Chapter 29
Davis
Maybe the lice thing should have freaked me out more, but with Sophie's happiness on the line, I couldn't bring myself to care.
I'd dealt with far worse, both on the farm and in my vet tech days.
If she thought a little shampoo would scare me away, I hadn't done a good enough job showing her how I felt.
Jo would argue that I should tell her, but it hadn't seemed like the right time to blurt things out.
I kissed Sophie goodbye as she gathered her things to head to school Monday morning. A white-haired woman waved to me from a chair next door, a broad grin on her weathered face.
“Morning, young man.”
“Good morning, ma’am,” I said, not wanting to be rude to Sophie’s neighbor.
“You don’t have a living grandfather, do you?” she asked.
“Sorry, ma’am, he passed away more than a decade ago.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Shame.” She shrugged, waving. “Have a good day. Be sure to get plenty of rest and hydrate. You need to keep your strength up.”
Was it my imagination that she watched my butt all the way to my truck? At least she stopped short of congratulating me for all the sex.
I drove to the farm supply store, eager to shake off the odd goodbye.
Bypassing the pet supplies, I headed straight for the fencing section. Plucking a box of galvanized staples from the shelf, I returned to the cashier and set them on the counter.
"Morning, Davis. Doing trellis maintenance today?" the clerk, Alicia, asked around a wad of chewing gum.
"Yep."
She nodded, used to me coming in for odds and ends during the season.
Dallas and a few other men waved from the coffee counter as I shoved the receipt in my pocket and ambled over.
My neighbor was nice enough, in the good ol’ boy way common in our extended farming community.
We pitched in and helped each other out in emergencies, or with the occasional equipment loan.
Our business could be lonely and tough when you were pitted against larger corporations that could afford the newest equipment and cutting-edge techniques.
By comparison, we had tradition and each other.
"Hey, Dallas. Ray."
Ray nodded his welcome. He was a wiry man in his thirties, his dark hair hidden beneath a ballcap, and he wore the standard farmer gear of jeans and a flannel with work boots.
His primary crop was wheat, which had made his farm the perfect landing zone on Saturday.
It was too early in his growing season to do any harm to his crop.
"Thanks again for letting us land at your place this weekend."
Ray grinned. "It was worth it to see you in one of the cursed hot air balloons you've been railing against the last few months. How the mighty have fallen, eh?"
"I can admit when I'm wrong," I said, striving for nonchalant.
He didn't need to know his comment hit home in more ways than one. I'd fallen hard. Distracted by thoughts of Sophie, I missed Dallas's reply.
"Earth to Davis," Dallas said, snapping his fingers to get my attention. "Have you really had a change of heart about the festival?"
"Yeah."
His brows rose. "Sophie must have been very persuasive."
I frowned at his tone. "She gave me a ride, let me see what all the fuss was about and how careful they are about getting landowner permission and not damaging their landing zones."
Dallas snorted, a shit-eating grin taking over his features. "Sure, Davis. Maybe she'll give me a ride, show me what all the fuss is about."
My hands clenched, and I took a step forward, crowding Dallas with my bulk. We were pretty evenly matched, but if he kept running his mouth about Sophie, he'd remember why my football nickname had been "The Beast." I didn't give in, and I didn't fucking lose.
Ray placed a hand on my arm. "Hey, I'm sure he didn't mean that how it sounded."
Finally sensing the danger, Dallas held up his hands and stepped back. "My bad. I didn't know you were plowing that field."
I growled, annoyed that Dallas couldn't seem to shut up. Disrespecting Sophie was the fastest way to get on my bad side.
Ray shook his head at Dallas, keeping a restraining arm on my wrist. I breathed through the anger, resisting the urge to growl again. I focused on filling my ribcage with each breath, visualizing the air expanding in my chest before I blew it all out.
As satisfying as it would be to knock his block off, Sophie would be disappointed in me. I’d be disappointed in me. Picturing her sweet face, it was easy to find my earlier contentment.
Dallas only had gossip. I had Sophie.
Calm settled over me.
Dallas was a solid reminder of why I'd worked to grow beyond my hair-trigger temper. Even grown-ass men sometimes acted the fool, running their mouths when they should be quiet.
Thankfully, I'd learned to solve my problems with money, words, and the occasional drink.
Like a fucking adult.
"Keep her name out of your mouth," I warned.
"Sorry, man. Let me buy you a cup of coffee to make it up to you," Dallas offered, finally realizing how close he’d come to disaster.
Nodding, I tried to remember that I liked Dallas. Most of the time.
Conversation moved on to safer topics, and I relaxed.
I pitched my empty cup into the trash can and excused myself, driving back to the farm to get on with my day. Dallas's words still bothered me, and I rolled my shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension there.
Claiming Sophie as my own publicly was moving higher on my to-do list.
My Belle was too fucking beautiful to have the town thinking she was single.
Creeps like Dallas would continue to make crude comments if we didn’t make our relationship official.
Having to hear that kind of garbage was sure to bring out the worst in me.
Maybe making it clear that we were a couple, that she was under my protection, would stop the gossip.
Sure.
I snorted. Because I cared so much about gossip.
Sophie could absolutely protect herself. My candy-coated badass could handle a chauvinist flirt like Dallas with a smile on her face. He wouldn't even know what hit him.
My urge to claim her had more to do with getting her to admit she had feelings for me beyond lust and friendship than it did with any fears of competition.
Sharing my feelings with her was probably Step A. So why did that still seem scarier than a crop rife with downy mildew?
Losing her could destroy me.
I had to have faith her feelings went as deep as mine. She was usually so vocal, every feeling painted across her gorgeous face, but she hadn’t said a word about love. If she was just having fun while I was falling hard, I’d be devastated.
I inhaled, filling my lungs, expanding my chest before letting my breath gust out in one long exhale.
I loved Sophie. I believed she loved me. I just hand to hang on to that certainty.
My past might have its ugly bits, but my future promised to be beautiful with her by my side.
I only had to find the courage to tell her.