Page 44 of Soldier Cowboy
“So, I guess I won’t be making any new friends considering I’m from out of town and took one of the best men of Stone Ridge,” Jennifer said.
“Not at all,” Delores said. “The men reserve the right to choose who they want and we’re always glad when they bring their own wife to town.”
“It has happened a handful of times in the past.” Bonnie Lee nodded.
“Leaves more choices for the rest of the men,” Beulah said. “Very kind of you.”
“Um, you’re welcome…?” Jennifer shifted in her seat.
She couldn’t help feeling surreal about this whole thing.
“Bonnie Lee was also very kind to come home,” Maybelle said.
“Well, I wasn’t going to let someoneelsehave Sean. Please don’t think of me as a martyr.” Bonnie fanned herself and gave a wicked smile. “I mean, I have Sean. It’s called winning.”
Women tittered and giggled in the spirit of Bonnie’s words and just when Jennifer thought this whole thing was nothing but a big throwback, the gifts were brought out. The height of them all was the quilt. Called a “marriage quilt,” it looked like it had been hand stitched by Amish women. With bright rings of orange, red, yellow, and blue such as Jennifer had never seen on a quilt before, it still worked. In the center were Sean and Bonnie Lee’s names, the date of their marriage, and a short verse. It read, “Love is patient” in beautiful cross-stitching.
“We couldn’t decide on any one color for you, honey, so we went with all of them,” Maybelle said. “I insisted on red, too, for your beautiful hair.”
Bonnie Lee laughed and wiped away a tear. “I knew this day would be special, but gosh, the verse is just…perfect for us.”
Colton heard the ladies inside,laughing and clucking away like hens. He felt like an idiot standing here but after reading those emails he’d been…let’s face it, a bit spooked. This Dan dude sounded like he’d come unhinged. And if he wasn’t just making false claims, andcouldfind Jennifer, it was Colton’s duty to be with her when he did.
Since he had reception downtown, he’d checked his phone for messages from Horace. Nothing. For now, Colton was going to hold back the disturbing news of the latest emails. He could handle things from here. But since he had a moment, he went through his podcasts and searched for Jennifer’s. Finally findingTruth Salad, he went to the episode on returning soldiers.
The anonymous soldier she referred to was clearly her brother, Joe, who spoke only on the condition of privacy. Colton was impressed by the quality of her questions. They were probing, intuitive, and spoke of someone who’d done her research. Who understood there were no easy answers. Listening to Joe was like listening to himself. He understood, and God, it was good to know he wasn’t the only one.
Jennifer’s smooth and disembodied voice still sounded…well, throaty, sultry, and…sexy. He certainly could see the attraction even without laying eyes on her. The one-two punch to the gut was pretty much what he’d felt the moment he saw her.
He was so caught up in listening that he nearly missed the person several feet away on the stairway of the building adjacent to the church. The woman had stopped halfway up and stared down at Colton.
“I can’t believe this. Is that really you?”
He’d known, of course, that he would eventually run into her again.
He pulled out his earbud. “Hey, Cherisse.”
She rushed back down the steps and made her way around to the back of the church to the door he stood guarding.
She was still beautiful. Still blonde, and hadn’t lost any of her figure even though he’d heard about the three children. He was prepared for her to still be pretty, but he had also worried he might feel…something. Regret. It seemed that he should feel more, based on nostalgia alone. At one time, he’d loved her enough to consider marriage to her someday. She’d been his high school sweetheart and now she was a complete stranger. It was just one more acknowledgement to this soldier: we’re not in Kansas anymore.
How strange that he felt nothing at all for her. He considered he might be closed up due to bitterness and the blocking of any feeling or vulnerability. His therapist, who’d known about the abandonment simply because it was something for Colton to talk about instead of bombs, had opinions. He was supposed to confront her at some point because otherwise he’d never get past it.
But the space where he’d loved her was empty now.
“What areyoudoing here?” Cherisse said.
“You didn’t know I was back?”
“I was in San Antonio for a few days.”
That explained the lull in information spreading. She would have known by tonight if she hadn’t run into him.
“What I really mean is why are you standing in front of that door like a guard?”
“I’m not a bodyguard. What makes you saythat?” Aw, damn it. Bad choice of word.
“I didn’t saybodyguard.” She laughed and tossed her hair back. “But now that you mention it, you do look like you’re guarding the church and the ladies. I’m sure the biddies are in there having another one of their ridiculous SORROW meetings.”
