Chapter 13
Danielle and Wade
Wade watched as Dani took in her first spoonful of chili.
The expression on her face was priceless.
And when she licked her lips, he felt a stirring low in his gut.
To be honest, that stirring had been there since he’d sauntered out of the kitchen and seen her.
She must enjoy wearing sundresses, as evidenced by the fact that she was wearing another one.
He had no complaints ─ it showcased a gorgeous pair of legs, nice shoulders, and a graceful neck.
“Well, what do you think?” he asked.
“Wade, the chili is delicious. So is the cornbread. You must give me the recipe for both.”
“I can give you the basic recipes, which I got from Elena. But over the years, I’ve added a few more ingredients to make it more to my liking. Like an extra dash of cayenne pepper. It doesn’t seem to bother you.”
“It doesn’t. I like hot and spicy foods,” she said.
“So do I. The hotter the better.”
Dani chuckled. “Now, I won’t go that far.” She took another spoonful of chili then asked, “How long have you been on the rodeo circuit?”
He grinned. “Probably all my life. My parents were part of the circuit before I was born. That’s how they met.”
“Really?” she asked in a voice as if she truly found what he’d said fascinating.
“Yes. They had been married three years but quit the circuit when my grandfather died. My grandmother needed their help with the ranch, and they never went back, even when my grandmother passed away less than a year later. By then, they decided it was time for them to start a family. I was born a year and a half later.”
“Did they have any issue with you going on the rodeo circuit?” she asked.
“Not at all. Instead, they encouraged it, but with stipulations. During the off-season, I had to take classes at college. They didn’t care how long it took; they wanted me to get my degree in their lifetime. I understand that’s the same stipulation my father’s dad had made to him.”
“Did you do it?” she asked, nibbling on another piece of cornbread.
Wade enjoyed watching her eat. The lusciousness of her mouth, especially her full lips, was making his body throb in certain places.
“Yes. It didn’t take me as long to finish as I thought it would, thanks to online classes.
I got my bachelor’s in Agriculture from Texas A&M University.
” Pushing his plate aside, he said, “Now tell me something about Danielle Manchester.”
She smiled, enjoying conversing with him. “It was my father’s ardent desire after my two sisters were born that I would a Daniel. He desperately wanted a son who would follow in his footsteps in the military. Needless to say, when I showed up, he was sorely disappointed.”
“I’m sure he wasn’t that disappointed.”
“Trust me, he was.”
Wade studied her features and saw the old hurt in her eyes. Had her father actually said that? As if she read his thoughts, she said, “I overheard him telling Mom about it one night. I’d hid out in their bedroom, because I was afraid of the storms. They didn’t know I was under the bed.”
His heart went out to the little girl who’d heard her father say he hadn’t wanted her. He couldn’t understand some men’s obsession with sons. If he were ever to get married, he would be thankful for any child born from their union. “Did you tell your mother what you heard?”
“No. I’ve never told anyone, not even my two sisters,” she said. “Just you.”
He wasn’t sure what to say to that. Giving himself some time to think, he said, “I take it your family travelled a lot, since your dad was a career military man.”
“Yes, but I didn’t mind. It drove my oldest sister, Kim, crazy, though, because she always had to leave her friends.
Libby and I considered it an adventure. We enjoyed living in various countries, embracing different cultures and meeting new people.
I’ve stayed in touch with several of them over the years. ”
Now, to get her to talk about something he desperately wanted to know, something he had been curious about ever since the day they’d met.
She’d said that she and her boyfriend had split up a few months ago.
Just how many months were a ‘few’? She’d said she wasn’t going back to him, but that wasn’t always the case.
He’d discovered that if the end wasn’t definitive, many couples often reunited before the one-year mark. He sure hoped she’d made a clean break.
When the room got quiet, he couldn’t resist saying, “Tell me about your ex-boyfriend, Dani.”
She gave him a surprised look. “Why?”
“Just curious.”
She pushed her plate away. “Are you willing to answer my questions about your ex-girlfriend?”
Wade thought that would only be fair. “I don’t have a problem doing that.”
She nodded. “Then ask away.”
Dani knew she could have easily said that her relationship with Steve was off-limits.
She had just met Wade a few days ago, so why was he curious about her ex?
Probably the same reason that she was curious about his ex-girlfriend.
Something was happening between them, she could feel it.
There was sexual attraction in the air, but there was something else, too. She just didn’t know what.
She had to admit that everything about Wade mesmerized her. She couldn’t take her eyes off his chocolate-colored eyes and cleft chin. And his scent—a mixture of soap, shampoo, and man—stole her breath.
“How did the two of you meet?”
She leaned back in her chair. “I was hired to replace him at his job.” When Wade lifted his brow, she elaborated.
“Steve had resigned to work for another marketing company, and I was his replacement. We ran into each other three months later at a nightclub. We shared drinks, and soon after that, we began dating.”
“Couldn’t it have been considered a conflict of interest?” Wade asked.
“Maybe, but Steve signed a restrictive covenant to protect his former employer’s interest.”
“What does he do now?”
“He’s VP of marketing at a non-profit organization.”
“So what happened?”
Dani didn’t say anything at first. Finally, she sighed. “We dated for two years, and then he convinced me to move in with him. I did and discovered that he wasn’t the man I thought he was.” She laughed. “And I’m not talking about forgetting to put the toilet seat down after using it.”
She paused and then added. “We’d agreed to split our financial obligations, but I got stuck with almost eighty percent of them, even though his salary was significantly higher than mine.
He spent his time and money on things he wanted--like gaming.
I could tell he was on his way to becoming a compulsive gamer.
He was going through thousands of dollars, often raiding our savings account to fund his habit.
I suggested he seek professional help, but he refused. ”
She then shared with him something she hadn’t yet told her mother and sisters. At least some of it. “One night during one of our heated arguments, he raised his hand to hit me, but caught himself. He apologized, but it was too late. I wasn’t about to risk becoming a statistic.”
He nodded. “So, you left. The two of you were together three years then, before you broke up?”
“Yes. Okay, now that I’ve depressed the life out of you, tell me about you and your ex-girlfriend.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Gail and I dated eight months before we ended things.”
“What happened?” she asked, picking up a cinnamon roll.
And so, he told her. From her expression, he knew she was mad as hell on Elena’s behalf.
“Elena is a sweetheart. How dare that woman talk down to her like that. You did the right thing by putting her on a plane with a one-way ticket. But I guess that since the two of you are on the same rodeo circuit, you can’t help but run into her at times. ”
“She’s no longer with the rodeo. She left not long after that. I heard she’s now engaged to marry a much older man.”
“Oh.” Dani glanced out the window. “My goodness. I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. It’s dark outside.”
Wade smiled. “It’s not late. With the time change, it gets dark earlier.”
“Well, regardless, I need to be leaving,” she said, standing. “I can barely find my way around these parts in the daytime, let alone at night.”
“I’ll take you home,” he offered.
“My car is here, Wade.”
“Leave it.”
She tilted her head to stare at him. “And how am I supposed to get here in the morning?”
“I’ll come pick you up.”
She shook her head. “That’s way too much trouble, and I refuse to let you go out of your way for me. Besides, Elena arrives here before I do. I would hate for her to see my car parked out front and assume I stayed the night.”
He could tell her that Elena wouldn’t be returning until Monday, but decided to withhold that information for now. “Does it matter to you what people think?”
“It depends on who those people are. In this case, it’s people you consider family, and people who are my sister and brother-in-law’s neighbors.”
Yes, she was definitely not Gail. His ex-girlfriend had expected people to go out of their way for her, and she hadn’t given a royal flip what anyone thought.
“Since you feel so strongly about it, how about I follow you home, just to make sure you get there safely.” At her puzzled look, he added, “It will make me feel good to know you’re home, safe, Dani. ”