Jasper
I scrubbed a towel over my hair as I stepped out of the shower.
Looked like Colin had gotten up earlier, raided the fridge, and was now passed out again in his bed.
Colin and I were going to have to have a heart-to-heart soon.
But right now, Colin needed sleep more than anything.
He looked like shit. Shit that had been run over a few times.
Besides, he wasn’t going anywhere without his boots, and I didn’t want to let my brother’s unwelcome arrival get between what had started up with Delilah and me.
By the time I’d tiptoed into the bedroom and pulled on some clean clothes, Colin stirred.
“Hey.” Colin swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Where are you off to looking so spruced up?”
“Dinner.”
Colin ran a hand over his belly. “I’m starving. Want to pick me up something while you’re there?”
I shoved an arm through my sleeve. “Not really. Are you ready to talk to Bodie?”
Colin let his head drop. “I changed my mind. Just give me my boots back, and I’ll be on my way.”
“That’s how you want to play it?” I asked. “You show up here, a gash in your arm, and now that you’re fixed up, you want to pretend like everything’s fine again?”
“Look”—Colin stood and stretched his arms over his head—“I was in a jam. You helped me out, and now I’ll be on my way.”
“I’m not going to continue to protect you.”
“Is that what you call it?” Colin smirked. “No offense, little bro, but not even you can protect me from the bogeymen I’m involved with now.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way, you know. I can help.”
“Help what? I’m not going back to jail. I can’t.” His gaze changed. Something dark passed through. “I’d rather die than go back to prison.”
“What if it didn’t come to that? Let me talk to Bodie. We’ll figure something out.” I hadn’t planned on seeing my brother again. But now that he was here, how could I turn away without trying to help?
I thought I was helping by taking the blame for Colin’s absence.
I’d rather have my parents think that Colin and I had a falling-out than break my mom’s heart by telling her he’d gone to jail.
I thought I was protecting everyone. But now I knew I couldn’t spend my life trying to fix everything for everyone.
It was impossible. And sooner or later, the lies I told, even if I’d told them with good intentions, were going to catch up to me.
“I don’t think Bodie’s going to want to hear what I have to say. At least not enough to keep me from going back to jail.” Colin cocked his head. “Any chance I can bum a clean shirt off of you?”
“Yeah, take what you want.” It was clear Colin wasn’t going to accept my help. Maybe I could appeal to his buried sense of family. “Hey, did you hear Lucas has a kid now?”
Colin picked a shirt from the drawer and tugged it on over his head. “No shit?”
“Maggie. She’s almost three. Mom’s planning a birthday party for her next month. If you stick around—”
“Cut it out. You know I can’t do that. Just give me my boots and I’ll be gone before you get back from dinner with that hot beauty queen you’ve been banging.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I gripped the doorframe.
“You talk in your sleep.” Colin looked around the floor, probably trying to locate his boots.
“Wait until I get back from dinner. We can talk.”
“I don’t need to talk. I need to get out of here.”
“That’s not what you said last night. Not when you showed up with your arm messed up, and—”
“Forget it. I was messed up last night. Didn’t know what the hell I was saying.”
“You sure about that? Because you said something about there being a big event coming up. Whatever you and the scum you’re hanging out with have going on, it better not interfere with Lacey’s plans.”
“I’m outta here.” Colin gave up looking for his boots and headed for the front door.
I took in a deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest like a jackhammer that had spun out of control. I waited a few moments, figuring Colin and I could use a minute or two to calm down.
After I’d taken a few deep breaths, I walked out the front door just in time to see Colin pull the passenger side door of a giant black truck closed. The tires spun on the gravel and the truck fishtailed down the drive.
I slapped my palm on my thigh. “Dammit.”
My brother was gone, and it was all my fault . . . again. Not even the promise of Delilah waiting for me to pick her up for dinner could put a smile on my face. Why did I have to be so good at ruining everything?
Ten minutes later I tried to paste on a grin as Delilah got settled in the front seat of my truck. She was full of smiles and smelled like she’d been soaking in strawberry lemonade all day. Hoping her good mood would rub off on me, I got behind the wheel and started toward the restaurant.
As I drove past fields that had just been harvested, she filled me in about her visit with Zina.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement over some new idea she’d come up with.
Seemed she and Zina had spent a lot of time talking about the programs they’d put in place at For Pitties’ Sake.
Delilah wondered if the girls she wanted to work with might benefit from the same types of options.
“After talking to Zina and Zeb, it hit me. Maybe pairing the girls I’d love to support with rescue dogs would help them build up confidence.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” I drummed my thumb against the steering wheel, my mind half-engaged with listening to Delilah and half wondering where Colin might have gone.
“You okay?” Her fingers brushed my arm.
I caught her hand in mine and let our hands rest on my thigh. “Sorry. I’m a bit distracted.”
“I can tell. What’s going on? Is something on your mind?”
“It’s nothing.” I tried to placate her with a smile.
She didn’t smile back. “You’ve been off today.”
“Just some family stuff. I had a rough talk with one of my brothers. He’s in a bit of a bind and I’m not sure what’s going to happen.
” I didn’t want to drag Delilah into the mess with my brother.
Even though we’d taken things to a whole new level, I still had to be careful about oversharing.
She needed to view the town in the best light possible if Ido had any chance at all of being named the most romantic small town in Texas.
“You know, it’s never too late to do the right thing.” She lifted a shoulder. “Not sure if that helps, but it’s one of the principles I try to live by.”
“Thanks. I’ll pass that along.” I lifted our hands to my lips and kissed the back of her hand. “There’s just been a lot on my mind. Work on the orchard is going well though.”
“That’s good. Your mom said you’ve got a lot to do still. I figured I could be in charge of my own schedule over the next few days to give you a chance to get caught up.”
I let our hands rest on my thigh. “I don’t mind driving you to events.”
“I know. But with everything you’ve got going on, it might be easier. Plus, the sooner you get the orchard cleaned up, the more time we’ll have to spend together, isn’t that right?”
She looked so happy at the idea, I didn’t want to ruin it. But somehow the thought of spending the next few days without her put an even bigger damper on my mood. “If that’s what you want to do.”
“Good. Now that’s settled, give me the scoop on the assisted living facility on the outskirts of town.
Lacey has me scheduled to be the hostess at their fall dance this week.
” She reached out and adjusted the vent.
“I think it’s great they’re still encouraging romance, but how romantic can it be if they’re cramming it in between lunch and the afternoon nap hour? ”
I had skimmed the big binder Lacey gave me. She had Delilah booked with events at places I’d never even heard of, and I’d been a lifelong resident of Ido. “Tell me where else she has you going.”
“Well, there’s the Sweetest Day bake and take. Jojo is going to be teaching a cupcake-baking class and I’m her assistant. We’ll be making cupcakes and candy for people to take home to their sweethearts.”
“Mmm. I could get on board with that.” I licked my lips. “I still owe you that chocolate bourbon pecan pie cupcake. I should be able to drop some pecans off at Helmut’s this week, so I’ll ask him to make up a batch.”
Listening to Delilah go on and on about all of the romantic things she’d be doing during her time in town made me wish the two of us didn’t have to downplay our attraction.
I’d love nothing more than to be able to take her out to dinner somewhere in town, not sneak off to the Mexican restaurant two towns over so we wouldn’t be recognized.
“Here we are.” I turned into the parking lot. At least tonight we’d be able to hold hands and not have to pretend I was nothing more than her driver.
“Hey, isn’t that Helmut’s bike?” Delilah pointed out the window.
A line of Harleys sat in front of the restaurant. Either Helmut was dining in tonight or someone had stolen his motorcycle. He was the only person I knew who drove around with a sidecar. So much for having a night away from prying eyes.
“Well, we might not be able to treat this like a date, but at least they have amazing enchiladas.” I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand.
Delilah gave me a wistful smile as I got out of the truck and went around to open her door. “Maybe one of these days we’ll be able to go out to dinner without it being a show.”
“Maybe if I quit as your hospitality host, that day would come a whole lot sooner.” I held the door as she brushed past me and entered the restaurant.
With so little time together, I needed to decide.
What was more important . . . making sure she saw the most romantic side of Ido, or having the freedom to make sure she saw the most romantic side of me?
Delilah
I spent the next week and a half calling bingo numbers at the ladies’ luncheon, decorating the sidewalks around the town square by drawing hearts with the local day care kids, and leading a small group of Abby’s classmates in some basic pageant-training classes.
I’d been having an absolute blast, except for having to save the kid who’d shoved a piece of chalk up his nose. We’d managed to avoid a trip to the emergency room thanks to the set of tweezers in various sizes and shapes that I carried in my emergency kit.
While Jasper spent his days working on the orchard with his brothers, I’d been given the royal treatment by the town. Kirby even took me on a tour in his custom limo.
I was blown away by the hospitality the townspeople had shown me, but there was one man I didn’t seem to get enough of . . . Jasper. If absence made the heart grow fonder, I felt like I could have been head over heels for the hazel-eyed cowboy by now.
The last time we’d been together I hoped we would have a chance to see what it would be like to be on a real date. But that dream had been dashed to bits when I realized we’d never be able to get far enough away from Ido to completely avoid the residents.
I had started to wonder if I’d imagined the attraction between us.
Maybe Jasper and I were destined to just be friends.
But then I remembered the way it felt to have his lips on mine, to feel him moving inside me.
Which is why I decided to take matters into my own hands and surprise him with a homemade dinner.
I’d gone to the farmers’ market his mom had mentioned and picked up some fall vegetables. He never seemed to lock his front door, so I let myself in and got to work in the kitchen.
“Hey, Buster.” The dog didn’t even bark when I entered. He probably remembered that the last time I was there I’d fed him bits of pancake straight from the griddle.
As I chopped peppers and peeled carrots, feeling more and more comfortable in Jasper’s house, making myself right at home in his kitchen, I let myself imagine what it might be like if we ended up together.
A lightness filled my chest, and I danced around the kitchen as I searched for a can opener for the beans I wanted to add to my vegetarian chili. Finally, with it simmering on the stove, the smell of cumin and chili powder lingering in the air, I sat down at the kitchen table.
“You know what would really surprise Jasper?”
Buster laid his head on my lap, and I scratched behind his ear.
“I wonder if he still has that bag of my lingerie somewhere.” The dog tilted his head to the side and swiped his tongue across my hand.
“Let’s go check.” I got up, wondering where exactly I’d left the plastic bag of underwear Jasper had accidentally grabbed the first night we spent together. He’d been so embarrassed that the tips of his ears had turned pink.
Wanting to make the night extra, extra, extra special, I located a pair of pink lacy panties and one of my matching flimsy nighties. When Jasper came home, I’d be waiting with dinner and dessert.
As I secured the ties on my hips into tiny pink bows, my phone rang. Maybe Jasper was calling to tell me he was on his way home and wanted to see me tonight.
“Hi there,” I answered, not even trying to contain my giddiness knowing I’d be seeing him soon.
“Hey, how’s your day been going?” Hearing his voice sent goose bumps racing down my arms.
“Good. But it’s better now that I’m talking to you. Are you still working out in the orchard?”
“Actually, I’m headed home now.”
Heat simmered in my belly. “Oh? Do you have plans tonight or are we going to get to spend some time together?”
“That depends.” His voice dropped, so low I had to strain to hear him. “There’s nothing I’d like better than to have you to myself.”
“Mmm. That would be nice.” I stood up and thrust out my chest.
“But . . .”
But? I hadn’t counted on a but.
“I forgot it’s my turn to host poker night. Some of the guys are coming over, and if you want to join us, you’re more than welcome to. I’d beg off but Bodie called and said he was already on his way over.”
The door creaked. I turned toward the noise as Buster trotted over to investigate.
“Delilah?” Jasper asked.
At the same time a male voice called out from the door, “Jasper? You home?”
“What was that?” Jasper asked.
I glanced toward the pot bubbling on the stove. I reached out and flipped the dial to simmer.
“Delilah? Where are you?” Jasper asked again.
Footsteps sounded on the wooden floorboards by the door. They were coming closer. Any second whoever it was would enter the kitchen and find me standing by the stove in a pink baby doll nightie and a matching pair of panties.
So I did the only rational thing I could when faced with an impossible situation. I turned toward the door leading from the kitchen to the backyard and fled.