15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Mosby

"And you'll deliver it tonight to the address I gave you, correct? Your salesman has the note." I had a bad habit of browbeating people I did business with, and the young man from the dealership wasn't filling me with confidence that he had a handle on the task at hand.

"Yeah, man. I got it. I'll drop it off behind Shear Bliss. Put the keys in the envelope with the note and leave them on the seat. That it?"

At this point, I needed to get going if I planned to get to Foggy Basin on time. I'd researched my idea all day and confirmed it with the salesman I'd met with after I left Tyler's place that morning. It would be a miracle if it worked out, including if Tyler would accept my gift.

"Yes. That's it. If it's done properly, I'll drop off a generous tip for you tomorrow. Text me when it's been delivered." I was hoping to spend the night at Tyler's apartment, so I could run by the dealership on my way home the next day—if the kid didn't fuck it up.

We ended the call, and I gathered my things to leave. I stepped onto the porch to see Barbara Bushy sitting on the railing where I'd left her food and water. "Be good. I'll be back tomorrow."

I hurried to the Bronco and slid inside, driving down the hill to the gate. I'd left it unlocked when I returned home earlier, but now that I would be gone overnight, I would lock it. I hadn't officially been invited to spend the night, but I had high hopes.

I drove through the gate and stopped, grabbing my mail before looping the chain and engaging the padlock. I returned to the driver's seat and dropped the mail in my duffel before heading to town.

Once on the road, I glanced in the rearview mirror and thought I saw a fancy SUV following me. Since I'd left that tracking device in the public parking lot across from Shear Bliss, I'd been trying to figure out who the fuck put it on my vehicle in the first place.

Thankfully, when I made the right into town, the SUV behind me went straight. I passed the salon and made the left at Valley Way Drive, which led to Tyler's mother's house.

A huge pickup truck was parked in the driveway, so I parked on the street. As I got out of the Bronco, the door to the pickup truck opened and a tall cowboy stepped out. He must not have seen me because he put a cowboy hat on his head and then looked in the side mirror, smoothing and checking the tuck of his starched shirt.

He slid the top of his right boot over the left calf of his jeans and then repeated the process on the opposite side. I stared at the man because he looked familiar, though I couldn't place from where, so I walked around my Bronco and opened the passenger door, grabbing the potted gardenia that was just starting to bloom. I'd picked it up at a nursery near the dealership to give to Tyler's mom, hoping to make a good impression.

"Shit. I shoulda thought of that." I turned to see the cowboy staring at the plant. I had no idea who the man was, and I wasn't sure what to say to him .

"It was a miracle I thought of it, to be honest. I'm Mo-Leslie. I'm a friend of Tyler's." He stared at me before he smiled.

"I'm a friend of Marlena's. Beau Fletcher. Pleasure. It must be your birthday?" He extended his hand, and I shook it. He seemed pleasant enough.

Beau stepped onto the small porch first, and I stood on the stairs behind him. He rang the doorbell, and we glanced at each other. After a minute, the door opened, and Marlena smiled, looking beautiful in a flowered top and denim skirt. "Come in, guys."

Beau removed his hat showing off salt and pepper hair cut very short. His face was clean-shaven, and when he bent down to kiss a much-shorter Marlena, she giggled. "You smell very good. "

"You too, darlin'." He stepped inside, and I stepped onto the porch.

"Ms. Rockwell, this is for you." I handed her the gardenia, and she smiled at me, making me grin in return. Point for me.

"Tyler, Leslie's here."

I glanced toward the kitchen to see my beautiful Bunny coming closer with a denim apron smeared in what seemed like white goo. I stepped forward and kissed his pink lips, spotting the extra sparkle around his beautiful brown eyes. "You look stunning, Bunny. You smell very sweet too."

He giggled. "I made the frosting for your cake, and the hand mixer flung cream cheese and powdered sugar all over me. But thank you. You look very handsome. Will you come out with me? I'm watching the steaks on the grill. Mom's going to come out and supervise when she's finished with the cowboy."

"Beau introduced himself to me outside. He seems nice." I wasn't sure what else to say. Tyler didn't sound very happy about Beau. "How does she know him?"

"Old friends, pardon the pun. He's fifty-eight. She said they met a long time ago, but they lost touch. He's staying at Foggy Basin Inn, but I doubt he'll sleep there tonight. Anyway, I'm so glad you're here."

I kissed him for a moment before pulling back. "How was your day?"

"We were busy this morning but able to close at two, so not too bad. Thought about you a lot. Can I get you something to drink? Mom explained that red wine doesn't go in the fridge, so I apologize for making you drink that mess last night. We have some lemonade, if you'd like something non-alcoholic right now."

"That would be great. You look extra beautiful today. Love the eyeliner." He'd taken the time to style his hair so that his bangs were off his face in a swoop toward the top of his head. The sunlight caught a shimmer on his cheeks that made him glow, and my jeans tightened immediately. The young man continued to surprise me.

Tyler's cheeks flushed. "Do you like it? I was afraid it might be too much."

I took his hand. "Not at all. You've said you like makeup and painting your nails. I think anything you do that makes you feel good is fantastic. You're beautiful to me any way you present yourself, Bunny. Never forget that. Now, let's check these steaks. I grill a pretty good hunk of beef."

Tyler giggled, and it shot straight to my heart. "You're carrying a pretty good hunk of beef."

He lifted the lid of the charcoal grill, and I picked up the tongs, flipping the steaks and pressing down on them with my index finger to judge their level of doneness. "How does the cowboy like his steak?"

"Rare, please." We both looked up to see Beau coming out of the house sans cowboy hat. He was carrying a tray with metal skewers, some with shrimp and some with vegetables. They looked damn good to me.

"Sure. What do you do, Mr. Fletcher?"

"Mo, right?" I nodded. Why not? "I own a cattle ranch outside Cheyenne, Wyoming. A thousand head of black Angus and Hereford. How about yourself? "

Tyler zeroed in on our conversation as he pretended to sweep off the patio. "I'm a painter—portraits, not houses. It's more a hobby than a profession. I, uh, I'm a travel blogger by trade. I've never been to Wyoming. I might need to check it out." A white lie, but harmless.

Beau grinned. "Say the word, and you and Tyler—I mean, if you ever want to see the sights, let me know. Marlie has my number. You'd be more than welcome to stay at the ranch."

"That might be a few years away." I glanced at Tyler to see a frown. I wondered if there was anything that could be done about Tyler's parole. Was there any way to get it shortened? I had been in Foggy Basin for a year, and it wasn't bad, but Tyler hadn't seen much of the world, and I was dying to show it to him.

"Oh, yeah, I suppose you're right. You have a place nearby?" Beau seemed interested in me more than Tyler, and I wasn't sure why.

"I do. I live up the hill." I pointed to the small mountain looming outside of town that was an object of contention among the residents of Foggy Basin. My granddad called it Foggy Mountain, but many folks in town referred to it as a hill. I really didn't give a damn.

"Did you grow up in Foggy Basin?" I removed two of the steaks because I preferred mine rare as well .

"I, uh, no. I was a stock hauler when I was younger, and my dad ran the family ranch in Wyoming. I hauled our cattle all over the west, depending on which auctions were holding which sales and getting the most attention. That was how I met Marlie. I got lost when I was headed down to Petaluma for the fall cow and calf pair sale. It was early in my hauling days, and we were still using paper maps.

"I stopped at that diner by the highway where the Ford dealer is now. I needed coffee and directions, and I'll be damned if Marlie wasn't in there picking up a fried chicken dinner to go. When I asked for directions from the young woman behind the counter, Marlie came to my rescue because I wasn't sure how that young woman found her way to work the way she hemmed and hawed about how to get where she thought I needed to go. She wasn't anywhere close."

I chuckled because the guy was trying, but I could see Tyler wasn't buying Beau's friendly nature. "And who was that? One of my mother's friends?"

Marlena came out of the house with a saucepan and a brush. "What are we talking about, fellas?" I wasn't touching it with a ten-foot pole.

"Which friend of yours was an idiot at The Highway Diner?" The bite in Tyler's voice was surprising .

"Oh, uh?" Marlena turned toward Beau and cocked her head.

"The redheaded gal who wore her hair in a ponytail and chewed gum all the time?"

Marlena giggled, and it sounded just like Tyler. "Marilyn Keller. I forgot about her. She was a sweet girl, but she wasn't the brightest bulb in the lamp."

"Marilyn Keller? Who is that?" Tyler came to stand next to me, resting his head on my shoulder as I flipped the steaks again before taking them off and putting them on the plate to rest. Marlena handed me the foil, and I covered them.

I turned to Marlena, who stared between Beau and Tyler. I tracked her eyes and did the same, and then it popped. "I'll be a son of a—"

Marlena stepped closer and took the tongs from me. "Not a word, Leslie."

Shit! Now we had a common secret. Hell, I owed her a secret in return.