves. “I think Tuck needs one of these. Don’t you?” Her eyes glittered with mischief.
“It’s not too bad but trust me. You don’t want him wearing fringe that long if you’re on the bike too. The wind will whip it around and you’ll end up with bruises and welts,” Kerry put in.
“Speaking from experience?” Robyn asked.
“Kind of.” Kerry’s face turned pink. “It wasn’t a jacket on a bike, but I’ve seen what thin strips of leather can do to your skin.”
London looked at Kerry, then to each of the other women. “That blush makes me think it wasn’t an accident either. And that you probably enjoyed it.”
Kerry’s face turned even redder. “Perhaps.”
They all laughed. They had spent nearly three hours on the back of their men’s motorcycles and now they were all glad for a chance to walk around a bit, as they had the same ride back to look forward too. Bonnie wasn’t sure what the men were up to only that they were planning to meet at the saloon in about an hour, then they’d head home afterwards. She was looking forward to both, but Bonnie was loving the time with the women now, both getting to know them and the fun they were having as they wandered through this place.
“Is Malice going to move in with you or are you going to come back out to the ranch?” London asked a little bit later, surprising Bonnie.
Her eyes went wide. “Um. We haven’t talked about it. Did he say something?”
“No. Not at all, but that’s typically how it goes when one of the guys settles down, and I was just curious what you guys planned. If you have anything planned.” London turned and looked at the shelf on the other side of her, this one had ties printed with some of the local attractions, Mt. Rushmore, the Badlands, along with an eagle and stars and stripes that weren’t exactly the US flag, but left little doubt that was the image it meant to invoke.
“I had to go back to my apartment,” Bonnie said, feeling like she had to defend herself. “I had to prove to myself that Phillip wasn’t keeping me from my home. I can live on my own even after what he did to me.”
“I get that. And I get that you’ve only been home a week. I’m not rushing you, just curious.” London patted her on the shoulder then turned to answer a question Kerry asked her.
“Have you talked about it?” Robyn asked. “Have you even thought about it?” Her voice dropped so just the two of them would hear.
“I’ve thought about it,” Bonnie replied, her voice just as soft. “But I’m stuck in my lease. I’ve got another ten months.”
“Buy it out. I’m sure that will be cheaper than paying rent for the next ten months. Know anyone that needs a place? Most places will let you out of a lease with a minimal fee if you find someone to take your place because, legally, they can’t charge rent twice for the same period of time,” Kerry put in, letting them know they hadn’t been as quiet as Bonnie thought they had been. Or she’d been paying more attention than she’d realized.
“You can do that?”
Kerry shrugged. “Well, yeah. People do it all the time. There’s no reason you can’t too.”
Hope bloomed in her chest, maybe she wouldn’t have to wait nearly a year before she could do what she wanted, what she knew Corey had been so careful not to push for, not since she’d insisted that she needed to go back to her apartment. She wasn’t sure he’d understood it, but once she’d told him it was important to her, he’d done nothing but support her decision.
Yes, she’d needed to go back to her apartment, if only to prove to herself that she could. That she wouldn’t let Phillip have enough control over her to keep her from it. That she wouldn’t let what he’d done make her too afraid to live on her own. And while she’d had moments, she’d been doing it. And since she’d gone back to her apartment, Corey hadn’t asked if she was sure, or if she wanted him to spend the night, though she was certain he would have if she’d asked.
“I had no idea,” Bonnie said, her mind spinning with possibilities. Did she know anyone looking for a place? They may have been someone at work talking about looking for an apartment, but she couldn’t recall who. And would Corey want her to actually move in, not just stay a few days? She’d never know if they didn’t talk about it. She told herself to bring it up after the ride, if he’d decided he liked having the cabin to himself then there was no point in her even trying to remember who it had been.
They continued to browse through the shops, making purchases here and there, but being careful not to get too much, as they only had the limited space of the saddle bags on each bike. By the time they were due to meet the guys, they’d all gotten something to commemorate the trip with and she wasn’t sure about the others, but Bonnie was hungry and looking forward to a meal with the entire ranch crew. One thing she’d missed more than she’d thought possible was the group meals like they had at the ranch.
A fter they made it back to the ranch, Lurch, Ghost, and Tuck called everyone, women included to the bunk house. Bonnie felt a little strange as she’d never been in the building before but went. There, they pulled out several cases of different kinds of beer, along with several bottles of liquor and told everyone to help themselves.
It was the last thing she’d expected, but she liked everyone, so she took the drink Corey got for her and let him pull her to sit on his lap while he talked to some of the others. After a couple of drinks, she told Corey she was going to call it a night and go to his cabin. To her surprise, Corey told everyone good night and went with her.
“I didn’t mean for you to leave. I was good with going back to the cabin on my own,” she said as they walked hand in hand along the path to his place.
“I know. I wanted to be with you. I don’t get enough time with you to suit me. I’m not going to spend what time I could have with you with men I see and spend every day with.”
She looked over at him, wondering if maybe this wasn’t the right time to bring it up, but if not now, then when would be the right time?
“Speaking of spending more time with me. Before I went back to my apartment, you asked me to stay. Are you still open to that?”
“To you staying? Hell, yes. We’ve both been drinking. You’re not driving home tonight.” The vehemence in his voice made her smile.
“I had no intention of going home tonight. If I had planned on it, I would have stopped after one. No, I meant me staying. Moving in with you.”
Corey stopped, pulling her to a stop beside him, then stared at her a moment before speaking.
“Are you serious? Do you want to move in?”
“I’m thinking about it. There are some things I need to do first. I miss you. More than I thought possible this soon, but I proved I don’t have to stay with someone because of what Phillip did to me. And on top of that, I learned some things today that will make it easier, if we decide this is what we want to do.”
“It’s what I want, but tell me what you learned.”
She told him what she’d learned from Kerry about buying out a lease as they continued along the path. “I’ll have to see how much it will cost to buy it out, or maybe I can find someone to move in and sign a new lease. I don’t know that I’ll be able to afford the buyout, but it’s a possibility.”
“Sweetness,” Corey said as they climbed the three steps up to the small porch on the cabin. “I’d be willing to pay the buyout, if it means I can wake up to you every morning.” He opened the door, waited for her to enter then followed her inside and closed the door. “You said you needed to go back to that apartment to prove to yourself that you could. So I’ve kept my mouth shut, but I knew the day we moved you in that I don’t want to live without you.”
He stopped in the living room and tugged her close. She stood with only the space of a breath separating them, staring up at him, waiting for what he needed to say.
“I can’t tell you exactly when it happened but some time over the last couple of weeks I fell, and I fell hard. I know I’m a grumpy bastard, but I’ll do everything I can to make you happy if you’ll just stay with me.”
Emotion clogged her throat, making Bonnie have to swallow, try to get her words past the knot that had formed, then swallow again before they’d come out.
“Then let’s do it. Because you’re not the only one. I was thinking I must be crazy because who falls so hard for someone while dealing with everything that’s happened to me? But I did.” She took a deep breath and forced herself to slow down. “I can go back to my apartment. I proved that. I can live on my own. But I don’t want to. I like being here with you. I love the way you tiptoe around in the morning trying not to wake me up. I love you.”
She didn’t have a chance to say more. Corey scooped her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom.
“You’ve just made me happier than I think I’ve ever been. We’ll work out the details later. Just say it again.”
“I love you.” She didn’t hesitate to repeat it, the words coming easier this time.
“I’m going to hold you to it,” he said as he dropped her on the bed, “because I can’t be the only one this crazy. Damn, I love you, sweetness.” He leaned close to give her a hard kiss.
Bonnie buried her hands in his hair, pulling him closer. She wasn’t about to let him go either. She didn’t know how, but because she never thought she’d be glad of Phillip for anything, but because of him and all his crazy behavior, she’d found Corey and for that she’d always be grateful.
Thank you for reading Malice, part of the Demented Souls series.
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