Bonnie~Four months later~Bonnie smoothed the front of her skirt. There wasn’t a wrinkle to be found on the soft gray fabric, but she smoothed it anyway. It helped calm her nerves.“We’re up,” a lawyer told her. The man carried himself with such ease in the courthouse. He knew where to go, where to stand, how to dress. The lawyer knew the name of the security at the front entrance even. He was comfortable. Confident.Bonnie was not.“It’ll be fine,” Dylan whispered, taking her hand in his. He gave her a gentle squeeze. She nodded. She was afraid if she opened her mouth, she’d throw up. That would definitely be worse than a wrinkled skirt.Dylan held her hand as they walked into the courtroom. She was glad he was there. She was glad that Dylan was with her for this. They’d started this as a couple. It was best they finished it as a couple.The carpet was some sort of gray-green mixture. Two wooden tables sat before the judge. A stern looking woman looked out over her tall wooden bench
Bonnie“Damn you dirty rotten piece of metal!”The words that continued to come out of Bonnie Kincaid’s mouth would have made her mother blush. If her mother had been there, she would have washed her daughter’s mouth out with soap, even though Bonnie was twenty-seven years old.Bonnie cursed once more at her car engine and kicked the front fender hard enough to make her wince. The damn car was dead on the side of a lonely country road in the middle of God-knew-where of the Colorado mountains. Bonnie’s AAA membership had run out about two months ago, along with every other thing in her life.She was stuck.Lightning crackled around the edges of the darkening clouds. The wind whispered to the pine trees and mountain fields that rain was coming. She slammed the hood of her car down and spat out another curse before apologizing to her vehicle. She didn’t want the poor car to hate her.She sat down hard in the driver’s seat with her feet on the dirt road and checked her phone. No bars. Not
DylanDylan carefully stacked the last of the clean dishes from the sink and set them in the cupboard. It had taken him almost an hour to get through them since the industrial dishwasher for the camp had broken down. He’d washed them all by hand so that the camp would have clean dishes for breakfast tomorrow.It wasn’t his job to do dishes. Technically, he didn’t really have a true position at the camp, but he was here to help out. The owners Carter and Mia were his friends, so when he’d asked for something to do, they’d given him free range on the ranch. He fixed cars, taught classes, worked with kids, and helped out with whatever repairs the ranch needed. Today, the ranch needed a dishwasher.He drained the sink and chuckled at his dishpan hands. Who would have thought that a billionaire would be doing dishes? It felt good though. Working at the ranch with the foster kids and actually making a difference in their lives felt better than earning money ever did. He felt lighter here. D
BonnieFor the first time in weeks, Bonnie felt safe. She had a fluffy towel draped over her shoulders with another wrapped around her body and a third drying her hair. She sipped gingerly at the hot chamomile tea in her hands. A small sigh of relief rippled through her.The knot of tension that seemed to live in between her shoulder blades relaxed just a little bit. She wasn't shivering anymore, and she wasn't afraid. It almost felt like a dream after the past few weeks."So, what were you doing out on No-man's Road?" Laura asked, drinking from her cup of tea. "It's kind of off the beaten path."She and Mia sat across from her at the large square table, and Dylan had pulled up a chair catty-corner to them. Bonnie was doing her best not to look at him too much. She had a bad habit of staring at handsome men.“I was trying to enjoy the mountains,” Bonnie explained. “I thought my car could handle it since it didn't look too steep. Apparently not.”Laura nodded. “Are you from around here
DylanThe rain was slow and gentle as he opened the passenger door of the ranch truck for Bonnie. She smiled gratefully as he held the umbrella up over her head as she stepped out into the dark and walked over to her trunk to get her things for the night. Thunder groaned in the distant, but it wasn’t threatening.He held the umbrella up over the two of them as she dug around in the trunk for her suitcase. The rain misted around them as he created their own little dry world for just the two of them. It had almost a magical quality to it.“Here, let me hold that,” he said, taking a red duffle-bag from her and putting it over his shoulder. It was lighter than he thought it would be. She traveled light.“Thanks.” Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly looked back to the car. “I just need to find my toiletry kit.”She turned and dug through the luggage in her trunk. There were several bags and suitcases, all neatly stacked and arranged in the back. He tried not to stare as she bent o
BonnieShe tossed and turned, throwing blankets off the small bed. Her eyes fluttered behind closed lids as her brain brought images into being. Memories came back as dreams, surreal and yet so lifelike she could no longer tell if she was dreaming or awake. It was happening again.* * *The whole street was watching the firefighters combat the fire. She'd seen the smoke all the way from the coffee shop. She'd followed the sounds of sirens and the smell of char to find her home wreathed in flames. It was definitely the townhouse she and her younger brother shared.And it was gone.She pushed her way past her neighbors up to the police line and watched as her world burned. It was the physical manifestation of what the last few days felt like. Everything in their home was gone. Everything they had was lost. She wasn't sure what she was going to do next.The acrid smell of burnt plastic filled her nose. She was just glad her brother Brett wasn't there to see this. He was safe and hopefull
BonnieSunlight flickered and danced through the pine boughs, and birds sang squeaky melodies as Bonnie walked along the gravel path to the cafeteria building. The long thin grass was still wet from the night’s rain, and everything smelled of wet pine and fresh dirt. She took a deep breath in and immediately felt like she was where she was supposed to be.The path to the cafeteria flat and easy to walk, but with a view of the Rocky Mountains that took her breath away. The mountains were so much bigger and grander than she had imagined. It was so different from New Jersey that it felt like she’d stepped through a magic mirror and into a world of myth. A friendly little squirrel chattered at her from the top of a bright green pine tree as she walked past. She was fairly certain if she burst into song, the squirrel would sing the melody with her just like in a princess movie.She turned a corner to find the large building that housed the cafeteria and kitchen. The big wooden structure st
Bonnie“Mia?” Bonnie called out, jogging across the pale green grass. It wasn’t a lawn to Bonnie’s eyes, but it was a patch of grass, although it had a lot of weeds too. It was bare in some spots and lush in others with long stems peeking out wherever the mower had missed them. It looked wild and rustic.Bonnie’s feet hurt from standing in the kitchen all day. The sun was just coming to touch the mountains and disappear for the evening. It was still early, but she was ready to take a shower and head straight to bed. Washing dishes was hard work.“Hi, Bonnie,” Mia greeted her, turning from the path. She had her daughter tucked into a baby carrier attached to her chest. The tiny baby girl was snuggled up against her mother’s chest fast asleep. “Dylan says that your car’s fixed for now. It was something to do with the engine, but I don’t remember what he said it was. It’s just a temporary fix though. He says he needs to get a new part to make it actually work right.”“How much do I owe h