27. Ramona
— ? —
Ramona
The man beside the feed-store entrance lifts his camera when I pull into the lot.
I know who he is. He runs the rodeo page that has been posting the screenshots since Tuesday, and he has driven three hours to stand outside a feed store. The girl leaning on the café window across the street is from the county paper. I went to school with her sister.
I drive past him and park near the side door. Before getting out, I check the list on my phone and make myself read every item.
June still needs her supplements. Banner still needs the feed he takes his medication with. None of them can wait until strangers lose interest in my marriage.
Inside, I take a cart and head toward the shelves at the back.
I’m checking a label when Diane comes around the corner. We’ve shared tables at rodeos and helped each other find seats when the stands were crowded. She stops when she sees me, her hands tightening around her shopping basket.
“Ramona, I’m sorry.” She approaches slowly. “I saw what people are posting.”
I put the bottle into my cart.
“I’m buying feed.” I look at the basket in her hands. “Can we leave it there?”
“Of course.” She nods, then lowers her voice. “I only wanted you to know I understand. Men in Julius’s position have women after them constantly.”
I keep my hand on the cart handle.
“What do you understand?” I turn toward her fully.
She looks past me before answering.
“That it must be difficult to know what to put up with.” She adjusts the basket against her arm. “When you’ve got a life like yours.”
The bottle I just set down tips against another. I straighten it before looking back at her.
“Do you think I’m staying because I like the house?” I ask it quietly enough that she has to stop moving to hear.
“That isn’t what I meant.” She takes a step back. “I was trying to be supportive.”
“Then ask how I am.” I hold her gaze. “Don’t tell me you understand why I’d tolerate being hurt because my husband has money.”
Her cheeks turn red.
“I’m sorry.” She grips the basket with both hands. “That came out badly.”
I look toward the end of the aisle. A man has stopped pretending to compare bags of feed.
“Julius was a Wyatt before he met me.” I turn back to Diane. “I knew his family had money. I married him because I loved him.”
“I know you did.” She lowers her eyes.
“If I stay married, that will be my decision.” I start moving the cart. “You don’t need to explain it for me.”
She lets me pass without following.
***
The store owner finds me near the register.
“There are people waiting outside.” He keeps his voice low while the cashier scans my items. “Do you want to use the loading door?”
“Can they see the truck from there?” I look through the front window.
“They’ve moved closer to it.” He takes a bag from the cashier. “I can ask them to get off the property.”
“Please do.” I hand over my card, trying not to look at the camera raised beyond the glass.
My phone lights up while I put my wallet away.
Julius: I’ve been told there are cameras at the store. Do you want help getting to your truck, or would you rather I stayed out of it?
I read it twice. He hasn’t arrived with a driver or told me somebody’s taking me home. I can answer without first telling him to undo what he’s arranged.
Ramona: I want help getting to the truck. I don’t want to be collected.
Julius: Understood. Two men are nearby. They’ll speak to you before they do a thing.
I put the phone away and help bag the supplies.
When the men arrive, one comes inside and asks where I parked. I point out the truck, then tell him I’m driving myself.
“That’s fine, Mrs. Wyatt.” He takes a bag only after I offer it. “We’ll make sure you can get to the door.”
The store owner goes out first to ask the photographers to move. Some do. One keeps trying to step closer while calling my name.
“Have you read all the messages?” The girl from the paper has crossed the street. She lifts a recorder as I reach the sidewalk. “Are you still living separately?”
I keep walking. A man with a camera moves into my path, but one of the men Julius sent steps between us.
“She needs to get to her vehicle.” He holds his position without touching the camera.
I open the back door and start loading the bags. My hands shake badly enough that I have to put one bag down before I drop it.
“Do you want me to finish?” The man beside me waits.
“Please do.” I pass him the handles and go to the driver’s door.
Nobody takes my keys. Nobody tells me I’m too upset to drive.
I sit behind the wheel until I can hold it properly, then lower the window.
“Thank you for waiting.” I meet the man’s eyes before starting the engine.
He steps back and lets me leave.
At the first safe place to stop, I send Julius a message.
Ramona: I’m on my way back. Thank you for asking.
His answer arrives before I put the phone away.
Julius: I’ll leave you to your rounds. I’m here if you need me.
***
Ben is unloading bedding when I return to the rescue pens. He looks at my full back seat, then waits instead of opening the door himself.
“Would you like help?” He rests a hand on the truck bed beside him.
“You can take the heavy bag.” I unlock the back door and lift out June’s supplements.
He carries the feed while I take the smaller supplies inside. We talk about Banner and the new shelter until my shoulders stop hurting from how tightly I’ve held them.
At the feed-room door, Ben pauses.
“Julius told me he’s writing something.” He waits for me to turn. “For the people asking about the screenshots.”
I put the bottles on the shelf.
“What did he say?” I keep my hand against one of the labels.
“He didn’t show me. He said it owns up to the messages he sent.” Ben shifts the bag before setting it down. “And that people need to stop using them as an excuse to talk about you.”
“Did he send it out?” I turn toward him.
“He said nobody sees it before you do.” Ben brushes dust from his palms. “He wanted me to know the work here carries on. Nobody needs to bring you every rumor they hear.”
I look down at the supplies still in my hand.
“I need Julius to show it to me before everybody else knows what it says.” I lift my eyes to his, and he nods.
“And I’ve gone and done it again, haven’t I?” He steps away from the door. “I’ll get back to the bedding.”
I let him go without telling him it’s fine. Then I finish putting away the things the horses need before going to find my husband.
***
Julius is at the tack bench repairing a strap when I walk in. He sets the work down and stands, but doesn’t come toward me until I put my bags on the counter.
“Are you all right?” He looks at my face rather than the phone in my hand.
“I got back.” I take off my jacket because the room is warm. “You did what I asked at the store.”
“I’m glad it helped.” He pulls a chair out, then leaves it for me to decide whether to sit.
I stay standing.
“Ben mentioned a statement.” I watch Julius glance toward the passage. “He said you hadn’t posted it.”
“I wanted you to read it first.” He takes his phone from the bench and opens the draft.
I read it while he waits. He acknowledges the conversations. He says some of the images don’t match what he remembers writing, but that he won’t use that uncertainty to deny the messages he recognizes. The last paragraph asks people to leave me alone.
“You don’t promise me you’ll win me back in front of everybody.” I look up at him.
“That’s for you to decide.” He puts his hands against the counter behind him. “I’m not asking strangers to cheer me on while you work it out.”
I read the draft again before returning the phone.
“You can post that.” I pull out the chair and sit. “Don’t add a word after I leave.”
“I won’t.” He sends it while I’m still there, then puts the phone down.
A cream envelope sits beside the strap he was repairing. I recognize the rodeo association’s mark and turn it over.
“What’s this?” I slide the invitation free.
“The dinner this weekend.” He takes the chair opposite mine. “I was going to show you after you’d had time to get back.”
I read the details. I know the private hall above the Wyatt Arena and the tables they set there. I know some of the people who will sit at them, including the ones who watched Dakota insult me.
“Are you going?” I put the invitation between us.
“I haven’t answered.” He leaves it untouched. “I’d like to hear what you want before I do.”
I look toward the doorway. It would be easy to stay in the rescue barns, where everyone has learned not to mention my marriage. Diane would still think she understood me, and the pictures would still be on people’s phones.
“I want to go.” I turn back to Julius. “I don’t want you going into that room and explaining me to everybody.”
“I wouldn’t do that.” He waits until I meet his eyes. “But I understand why you don’t want to take my word for it.”
“I want to sit beside you.” My fingers tighten around the edge of the invitation. “That doesn’t mean you get to act as if we’ve settled everything.”
“I know we haven’t.” He leans forward, stopping short of reaching for me.
“If I want to leave, we leave.” I keep looking at him. “You don’t tell me you’ll come after another conversation.”
“We leave together.” He nods without bargaining.
I put the invitation down.
“Answer it now, then.” I nod at his phone. “Before I change my mind.”
He types with the invitation flat on the table between us, reads it back once, and sends it.
“Two places.” He puts the phone down. “Together.”
“You can help me choose a dress.” I get up before I can reconsider going. “An existing dress, Julius. Don’t start sending people to the cottage with racks.”
“I was going to offer to carry your bag.” He picks up my jacket and waits.
I let him put it around my shoulders. His fingers brush the back of my neck while he settles the collar, and I close my eyes before I can stop myself.
He notices, but he doesn’t turn me around for a kiss, and that makes me want to turn.
Instead, I catch his hand as he lowers it.
“I need you beside me in there.” I look at him. “Especially if it gets uncomfortable.”
“I’ll be there.” He closes his hand around mine.
His phone vibrates on the bench before we reach the door. He glances toward it, then waits for me to decide whether to keep walking.
“Check it.” I let go. “We might as well know.”
It’s the dinner organizer answering. Julius reads the first line, then his face changes, and he turns the screen toward me.
Organizer: We’ve moved Dakota Sterling to another table. We hope that will make the evening comfortable for everyone.
I take the phone so I can read it properly.
“Another table.” I look up at Julius. “They’ve decided that’s enough.”
He reaches for his phone only when I offer it back.
“I’ll ask why she’s still invited.” He stays beside me, waiting for my answer.
I put my hand over his before he starts typing.
“Tell them we’re still coming.” I hold his gaze. “I want her to say it where I can hear her this time.”