It took another hour for Sean to assure Bonnie that he hadn’t invited Tabitha over, at any point, and remind her that finding out where he lived would be as easy as asking Lenny.
And to think men outside of Stone Ridge went through this kind of jealousy thing all the time.
Once again, they agreed to be discreet, but Bonnie swore she’d find a way to sneak out again soon.
An awkward silence passed between them when he drove Bonnie home to her mother’s house. Lupine Lake was now the busy site of new construction on the south end of the lake. Bonnie asked him to take the long way around to her cabin and avoid all the trucks and activity.
“You can’t walk me to the door,” Bonnie said when he pulled up to the house.
“The hell I’m not,” Sean said, coming around to open the passenger door. “Your mother will tan my hide if I don’t say hello.”
“She might tan your hide if you do.”
“I’ll take my chances.” He offered his hand and walked with her up the short staircase.
“Okay, this is good.” She said at the top step. “You don’t have to come in.”
“I’m coming in to say hello and that’s all there is to it.”
She sighed and threw open the door. “Mama, I’m home, and look who I ran into!”
Sean quirked a brow and Bonnie shrugged.
“Hey, Miss Maybelle. I read the sign. Bonnie needed company, you said so.”
Maybelle lowered her eyeglasses and peered from over them. “Uh-huh. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He offered Bonnie his hand. The same hand which had caressed every inch of her soft body not long ago. “See you when the contest starts up again.”
She shook his hand, giving him a wink. “Yes, see you then.”
Then, back to her mother, Bonnie mouthed, “tomorrow night.”
“Good day, young man,” Maybelle said, clearly meaning ‘please leave now.’
“Ma’am.” He tipped his hat, then quickly squeezed Bonnie’s hand and was out the door.
This whole sneaking around thing wasn’t going to fly with him. Not for long. He’d roll with it for now but when Lori got back, they were going to have a long talk. Sean knew who he wanted to be Mrs. Cowboy and if that hadn’t changed in roughly twenty years, it wasn’t likely to now.
Chores over, it was nearly supper time when Sean knocked on the door to Riggs’ home. He opened the door and waved him inside.
“I swear I didn’t drop by for dinner.” Sean threw his palms up. “I have something important to talk about.”
Winona joined them, Mary on her hip. “Delores made her fried chicken. Don’t try to tell me you didn’t know.”
“I swear, just lucky. Had no idea.”
“Come in, Sean!” Delores called out from the kitchen. “I made enough to take over later, you might as well eat here with the family.”
The two little toddlers, Cal and Joey, ran up to him at once and grabbed a hold of each leg.
They babbled in words only their mother could probably understand, but he heard “Shaw-ee” in there somewhere, which was what they called him most of the time.
Riggs picked up Joey and Sean picked up Cal. They carried the boys to the twelve-seat farmer’s table in the new formal dining room where Delores had spread out her weekly supper. It had been decided early on that Delores would stay with Riggs and Winona, considering they had twins and only twelve months later, Mary.
After his mother’s death, Delores settled into the role of pseudo-mother, cook and housekeeper. But far more family than employee, Delores always made sure Sean had a homecooked meal, too.
So much had changed in the house since Winona moved in, but Sean admitted all the changes were for the better. They’d added on to the main house where Sean, Colton and Riggs had been raised. Instead of Delores living in a cabin within a short walking distance, they’d made a separate wing of the house for her to live in. Delores and her husband never had any children, and the Henderson boys, Marge’s boys, were like her own. Now, Cal, Joey, and Mary were like her grandchildren.
Sometimes a found family really was the best kind. There was a greater appreciation of each other, an understanding that a loving family wasn’t a right but a privilege. With three highchairs, the dining room often resembled a daycare. Every few feet, Sean often found a dropped pacifier on the floor or a plastic teething ring. It was utter chaos most days.
And he loved every minute of it.
He came over every chance he could but lately there hadn’t been many. Preoccupied with Mr. Cowboy, he’d only recently had a reprieve.
Delores passed him the mashed potatoes. “How’s the contest going?”
“Interesting.”
“It certainly has accomplished Beulah’s goals,” Delores said.
“Guess so. Lots of single women in town, though who knows for how long?”
“And Bonnie.” Riggs slid Sean a look that meant his big brother had already read his mind.
Winona and Riggs exchanged a look. They’d just had an entire conversation in the simple glance.
“Yeah, Bonnie.” Sean set down his fork. “Is that a problem?”
“No, I just find it interesting Beulah’s niece is on the show,” Riggs said, offer Cal a piece of a roll.
“Well, she is an actress,” Delores said.
“Without much work lately, I’ve heard,” Winona said.
“Now, I thought you of all people would understand how difficult show business makes things on women of a certain age,” Delores scolded.
“Of course, I do. I only want to be sure she came here for the right reasons.”
“Yeah, you’ve said that,” Sean said, frustration bubbling up. “Why did you come to Stone Ridge, Winona?”
“Sean—” Riggs said in a warning tone.
“No, it’s okay, baby.” Winona stroked Riggs’ arm. “Let’s address the elephant in the room. Again. I was thirty-nine and I wanted a baby. I thought I could just get knocked up and walk away, but I fell in love.”
Delores smiled, made a cooing sound, and fed Mary a spoonful of baby food. “And maybe Bonnie came here for an acting part and she’ll fall in love with Sean all over again.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Riggs said, but his words were thick with doubt.
Sean heard Delores hopeful and romantic words through Riggs ears:
Yeah, and maybe pigs will fly.
As always, supper was a little like riding a bicycle. Like riding a bicycle, if the bike was on a trapeze, and also on fire. Cal wasn’t crazy about his mashed potatoes and decided they might taste better in his hair. When Winona wholeheartedly disagreed, he screamed loud enough to break the sound barrier. Screaming was catching, Sean had already learned. Joey cried immediately following his twin, because they did everything together. And Mary never liked being the odd one out. Plus, as a baby, it was her right to scream.
When Sean was here, the adults outnumbered the children. Together, they managed to get through supper, taking turns with the kids. Later, while Delores cleaned up, Winona began the bedtime routine that took hours.
“Let’s go into the office,” Riggs said, leading the way down the hall. “What’s this about?”
“The contract I signed for Mr. Cowboy. How solid is that donation they agreed to?”
Riggs sank into the chair behind his desk. “Solid. It’s not a small amount of money.”
“Even so, I was an idiot to sign the contract.”
“Tried to tell you. But you said, and I quote, ‘I can get along with any of these beautiful women.’ And if it doesn’t work out, no harm done. I still have a good start on the foundation.”
“I know what I said.” Sean cleared his throat. “I agreed to let them choose the winner, but that was before they brought Bonnie.”
“And now?”
“Now, I can’t let them choose for me.”
“Then you’ll lose the contribution. That was the deal.”
“I’ll figure out another way. I want to honor my word, but they didn’t play fair with me. They never told me they were bringing on Bonnie.”
“You’re right.” Riggs leaned back in his chair. “And if they’d told you?”
“Yeah, I guess I would have told them to forget it.”
“It’s a good thing they didn’t tell you, then. You can be a little hotheaded at times.”
“So, you’re saying I should go through with this sham? Honor my word and propose to someone I won’t marry?”
“How do you know they won’t choose Bonnie?”
“What if they don’t?”
“That’s the risk you’re taking. But you could also wind up with everything. Bonnie, the money for the foundation.”
“I’ve never been much of a gambler.”
“I disagree. You’re gambling now that Bonnie won’t get a hankering to go back to Hollywood after this.”
“I’m older now and I think I’m a big enough man to accept I can’t be everything to her. If she still wants to act, I’ll support her.”
“Right. I never told Winona she couldn’t have her career. It was her choice to take a long break because of the children.” Riggs steepled his fingers together. “Let me ask you this. Have you ever stopped to wonder why you didn’t go after her? You’ve had years to do it. If Winona left me for two days, I’d go after her.”
“I did go after Bonnie.”
They were quiet, remembering their mother’s cancer and how quickly they’d lost her. Painful and difficult times, not knowing how hard their father would take the loss. Not realizing they’d lose him not long after. Bonnie had come home with him, something he’d never forget. It was the one time she’d chosen him over everything else. She’d come home to be with him because he needed her and there had been no question she would be there.
But then she’d left him again. On some level, he’d been waiting for her to come back. Even if on the basis of Mr. Cowboy, she’d come home, and that meant something. She’d had no idea what kind of wrath she would encounter from him and he certainly hadn’t made it easy in the beginning.
“What no one seems to realize is I ignored the fact I fell in love with a girl who had a big dream. I ignored it as long as I could while I tried to turn her into the kind of wife I wanted. And she tried to be that person. For me.”
“Those are some tough truths to face.”
“If I could love anyone else, I would. Someone more convenient. I tried to forget her, but it didn’t work.”
“Do you think it’s going to be any different this time?”
“I know it will.”
“Brother, I hope so, because I do not want to see you lose this opportunity to be happy. To have the family you want.”
“That makes two of us.”