Chapter 10
When Corbin only stood there staring, Belle quickly sat up and tried to explain.
“I bet you’re probably wondering what I’m still doing here. You see I was planning on getting a hotel room last night. But you’re right. The hotels anywhere close to town are a little seedy. And I just can’t stay with my family right now. So I thought you wouldn’t mind if I stayed a couple nights until I figured out what I wanted to do. But if you’re not agreeable to that, I’ll—” She cut off when Corbin held up a hand and stopped her.
Usually, he was dressed to perfection—his hair styled back, his T-shirts and western shirts spotless and wrinkle-free, and his boots polished. Today, his T-shirt was streaked with dirt and there was a tear in his jeans and mud on his boots. When he pulled off his hat and tossed it to the kitchen table, his hair looked sweaty and mussed.
Why this dirty, sweaty Corbin caused a tingle of sexual awareness to settle in the pit of her stomach, Belle didn’t know. But there it was, making her feel more than a little confused.
Corbin studied her for a long, tummy-tingling moment before he glanced down at the chips, candy, and soda cans that filled the coffee table. “Did you buy out Crawley’s entire snack section?”
She blushed. “I guess it looks like it, doesn’t it? And it’s all your fault. I had so much fun trying all the different drinks at the Hellhole, I decided to do the same with snacks.”
He arched an eyebrow. “And what conclusion did you come to?”
“Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are now my favorite chip. Chocolate Frosted Donut KitKats my favorite candy and Wild Cherry Pepsi my favorite soda.”
“I have to disagree.” He picked up the bag of barbecue chips and ate a chip. “Kettle Backyard Barbeque chips beat out Flamin’ Cheetos any day and no soda on God’s green earth will ever beat out Dr Pepper.”
She laughed. “Spoken like a true Texan. And what about candy?”
“I like it all.” He sat down on the couch next to her and picked up the KitKats and snapped off a bar. He finished the entire thing in two bites. “Damn. You’re right. These are good.” He glanced at the television where a commercial was playing. “So what are you watching?”
“Hope Floats.” When he didn’t appear happy with her choice, she amended. “But we could watch something else if you want.”
He shook his head. “Your decision, remember?”
“But it’s your home.”
He toed off his boots and placed his feet on the coffee table. “Not anymore.”
It should have been awkward watching a movie with a man she wasn’t sure even liked her. But for some reason, it wasn’t. Probably because this relaxed Corbin was different than the inflexible Corbin. She was surprised to see he had a hole in one sock and the tip of his big toe stuck out. It was somehow sweet and endearing. As were the flecks of barbecue dust on the corner of his mouth and the way he tried all the different candy she’d bought.
He was eating a Red Vines licorice when he glanced over and caught her staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing. I just noticed that you’re a little . . . mussed. Did Daddy have you working on the ranch today?”
Both eyebrows lifted. “I don’t work for your daddy.”
“I didn’t mean that. You just look like you’ve been doing manual labor.”
He glanced down at his shirt and brushed at a dirt spot. “Sunny and I ran across a steer caught in a mesquite tree and had to get him out. By Sunny’s reaction when the steer was free, you would have thought we’d lassoed the moon.”
Belle now understood why. “I saw her drawings of the ranch.” When his gaze shot over to her, she blushed. “I know. I shouldn’t have snooped, but now I get why you wanted her to have the ranch. It’s obviously her dream.”
He didn’t answer right away. He just stared at the television, his face set in its usual stern lines. But his voice wasn’t stern when he spoke. It was soft and achingly sad.
“She did those drawings mostly from memory. Uncle Dan only took us to the Holiday Ranch a few times when he was working for your daddy. But it was like every detail was burned into her brain.” He hesitated. “I get it. The Holiday Ranch is a picture-perfect home.”
She knew she shouldn’t side with Corbin. He was the man taking the ranch from her family. While she didn’t agree with his methods, she now understood them. He wasn’t a villain. He was just a man who loved his sister and wanted her to have the home she’d always dreamed about.
She reached out and touched his arm. “I understand. I would do just about anything for my sisters too.”
He turned to her. “Then make up with Liberty and stop holing up here.”
“I’m not holing up here.” When he sent her a skeptical look, she sighed. “Okay, I’m holing up. But I just can’t seem to think for myself when I’m around Liberty. It’s my own fault. I’ve always just followed her lead. But now I need to figure out how to lead myself. And like Mimi says, I can’t do that when Liberty and any of my sisters are around.”
His eyes narrowed. “Mimi? You’ve talked with her?”
“She called me yesterday and again this morning to check on me. She’s the one who talked me into taking a few days to figure things out . . . and the one who thought you wouldn’t mind me staying here.”
His eyes narrowed. “Of course she did.”
“Something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just starting to realize how ma—smart your grandmother is.” He glanced back at the television. “Are you that interested in this movie?”
“I’ve seen it about a hundred times. If you want to switch to something else, that’s fine with me.”
“Actually, I think I’d rather balance all this sugar with real food.” He got up and held out a hand. “Come on. Let’s go get some tacos.”
Ever since Belle could remember Tito’s Tacos truck had been parked in front of the town hall. The story went that Tito Senior had been relocating his family from El Paso to Dallas when his food truck had broken down in Wilder. Needing money for repairs, Tito had started making tacos and selling them to the townsfolk until he could get his truck fixed. But then other things started mysteriously happening to the truck—flat tires and missing engine parts. By the time all of those things got fixed, Tito and his family had gotten attached to Wilder and decided to stay.
Now Tito Junior ran the business and had added a variety of different tacos to the menu. Which, of course, made making a decision that much harder.
Belle studied the large chalk menu resting against the side of the truck. “I’m not sure if I want the fish tacos with mango salsa or the pulled pork with pico de gallo or the crispy chicken with spicy sour cream.”
Corbin looked at TJ, who was waiting to take their order, and shrugged. “I guess we’ll take two of each and a Dr Pepper and a Wild Cherry Pepsi.”
They ate their taco feast at the tiny tables on the sidewalk in front of the truck. Strings of fairy lights draped from the top of the truck over the tables and reflected in Corbin’s blue eyes like stars. Stars that Belle was having trouble looking away from.
“So?” he said once she’d tried each one of her tacos.
“Definitely, the fish tacos with mango salsa.”
“Pulled pork all the way for me.” He stole the rest of her pulled pork taco from the paper wrapper it rested on and finished it in two bites.
“Hey! Just because I like fish tacos better that didn’t mean I didn’t want the pulled pork too. It’s definitely number two.”
He shrugged as he finished chewing. “Why waste your time on second best?”
Since he had a good point, she couldn’t argue. But she did steal the rest of his fish taco. When he stared at her with surprise, she laughed and ended up choking on a chunk of fish. He was still thumping her on the back when Melba Wadley spoke behind them.
“Well, isn’t this a sweet scene right out of a romantic comedy? I didn’t realize you two were dat—No, Mickey Gilley!”
While Corbin and Belle watched in stunned horror, a big fuzzy dog pushed his way between them and devoured what was left of their tacos.
Melba grabbed the dog—that looked like a poodle mixed with Great Dane—by the collar and tugged him back from the table. “Now, Gilley, that’s not the way to make a good first impression.” The dog sat down on his haunches and licked his chops before sending Belle a sheepish grin that made her laugh.
“Well, hello, Gilley.” She reached out to pet him, but Corbin stopped her.
“No, Bella!” Even her surprise at his sharply spoken words didn’t stop the warmth his nickname always evoked. “Don’t show any signs of liking that dog or he’ll be yours. That’s how I ended up with Taylor Swift.”
He was right. Melba Wadley worked for Belle’s brother-in-law, Sheriff Decker Carson, and a nicer woman you’d never meet. But when it came to finding homes for her foster animals, she was tenaciously stubborn. The last thing Belle needed was a huge dog . . . with the sweetest face she’d ever seen. Even covered in sour cream.
“Now what are you talking about, Corbin,” Melba said. “You love Tay-Tay and Gilley will make a perfect companion for Belle. Especially since I heard she’s disowned her family.”
Belle stared at her. “Where in the world did you hear that? I didn’t disown my family. I would never do that. I’m just . . . taking a break.”
Melba looked confused. “A break from family? That just don’t make sense. You’re stuck with family . . . unless you have a falling-out.” She eyeballed Corbin. “And I think I can figure out what the falling-out is about. You’re dating the enemy.”
Corbin didn’t seem at all taken back, but Belle was.
“Firstly, Corbin and I are not dating. We’re just . . .” She searched for a word to describe their relationship and came up empty. They weren’t dating, but they certainly weren’t friends either. She left the sentence hanging and moved on. “And secondly, he’s not the enemy.”
Melba looked thoroughly confused. “So he’s not stealing your family’s ranch?”
“He didn’t steal anything. We defaulted on a loan and he just followed the contract my grandmother signed.” Belle made the mistake of looking at the dog. He was giving her such a soulful look she couldn’t help reaching out and stroking his fuzzy head. His eyes drifted closed as he snuggled against her palm.
Something that didn’t go unnoticed by Melba.
“Would you look at that? Gilley looks like he’s died and gone to doggie heaven. Of course, anything would be heaven after the hell this poor fella has been through. When I got him he was skinnier than a willow branch. Poor thing had been starved near to death.”
Belle’s heart tightened. “Starved?”
Corbin got up from the table. “As always, it was great seeing you, Melba, but we need to get going.” He took Belle’s arm and led her toward his truck.
Melba called after them. “If you change your mind about needing a pet, Belle, you know where to find me!”
Belle glanced back over her shoulder to see Gilley sitting at Melba’s feet looking forlorn.
“Don’t look,” Corbin said. “That’s what suckered me in.”
“Who starves an animal?”
He came to a stop and turned to her. “Do you want to go back? I just thought you had enough on your plate without worrying about a dog. But the choice is yours.”
“You’re right. I can’t take care of a dog when I can’t even take care of myself.”
“That’s not what I said.” Corbin pulled open the passenger door of his truck. “I said you have a lot on your plate. I think you’re taking pretty good care of yourself. You found a place to stay and are well fed. Or would have been if that huge hound hadn’t finished it off.”
Belle laughed and glanced back, but Melba and Gilley were already gone. Which made her sad.
Corbin sighed. “Like Melba said, you know where to find her if you change your mind.”
She wouldn’t. She didn’t need a dog right now. But that didn’t stop her from thinking about Gilley all the way back to the trailer.
Once there, Corbin hopped out and opened her door before he walked her to the foot of the rickety steps that led to the front door of the trailer.
“Well, thank you for dinner.” To avoid another awkward moment like the other night, she quickly climbed the steps and pulled out the key so she could unlock the door. Unfortunately, she struggled to get the key in the lock.
Suddenly, Corbin was there, his muscle body and heat surrounding her as he took the key from her. Once the door was open, she held out her hand for the key, but rather than dropping it into her hand, he placed it carefully on her palm and closed her fingers around it. She knew he only did it so she wouldn’t drop the key and they’d have to search for it in the dark. But the feel of his hand closed around hers sent a bolt of electricity arcing through her and her breath caught.
The sound seemed deafening in the silence of the night.
He stilled, a sure sign he’d heard. She should have pulled her hand away and made light of it. Instead, she just stood there with her pulse spiking and her insides sizzling and her gaze pinned on his perfect features that she could see in the flickering light of the television they’d left on.
“Was it a lie?” he said in a soft, husky voice that made her insides tremble. Her voice sounded just the opposite, high pitched and strained.
“Was what a lie?”
“What you said about me not being your enemy.”
She hesitated for a moment and tried to collect her turbulent emotions before she answered the question. “At first, I did think of you as the enemy. I thought you were taking the ranch because of what I did. But now I realize you’re just a brother who loves his sister and wants to give her the home she’s always dreamed of.” She hesitated. “But the Holiday Ranch is my family’s dream too, Corbin. It’s been in our family for over a century. It’s our heritage.”
“A heritage your family carelessly lost. If I hadn’t taken it from them, someone else would have. Someone who would have probably kicked them out without a backward glance and bulldozed the house and barn to put up wind turbines.”
It was true, but that didn’t make it any better.
“But at least it wouldn’t have been you.” She didn’t know where the words came from. They surprised her as much as they seemed to surprise him. He went perfectly still. She waited for him to say something—to question her words like she was questioning them. But he didn’t. He just stood there looming over her, holding her hand and radiating heat that warmed her like a cozy fire on a dreary rainy day.
She was reminded of another night. A night when she’d stood on her front porch and stared at the same face. An intense face that gave nothing away . . . except the vulnerability in his eyes. Like that night, she made a choice. A choice she had no business making.
She leaned in and kissed him.
His lips were as soft as she remembered. They hesitated for only a startled breath before they opened and he took over the kiss.
She had thought her schoolgirl memory had made Corbin’s kisses more than they were. She was wrong. She hadn’t kissed a lot of guys in her life, but she’d kissed enough to know that kissing was an art very few men took the time to study. But Corbin had studied it. He seemed to know exactly how to angle his head to make their lips fit perfectly and how much pressure to apply and how much tongue to introduce.
He didn’t tug her into his arms or push her up against the door. He didn’t grab her butt or slide a hand over her breast. He just stood there holding her hand and tipping her world on its axis with the skilled slide of his lips and heated strokes of his tongue. When he finally drew away, it was a struggle to keep standing. There was no way she could deal with all the conflicting emotions that swirled around inside her. So she tugged her hand free and fled into the trailer.
Once the door was closed, she rested against it and listened to the wild thumping of her heart and the sound of his truck driving away.