Page 22

After that, Sonny became the tour guide and Maggie the tourist, turning to look at everything he pointed out, and listening to the stories he was telling. The further they drove, the more entranced she became, and then he pointed to a huge mall she could see up ahead.

“Westgate Mall. Our first destination!”

They parked and got out. Sonny settled the Stetson on his head and Maggie picked up her little purse and slipped the strap over her shoulder.

They looked at each other and smiled.

“Let’s do this, Maggie Rae.”

Maggie took his hand.

They walked across the parking lot and into the mall—the tall good-looking cowboy and the pretty girl at his side, unaware of the second looks they were getting.

They walked the mall, pausing to point out things in the window displays, laughing, talking, telling stories about crazy diners in the Rose, and crazier cowboys, the ones like Sonny, who challenged wild bulls, and rode horses yet to be broken.

“Here we are,” he said, as they approached one of the jewelry stores. “First stop, ring shopping.”

“I don’t want a big, expensive one, Sonny. I don’t lunch with the girls. I serve lunches to them. I don’t need big diamonds to feel loved.”

He paused, looking down into those big blue eyes, and then to the three freckles on her nose. “I see you, Magnolia, all the way to your soul.”

She shivered. “Okay then,” and they walked in together.

A man was walking out of the jewelry store as they were going in. He glanced at Sonny, and then did a double-take and stopped.

“Sonny Bluejacket?”

Sonny paused. “Yes.”

“Oh my God, man! Oh my God. I didn’t know you were still in the world. I’m a fan. I saw you ride countless times. I saw your last ride. I did not know you survived it.” Then he glanced at Maggie and began apologizing. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for intruding. It was just such a surprise.”

Sonny smiled. “It’s okay. I didn’t get your name.”

“Benny. Benny Wilson. My brother is not going to believe this. Could I get a picture with you?”

“Sure,” Sonny said.

“I’ll take it,” Maggie said, and took the man’s phone and snapped several shots before handing it back.

“Thank you, man. Are you still riding?”

“I don’t rodeo anymore. I have a ranch outside of Crossroads training horses. Nice to meet you,” he said, then slipped his arm across Maggie’s shoulder and moved into the store.

A clerk approached, and minutes later, they were at a jewelry counter. The clerk sized Maggie’s ring finger, then began pulling out trays of wedding ring sets.

Maggie eyed them all before ever trying one on, then announced, “I like the oval-shaped stones. Square cut is like a box. There are no corners in an oval. No beginning. No end. Just eternity.”

Sonny pointed. “Like that one?”

She eyed the bands on both the engagement ring and the wedding band. They looked as if they’d been braided, and the oval diamond looked beautiful on it. She pointed. “I’d like to try that one on.”

The jeweler handed it to her, but she handed it to Sonny instead. “You do it.”

“It would be my honor,” he said. It was a perfect fit and looked beautiful lying along the length of her finger.

“This is the one. I don’t need to look at any others,” she said.

“Good choice,” the clerk said. “You’ll want to try the wedding band for size as well, before you leave the store.”

So, she did, and it fit, too, then they watched the clerk put the band in a little box and write up the ticket.

Sonny pulled out a credit card. Minutes later, Maggie had an engagement ring on her finger—the wedding ring in its little box in her purse—and they were walking out the door.

“You didn’t get the down-on-one-knee,” he whispered.

Her eyes were swimming in happy tears. She kept looking at the ring on her finger and then up at him.

“Doesn’t matter. Like I said before, you had me at ant hill .”

He laughed, then swung her into his arms and danced her down the mall with a two-step to the music coming from the sound system.

People passing laughed and clapped. One couple joined them for a moment, dancing a few steps behind them, and two young teens grabbed their phones and started filming, and then someone else recognized him and shouted, “That’s Sonny Bluejacket!”

Back home, he might as well have been a stranger. For the past five years he was a rodeo has-been for some. A walking miracle in the eyes of God for others. But in the rodeo world, he was an unforgettable face.

He absorbed the attention for what it was, and kept on dancing. Until he finally spun them to a stop.

“Where’s a good country band when you need one?” he said. “Come on, woman. Let’s go find that wedding dress.”

They left the mall hand in hand and then drove to David’s Bridal.

Sonny stayed in the truck, accepting the banishment from the bridal shop. He’d expected it. While Maggie was inside picking out her dress, he was in the truck calling Wes Dugan, the cowboy preacher, and hoping he was still around. But when he made the call, he got voicemail instead, and so he left him a message.

“Wes, this is Sonny Bluejacket. If you’re still in the marrying business, I have a job for you. It would be on my ranch south of Crossroads, just off Highway 86. May 18th at 7:30 p.m. Give me a call back at this number to let me know, and thanks for all the prayers you said on my behalf. My brother, Charlie, told me about them. Since I’m still here, it appears they worked.”

Satisfied that he made first contact, all he could do was await an answer. He glanced at the time. She’d been in the shop less than an hour, and he’d missed a lot of sleep last night. So, he leaned his seat back into a reclining position, upped the air conditioning, pulled his hat down over his face, and closed his eyes.

***

The stylist greeted Maggie warmly. “Hello, I’m Jennifer. Are we shopping for a wedding gown?”

Maggie nodded. “Yes. I’m Magnolia Brennen.”

“What a beautiful name,” Jennifer said, then looked around to see where her family members were. “Are we waiting for family to arrive before we begin?”

“I don’t have family. I’m one of those throwaway babies who grew up on her own. So, let’s get to it.”

Jennifer was taken aback by the woman’s candor, and felt an instant empathy for the young woman shopping on her own.

But Maggie had already decided that the floor length gowns wouldn’t work. No need even trying to drag all that skirt across the yard at the ranch, and shifted focus.

“This is an outdoor wedding on a ranch. A very simple, intimate family wedding. There won’t be a dozen people there, and none of these long dresses will work. I also don’t want a sheath style, or strapless. Think white and knee-length, with a gathered waistline and tiered skirt, a fitted bodice with a square or round neckline, and some kind of sleeve, preferably a loose one.”

The stylist blinked.

Maggie laughed. “Yes, I know. But I also want those white boots in your front window. The ones with the colorful embroidery running from the top of the shaft to the vamp. I looked. They’re my size and style, and I’m not hiding them under a dress.”

Jennifer nodded. “Understood. I’ll get the boots, and I have some dresses to show you. Follow me to the dressing room.”

Ten minutes later, Maggie was sitting in her underwear, admiring the fancy boots on her feet when Jennifer came back with a half-dozen dresses, all in the style Maggie wanted, but with different necklines and sleeve lengths.

Maggie pointed to the one with a square neckline and long puffy sleeves. “That one,” she said.

Jennifer took it from the garment bag, unzipped it and slipped it over Maggie’s head, then helped her into the sleeves and zipped it up.

Maggie turned around, saw herself. All the years of secondhand clothes and Walmart specials ran through her mind as she started crying, and Jennifer immediately misunderstood.

“Oh honey! Oh no! Don’t cry! We have others. Here, let me—”

“No, I don’t hate it. I love it. It’s perfect, and Sonny will love me in it.”

Maggie kept turning one way and then another, loving the way the tiered skirt flared as she turned, and the length of bare leg showing between the hem and the top of the boot shaft.

“Do you want to try on another dress, just in case?” Jennifer asked.

“No, thank you. This is perfect! I’ll take the boots and the dress with me. Just make sure they’re in bags you can’t see through. Sonny is sitting out in the truck waiting for me.”

“Sonny is your fiancé, I take it.”

Maggie got her phone, pulled up the picture of them together taken in the front yard at the ranch, and then showed her.

Jennifer looked, and then looked again, staring intently. “Is that Sonny Bluejacket? The rodeo guy?”

“Yes, that’s him. Do you know him?” Maggie asked.

Jennifer sighed. “I know who he is, but I never met him. I hear rumors that he died. Clearly, he did not. Girl, every buckle bunny I knew wanted that man, but he didn’t play.”

Maggie had heard the phrase before but didn’t really know what it meant. “What’s a buckle bunny?”

Jennifer sniffed. “Oh, they’re pretty young things who hang around rodeos hoping to sleep with the cowboys with winning buckles. They run in packs, or in pairs and compare notes afterward,” Jennifer said, and then blushed. “I wasn’t one of them. I just know that about them. Did you meet at a rodeo?”

“Nope. He walked into the diner where I work. I didn’t know him from Adam, and even after I heard his name and his story, it still didn’t mean anything to me.”

Jennifer handed the phone back to Maggie. “Well, congratulations, anyway. I heard he was a really nice guy.”

“The best,” Maggie said. “And he’s still waiting for me, so let’s get this done.”

A short while later, Maggie exited the bridal shop loaded down with a big sack and an even bigger garment bag. She wasn’t even off the curb before Sonny came running.

“Looks like you scored. Let me help you, darlin’,” and took the packages out of her arms as they walked back to the truck, unaware that Jennifer, the salesclerk, was standing at the window watching them go.

Jennifer’s envy was laced with empathy for Magnolia. “Lord, I hope you’re proud of that one, because he sure turned out fine. That face. Those shoulders. Those sexy long legs…and all that long black hair. I need a cold shower.”

But Jennifer’s moment of regret had nothing to do with Sonny and Maggie’s joy. As soon as they got everything loaded into the back seat of the truck, they were back on the road.

“Where to now?” Maggie asked.

“The Red River Steakhouse. Be hungry because I’d hate to have to eat your leftovers.”

She burst out laughing. “I’ll do my best because I wouldn’t want to put you through that.”

He was still grinning when his cell phone rang. He glanced down at caller ID. “Maggie, honey, answer that and put it on Speaker, will you?”

She reached for the phone, swiped, and then hit Speaker.

“Hello, Wes. This is Sonny. Thanks for getting back to me this quick.”

“It was good to hear your voice,” Wes said. “You weren’t talking last time I saw you, and how did you wind up on a ranch in Texas?”

“Remember Emmit Cooper?” Sonny said.

“Yes, I do. I was at his funeral.”

“He named me his heir. I live at the ranch now. I was training horses for ranchers in Oklahoma, and now I’ll be training horses for myself.”

“Do I know your lady?” Wes asked.

Sonny glanced at Maggie and winked. “I don’t know. Ever been to the Yellow Rose Café in Crossroads?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember the pretty dark-haired woman with the sky eyes?”

“Miss Maggie? You’re marrying Maggie?”

“Yes, I am. She’s sitting here in the truck beside me. We’re in Amarillo buying wedding stuff. So, are you free for the date I sent?”

Wes chuckled. “Yes, I am, but if I wasn’t I would already be adjusting my schedule to make it happen. It will be my honor. And hello to you, Maggie. Pearl calls me Preacher. Maybe you remember me. Short. Bow-legged and bald?”

Maggie giggled. “Oh, that Preacher. I sure do. Biscuits and sausage gravy and two eggs over easy, and you carry your own Tabasco Sauce.”

Wes laughed. “You do remember me, and yes, I’m honored to be asked. It will be my joy to marry you and Sonny. I have already put it on my calendar, and I’ll see you at the ranch on the eighteenth of the month. God bless you both.”

“Thank you, Wes. This means a lot. See you soon,” Sonny said.

The call ended.

Maggie shivered and looked down at her ring again. “Every little step,” she whispered.

“Gets us where we need to go,” Sonny added.

A few minutes later, he was pulling into the parking lot at the Red River Steakhouse. The sprawling red building looked a little like a barn that had been added on to from both ends, and a parking lot to accommodate the any number of diners.

“This brings back memories,” he said.

“How so?” Maggie asked.

“This was our go-to steakhouse after competing.”

“Did you stay in hotels or motels around here?” she asked.

“No. I pulled a little Airstream…my home away from home. Sold it afterward to help pay medical bills. Cowboys are always pulling something…usually a horse trailer with their horse, or a little camper to have a place to sleep.”

He reached for her hand, kissed the ring on her finger, then kissed her.

“I can’t wait to show you off. Let’s go eat.”

Sonny walked with his hand on her back all the way inside to the Red River restaurant décor. Old wood, used bricks, the red Naugahyde on the booth backs and seats, rural memorabilia hanging on the walls, an old lantern on a post. A small bar to one side, booths along the walls, and wooden topped tables and chairs.

“I love this,” Maggie whispered. “It’s not fancy, and look at that old buggy!”

“You’re right, it’s not fancy, but it’s cowboy,” he said.

A hostess approached. “Two for lunch?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Booth or table?” she asked.

Sonny looked at Maggie.

“Table. He needs leg room,” she said.

Sonny felt seen. A woman who took his side.

“Follow me,” the hostess said, and started through the busy dining area and seated them at a table. “Your waitress will be here soon. Enjoy your meal,” and left their menus.

Sonny sat with his back to a wall and Maggie on his right, out of the line of traffic. The undercurrent of voices was like a low rumble across the room until Sonny saw a man in a dirty gray Stetson suddenly stand up and point.

“That’s, by God, Sonny Bluejacket, sittin’ at that table.”

Once again, Maggie was startled by people’s reactions. She glanced at Sonny, and when she saw he was grinning, she relaxed. More rodeo friends. It had to be.

But that man’s loud shout made a dozen other heads turn, and then the buzz in the room got even louder.

Sonny sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s been over five years. I didn’t think they would remember. Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“Is there a somewhere else in this town where they may not know your face?”

He shrugged. “Jail maybe.”

She grinned. “So, you’re saying you never got into trouble.”

“I left that up to Walker.”

“Then say hello to your friends. Half of them look like they’ve seen a ghost,” she said.

The man who’d yelled was already up and heading their way. Sonny stood, just as the man threw his arms around Sonny’s shoulders and thumped him on the back.

“Man, you are a sight for sore eyes. What are you doing here? Are you back on the circuit?”

“Marvin, this is my fiancée, Magnolia Brennen. Magnolia, this is Marvin Carver. Another bull rider from my past.”

Marvin yanked off his hat and all but curtsied. “Miss Brennen, it is a pleasure to meet you,” he said, then he shifted back to Sonny. “Well? Are you ridin’ again?”

“Not in this lifetime,” Sonny said. “I have a small ranch south of Crossroads with a few horses on it. I inherited it from Emmit.”

Marvin’s eyes widened. “Emmit gave you Sunset! I’ll be damned. He never did get over what happened. So, no more bulls.”

“Just training horses,” Sonny said. “What I have right now is what’s left of Emmit’s herd. I’m not going to breed horses like he did. I plan to buy good three- or four-year-olds, and train them to cut, rein, and rope.”

“Well, it’s damn good to see you.” He nodded at Maggie. “Ma’am,” and then walked off.

Sonny sat back down and opened his menu. “Let’s try this again. What looks good to you?”

“You. You look good to me,” Maggie said. “And I’m going to order fried catfish and hush puppies. I can’t remember the last time I had that, and I love it.”

The waitress showed up, took their drink orders, and when she came back, they ordered their food. And despite Sonny’s best efforts, their celebration lunch turned into a whole other thing.

***

Sonny was cutting off another bite of steak when Maggie looked up, then tapped his arm.

“Honey…incoming. Chew fast or wait.”

He put down the knife and fork and looked up just as a young boy in a cowboy hat a size too big for his head approached their table carrying a piece of paper and a pen.

Sonny grinned. “Hey buddy. Nice hat.”

“It’s Daddy’s. He said I could wear it for a minute. My name is Warren Klingman. My daddy’s name is Joe. Do you reckon if I could have your autograph?”

Maggie saw the adoration on the little boy’s face and immediately understood, then wondered if that was how she looked when she saw Sonny for the first time.

Sonny took the paper and pen. “Do you know who I am?”

“The best durn bull rider ever?” Warren said.

Sonny grinned. “Did your daddy tell you that?”

“Yes sir. He’s got a poster of you ridin’ one of them wild bulls up on the wall in his den. I wanna be you when I grow up,” Warren said.

Sonny signed the autograph. “Go tell your daddy to come over to my table. We’ll all take a picture together, okay?”

The little boy’s eyes widened, and without bothering to go back, he just shouted, “Hey Daddy! C’mere!”

Maggie laughed.

Sonny grinned.

And the tall, lanky man who’d been watching Warren’s every move bolted out of his chair like he’d been ejected, and came running.

“Sorry, Sonny. I shouldn’t have said he could bother you. I didn’t mean to…”

Sonny stood and shook his hand. “Joe Klingman, nice to meet you. Warren’s wearing your hat. Do you want it back for the picture?”

“You done wearing it, boy?” Joe asked.

The little boy nodded. “Yes, sir. I got my autograph.”

Joe lifted it off his son’s head, settled it back on his own, and handed Sonny his phone.

Maggie stood up. “I’ll do the honors,” she said, waited until the trio had organized themselves, then took several pictures before handing it back.

“Thank you, ma’am, thank you. And thank you, Sonny. Are you ever going to ride again?”

“Only well-mannered horses,” Sonny said. “And the pretty lady who just took our pictures will soon be my wife. Her name is Magnolia, just like the flower.”

Joe tipped his hat to her. “It’s a pleasure. Your man is one of a kind. I been around rodeo all my life, but I never saw the likes of him before or since. Sorry to have interrupted your meal,” and off they went hand in hand.

Sonny and Maggie sat back down. “Does all this upset you?” he asked.

“No. I’m just realizing that I’m not the only one who thinks you hung the moon. It’s all good.”

He stole a quick kiss before they resumed their meal.

After that, it was a continuing stream of requests for pictures, requests for autographs, and shocked responses to the fact that he was still alive in the world.

Finally, Sonny waved their waitress down. “We’re going to need a couple of to-go boxes. I didn’t expect all this. Hope it hasn’t interfered with serving your tables.”

At that point, the young woman giggled. “Not at all. I’ll be right back with your check and your boxes. And before you go, could I get a picture with you?”

“Sure,” Sonny said, and then looked at Maggie. “I’ve been a hermit for too long. This was nice, but seriously unexpected.”

“Well, now you know what’s going to happen when you show up at Garrett Dillion’s roping competition and ride Dancer. You had better start training some more horses fast. Everyone’s going to want a piece of Sonny Bluejacket, even if it’s just a horse you trained.”

He just shook his head. “I did not see this coming.”

“It’s a way for you to stay in the rodeo world without getting yourself killed. Again. And I would never expect you to change who you are.”

He nodded. His truth was in her words. “What I do will always be for us, not just for me. Understood?”

She nodded. “Understood.”

Within a few minutes they were gone, taking the revelation of this day home with them.

***

Maggie took her wedding dress and the bag with the new boots down to Emmit’s vault.

“Emmit, honey, I’m just going to leave this here for safekeeping,” she said. “Don’t let Sonny peek. And thank you for sending him my way. Between Pearl, you, and now Sonny, you have given me something I never had…a future and a family. Miss you. Hope you have a pretty horse to ride where you are.”

And then she ran back up the stairs, changed into old clothes to do chores with Sonny. Today had been a revelation for her. To keep their lives moving in the same direction, she wanted to educate herself in the world of horses and rodeos, because he was already on board with her and the art.

Before Sonny, she waited tables and painted pictures as a hobby. But he had given her the courage to do more, and look what happened.