Bonnie

“That was amazing,” Bonnie declared. She couldn’t wipe the grin off her face, despite the fact the water fight had ended fifteen minutes earlier. “I can’t believe you organized all this in one night.”

She motioned around the pool area. It was a disaster now, but she was impressed with everything he’d set up. There were empty squirt guns laying haphazardly on the ground. They mixed with broken balloon pieces in the grass. She bent down to pick up a discarded squirt gun and put it in a bucket she carried on her arm.

“Every once in a while I have a good idea,” Dylan told her, picking up a gun and putting it in the tub he held at his hip. He winked at her, making her grin.

“This was beyond brilliant,” she told him. “Did you see how much Tyson enjoyed it? He didn’t even realize his hair was wet, and even when he did, he was having so much fun he didn’t want to stop.”

“He was having a blast. I’m really getting to like the little guy,” Dylan agreed, picking up another squirt gun. He still wore his wet swim trunks, and his gray t-shirt hugged his chest and abs like a second skin. She was just as wet in her own swimsuit and soaked sweatpants.

“This was fantastic. I had a lot of fun,” she told him. She wished she had better words to describe how happy the water fight had made her, but she couldn’t seem to find them. “Thank you.”

He grinned at her. His smile made her feel tipsy when he looked at her like that. It made her think that he knew how she felt. That he knew she was happy.

“I think we should bring some of these to our swim lesson tomorrow,” she said, shifting the nearly full bucket full of squirt guns to her other arm. “I think it would make the lesson even more fun.”

“That sounds great,” he agreed. He looked around. “I think we’ve gotten all of them.”

She looked around the pool area. Most of the kids had helped pick up the squirt guns before running off to dinner, and it did look like she and Dylan had found most of the guns that didn’t make it into the bins. One of the ranch hands was carefully sweeping up the balloon pieces that were on the concrete by the pool with a broom.

“And you’re sure the balloons are okay to leave out?” she asked, looking at all the brightly colored pieces in the grass.

“Yes,” he assured her as they walked to the pool shed. “They’re biodegradable. They’ll be gone by tomorrow morning.”

“That would have been so nice when we were kids,” she remarked, remembering her parents making her pick up all the tiny latex pieces of summer fun.

He opened the pool shed, and together they walked inside to add their squirt guns to the pile inside. He set his bin down in the corner next to the others before taking her bucket and adding it to the pile.

“Would you be interested in some dinner?” he asked nonchalantly as he organized the plastic weapons.

“I could go for some,” she replied. She thought of her green chili burger from the night before, and her stomach grumbled, betraying her hunger.

“Are you thinking about Sandy’s burgers?” he asked with a chuckle.

“How did you know?” she asked. She didn’t think her stomach was that loud.

“Your face got all far away and dreamlike,” he replied. He smiled at her. “Most people get that way when they think of Sandy’s burgers.”

“You got me.” She shrugged and smiled. “They’re just so good.”

He nodded in agreement, and she turned to exit the small pool shed. She pushed open the wooden door of the shed and stopped short. She stood in awe, caught full blast in the beauty of the mountains in front of her.

She stood in the doorway taking them in. The green of the pine trees, the perfect blue of the sky, the brown and purple of the mountains with just the tips of white. Standing there, she finally understood the “America the Beautiful” lyric of “purple mountain majesty.”

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Dylan’s voice was soft behind her shoulder. He was close enough to touch her if he wanted and she found herself wanting him to do so.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to trap you in there,” she said quickly, stepping out and turning to the side to let him out. But he didn’t move. He stood there, looking at her.

He was so handsome in the late afternoon sunlight. It accented the strength of his jaw and the line of his nose while softening his dark eyes with warmth. Droplets of water from their squirt gun fight glimmered in his dark hair and dripped down the back of his neck.

His eyes met hers, and she swore her heart stopped. Deep pools of rich brown enveloped her and warmth spread through her entire body. He moved toward her, tipping his chin and angling his body into hers. She forgot how to breathe as she realized he was going to kiss her.

Oh good lord did she want him to kiss her. She took a step forward, her hands trembling in anticipation. If this were a movie, there would be swelling romantic music right now.

But, then he paused, catching himself before he touched her. He cleared his throat and looked away as if he had thought better of what he was doing. He stepped back into the shed, shadows falling across his face and hiding his eyes.

“I need to change before dinner,” he said quickly. “I’ll meet you at your place.

“Um, sure,” she stammered, unsure of what was happening. Had she misread him? Her arms wrapped around her middle. She put on a smile she knew didn’t reach her eyes. “See you in a few minutes.”

Stupidity and embarrassment flowed through her in hot, heavy strokes. She shook her head as she hurried to her cabin. Why would he want to kiss her? He was gorgeous. And a billionaire.

She was a woman on the run with messy hair.

She turned before she could make a bigger fool of herself and saw a teenager staring at them. He was probably around sixteen. She recognized him as one of the younger camp counselors. He often worked with Elena, and she knew the two of them were close. He walked over to her.

“I found this.” He held out a squirt gun from the earlier fight. “I thought I’d put it away.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.” The teen smiled at her and turned to leave. She felt like an idiot. No wonder Dylan didn’t kiss her. They had an audience.

She took the squirt gun back to the shed and handed it to Dylan. He took it without a word.

“See you in a little bit,” she said lamely, and she quickly turned to walk to her cabin. The moment was gone.

She walked quickly. She wanted that kiss, but she knew it wasn’t happening. She just had terrible luck. She told herself it was probably for the best.

Sure, they had fun together. He certainly made her laugh, and he was funny and smart. They’d had a great time at dinner the night before. However, she was on the run. If the police called, if a strange car showed up, if she saw something odd, she would have to run. It was better not to get attached, no matter how good looking he was.

She opened the door to her cabin and went inside to change, muttering to herself that she needed to get a grip.

She rinsed off in the bathroom and quickly changed into jeans and a cute t-shirt. It was a good thing there wasn’t a dress code at the camp or at Sandy’s because she had nothing else to wear. Since the fire burned most of her clothing, she’d been living out of a suitcase. She’d packed a few things, but she’d never intended to only have three outfits. The suitcase was supposed to be a temporary thing, not her long-term wardrobe.

She wished she had something to put on that wasn’t jeans and a t-shirt. She wished she could look cute tonight. It would certainly help her mood.

She ran a brush through her hair and decided she would pick out some new clothes online. She was finally someplace she could stay long enough to deal with shipping. A few new shirts and maybe a skirt or dress would make her feel prettier.

She sighed and headed out to meet him. She still felt like an idiot, but she was hungry, and they were getting dinner. He was still the closest thing she had to a friend here. She didn’t want to be alone just because she was on the run. It was just her luck she’s meet a great guy when she had to hide from the mob.

She stepped out onto the porch of the cabin and took in a deep breath. He wasn’t here yet. There wasn’t a thunderstorm today, which she was glad of. The sun was starting to creep closer to the mountains for the night, and the scent of pine was thick in the air. It always amazed her how late the sun set in the summer.

She stepped off the porch and saw him walking toward her. Her body heated as she looked at him. He had on his faded jeans, low-slung and ripped at the knee and t-shirt that fit him perfectly. Somehow still looked like he just walked off the catwalk. She had a hard time believing that this guy had sat behind a desk to make his living. His broad shoulders and trim waist made it look like he’d worked on cars and with his hands his whole life instead.

“All ready?” he asked. He stopped short of her with a friendly smile.

Friends, she told herself. Just friends. He had seemed to have completely forgotten their almost kiss earlier if it hadn’t been all in her mind in the first place. Maybe she was just hallucinating due to hunger.

“Yup,” she said, putting on a smile of her own. “I’m ready for that hamburger.”

This time he’d left his car in the garage, so they walked across the ranch. She made sure to keep her distance and not accidentally bump her hand into his. Even though she wanted to. The last thing she wanted was for him to stop spending time with her because she tried too hard to kiss him.

* * *

The car ride down to Sandy’s was comfortable, and she started to relax. He liked alternative rock on the radio, and they talked about music. She preferred country, and he only teased her a little bit about it before turning on a country station.

“Wow, the place looks packed,” Bonnie said as they pulled into the parking lot. Every spot seemed to have a car in it. Dylan pulled around to the back and managed to find a spot just as someone was leaving.

“It’ll be fine,” Dylan promised, but he didn’t sound terribly confident about it.

They got out of the car and walked into the restaurant. The night before, they’d walked in and sat right down, but tonight they could barely get in the entrance.

“Do you want to wait?” Bonnie asked as someone jostled her shoulder. Being in the crowd made her nervous. She didn’t like crowds since it was too hard to see if someone was watching her. “Maybe we could go someplace else?”

“No,” he said firmly. “Green chili burger, right?”

She nodded, keeping her arms wrapped around her.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her. He touched her shoulder gently, but it didn’t put her at ease. She put her back to the wall so she could watch everyone else. She wasn’t hungry anymore. Not with this many people around. The space between her shoulder blades itched like someone was watching her.

She knew it was silly. No one knew she was in town here. No one was even paying attention to her, but she still felt like she was wearing a neon sign with an arrow pointing to her for the mob to see.

Dylan made his way to the bar. She recognized the bartender as Elena. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Dylan said something to her, and she looked up, meeting Bonnie’s gaze. She smiled and waved. Bonnie did her best to return the motion. She hoped it looked friendly enough.

Dylan said something more to Elena before making his way back through the crowd to get to her.

“Elena says she can get us the burgers to go in ten minutes,” he said, leaning over and speaking quietly into her ear so the other patrons wouldn’t hear. She liked how it felt intimate, even if it wasn’t.

“Seriously?” Bonnie pulled back and looked around. The place was packed. Ten minutes was barely long enough to get the food cooked, let alone cook it with all the orders the restaurant had to be receiving.

“There are perks to having someone on the inside,” he told her. “I have friends in high places. I don’t know if you know this, but I’m kind of a big deal.”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “I’m sure you are.”

“I’m basically a king in Silver Springs,” he replied, brushing his shoulder in an exaggerated motion as he puffed out his chest. He winked at her.

She laughed, feeling a little more at ease with him near her. “Or Elena is just awesome.”

“That’s possible too,” he agreed with a smile. “Can I get you a drink? I happen to know someone.”

She thought about it. A drink sounded great, but ever since the fire, she didn’t like the way alcohol made her feel. She needed to stay sharp and in control. “I’m good. Thanks.”

“Okay.” He shrugged and leaned against the wall next to her.

It was hardly three minutes before Elena reappeared at the bar and held up a large paper bag. Dylan touched Bonnie’s shoulder with a smile before heading through the crowd to pick it up. Bonnie hesitated for half a second before following him.

“Thank you for calling in your order, Mr. Abbott,” Elena announced. She winked at Dylan as she handed him the bag.

“Thanks, Elena,” he replied, handing her a couple of crisp bills. “See you later.”

“No problem.” Elena waved to Bonnie before going back to serving drinks to the people at the bar.

Dylan led the way through the crowd to the front door with Bonnie right behind him. She was glad they were leaving the restaurant. The crowd and the noise had her nerves on high alert. She was actually glad they weren’t getting a table because she wasn’t sure she could have eaten comfortably in there with that many people.

Outside, the air felt crisp and clean. She took a deep breath in and felt less like throwing up. She wished she didn’t have to feel so afraid all the time. After the trial, she told herself, everything could go back to the way it was before.

“I know a great place we can go to eat this,” Dylan said, holding up the bag of food. “It’ll take just a couple of minutes to get there.”

“Okay,” Bonnie agreed. They were halfway to the car when Bonnie realized he’d paid for her meal yet again. “You didn’t have to pay again, you know. I should pay you back.”

He shrugged. “I can afford it. Promise.”

She crossed her arms. “No.”

He turned and looked at her. “Okay.” He smiled as if he were pleasantly surprised at her insistence. “Next time is on you. Sound good?”

She nodded curtly. “Yes.”

He chuckled and opened up her door for her. She slid inside, and he handed her the food. She put on her seat belt as he got in and started the car. The food smelled so good it had her mouth watering before they’d even left the parking lot.