by Beth Wiseman
“Are you even hearing what I’m saying?” Sherry leaned in close, and Alyssa realized that she’d zoned out of the conversation with thoughts of Brendan.
“Sorry. What?” Alyssa felt her face reddening again and she looked over at Dalton, who was looking down at his boots. Gorgeous Tony Lama ostrich boots that cost a fortune. Alyssa remembered her brother drooling over them when Dalton was at their house for dinner a few months ago.
Sherry shook her head. “Never mind. I see Monroe heading my way with my funnel cake. And I’m going to meet him halfway, then dive into that thing with a vengeance.” She pointed at Alyssa and Dalton and winked again. “You kids have fun.” She turned and headed toward her husband.
Dalton smiled as he scratched his cheek. They both watched Sherry picking up the pace as she got closer to Monroe. “Do you think she knows that once the baby comes, she’s not going to look like the same Sherry as before she got pregnant?”
Alyssa laughed. “I know. I keep thinking the same thing. She’s always been so tiny, but she’s really ballooned during her pregnancy. She’s not going to like all that leftover baby fat.”
Dalton’s eyes were still on Sherry and Monroe. “I don’t think Monroe would care. Those two have something really special.”
Alyssa watched Monroe hold the funnel cake while Sherry took a bite. “I couldn’t agree more. And I think they will be great parents too.” Her eyes involuntarily began searching the area again.
“He’s over there.” Dalton pointed to his left. Sure enough, there stood Brendan talking with a group of other men. And once again, Alyssa felt herself blushing.
“I wasn’t looking for Brendan.” She shrugged. “If that’s what you were thinking.”
“Yeah, you were.” Dalton turned to face her. “And that’s okay, Alyssa. It really is.” He shifted his weight, but kept his eyes on hers. “Listen, I know you’re not over Brendan. And I’m willing to play this however you want to.”
Alyssa opened her mouth to tell him he was wrong, that she was over Brendan, but she bit her lip, not wanting to be guilty of another lie.
Dalton gently latched onto her shoulders. “I like you, Alyssa. I want to get to know you better. I know two months isn’t long enough for you to be over Brendan—believe me, I know. All I’m asking for is a shot.” He spoke to her softly and added a smile. “But for today, you tell me how you want to handle our being together, and I’ll go along with whatever you want.”
“I—I’m not out with you just to make Brendan jealous.” It was true, but if her being with Dalton hurt Brendan to the core, then so be it. No sooner had she had the thought than her chest tightened, and another round of mixed emotions swallowed her up. I don’t ever want to hurt Brendan. Even though he destroyed me.
“I know that’s not the only reason you’re out with me.” Dalton dropped his hands to his sides, then hooked his thumbs in his back pockets. “But I’m thinking you might still want to get in a few digs with Brendan.” He reached for her hand, and started walking in the direction of the circle of men where Brendan stood.
“No, let’s don’t go over there.” Alyssa dug her feet into the grassy area, rooting them beneath her.
“That’s fine.” Dalton still had hold of her hand, but he stopped when she did. “We can leave if you want to.”
Alyssa shook her head. “No. My dad would be really disappointed.”
Dalton squeezed her hand. “Okay. Just know that you can talk to me. I don’t want either one of us to have to pretend to be someone we’re not. It’s okay to be nervous about seeing your ex out in public, especially when you’re on a date.”
Alyssa’s pulse slowed down a bit. “Thank you. Does it show? That I’m a little nervous?”
Dalton squeezed her hand again. “You wouldn’t be normal if you weren’t. I remember when Pam brought this other guy home with her for the weekend. It ate me up, even though I didn’t want to get back together with her.”
She squeezed his hand back and recalled what Alex had told her about Dalton and Pam’s breakup. They hadn’t been split up for much longer than she and Brendan. “Thank you,” she said again as she took a deep breath. But her heart rate sped up again when she locked eyes with Brendan and he started walking toward her and Dalton.
The closer he got, the faster he walked. Until he was right in front of them.
Brendan wanted to shove Dalton to the ground and tell him to stay away from Alyssa. But he extended his trembling hand instead. And in the presence of someone like Dalton Landreth, the last thing a guy wanted was a shaky hand.
“Great day for this event.” Brendan tried to stand taller as he made the comment, and he avoided Alyssa’s eyes, fearful he’d burst into tears. Why did it have to be Dalton Landreth? The guy wasn’t just great looking. He was also incredibly nice, someone Brendan had always liked. But right now he really wanted to hate Dalton.
“Yeah. It’s a good day for it.” Dalton’s handshake was brief and a tad too firm. His other hand stayed intertwined with Alyssa’s, and Brendan tried to calm his racing heart by taking a couple of deep breaths. This was bound to happen—Alyssa with someone else. But so soon?
“You look great, Alyssa.” Brendan blinked a few times. Please, Lord, don’t let me cry. Alyssa nodded and seemed to force a smile. He hadn’t seen her in almost a month. Alyssa’s boss, Jillian, had banned Brendan from the boutique, and Alyssa’s father had recently paid Brendan a visit too. It took everything in him not to blurt out how sorry he was—again—then beg her to take him back—again. But apparently this was a date, with hand holding and all, so he tried to keep himself in check. Which turned out to be a total failure. “Alyssa, can I please talk to you alone?”
“No.” She didn’t even hesitate as she inched closer to Dalton. Alyssa looked up at the tall hunk of man next to her, and Brendan knew he couldn’t compete with this guy physically, but he knew in his heart that Alyssa hadn’t stopped loving him overnight. “I’m thirsty,” she said as she batted her eyes at her date. “Maybe we can find some tea.”
“Sure.” Dalton turned to Brendan. “Maybe this isn’t the best time to talk, Brendan. But we’ll see you around, okay?”
Brendan took a step closer to Alyssa. “Please, Alyssa. I need to talk to you.” He’d said it a hundred times, it seemed, but Alyssa had only given him one chance to explain, two days after he left her at the altar. And he’d given her a version of the truth that hadn’t won her back.
“Hey, man. I don’t think she wants to talk right now.” Dalton looked like he’d grown another foot as he faced off with Brendan. “Maybe another time.” He coaxed Alyssa to come with him, and Brendan fought the urge to follow them.
Dalton handed Alyssa a plastic glass filled with sweet tea. “You okay?” He took a sip from his own glass, but kept his eyes on her. She was so beautiful, in ways he’d never even noticed before. He’d always been aware of her outward appearance—her gorgeous dark hair, tawny brown eyes, vibrant smile, and just enough curves to keep a man awake at night. But today he saw a transparency he’d never noticed before.
When Brendan showed up, there’d been no mistaking the hurt she still felt. Dalton saw it in her eyes, the way her lip quivered, the way her hand turned instantly clammy as she squeezed his. Alyssa felt things deeply, and as sorry as he was that she was hurting, he liked that about her. Pamela had never shown much emotion about anything, and that had bothered Dalton a little, though the sex more than made up for it—or so he’d thought. But maybe that’s why he’d cheated on Pam those times—because he wasn’t even sure she cared. With Alyssa, he’d always know where he stood.
“Might as well face it—I’m going to run into Brendan sometimes.” Alyssa’s voice broke into his thoughts. She eased her hand from his and cupped her glass with both hands. “Thanks for being so great about it.”
Dalton swallowed hard. “Um, you know if you want to talk to him, it’s okay with me.” A tiny lie, but Dalton had learned enough about love to know it was something y
ou couldn’t control. Either Alyssa would get over Brendan or she wouldn’t, and pushing her too hard wouldn’t help. But surely Dalton could nudge her a little.
She shook her head. “What he did is unforgivable. And not only that, he keeps embarrassing me in front of the entire town. He came into the boutique last month with a violinist playing ‘La Vie en Rose.’ ”
Dalton covered his mouth with one hand, but she saw his smile. “Go ahead. You can laugh. That’s what the whole town is probably doing.” Alyssa looked away, and Dalton felt like a louse.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing at Brendan.” He couldn’t contain his grin. “The guy is crazy in love with you to do that.” He shrugged. “Gotta give him credit, I guess.”
“No. He is keeping what happened fresh in everyone’s mind. The more stunts he pulls, the more people talk about poor Alyssa, the girl whose groom ran out on her at the last minute. And all I want is for people to forget about it. I just want to move on.”
Dalton touched her gently on the arm. “I get it. Really.” He paused, trying to decide whether to put his own heart out there with hers. “I hope I can help you. Move on, that is.” He eased his arm away, but when she smiled he wished he could hug her.
She gestured toward the crowd that had gathered by the sandstone monument. “I have to stay here for a while, at least until after the reenactment. But maybe we could leave after that?” She pushed back a ringlet of dark hair that the wind had blown across her cheek.
“I think that sounds great. And you pick where you’d like to eat. Anything is fine with me.”
She smiled, and Dalton felt warm all over for the first time since he and Pam had broken up. He felt hopeful, and he was looking forward to spending some time alone with Alyssa.
Brendan dialed Rudy Schmutz’s cell phone repeatedly. It had never occurred to him that Alyssa might have a date for the festivities, and something about the way Alyssa had looked at him just then seemed like a strong indication that the banner wouldn’t go over well today. Maybe he had been doing too much. Maybe time was what Alyssa needed. He knew Rudy would keep the three hundred dollars no matter what, but going on with his plan would be really awkward. Everyone was already chattering about how Alyssa had shown up today with Dalton.
“Answer the phone, Rudy!” Brendan yelled in a whisper. But several more calls, and still no answer. He stuffed the phone into the pocket of his jeans, took his hat off, and ran his sleeve across a sweaty forehead. He put the Stetson back on his head and looked up to the sky. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone walking toward him.
“Hey, Mr. Pennington.”
Alyssa’s father folded his arms across his soldier uniform and frowned. “Hello, Brendan. Alyssa is here with Dalton, on a date.” He paused, a strange expression on his face, and Brendan couldn’t tell if Mr. Pennington was happy or upset about this. Brendan was well aware how disappointed Alyssa’s father was in him. He’d said so several times, and Brendan regretted hurting him almost as much as he hated letting Alyssa down. The man had been like a father to him.
“Yes, sir. I saw them together earlier.” He forced a smile, but Mr. Pennington knew him well enough to know it was fake.
“No trouble from you today.” Alyssa’s father pointed a finger at him. “And quit sending flowers and kittens and . . . whatever else to the house. We talked about this.”
“Did she like the cat?” Brendan raised an eyebrow and waited. Alyssa loved animals. Surely he’d won a few points for that effort.
“She gave the cat to Glenda Hightower. We already have a cat.”
“What? She loves cats. She wouldn’t do that.” Brendan kicked at the grass with his boot, then looked back up at Mr. Pennington. “She didn’t want it because it was from me, right?”
Mr. Pennington put a hand on Brendan’s shoulder. “Son, you have to let this go. At least for now. You’re making everyone crazy, especially Alyssa. She just wants you to leave her alone. You’re gonna have to give the girl some time to heal. Then maybe she’ll want to talk to you after a while. I told you all this when we talked. This is the last time I’m going to ask you to stop pursuing her.”
“Yes, sir.” He sighed. “But what if I wait too long and she falls for Dalton? Then what?”
Mr. Pennington scratched his forehead, then stared long and hard at Brendan. “It is what it is, Brendan. If you’re meant to be with Alyssa, then the good Lord will guide you back to each other. But if she’s meant to be with Dalton, then that’s that.”
“You know she loves me, Mr. Pennington. And you know how much I love her.”
He stared at Brendan for a long time before he answered. “I thought I did, son. I really did.” Then he turned and walked away. Brendan felt like he’d been punched in the gut. He tried again—repeatedly—to get hold of Rudy.
Alyssa was sure that if anyone could mend her broken heart, it was Dalton. She’d always known he was a good guy, even though she’d mostly admired him from afar. Because he was Alex’s friend, he’d shared plenty of dinners with her family, but Alyssa had usually left right afterward to go meet Brendan, and of course Dalton had been with Pam. Everything seemed so different now, and she was going to keep an open mind. Maybe there was new love on the horizon?
When Dalton slipped away to the bathroom, she glanced toward Brendan but quickly looked away. She didn’t want him walking back over and trying to start up a conversation again. Well, part of her did. Part of her wanted to hear every single word that Brendan had to say, yearned for him to make things right again. But she didn’t believe he could ever make things right. Dalton might be an opportunity for a fresh start. At the very least he was sweet, easy on the eyes, and something to take her mind off of Brendan.
She cringed when she heard a plane overhead. They were close to the small airport in La Grange, but this plane was flying really low. She cupped her hands over her ears while she waited for Dalton to get back. Sherry and Monroe walked up beside her.
“Goodness me. That plane is so low. And it keeps dipping down on the other side of that hill over there, then coming back up again.” Sherry covered her ears with her hands too.
“That’s a Pawnee. Looks like Rudy’s plane, but I don’t think he’s crop dusting.” Monroe put a hand to his forehead, squinting from the bright sun. “When they tote a banner, they have to pick it up. They gotta swoop down within about five feet of the ground and pick it up with this special hook. The pilot can’t get off the ground if he’s already pulling the sign. I watched Rudy do it once a few years ago. It usually takes several tries, and Rudy’s the only guy I know crazy enough to do that.”
Alyssa glanced toward the bathroom, but no Dalton. She locked eyes with Brendan again, then tore her eyes away and willed him to stay where he was. She and Brendan used to do a lot with Sherry and Monroe.
The plane went out of sight again but quickly resurfaced. With a banner.
“Look!” Sherry bounced up on her toes. “I wonder if that banner says something about the reenactment. How cool!”
Cool isn’t how Alyssa felt when she read the words on the banner as it swayed to and fro above their heads. You have to forgive me, Alyssa. I love you. Please marry me.
“Uh-oh.” Sherry edged closer to Alyssa. “Try not to kill him. He does all this out of love.”
Alyssa felt her nostrils flaring as she clenched her hands at her sides. By the time she got to Brendan, she had tears streaming down her face.
Brendan opened his mouth several times, but there was no hope of getting a word in edgewise. He’d never seen Alyssa so mad.
“Why? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” She swiped at her eyes, and Brendan took a step toward her, longing to hold her. But Alyssa took a step backward. “Don’t touch me! Don’t get near me!”
“I’m sorry. What can I do? I’ll do anything.” Brendan lifted his shoulders, then slowly lowered them. “I love you, baby. You know that. It’s me. It’s Brendan. I love you.”
Alyssa stepped toward him again, her lip trembling, her cheeks bright red and stained with tears. “If you love me so much, then hear what I’m saying. I want you to leave me alone, Brendan. I am begging you to stop all these—”
The roaring overhead almost drowned out her words. Brendan hadn’t factored in how loud the plane would be, and everyone was looking up as Rudy wove back and forth overhead.
“I know you still love me,” he shouted over the racket. “And I did try to get hold of Rudy when I saw you with Dalton, to tell him not to fly over.”
She put both palms out in front of her and eased back a few more steps. “Stay away from me.” After a few moments, she put her hands at her side and stared at him. “I don’t love you anymore, Brendan. I don’t love you.”
When she turned around, she fell right into Dalton’s waiting arms, and Dalton shot Brendan a scowl that meant business. But Brendan couldn’t move as he watched Alyssa bury her head in Dalton’s chest. He watched as they walked out of sight. Rudy was still circling overhead. All Brendan wanted to do was to tackle Dalton to the ground.
Dalton led Alyssa into Las Fuentes Mexican Restaurant and pointed to a table in the very back. “Can we sit back there?” he asked the woman who greeted them.
After they were settled, he looked across the table at Alyssa. “I’m pretty sure there’s no problem Mexican food can’t fix.” He smiled, hoping for a glimmer of happiness from his date.
She offered up a weak smile. “I’m not very hungry, but if anything can make me feel better, I guess it’s Mexican food.” She shook her head, then sighed. “I’m so sorry about all this. I’m sure you wished you’d never asked me out.”