32. Jasper
JASPER
By the time I stopped the truck in front of my cabin, it was almost two in the morning. The drive from Houston had passed in a blur. Delilah had spent most of it curled against the passenger door, the diamond clips in her hair flashing whenever we passed beneath a streetlight.
I still couldn’t believe she was there. That she’d said yes. That I hadn’t lost her for good.
I killed the engine.
Delilah stirred and lifted her head. “Are we home?”
Home. Damn, I liked hearing her say that. “Yeah, we’re here.”
“Did everyone else make it back okay?”
“Dad texted. They’re at the big house. Helmut took your mom to her motel.”
Her lips curved. “She didn’t put up a fight?”
“Not that I saw.”
“Give it time.”
She reached for the door handle.
“Wait.” I rounded the truck before she could get out.
“I’m capable of getting out of your truck on my own.” She stared down at me from the seat.
“I know.”
“Do you?”
I held out my hand. After a moment, she placed hers in it. Her heels hit the gravel, and she wobbled. My arm circled her waist.
“I’ve got you.”
“I know.” She pressed her palm to my chest. “But I need to know you’re going to let me have you right back.”
“You do.”
“All of you, Jasper. Not just the parts you think I can handle.”
I swallowed hard. “I know.”
Buster barked from inside.
“I need to let him out.”
“Let’s do it.” She let me lead her into the house.
While I let Buster out to take care of business, she headed toward the kitchen.
I found her leaning against the counter and pulling the pins from her hair, one by one, until her blond waves fell around her shoulders.
She looked exhausted. Beautiful as always, but vulnerable in a way she hadn’t under the ballroom lights.
I handed her a glass of water.
She took a long drink, then set it down. “Now tell me everything.”
“Where do you want me to start?”
“At the beginning.” She took a seat at the table and waited.
There was no avoiding the truth anymore, and I was ready to tell it.
I sat down across from her and rubbed my hand over my chin.
“Colin fell in with the wrong people a while ago. I thought it was gambling until I followed him one night and found out about the dogs. He wasn’t only betting.
He helped move them, found places to keep them, made introductions. ”
Her mouth tightened.
“I threatened to go to the sheriff if he didn’t stop. He swore he was getting out and needed time. I believed him because I wanted to.”
“Your family thought the two of you had a fight.”
“We did. I told him to leave and not come back until he’d shut the whole thing down. When Mom and Dad asked what happened, I let them blame me.”
Delilah’s forehead creased. “Why?”
“They thought he hung the moon. We all did. Colin was the one everyone counted on, the one who was supposed to take over the orchard. The truth would have destroyed them.”
“So you carried it yourself,” she said, her voice hard.
“I thought I could.”
Her fingers tightened around the glass. “What happened when he came back?”
“He showed up here hurt. I stitched his arm and hid him while I tried to convince him to turn himself in.”
“I’d patched him up before.” Shame burned through me. “Every time, I told myself it was the last. I thought I was protecting my family, but all I did was make it easier for Colin to avoid the consequences.”
“You hid him while the town was investigating the sabotage.”
I nodded.
“While you were telling me I could trust you.”
“Yes.”
She looked away. “Did you know he was behind the crickets?”
“Not until the night he was arrested. I didn’t know about the movie or the butterflies. I suspected Adeline. Even when Buster reacted to Colin, I didn’t put it together.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he was back?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of him?”
“Of failing everyone.” I stood, unable to sit still. “I was afraid my parents would blame themselves. Afraid my brothers and Abby wouldn’t be able to handle it. Afraid the town would lose the contest and we’d lose the orchard.”
I moved to the sink, then faced her. “And I was afraid you’d learn I’d helped him and think the worst of me.”
“You thought I’d believe you were involved in dog fighting?”
“No. But I was involved in hiding the truth.”
Delilah pushed back from the table and stood.
“I didn’t keep it from you because I thought you were weak.
” I moved toward her, stopping an arm’s length away.
“I did it because I’ve spent my whole life fixing things.
When Dad makes a bad decision, I find a way to pay for it.
When my brothers need help, I show up. When Abby gets scared, I tell her everything will be okay. ”
“What happens when you need help?”
“I handle it.”
“That ends now.”
The hard edge of her voice made me lift my gaze.
“You don’t get to decide what I can handle,” she said. “You don’t protect me by lying or shutting me out and saying it’s because you love me.”
“I know.” My head hung with shame.
“I need to hear you say it, Jasper.”
I sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t get to decide what you can handle. I don’t lie to you, even when I think the truth will hurt.”
“And?”
“When I’m in trouble, I’ll tell you. When I don’t know how to fix something, I’ll let you help.”
Her eyes shone. “That’s what a partner does.”
“I’ve never had one before.”
“You have one now.”
I closed the distance between us and cupped her face. “I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“I love you.”
“I know that, too.”
“You’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?”
Her mouth tipped up. “For the rest of your life.”
“Good. That’s how long I plan on sticking around.” I kissed her forehead, then reached inside my suit coat.
Delilah leaned back. “What are you doing?”
“I didn’t get to do this right at the gala. Abby rushed things.” I pulled out a velvet box.
Her smile faded. “Jasper.”
“I bought it three days ago.”
“When I wasn’t returning your calls?”
Nodding, I gave her a smile. “I didn’t say it was smart. I needed to be ready in case you didn’t tell me to go to hell.”
I opened the box. A round diamond sat between a few smaller stones shaped like leaves. “It reminded me of the orchard. Of roots and growing something meant to last.”
Her fingers covered her lips.
“I meant every word tonight, but I want to ask without a ballroom full of people watching. And without my sister answering for you.” I lowered myself to one knee. “Delilah Stone, will you marry me?”
Tears trailed down her cheeks. “Yes.”
“Just making sure you hadn’t changed your mind.” I slid the ring onto her finger. I was a perfect fit.
She stared at it for half a second before trying to haul me to my feet. The second I stood, her lips caught mine. There was no frantic rush this time. No need to grab hold before the moment disappeared. She wasn’t leaving.
I pulled her close, the satin of her dress sliding against my suit. “Are you sure?”
“About marrying you?”
“About all of it.”
She loosened my tie. “I’m sure I want to marry you. And I’m sure I want you to stop talking.”
I smiled against her mouth. “Yes, ma’am.”
Done with my tie, she tossed it on the floor. Then her fingers worked the buttons on my shirt one at a time.
I wanted to tear the yellow dress off with my teeth and lose myself in her. But tonight wasn’t about taking. It was about showing her I could slow down and listen.
I turned her toward the dark kitchen window and swept her hair over one shoulder. “May I?”
Her gaze met mine in the reflection. “You may.”
I lowered the zipper, brushing my knuckles over her skin, then kissed the curve of her shoulder. The dress slipped down her body and pooled at her feet.
When she faced me, pale lace covered her breasts and hips. “You’re staring.”
“I’m making sure I remember.”
“You’ve seen me naked before.”
“Not like this.”
“What’s different?”
“Tonight you’re mine.”
Her brows rose.
“That came out wrong.” I took her hands. “You’re mine because you chose me.”
“And you’re mine because you chose me.”
“I’ll keep choosing you.”
She pressed my palm over her heart. “Then show me.”
I carried her to the bedroom and nudged the door closed before Buster could follow. “Sorry, buddy.”
Delilah laughed against my neck. “Poor Buster.”
“He’ll survive.”
I lowered her to the bed. She pushed my shirt from my shoulders and drew me down for another kiss. I took my time, learning her body all over again. My mouth moved along her throat and across her chest as I slipped away the last of the lace.
Her fingers tightened in my hair when I kissed lower. “Don’t stop.”
I didn’t. I listened to every change in her breathing, every sound she tried to hold back, until her body tightened under me and she called out my name.
Then she reached for me. “Now.”
I kicked off the rest of my clothes and moved over her, but she caught my wrist when I reached for the nightstand.
“Let me.” She found the condom, pushed me onto my back, and rolled it down over me.
“I love you,” I told her.
“I love you, too.”
She lowered herself onto me, and I held her hips while she set the pace. There was no race toward the finish, no desperate need to prove anything. Only Delilah. Her warmth. Her breath. The ring flashing as her hand moved across my chest.
I rolled us over until she was underneath me and moved slowly, watching her face. “Look at me.”
Her eyes opened.
I wanted her to see everything I hadn’t been brave enough to tell her.
She came apart with my name on her lips. I followed, burying my face against her neck while she held me close.
Afterward, I pulled her against my side. Her ring rested cool against my chest.
“Are we okay?” I asked.
“We’re not going to be perfect.”
“I know.”
“We’re going to fight.”
“Probably,” I agreed.
“You’re also going to try to fix things without telling me.”
“I’ll try not to.”
She lifted her head.
“I won’t,” I corrected.
“That’s better.”
I tucked her hair behind her ear. “What happens now?”
“I have to go back to Dallas.”
The walls of my chest squeezed tight. We’d finally found our way back to each other. I didn’t want to say goodbye so soon.
“Just for a few days,” she said. “I need to pack, talk to Monique, and figure out the new program.”
“And then?”
“I’m coming home.”
“Home?”
“Home for me is wherever you are, Jasper Taylor.”
“You don’t mind living at Taylor Grove?”
She brushed her lips over mine. “This is the perfect place to start our life together.”
I tucked her head under my chin and pulled her closer. I’d spent my life trying to keep the orchard, my family, and my future from falling apart. But lying there with Delilah, I finally understood.
A future wasn’t something one person held together alone.
It was something two people built.
Together.