Chapter 12
I might have made another bad choice.
This thought popped into Belle’s mind as soon as she sat up in bed and saw the disaster Gilley had made of the room. The floor was littered with an empty Flamin’ Hot Cheetos bag, a water bottle that had been completely flattened, one of her high heels covered in teeth marks, a long trail of toilet paper that led all the way down the hall from the bathroom, a tube of Crest Ultra White that was leaking toothpaste from puncture holes, and a pair of her panties ripped to shreds.
Amid the mess sat Gilley with his tail thumping against the floor and Cheetos dust clinging to the fur around his mouth and a look that said, “Hey, Mom, did you see what I did?”
Belle sighed. “I guess that’s what I get for not putting you in the crate at night like Melba told me.”
As if she’d just praised him, Gilley took a flying leap onto the bed and knocked her back to the pillows, covering her face with sloppy kisses that had her giggling.
Okay, so maybe she hadn’t made such a bad choice.
Her cellphone rang and she held Gilley back so she could grab it from the nightstand. It was Mimi. Her grandmother had been checking on her at least twice a day since she’d moved into Corbin’s trailer.
“Good mornin’, Mimi.” She giggled again when Gilley licked her ear.
“You sound like you’re in a fine mood this morning. I gather you’re enjoying living at Corbin’s trailer.” Mimi paused. “I saw you two talking yesterday at the picnic.”
Belle’s face filled with heat. Why had she told Corbin she’d wanted to kiss him? She could have just let him continue to think she was manipulating him to get the ranch. But, no, she had to be honest. Of course, the upside was that he hadn’t believed her.
And why did that hurt so much?
“I guess you two are getting along better,” Mimi said.
Belle adjusted the pillows and leaned back on the headboard. “Not at all.”
“Hmm? He did look a little upset when you two were talking.” Mimi paused. “You do seem to be upsetting a lot of people lately. Have you talked with your sister?”
“Which one?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Belle Justine. You know which one. Whatever argument you and Liberty had you need to get over it and call her.”
“Why me? Why not Libby? I’m always the one who gives in first. This time, she needs to.”
“Because Liberty has always been the stubborn one while you’ve always been more levelheaded. And you can’t hide in that trailer forever.”
“I’m not hiding. I showed up to help with the Memorial Day picnic.”
“And that was real nice of you. Cloe and Sweetie don’t know a hill of beans about event planning. I hope you’re going to help them with the rest of the events while Liberty is gone.”
Belle had already decided she would. She couldn’t let her two expecting sisters be stressed out. That, and she missed the chaos of her job. She’d thoroughly enjoyed the Memorial Day picnic . . . even after Corbin had accused her of trying to trick him with hot kisses.
Hot kisses.
Her stomach tingled at just the thought of him thinking her kisses were hot.
“And I have another job for you.” Mimi cut into her thoughts. “You need to make sure everything is okay at the ranch while your daddy, mama, and I are visiting Hallie and Noelle.”
“What? You’re going to visit my sisters now? Why wouldn’t you wait until July after . . .” She let the sentence drift off, but Mimi finished it for her.
“We’re kicked off the ranch.”
“I don’t think Corbin will kick you off the ranch, Mimi. But you did tell him you’re going to leave at the end of the month. And I know you’d never go back on your word.”
“You’re darn right I wouldn’t.” Mimi hesitated. “But Corbin could still have a change of heart.”
Belle knew her grandmother was hoping for a miracle and she hated to burst her bubble, but she couldn’t allow her to keep hoping for something that wasn’t going to happen.
“Corbin isn’t going to change his mind, Mimi. If you could see the pictures Sunny drew of the ranch, you’d understand why. Sunny has dreamed about living on the Holiday Ranch for a long time. Corbin is only giving his sister her dream.” She thought the information would help her grandmother to see the truth. She should have known better.
“The ranch is big enough to fulfill a lot of families’ dreams, Belle. Including ours. We just need to keep the faith. Now are you going to come check on the ranch while we’re gone or not?”
“I don’t think Corbin would appreciate my help.” That was putting it mildly. “He doesn’t trust me.”
“He doesn’t trust a lot of people. After his childhood, you can’t very well blame him. But that doesn’t mean you give up on him. That’s exactly what his parents did. Corbin needs to know there are people in this world that will be there for him no matter what.”
“Fine. I’ll check on the ranch while you’re gone. But are you sure Daddy shouldn’t stay and just you and Mama go see Hallie and Noelle? Sunny and Corbin aren’t ready to start taking care of a ranch.”
“I guess we’ll see, won’t we? Now I need to go finish packing. I’m planning on taking both of your sisters some potted flowers. They might live in big city apartments, but that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy the glory the good Lord made. When I get home, I’ll bring you some to plant in front of the trailer.”
“No, thank you, Mimi. I’m planning on moving out of the trailer today.” She had no intentions of staying there when Corbin thought she was manipulative and untrustworthy. Nor did she plan on going out to the ranch and checking on things. She would call Sunny and make sure everything was okay. Corbin she planned to steer clear of.
It was late afternoon by the time she had packed all her things, fed Gilley and taken him for a long walk, and changed the sheets and cleaned the trailer. She was headed to Tito’s Tacos to get some fish tacos before she decided what hotel to check into when her cellphone rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but since it had a Texas area code, she answered it. Corbin’s deep, panicked voice took her by surprise.
“I need your help.”
“What happened?”
“It’s Sunny. She fell getting off her horse and I’m here at the county hospital.”
“Oh my God. Is she okay?”
“Do you think I’d be at the hospital if she were okay?”
Sunny’s voice came through the speaker. “Yes, because you’re a controlling, overreacting fool! I’m fine. It’s just a little sprain.”
“I’m not overreacting. We won’t know it’s only a sprain until the x-rays come back,” Corbin said. “Either way, we won’t be back to the ranch in time to take care of Tay and the horses.”
As much as she didn’t want to help Corbin after what he’d accused her of, she couldn’t leave horses and a kitten to go hungry.
“I’ll take care of them,” she said. “You just worry about Sunny.”
There was a long pause before he spoke. “Thank you, Bella. Tay’s in the laundry room and her food is in the pantry.”
It was weird to arrive at the ranch and not have someone coming out of the house to greet her. But Gilley didn’t seem to mind. As soon as she let him out of the car, he raced in circles like he’d just found doggy heaven. Worried he was going to get into something, like Mimi’s garden, Belle put a leash on him and walked him around so he could get used to all the different smells.
The horses were in the back pasture. When Gilley saw them, he immediately started barking and carrying on. They completely ignored him, but Belle figured it would be best to tie the dog up in the barn while she got them into their stalls and fed and watered them.
Once that was finished, she untied Gilley and headed for the house. Not trusting him with Tay, she got him a bowl of water and left him in the kitchen while she checked on the cat. Unfortunately, as soon as she opened the laundry room door, Tay streaked between her legs.
“Tay!” Belle raced after her, but Gilley got to her before Belle could. He excitedly jumped around Tay like he’d been given a brand-new toy and didn’t know what to do with it. He made the mistake of getting too close and received a sharp swat on the nose for his trouble.
You would have thought his nose had been sliced completely off by the way he squealed and skittered back against the stove, staring at Tay like she was the worst kind of assailant. Tay, on the other hand, showed no fear. She merely stood in the middle of the floor with her back arched, daring the dog to come closer.
Gilley didn’t. After only a few seconds, he placed his head on his paws and fearfully watched Tay drink water from his bowl as Belle prepared the kitten some dinner.
Once she’d fed Tay, she put her back in the laundry room before going out to the car and getting Gilley’s food. But the dog refused to take a single bite. He just stood at the laundry room door and whined until Belle let Tay back out. Then, once again, he kept his distance and watched the kitten play with a little crochet mouse.
Belle laughed. “So all you needed was a cute feline to make you behave.”
Gilley looked at her as if to say “cute”?
Belle could have put Tay back in the laundry room, collected Gilley, and left. She’d done what she needed to do. But the country values her mama had instilled in her since birth kicked in. When someone was hurting, physically or emotionally, you always made them food.
So she pulled a frozen casserole from the freezer and popped it into the oven before starting some drop biscuits. In Houston, she and Liberty never had time to cook. They usually grabbed takeout on the way home from the office. But that didn’t mean they didn’t know how. While they were growing up, Mama had made sure all her daughters helped out in the kitchen.
Belle had forgotten how much she enjoyed it. After putting the biscuits in the oven with the casserole, she chopped up some vegetables for a salad. She was making a lemon Dijon mustard vinaigrette when a car pulled up in front. Only moments later, Corbin and Sunny came in. Besides crutches and a wrapped ankle, Sunny looked fine.
If not a little ticked off.
“I swear I’m going to smother you in your sleep, Cory, if you don’t stop mother-henning me.”
“I’ll stop mother-henning you when you stop being so careless.” He pulled two chairs out from the table. “Now sit down and put up your foot.”
Sunny flopped down in the chair and put her wrapped foot on the other. “I wasn’t being careless. I was dismounting when that flock of pheasants spooked Sadie Mae. My foot twisted in the stirrup before I could get it out.”
Corbin ran his hand through his hair. He looked like he’d been through hell. “You’re lucky that horse didn’t drag you all over the countryside. You could have been . . .” He let the sentence drift off and looked like he was about to pass out.
Wanting to lighten the mood, Belle spoke up. “Is anyone hungry? There’s sausage and rice casserole and biscuits in the oven.” Corbin finally turned his attention to her.
“You cooked dinner? I didn’t ask you to do that?”
Sunny groaned. “What my socially inept brother means, Belle, is thank you. We appreciate it.”
Corbin cleared his throat. “Thank you.” He glanced around. “Where is Tay?”
Belle looked down where Tay had been playing with the toy, but the kitten was gone . . . and so was Gilley. “She was just here a second ago with Gilley.”
Corbin’s eyes widened. “Gilley? You brought that wild dog with you?” He hurried out of the room and she followed after him.
“I’m sure they’re fine. Tay put him in his place right away.”
He searched the living room. “So you decided it was okay to leave her alone with him? Have you lost your mind?”
Her temper flared. “Hey, I was doing you a favor.”
“My cat ending up in your dog’s stomach is not a favor.” He headed up the stairs.
Worried that might be the case, she hurried after him. They found both Tay and Gilley in Belle’s old bedroom, now Corbin’s room. The kitten was lying in the top compartment of her cat condo with half her body dangling out the little window as she batted at Gilley’s wagging tail. The dog had somehow squeezed into the lower compartment. All you could see was his tail, a pile of fur, and two soulful eyes.
“What the hell?” Corbin said.
Sunny crutched into the room and laughed. “It looks like you overreacted again, big brother.”
He turned to her with a concerned look. “You shouldn’t have walked up those stairs without my help.”
Sunny looked at Belle and shook her head. “He’s hopeless. Now let’s eat! I’m starving.” Belle started to make her excuses, but Sunny stopped her. “Oh, no, you’re not leaving me to eat alone with my overprotective brother. He’ll want to serve me in bed. You were nice enough to make dinner. It’s only right you should stay and help us eat it.”
Since Belle hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and was starving, she gave in. That and Gilley flat refused to come out of the cat condo. When Corbin tried to pick up Tay, he got a scratch.
“Stubborn females,” he grumbled before leaving the room.
Belle thought dinner would be awkward. And it would have been if not for Sunny. She was the complete opposite of her somber brother. She was talkative and funny and sweet . . . and loved embarrassing her brother.
“. . . I kid you not. He wanted to be a magician when he was eight and he was horrible at it. He did this card trick where you picked a card and he tried to guess what it was. He guessed wrong every single time, but he kept guessing until he finally pulled the right one out—even if it took going through the entire deck.” She winked at him. “But you did look cute in that cape you made out of Mom’s black satin negligee.”
Corbin’s cheeks turned bright red. “I’m sure Belle doesn’t want to hear about the stupid things I did as a kid.”
Belle smiled. “Actually, I do.” She had always thought his life had been so dismal. She was glad to know he’d had happy moments.
“He even asked for a white rabbit for Christmas that year,” Sunny continued. “But Daddy was allergic to animal dander so Cory got a stuffed one instead. Which was a good thing because when he swept off his top hat to show it was empty that stuffed rabbit went sailing.”
Corbin got up. “Enough magician stories. You need to lie down and rest.” Amid her protests, he lifted Sunny and carried her out of the room.
While he was gone, Belle cleared the table and started washing the dishes. She was drying the salad bowl when Gilley came racing into the room and jumped up to greet her with kisses. She set the bowl down and hugged him close, pressing her face into his soft fur that smelled a little like Flamin’ Cheetos.
“I can do the dishes.”
She looked up to see Corbin standing in the doorway holding Tay. His scowl was back and she figured she’d overstayed her welcome.
“I didn’t mind helping. You just need to wash the casserole dish.” She walked over and picked up her purse. She dug around in the side pocket until she found the key to the trailer and set it on the kitchen table. “Thank you for letting me stay at your trailer. I really appreciate it.”
He looked at the key and then at her. He started to say something, but then merely nodded.
When she and Gilley got outside, she led him to some bushes so he could do his business. But he didn’t seem to like their scent because he only gave them a couple sniffs before he started to whine.
“Fine. I’ll let you off the leash, but don’t dawdle. Or get anywhere near Mimi’s garden. You think Tay is tough, she’s nothing compared to my grandmother.”
“You can say that again. You don’t mess with Mimi.”
She looked up to find Corbin standing on the porch steps, cradling a sleeping Tay in his arm. Why did the sight always make her heart feel tight?
“You don’t want to stay at the trailer because of its bad condition or what I said at the picnic?” he asked.
She kept her gaze on Gilley who was taking his good sweet time finding a spot to pee. “I like the trailer. It’s cozy.”
“So it’s about what I said.”
“I’m not going to stay in your trailer when you think I’m trying to manipulate you to get this ranch. Like I said, I don’t want my family to have to leave a home they love, but unlike some people, I won’t do underhanded things to accomplish my goals.”
He came down the steps of the porch. “I didn’t do anything underhanded. Your daddy knew the conditions of the loan.”
“Well, I didn’t do anything underhanded either. I just kissed you because—”
“You wanted to. So you say. But why? Why did you want to?”
She didn’t have an answer for that so she took the offensive. “Why did you kiss me back? Because you did kiss me back, Corbin Whitlock. Both times.”
He was close now. So close she could see the five-o’clock shadow covering his jaw and the frown that tipped down his lips. And his eyes. His intense eyes that always made her feel breathless . . . and want to kiss him.
“You’ll stay here tonight,” he said.
She stared at him. “What?”
“You’ll stay here. You’re right. The trailer isn’t big enough for you and a huge dog.”
“I didn’t say that.”
He turned and whistled. Gilley lifted his leg before he came running. He jumped up on Corbin and gave him a sloppy kiss that made him laugh. “Okay, okay. You can sleep in Tay’s condo.”
“Now wait just one second,” Belle said. “I’m not staying here.”
Corbin looked at her, his gaze intense. “Why not? Are you afraid if you stay you’ll want more than kisses from me, Bella?”
She willed the tingle in her tummy away. “Absolutely not.”
“Then what’s the problem? It’s not like we’ll be sleeping in the same room.”
Just the thought of sleeping in the same room with Corbin had the tingle returning tenfold. She had two choices. Confess, not only to Corbin but also to herself, that she had somehow become infatuated with him. Or act like staying the night was no big deal.
“Fine. But only because it’s late and the hotels are probably full. So staying would be a smart choice.”
Corbin turned and muttered something under his breath that sounded an awful lot like . . .
“Sorta like licorice ice cream.”