Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
D allas was waiting for him.
Benton quietly let himself out of the house and jogged over to his buddy’s truck. He hopped inside, and the two men headed for the Triple B. Dallas didn’t say a word, which Benton expected. The man wasn’t one for idle chat or gossip. He was pretty sure the guy was curious about the details after picking up his pal from an overnight stay with a woman he barely knew, but he wouldn’t push. Which was a good thing because Benton didn’t feel like talking yet.
With the radio on low, he finally relaxed and stared out the window as the first rays of sunlight lit up the horizon. It would be a hot one today. He could hook up the sprinkler and let Nora run through it. Or maybe take her out to the fishing hole. Pack a lunch and let her bring the bunny along. Then he remembered that his sister wasn’t bringing Nora back until the evening. Probably for the best, he thought, considering he was dog-ass tired.
He sank back into the seat and closed his eyes. He hadn’t slept a wink. Hard to, considering he was belly up to the sweetest butt he’d ever seen, while trying to maintain some kind of composure. He’d listened to her breathing, felt the rise and fall of her body, and tried to keep his shit together when she burrowed deeper into him. He’d been like a soldier, standing at the ready the entire time he was in her bed. He hadn’t been that worked up over a situation since he’d been a sixteen-year-old boy and taken one of the Mason girls up to the Founder’s Cabin. They’d gotten naked as soon as they’d gone inside, but she got cold feet, and he wasn’t pushing it. He’d been raised right. They spent the night together, huddled under the covers in an old, moth eaten bed, and it had damn near killed him.
Whatever happened to Katie Mason?
Benton was half asleep when Dallas pulled up to his place. By now, dawn had broken wide open, and the shadows were mostly gone. He unbuckled his seatbelt and glanced at his friend.
“Thanks for the lift.”
Dallas turned to him, mouth curved into a half smile. “So you two…”
“Nope.”
Dallas couldn’t hide his surprise. “Huh.”
“I invited her to the church picnic on Saturday.”
Dallas’ eyes widened. He opened his mouth. Then shut it. Then frowned and shook his head. “You spend the night with her. But you don’t sleep with her.”
“Right.”
“Then you invite her to a church picnic.”
“Glad to see you’re following along.”
“Which means you’ll be introducing her to your daughter.”
“Let’s not make too much out of it. She’s just a friend. No big deal.”
“If you don’t think that’s a big deal, you’re living on another planet.” Dallas narrowed his eyes. “She’s the kind of friend the rest of Big Bend and Daisy Mae will notice.”
This was starting to sound like a bad idea.
“Have you thought this through?” Dallas’s expression was comical.
“Apparently not.” Benton reached for the door handle.
“I’ll be praying for you.” Dallas winked.
Benton hopped out of the truck. He shut the door and leaned into the window. “I don’t think your prayers are good for much, considering you haven’t stepped inside a church since we were kids.”
“That might be true, but trust me, brother, you need ‘em.” With a chuckle, Dallas backed out of his spot and headed down the lane.
Benton hopped onto the porch and let himself into the quiet house. He took a moment and slipped out of his boots. The only thing on his mind was his bed and getting some shuteye. He took exactly two steps when his cousin appeared on the upstairs landing.
“Sneaking in?”
“It’s my house. I don’t sneak.” Scowling, he took the stairs. “Why are you up?”
“I’m driving to Wyoming to look at a couple of horses.”
He grunted a reply and walked past his cousin.
“I see why you like her.”
Ignoring the comment, Bent closed his bedroom door and walked to the bathroom. Less than thirty seconds later, he was in the shower, leaning against the tiles as hot water poured over him.
He hadn’t planned on asking Collins to the church picnic, but the look on her face when he did, was worth any of the crap that was headed his way when they showed up together. He was pretty sure it had been the wrong call, so why did it feel so damn right?
“Shit,” he muttered, rolling his neck. I guess time will tell.
As luck would have it, he had more time to think about things than he wanted. Because when Saturday afternoon rolled around, he was pretty sure inviting Collins to the church picnic wasn’t just a bad idea, it was the wrong one.
“Why does your face look like that?” Nora looked genuinely concerned. She was on his bed, lying on her stomach, feet in the air. Her hair was braided, not his best effort, but still, it was off of her face. Dressed in denim shorts and a pink T-shirt with a unicorn on the front, and those damn blue sparkly cowboy boots she loved, she was ready to go. Sunscreen had been applied, and their picnic basket had been prepared by Rosie and left on the table in the kitchen. All he had to do was get his butt in gear.
“Just thinking,” he said, reaching for a white T-shirt. He pulled it on, then shoved his feet into his boots.
“About what?” she asked, slipping off the bed and reaching for his hand. He stared down at the dainty fingers, each painted a different color. As always, his heart felt near to bursting. This little girl meant the world to him, and he’d never do anything to make her uncomfortable. Never do anything to make her sad.
Benton crouched down. He pushed one lone piece of hair from her face and smiled when she giggled.
“That tickles, daddy.”
“What do you think about Dad bringing a friend along to the picnic?”
Her laughter faded, and her little brows furrowed. Her big eyes looked serious. “You can bring a friend because I’m meeting Cameron and Ryan at the picnic.” She smiled. “Then we can both have friends.”
The world would be a much better place if folks kept things as simple as a seven-year-old.
She yanked on his arm. “We’re going to be late.”
Benton got to his feet and followed his daughter down the stairs. He figured if she could keep things simple than so could he. He’d just cleared the bottom stair when Ryland came around the corner, head down, busy on his phone.
“What are your plans for the day?” he asked his younger sibling.
“Meeting some of the guys in town.”
“You want a ride?”
“I’m good.” Ryland flashed a smile at his niece. “Hey chickpea.”
“Come with us, Uncle Ry.” She tugged on his arm.
“I got plans, but I promise I’ll see you later.”
“Promise?”
Ryland glanced at Benton. His daughter had pretty much everyone wrapped around her little fingers.
“Promise, kiddo.”
Benton grabbed the picnic basket off the table and checked his phone while Nora hopped into the truck and buckled in. He’d sent Collins a text earlier and told her he’d be by within the hour.
Can’t wait, followed by a winking face emoji.
He stared at the reply. “Guess I’m doing this.”
“You’re talking to yourself again, Daddy.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the little girl who was his whole life and grinned. “I’m getting old.”
“You’re not old,” she replied with that cheeky grin he loved. “You only have one white hair and it’s in your nose.”
He laughed and backed out of his spot, then drove down the lane. He cranked the tunes like he always did when it was the two of them, and his heart damn near doubled in size when she began to sing along to an old Patsy Cline song. It had been one of his mother’s favorites.
By the time they reached Big Bend, his girl was nearly sung out. He pulled up to Duffer’s Place and decided if he was doing this, he’d be doing it right. He told Nora to unbuckle and swung her out of the truck, then set her down in front of him.
“Does your friend live here?” she asked, staring up at the wide porch.
“She’s staying here while she’s in town.”
“I like the swing.” She pointed to the big oak and the swing that moved gently in the breeze. “Can I ride it?”
“Maybe some other time.” He led his daughter up the stairs and they walked inside. Wilhemenia Duffer sat at the front desk, a word puzzle book open, a pen in her hand. She smiled when she spied them.
“Hello,” she said warmly. “Nice to see you, Bent.”
“You too, ma’am.”
“Shush now. Call me Willie.” She moved out from behind the desk, eyes on Nora. “Good Lord, but you’ve grown since the last time I saw you. What is your daddy feeding you?”
“Well, I like to eat carrots a lot. I feed them to my pony, but we don’t like broccoli.” She made a face. “Or peas.” She looked up at Benton. “But I like liver even though no one else does. Rosie makes it special just for me.”
“I like liver too.” Willie stood back. “She’s precious, Benton.” Then she glanced toward the stairs. “You’re here for Collins?”
He shuffled his feet a bit. “I am.”
“Isn’t that nice. She told me she was going to the church picnic with a handsome cowboy, but she neglected to tell me his name.”
Just then, a squeak on the stairs got his attention, and Benton looked up. Collins was halfway down. Looking at her was like a punch to his gut. She wore a simple pink dress, halter style. It fell to just above her knees. On her feet were white flats. Her hair was loose, her skin smooth, her eyes huge, and her mouth glistened. His eyes ate her up in a way that wasn’t decent but, dammit, he couldn’t get enough.
“Hey, I know you.” Nora yanked out of his grip and ran to the edge of the stairs. “What’s your name again?”
“Collins.” She joined his daughter and smiled. “And you’re right. I was at your home last Christmas, and you showed me your bunny.”
Nora nodded, then glanced down and pointed. “My daddy has a tattoo, but not a unicorn.” She lowered her voice into a whisper, though he and Willie had no problem hearing her. “It’s a snake. Yours is pretty.”
Collins looked his way, a bemused expression on her face. “Thank you.”
“I like your dress. Do you like my boots?” Nora twirled in a circle.
“They’re the prettiest boots I’ve ever seen.”
Collins and Benton stared at each other like a couple of lovesick teens, and it took Nora yanking on his arm to break the spell. “Come on, Daddy, we don’t want to be late.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” He nodded to Willie. “Nice seeing you again.”
The woman smiled and returned to her spot at the desk. “I’ll try to pop over to the picnic later.”
Nora, the unfiltered, sweet thing that she was, reached for Collins’ hand. “Are you my daddy’s girlfriend?”
Collins didn’t skip a beat. “I’m a girl and I’m a friend. Does that make sense?”
Nora nodded, and the two of them walked out the door. He took a moment to get his head on straight—seeing Nora with Collins didn’t feel wrong, just different. He’d never introduced her to a woman friend before.
With one last nod to Willie, he followed them into the sunlight.