BJs_Cowboys Read online

  “But why?”

  “Because dad felt you were the one for me. Even after Cathy and I married he’d tell me I let the good one get away.”

  “Didn’t he like Cathy?”

  “Yes, to a fashion. He felt she was a little more uppity than she needed to be. She tended to flaunt our money in the faces of friends. Dad didn’t like that. He worked hard every day, and felt she was taking credit for something she neither did nor contributed too. He once told her if she didn’t get off her butt and help my mom; she could sleep in the barn. Cathy was mad for a week. She was upset with him; she was upset with me because I didn’t stand up for her and especially when I told her I agreed with dad; and she was upset with my mom because she waited on my dad and I. Cathy never lifted a finger to help and thus earned resentment across the board. “

  “People are funny, don’t you think?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I understand your parents and their feelings but I don’t understand your wife. I would have wanted desperately to be accepted. I’d have done anything to make that happen.”

  “This only codifies my dad’s comment that I let the right one get away.”

  “Maybe…” BJ lifted her glass to her lips watching him over the rim.

  “That pretty much sums up my life, what about you.”

  “Not much to tell. We moved to Arizona and my life changed. I met Joe while in high school and though we had our ups and downs, we were married over twenty years. Then one day we weren’t.”

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing really, we just grew apart.”

  “I think there’s more. What do you mean you grew apart?”

  “It’s nothing special, little things…things we didn’t seem to realize were important became critical in keeping us together. Unfortunately we didn’t comprehend the abyss we created and there was no going back. It was an amiable divorce and we stayed friends. We have a daughter together and that kept us close. We also shared a quasi working relationship. Joe was killed by a drunk driver earlier this year. My daughter took over his company. That’s about it.”

  They finished their steaks and both sat back smiling. “Do you want dessert?”

  “No, I have no more space.”

  “Then let’s take our drinks back to the bar where we can continue this conversation.”

  “I really need to go.”

  “No, you need to stay.” Bill raised his hand to the waiter. “Jason, put this on my tab. We’re going next door.” He stood taking BJ’s hand in his. “Come with me pretty lady.”

  “Did you ever think the reason I said ‘no’ was because you’re so pushy?”

  “Me? Pushy…never!” He laughed his baritone voice filling the room. “Besides if I’d been as pushy as my dad said I should have been, I would never have accepted your ‘no’ as an answer.”

  Three

  Bill took his seat at the table and watched BJ.

  “What?” She questioned, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

  “Tell me why you called me.” Bill’s eyes registered shock as a beautiful woman approached their table. “Shit!” he mumbled under his breath, “it’s Cathy.”

  “Bill, are you going to introduce me to your friend,” Cathy asked sweetly. She hung blatantly on the muscled arm of a young stud.

  “Cathy, this is BJ…BJ, Cathy.” He wasn’t going to draw this out any longer than he had to.

  “BJ, good to meet you...” Cathy held out her hand and then withdrew it as if BJ had the plague. She glared at Bill, the questions in her eyes. “So this is THE BJ, THE woman who ruined our marriage, THE woman I could never live up to?”

  “Cathy, please, this isn’t necessary.” Bill tried to console his ex-wife.

  “Necessary,” Cathy turned to face BJ, “I guess you finally came back to claim him?”

  “I’m sorry Cathy I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

  “Bullshit, you know. You’ve had your claws in him since he was seventeen.”

  Cathy’s young stud took her hand and placed it at his elbow. “Let’s go get a drink sweetheart.” His gaze unfortunately never left BJ, and Cathy saw it. She turned to leave and felt BJ stand up next to her.

  BJ placed herself between the couple, her left hand on Cathy’s shoulder and her right in front of her. “Cathy, let me give you a piece of advice. If you’re going to ‘Cougar’ make sure the man you’re with, is with you.” BJ placed her palm at the front of the young man’s jeans moving it up and down. His erection was immediate, his eyes glazing over in lust. “See what I mean, he thinks with the wrong brain, kick him to the curb and find someone who wants only you.” BJ took her seat, downing half of her martini.

  Bill watched the exchange with his mouth open, startled when his ex-wife slapped the young man and sashayed to the bar, taking the stool next to Pete Sikes. He could only smile, knowing Pete had lusted after his wife throughout their marriage. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll get together. He watched as Cathy ordered a beer, took it and left the bar. Bill excused himself from BJ, rose and approached Pete. “It’s about time you went after her, don’t you think?”

  Pete looked surprised and blushed from ear to ear. “You know?”

  “Everyone knows Pete. It’s time you made an honest woman out of her.” Bill smiled as Pete ran out the door after Cathy. He ordered a round for his table and went back to BJ, “Well that was fun.” He laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks. “What you did to that young man was priceless. Lady you have more balls than most men I know.”

  “Sorry. I saw the way he looked at me and at every other woman in here. He was with Cathy because she was available. But he was like a hungry animal, looking for his next meal.”

  “True, Roger is young and considers himself a gift to women. Someone told me he has notches on his bed post for each of his conquests.”

  “That’s disgusting and sad.” She could imagine Roger doing exactly that.

  Fresh drinks in front of them, Bill asked again. “BJ why are you here?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure. I’ve been through Sidney a couple of times and talked myself out of calling you.” She saw the hurt in his eyes, “I decided yesterday that this time I’d call…this time I needed to see you and put to rest whatever it was between us.”

  “When you say put to rest, do you mean end or what?”

  She hesitated, bit her lip and looked away, “Don’t know.”

  “Okay, let’s try a different approach.” Bill stood and held out his hand. “Dance with me BJ.”

  She was oblivious, not even realizing the music had started. BJ stood and took Bill’s hand, letting him lead her to the floor. A slow ballad played as he pulled her into his arms and began to move her around the dance floor. They were in sync, every step as if they’d been doing it their entire lives. Her thoughts turned to Joe and all the dance lessons they’d taken to achieve this togetherness on the dance floor, and with Bill it’s instantaneous.

  Bill led her back to the table. “That was nice, and something I’ve wondered about for years.”

  “What’s that?” BJ asked as he pulled out her chair.

  “I wondered if I’d ever get a chance to dance with you. At one time I thought the only possibility of that happening was when we were married.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No…not really. Do you remember the long phone calls we had while I was in the Army?”

  “Sure, I remember. My dad wanted to kill me; the phone bill was so high. I think he was truly happy when I got a job and could pay my share.”

  “I remember it was right after Thanksgiving. You sent me a ‘Dear John’ with the announcement of your marriage to Joe. You said the situation was self explanatory.” Bill sat back, remembering how desolate he’d felt when he’d received her letter.

  “Sorry, I know I should have called you but I didn’t know what to say.”

  “No, it was probably the best way. Did you get my ca
rd?”

  “Yes, I got it.” BJ remembered the uncomfortable feeling she’d experienced when his card had arrived.

  “I was happy for you, I truly was.” He watched the disbelief in her eyes. “Okay, I was happy for you, but I was miserable. I’d let you slip away once again. I was stunned, disappointed, and hurt. It took me a while to get my shit together. My First Sergeant spent a lot of time holding my hand. He even talked me into going home and spending some time with my parents. When I got there, my dad worked my ass off. He said I needed to get it together and move on. I finally did exactly that,” he leaned back and locked his eyes on hers, “but I always wondered ‘what if’.”

  “It’s funny how we sometimes imagine something was different, better, more what we needed than what we did. But you never know. I was in love with Joe and I wanted to be his wife. At the time it was the right decision. Yes, I did some of that ‘what if’ stuff too. I think that’s why I called you way back when.”

  “Believe it or not, I understand. With all that behind us, where do we go from here?”

  ‘”I don’t know. It’s funny actually.”

  “What is?”

  She straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath, just like she did before she began every meeting with her staff…her ten seconds to compose herself. “I make corporate decisions every day and I don’t have a clue how to proceed with my personal life. This was really nice seeing you again, meeting your ex-wife, all things that needed to be done. Now, though I need to hit the road.”

  Bill was amazed at the change in her demeanor. It was as if another person was speaking. He didn’t understand where she was coming from, but he wanted to. “Where are you off to?”

  “I have a meeting in Denver on Monday.”

  “Good, then it’s settled.” I know exactly what we need to do.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Spend the weekend with me BJ. Come to the ranch and spend some time with me. I’d like to get to know you again.”

  “Are you sure? It sounds like I left a lot of dead bodies in my wake.” She drank the last of her martini.

  “Not any more than I did.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Sure I did. Remember when you came to visit and I stood you up the second night you were here? I’d gone out with Connie and tried to hide it from you.”

  BJ laughed, she did remember. “Okay so we’re both to blame for all this. I remember telling you I was pregnant and you offering to marry me. You were priceless even then.” BJ laughed again, tears running down her cheeks.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I was still a virgin when I told you that.” The shock on his face was priceless.

  “Shit, I knew I blew that weekend. My dad, he always seemed to know how stupid I was, told me the same thing after you left. I didn’t understand it then but I do now. That’s what I get for thinking with that other brain men have. Come on, follow me to the ranch.”

  BJ hesitated only a second before grabbing her purse. “Lead the way.”

  Bill walked up to a huge truck and opened the door as BJ approached her silver BMW. “Wow, nice set of wheels.”

  “Let me drive your truck?” BJ walked up beside him and handed him her keys.

  Bill took them and helped her up into the truck. “Follow me, pretty lady.”

  “You got it.” BJ started the truck and marveled at the loud Country music that blared from the sound system. A man after my own heart.

  *****

  The drive to the ranch was uneventful, even if it was at the speed of sound. Bill took the lead opening up the BMW to maximum RPMs. The car could sing and he loved its maneuverability. It was a magnificent machine even if it wasn’t appropriate for ranch living. He watched BJ hang tight in his truck, she had to be flooring that monster to stay as close as she did. They parked in front of the ranch house taking a moment to separate themselves from the machines that brought them to the party.

  “Wow, Bill this was great. I remember one time I told Joe I wanted a truck and he told me we weren’t truck people. So I told him I wanted a BMW and he said I could have a truck. I think we actually bought a Mercury Sable.”

  He laughed at her, hearing the actual conversation in his mind. “I love your wheels too. If they were more appropriate for ranch life, I’d have a BMW too. It handles like nothing I’ve ever driven before.”

  “I agree. I travel a lot and have driven a lot of different rental cars. I’m always happy to come home and get behind the wheel of the BMW. I truly take it for granted most of the time.”

  Bill popped her trunk and took her suitcases into the house. “Come in, make yourself at home.”

  BJ scanned the room and was pleasantly pleased. It was masculine, yet soft in many ways. There were works of art everywhere, some of the artists she recognized. The colors were basic beiges and browns with accent colors of teal and burnt orange; very nice and appeasing to the eye. “It’s beautiful.”

  “You seem surprised that a man could have a place like this.”

  “Pleasantly surprised, yes I guess I am.”

  “Actually a lot of this was my mother’s. I moved here after Cathy and I divorced and I didn’t change much. There are a lot of family memories here and I needed that. What can I get you to drink? Before you ask, I don’t have any martini mix.”

  “I hate to mix my alcohol, so I’ll just take a glass of ice water.”

  “Have a seat, I’ll be right back.”

  BJ settled herself onto the long sofa, laying her head back and closing her eyes. She felt his presence but didn’t open her eyes. “Quit staring at me.”

  “Can’t help it, you’re beautiful. You look like you belong there.”

  BJ sat up and took her drink, taking a deep swallow. “How long have you been doing this?”

  “If you mean ranching, I’ve done it all my life. I helped dad in the summer and during school breaks. When I got out of the Army, Cathy and I moved here and settled in town. I worked ten to twelve hours a day out here with my dad. Cathy hated it, said I was never home. I tried to explain that was the work of a rancher, but she didn’t care. When I came home on Friday night she’d nag until I showered and took her out for dinner and dancing. I had to get up at four the next morning, but she didn’t care.”

  “You were married a long time, so it couldn’t have been all bad.”

  “No, it wasn’t and I didn’t mean to imply that. I worked hard at our marriage, but it was never completely right. One day she asked me to move out. I didn’t even hesitate; I just moved to the ranch, never looked back.”

  “Do you think she was trying to get your attention?”

  “I asked her that and she said no; she wanted to be happy and knew it wasn’t going to be with me.”

  “I’m sorry Bill, I know how that is.”

  “Enough about me; tell me what happened in your marriage.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you the short version. You know we were married in the early 70’s. I wasn’t even 21 when we exchanged our vows. We’d dated in high school and at Thanksgiving he came home from college, asked me to marry him, and I said yes. We were married just before the New Year. Joe and I worked together the last ten years of our lives enjoying our successes and failures together. In the last couple of years we grew apart. I was traveling to one place and him to another and we just didn’t seem to take the time to be with each other.”

  “I know this is hard for you but what happened to end a marriage of twenty plus years?”

  “It’s not an unheard of story. Joe fell in love with his executive assistance and came to me one day asking for a divorce. I’d heard the rumors and knew something was going on but I’d hoped he’d work through it; you know one of those ‘prove I’m still young’ things. He didn’t, he wanted to make Mary his wife. I packed my bags and walked away. He didn’t complain when I asked for the business. I realized later that was because he’d already started another company with some of our money. It didn’t ma
tter, it was over and I wanted him out of my life. He never remarried. Mary took off with a younger man with more money about a month after our divorce was final. And Joe was killed in a car accident about six months ago. That’s the short version.”

  “Do you ever intend to marry again?”

  “I really don’t know, but I’d have to say yes, someday, maybe. What about you? Do you intend to marry again?”

  “Can’t say for sure; I mean I haven’t been with anyone in a long time. The ranch is my mistress for now; she takes all my time and then some.”

  “I understand that too. My business is important and I have a passion to stay in the black. Success is my lover for now. With the economy as it is, it’s a constant battle to make everything work.”

  Bill stood, finishing his beer, “I need to call it a night. Life on a ranch begins early as you know. Make yourself at home. Your room is the last one on the right at the end of the hall. If you need anything, let me know.” Bill picked up her suitcase and carried it up the stairs.

  BJ got the light and followed him. She had a beautiful room with a private bath. She heard him moving around the room across the hall. With hesitation, she turned and knocked on the door.

  Bill opened, bare foot, no shirt, and his jeans unsnapped. His sexual presence was evident and BJ stared intently at the black hair line that disappeared below the zipper on his jeans. He watched her lick her lips knowing exactly what she was thinking. “BJ, what do you need?” he asked, shaking her into reality.

  “Wake me in the morning; I’d like to go with you, out on the ranch.”

  She never failed to amaze him. “You would, why?”

  “I just want to experience what it’s like to be in charge of a ranch of this size.”

  “Okay, I’ll knock on your door.” He turned her toward her room and pushed her gently forward. “You need to get some sleep; three in the morning is going to come sooner than you think.”