An original short story: Boots

For those who love romance, here's a short story I wrote earlier this year. Hope you enjoy!

Boots by Patty Panni

He watched her walk away. It was usually one of his favorite past times, especially when she wore those jeans and cowboy boots, but not today. Today he watched her walk away towards the security check line that would take her far from him. Far from their life together.

She had gotten the call in the middle of the night. Calls in the middle of the night are never good news, and this one fit the pattern. It was her brother, telling her their father was gone. Suddenly and irretrievably gone. She didn’t cry last night as she set about doing laundry and packing, but he knew the tears would come. Tears for all that had been and all that would never be. She didn’t ask him to come with her. He would have. God knows it would’ve been torture, but he would have if she’d only asked. Maybe he should’ve offered. Too little, too late. Maybe all the way around.

She had come into his life in an accidental way. He certainly wasn’t looking to meet anyone and neither was she. But meet they did, over a crowded lunch counter. In his corner of Wyoming, Murray’s Diner was the only decent place to get a noon meal. His usual midday meal was a sack lunch he packed each morning. Riding fence lines didn’t exactly afford a set lunch hour with a kitchen. It was always a sandwich and a thermos, which was fine by him. But on that particular day he’d been in town. The court was scheduled to finally close his wife’s estate, and the lawyer had wanted him to be there just in case the judge had any questions. He did not, and the matter was officially closed.

When he left the courthouse, for some reason he just didn’t want to go straight back to the ranch; he suddenly couldn’t face the solitude, so he’d stopped into Murray’s. The place was crowded. Too crowded. He had placed his order to go and figured he’d eat in his truck, when a voice said, “Wow, is it always this crazy busy here?” He had looked up into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen, looking directly at him.

“Well, I can’t say for certain. I’m not usually here.”

“What’s your name, cowboy?”

“Dwight. And yours?”

“Josephine. Jo.” They smiled tentative, polite smiles. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. How about we take our lunches over to that little park a few blocks away. I saw it when I was coming into town. It sure beats trying to get a table here.”

He was about to say that he had to be getting back to work, but something made him stop. “Sounds like a fine idea.”

They spent the next hour talking. She made him laugh, something he hadn’t done in a very long time. When the food and coffee were gone, she took his hand. Said it had been a pure pleasure to meet him and that she hoped life was good to him, that she supposed she’d better be getting back on the road.

“It’s getting kind of late in the day to be heading out. Maybe you could postpone your departure,” he had said, surprising himself at his boldness. She smiled that golden smile at him and said she supposed that could be arranged.

And that was that. She followed him out to the ranch. He bustled around trying to find a set of clean sheets to put on the guest bedroom bed, but she took his hand. Said “I don’t want to put you out,” as she led him to his bedroom. She never did sleep in that guest room. Turns out her visit had lasted a lot longer than either one of them could have imagined. Turns out she was a balm for his weary soul.

As weeks became months, he would hear her on the phone with her brother, her father. They couldn’t understand why she didn’t come home from her vacation out west. Her explanations were never good enough. She didn’t share a lot with him, but he knew things were tense. She was from a small town in Ohio, which was just about as far away from Big Sky Country as you could get. She said she felt like her life began the day she met him.

She got a part-time job in town. Said she didn’t want to be a burden, that she wanted to contribute. He told her she didn’t have to, but every week, her paycheck went for groceries, flowers, something pretty for the house. Little by little, the house started feeling like a home again. Why didn’t he tell her how much it meant? How much she meant? How before she came his life had been cold and empty and he’d never thought he would find love again, but she changed that.

It was later that evening when she called to say she’d made it. She missed him, missed the ranch. She was exhausted and they didn’t talk long. There wasn’t much to say. The next day she was busy with funeral preparations and he was busy with the horses, trimming hooves. They didn’t talk until late and again, it was a short conversation.

He lay in bed that night missing her, wondering if she was missing him or if she was settling back into a life there. Usually he was out like a light the minute his head hit the pillow, but not that night. It was a long night, but he made a decision.

The next morning was the day of the funeral. He was up and out early, giving his ranch hands instructions for the next few days. He packed a duffel bag and headed to the airport. He knew it was crazy. She might not even want him there; she might even be angry at him for coming, but he couldn’t stay away. He had to go, had to see her, tell her how he felt. He was a fool for not telling her before.

He took an Uber from the airport. First time he ever did that. A kid on the plane helped him download the app. Walking to her front door, his stomach was jumping. What if she wasn’t glad to see him? What if she didn’t want him there? He didn’t know if he could bear that.

When no one answered the door, he realized they must still be at the funeral service. Nothing to do but wait. He found a bench in the side yard and sat. It was nice there, shaded, birds singing. He wasn’t used to sitting around, though, and it didn’t take long for him to get restless. The sun was beginning to set when he saw the car pull up to the house. The butterflies returned to his stomach. She’d never looked more beautiful. She was halfway up the sidewalk before she saw him. Her mouth formed a perfect O as he walked up to her, wrapped her in a hug.

“You came. I never thought you’d come.”

“I came.” There was so much more he wanted to say but somehow when he was with her the words were slow to come.

“I never thought you’d come,” she whispered again, before he covered her mouth with his own.

“I couldn’t stay away. I need you. I love you.” There. He said it.

She took his hand. Smiled that golden smile, and he just knew. Everything was all right.