Bonnie

Bonnie changed her shirt twice and put on more mascara than usual. She was nervous.

This felt like a date. Only, it totally wasn’t. At least she didn’t think it was. They were simply going out to a restaurant because the ranch didn’t have any food. That was it. He was being a good co-worker. There was nothing romantic about it.

Even though she wanted there to be.

Either way, she was nervous now. It felt enough like a date to make her stomach queasy, and her legs want to move around.

She made sure her hair looked nice enough and that her mascara wasn’t leaving raccoon circles under her eyes. She didn’t really have enough time to get truly dolled up, so she hoped this would do. She had her favorite pale blue t-shirt that gave her just a little bit of cleavage and her best jeans that she knew made her ass look good.

She nodded to herself in the small mirror and headed out to meet Dylan.

She found him leaning up against a cherry red sports car, looking for all the world like something out of a magazine. He had on jeans and a leather jacket. He looked like sex on a stick, especially leaning up against the car.

“Wow,” she said, coming up to look at the car. “Is this yours?”

“Nah, I stole it.” She looked up at him, and he laughed. “Is it okay if I drive? Your car is mostly fixed, but I don’t trust it yet. I still need to replace a few things.”

Gratitude flowed through her. “Thank you so much for doing that. You really don’t have to replace stuff. At least let me pay for some of it.”

He shrugged and waved her off. “It’s actually been fun to work on it. Since Mia’s husband Carter owns W Motors, all the cars around here are either in pristine shape or electric. I’ve loved getting my hands messy in an engine again.”

Immediately, Bonnie’s mind took the phrase to a dirty place. She would like him to get messy with her engine. If he could make her car purr, she could only imagine what he could do with her body.

“I really appreciate it,” she repeated, forcing the sexual thoughts from her mind.

He opened up the passenger-side door for her to get in. If the cherry red sleek exterior was nice, the inside was even better. Everything was smooth lines and leather. It smelled like new car and felt like she was in the most comfortable chair of her life. It was hard to believe this was a car.

“Wow,” she whispered, running her hand along the dash. “What kind of car is this?”

“Ferrari,” he replied, putting on his seat-belt.

Bonnie’s eyes bugged out a little bit. “I’ve never even seen a real Ferrari. How do you have a Ferrari?”

“I told you,” he said with a shrug. “I stole it.”

She gave him a stern look as he started the engine. It hummed like a musical instrument. He pumped the gas, making it roar for a second, and she grinned.

“Seriously, how do you have this car?” she asked, looking around. “How does a ranch hand at a non-profit ranch for foster kids afford something like this? I’m guessing Mia doesn’t give them out as bonus perks.”

He laughed and revved the engine again before pulling out onto the dirt road leading out of the ranch. He went slow, keeping an eye out for kids. Even on the uneven gravel, the car sailed like she was floating.

“I wasn’t always a ranch hand,” he told her.

“Okay.” She smiled at him. He was enjoying having her have to figure him out. “So, what did you do before?”

“I owned a company.”

She looked around at the very fancy car. “Must have been some company. Why’d you quit? You must have been good at whatever you did.”

“I hated it,” he replied, pulling onto the highway. The car sped up, and she fell back in her seat with the momentum of it. She’d never been in a car that accelerated like this. She wondered for a moment if this was what astronauts felt like when they went up into space.

The engine hummed like it was singing with joy as they zipped along the mountain road. She remembered her own engine sounding far less happy.

“I was constantly working,” he continued once the car got up to speed. “Yeah, I made a lot of money, but I had no life. I woke up, got on my computer, ate on my computer, worked out on my computer, and then barely slept because I was thinking about my computer. It wasn’t living.”

“I’m sorry,” Bonnie said softly. She thought about reaching out and taking his hand but didn’t. She wasn’t supposed to get attached to the people here.

“Don’t be.” He guided the car around a turn without having to slow down. The car took the turn with graceful ease. “I sold my company, and I haven’t touched a computer for anything other than emailing my mom. It’s fantastic.”

“I’m sure your mom appreciates that,” she said with a chuckle. She looked at the car again. “What company was it?”

He turned and grinned at her, his dark eyes sparkling. “You really want to know?”

“I do now.” Her curiosity piqued. What kind of business could he have had to be able to buy a Ferrari?

“FirmHard Tech.” He said it and then waited for her response to the name.

It sounded familiar. She rolled the name on her tongue for a moment before it hit her where she recognized it. Three months ago, the sale was the only the only thing the news seemed capable of talking about.

“You’re the owner of FirmHard Tech? The one Google bought for one point three billion dollars?” She remembered the newscasters saying how the company was going to bring in even more money for Google, but that the CEO wasn’t part of the purchase price.

“That’s me.” He grinned at her.

“No way,” she said after a moment. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Well, if the Ferrari doesn’t do it for you, feel free to look me up.” He nodded to her phone in her lap. “Dylan Abbott. Two B’s, two T’s.”

She narrowed her eyes but pulled up the search function on her phone and typed in his name. Immediately a list of news reports with his name and FirmHard Tech popped up. She clicked on the first one that had an image.

It was definitely him. His hair was shorter, and he had on glasses, but it was him.

“No way,” she whispered. He laughed.

She held up the photo so she could compare him to it. The face was the same, but he looked older in the photo. He looked tired.

Dylan turned and smiled for her, giving her an even better comparison. There was a light in his eyes now that there wasn’t in the picture. He looked happier now. The person was the same, but yet totally different. She much preferred the current happy Dylan to the exhausted one in the picture.

“I can’t believe you sold it,” she said, putting the phone back in her lap as he turned into a parking lot. “I heard you could have gotten even more.”

“It was eating me alive,” he told her, pulling into a parking space on the edge of the lot next to a big blue spruce. “I hated my life.” His shoulders tensed and the dead look from the picture crept into his face as he remembered. He shook himself, bringing back the smile. “I’m much happier now.”

“I’m glad,” she told him. “But, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?”

“I’m here because I’m taking you to dinner,” he teased, pointing to the restaurant behind them. She rolled her eyes.

“You’re a freaking billionaire,” she replied, ignoring his joke. “You could be out on a yacht in Tahiti with female tennis players and lady active-wear models.”

“Did that already. I got bored.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t me. I wasn’t happy.”

“You weren’t happy in Tahiti surrounded by beautiful women catering to your every need?”

He chuckled. “It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but there was no life. There were no connections. I wasn’t making a difference in the world. I was just spending money and getting sunburned.”

“That doesn’t sound terrible,” she told him.

“It was a great vacation, but it wasn’t life.” He looked at her with his dark eyes and ran a hand through his messy black hair, ruffling it up at odd ends. “I wanted to find my passion. I’m still looking for it, but at least at the ranch, I’m making a difference. I’m helping people. I have meaning here.”

Bonnie thought of her own life. She thought of how good it felt to help Tyson today. To have that passion and reward for making a positive change in the world. A yacht in Tahiti was amazing, but changing a life was forever.

“I can get that,” she said slowly. “But, why not just start your own charity? Isn’t that what billionaires do?”

“Why not just help a friend’s charity that I believe in?” he countered.

“Good point,” she conceded. She put on a pair of sunglasses from her purse. She wasn’t too worried about anyone recognizing her here, but she wasn’t going to be stupid about it either.

He grinned at her and clicked a button, opening up her door for her. She chuckled as he hurried out to offer her his hand to help her out of the low car. It was technology and chivalry all in one.

“A billionaire and a gentleman,” she said, taking his hand in hers. If felt right to touch him. “Two rare creatures. I should go buy a lottery ticket or something.”

“Even if you won, I’d still be richer than you,” he teased, making her laugh.

He shut the car door behind her before putting his hand on the small of her back and guiding her toward the restaurant. It felt good to have his hand on her. She liked him touching her. Not only did it feel good, but she felt safe.

For the first time in weeks, she wasn’t a nervous wreck about being in public. She was still being cautious and watching her surroundings like a hawk, but the anxiety wasn’t there. She wasn’t scared, just on guard. It was an amazing thing, and it was because Dylan was with her.