Crazy About a Cowboy

by Dylann Crush

  “I’d love to have Buster join us.” Abby, Mrs. Taylor, and even Maggie waved until they disappeared from view. Delilah took in a deep breath and tried to look forward to the evening ahead. Lying on a blanket with Jasper. In the dark. What could possibly go wrong?

  * * *

  * * *

  It seemed like forever since Jasper had been to the Sunday night movie at the Hampton barn. He tried to remember exactly how long it had been and what movie had been playing. A hazy flashback of Adeline and him watching an eighties rom-com came to mind. He pushed that memory out of his head before thinking about Adeline ruined the whole evening.

  Delilah held the blanket he’d grabbed in one hand and Buster’s leash in the other while he carried the cooler. He wanted to find a spot far enough away so she wouldn’t feel like everyone was watching her. Speak of the devil. Adeline perched on a blanket next to a thin man with a receding hairline. Could that be her husband?

  She glanced up as they passed, her eyes narrowed.

  Jasper pretended like he didn’t see her and meandered through a sea of blankets until he reached a spot far away.

  “How’s this?” He stopped at the edge of the small group of moviegoers.

  “It’s fine with me.”

  He set the cooler down and took the blanket from her. Every time he tried to spread it out, Buster leaped up and grabbed an edge in his teeth.

  “Cut it out, Buster. If you let me get the blanket down, you’ll have a place to sit.” The scolding must have worked since Buster plopped down on his butt and huffed out a breath.

  “Let me help.” Delilah grabbed the opposite corners and together they stretched the blanket out and laid it down.

  “Thanks.” Jasper motioned to the dog. “There you go, bud. Pick your spot.”

  The damn dog walked in a circle, first one way, then the next, before plopping down in the middle of the blanket.

  “Wow. So much for sharing,” Jasper said.

  Delilah settled on the other side of the dog. “He hogs the bed, too, doesn’t he?”

  “You’ve just got to be tough and show him who’s boss.” Jasper patted his leg, trying to get the dog to get up and move over. On second thought, maybe it was best with Buster sitting between them. He’d spent all day trying to figure out how to put a muzzle on the attraction he’d been feeling for Miss Lovin’ Texas. Having Buster play chaperone might be the best thing that could happen this evening. At least with the big lug between them, Jasper couldn’t accidentally touch her.

  The one time he didn’t want the dog to obey instructions, Buster leapt to his feet and sat down right in front of Jasper. Now he’d look like a total dumbass if he made him lie back down where he’d been.

  “Aren’t you a good boy.” Delilah gave him a good, long scratch behind the ear.

  “Sorry if my family was a little much tonight.”

  She glanced over at him, the corners of her mouth already turning up. “They were a riot. I can’t imagine what the holidays are like at your house. It’s got to be utter chaos.”

  Nodding, he chuckled to himself. Utter chaos with a major side of dysfunction. “Funny thing is, I’ve never known anything else. I can’t remember when it was just Colin and me, so my earliest memories are of all us boys. When I think about the damage we’ve done over the years . . .”

  “What’s the worst trouble y’all got into?”

  “Hmm. I’m going to have to think about that one. But I do remember a few times we almost lost our heads.”

  “Your poor mama. What did you do?”

  “You really want me to divulge those kinds of family secrets?” He laughed at the way her eyes lit up. “Well, I remember one time Colin talked me into sneaking out in the middle of the night. My aunt Suzy had bought a new horse, and everyone said we weren’t old enough to ride him. Colin wanted to prove them wrong, so we snuck into her barn, and saddled him up.”

  “What happened?”

  “My uncle thought someone was breaking into the barn, so he fired his shotgun into the air. Damn horse spooked and took off like the devil himself was hot on his trail.”

  “And you and Colin?”

  Jasper could recall the sound of the wind whipping past his ears as he gripped his brother’s back. “Held on for dear life until we got to the edge of the property line and the horse bucked us off before he cleared the fence.”

  “Were you hurt?”

  Jasper pushed his sleeve up and exposed a long, faded scar on his forearm. “Shattered two bones in my arm. Colin walked away without a scratch.”

  “You were lucky.”

  “I suppose we were.”

  “What happened to the horse?”

  “A neighbor found him stomping through their field the next day and brought him home. Aunt Suzy was the only one who could ride him after that.” Jasper shook his head at the memory. He and Colin had been two of a kind back then. At least until he stopped letting his older brother talk him into causing trouble. Now they couldn’t be more different if they tried.

  Delilah let her hand rest on Buster’s head and adjusted her position on the blanket. Buster must not have been satisfied with the interruption in attention and scooted himself over to where his head and half of his upper body draped over Delilah’s lap. Then he let out a loud rush of gas.

  “Get off of her.” Jasper reached for the dog’s collar.

  “He’s okay.” Delilah laughed and gave him the sweetest smile as she ran her hand down the length of Buster’s side as far as she could reach.

  Buster eyed him like he was rubbing in the fact he was getting a full-body massage while Jasper didn’t even get to hold her hand.

  “Want something to drink?” He leaned toward the cooler. “They’ve also got popcorn for sale if you want some fresh-popped kettle corn.”

  “I’ll take a drink, but I don’t think I could eat another bite.”

  “Wine or lemonade?” Jasper held up a bottle of white wine he’d nabbed from his parents’ refrigerator.

  “Just lemonade tonight. That wine from earlier made me sleepy.” She gave him a lazy grin as Buster rolled over onto his other side between them.

  Jasper popped the top off a lemonade and handed it to her as the opening credits to the movie started to play.

  Two minutes in and the film shut down. The lights flipped on around the perimeter and Mr. Hampton called out from the small shed where they kept the projector. “Sorry, folks. There’s a problem with the film. Sit tight and we’ll see if we can fix it.”

  “Does this happen often?” Delilah took a swig of lemonade.

  “Not that I know of.” In all the years he’d been watching movies at the Hampton barn, he couldn’t remember a time when the film had been bad. They’d had to cancel for weather, but never for a mechanical failure. “I’ll go see what’s going on.”

  He left Buster and Delilah on the blanket and made his way to the shed. Other folks had started packing up their things and heading toward their cars. Great. His first night to try to make a good impression on his own with Delilah, and look what happened.

  “Y’all need some help?” He leaned in through the open doorway of the shed.

  Mr. Hampton turned, pieces of film in his hands. “Somebody cut the film.”

  “You sure about that?” Jasper eyed the pieces of filmstrip in the older man’s hands.

  “I don’t know how else to explain it.”

  Jasper groaned. “I’ve got Miss Lovin’ Texas here tonight. I was trying to show her the romantic side of Ido.”

  “I heard about that contest.” Mr. Hampton glanced toward the dispersing crowd. “Can you give me a few minutes? I’ll see if I have anything in the garage I can put on tonight. I’d hate for her to not get to experience a movie under the stars.”

  “Absolutely.” Jasper clasped a hand to the man’s shoulder
. “Thanks.”

  He made his way back to the blanket, searching for Adeline along the way. She must have gone. Bailing at the first sign of trouble had always been her style. At least half of the audience had left, making it feel a whole lot more intimate as a black-and-white film began to play. Casablanca. This one had to have come from the vault. He’d only seen it once, a long, long time ago when Aunt Suzy tricked him into watching it with her. He leaned back, ready to enjoy the show.

  There was something about being outside, sitting on a blanket under the clear Texas sky, that made him consider what it would feel like to pull Delilah next to him and wrap himself around her. While the movie held her captive, he kept his gaze trained on her.

  Too soon, it was over. The lights surrounding the seating area turned on as the final credits rolled. The remaining people stood and gathered their things before heading to their vehicles.

  Delilah didn’t move right away. For a moment Jasper wondered if she’d fallen asleep. He sat up, leaning toward her.

  She angled her face away from him and ran her finger under her eye.

  “Are you crying?” He put a hand on her arm—the first time he’d allowed himself to touch her since they sat down on the blanket together.

  Smiling, she faced him. “It’s silly. I’ve seen this movie a half dozen times. But it always gets me.”

  “Come here.” He put his arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his side.

  “I understand why they can’t be together. But what if they could? What if Rick and Ilsa turned their back on convention and ran off together?”

  “Then it wouldn’t be Casablanca.” He lifted his other shoulder in a half shrug. “The story resonates with so many people because of the sacrifice. If he threw her husband under the bus and ran off with her, it wouldn’t be a classic.”

  “But do you think she’ll ever be happy without him?” Delilah turned her face toward him and it took everything he had not to lift his finger to her cheek and wipe away the trace of her tears.

  “I don’t know.”

  “If I found a love like that, I wouldn’t be able to walk away.” The firmness of her voice surprised him.

  “What if he lived on the other side of the world? Say an apartment in Paris. Would you give up everything you have here to follow him?”

  “They have internet in Paris. I could still run my business from there.”

  “What if he lived on a remote island? Maybe he raises sheep in New Zealand or something? No internet, no cell phone service. Would you follow him there?”

  Her forehead furrowed. “If we had a love as strong as Rick and Ilsa’s, I suppose I wouldn’t have a choice.”

  “Hmmm.” He nodded.

  “What, you disagree?” The tears had stopped, and her jaw now held a hint of the stubbornness he’d seen in her before.

  “I don’t think it’s that simple.” He held out a hand and helped her to her feet. The other moviegoers had left by then, leaving them alone with the Hamptons. Jasper folded up the blanket and clipped a leash on Buster, who seemed eager to help with the cleanup effort.

  “What’s not simple about that? She loves him, he loves her.”

  “Yeah, but sometimes other things get in the way. Things too important to overlook. I mean, in the movie, there’s a war going on. No matter how much they love each other, he has to put her safety and his own responsibilities above everything else.” Jasper set the blanket on top of the cooler and held out Buster’s leash. “Can you hold him for a minute? I want to give the Hamptons a hand.”

  Delilah took the leash but joined him when he bent down and began to clean up the lawn. The sight of the beauty queen picking up discarded popcorn buckets and empty soft drink cans made him do a double take.

  “I’ve got this. You can go wait in the truck with Buster if you want.”

  She shrugged. “I don’t mind. Besides, what’s that saying about many hands make for less work?”

  “‘Many hands make for light work.’ My grandma used to say that all the time.” He grabbed a trash can from the edge of the clearing and rolled it to the middle. “Here, you can toss that stuff in here.”

  “Thanks for your help, Jasper.” Mr. Hampton walked over and threw some trash into the barrel. “We can handle the rest. You young folks go on and enjoy the rest of your evening.”

  Jasper cast a glance around the space. They’d gathered almost everything. “Thanks for another great movie night, Mr. Hampton.”

  “I really enjoyed it.” Delilah gave the older man a smile.

  His eyes lit up at her attention. “Edna and I met at the movies. Of course, back then, a night at the theater only cost you about a dollar, including popcorn. We like to do what we can to provide an opportunity for other folks to experience the same kind of magic that brought us together.”

  Jasper couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought to make introductions. “Mr. Hampton, meet Delilah Stone. She’s the reigning Miss Lovin’ Texas and is in town to consider Ido for the title of most romantic small town in Texas.”

  “Is that so?” Mr. Hampton nodded. “Edna, come meet the woman who’s going to fall in love here in Ido.”

  Jasper’s cheeks heated and he shot a glance to Delilah. The comment hadn’t rattled her at all. The glimpse he’d had of her vulnerable side had been replaced by the smiling, friendly demeanor she seemed to be able to slide on at will.

  “It’s so nice to meet both of you. I’d shake your hands, but I’ve been picking up trash. How long have you been hosting Sunday night movie nights?”

  A glance passed between the Hamptons. “Oh, I’d say maybe about, what, twenty-five years?” Mr. Hampton said.

  Mrs. Hampton nodded her agreement. “Maybe thirty. It’s so nice to give young folks a place to spend an affordable evening out. We show family movies, too. So many of the couples who used to come here on dates now bring their kids. It’s a wonderful tradition.”

  “I had a fantastic time tonight. Thank you for having me.” She gave them another grin.

  “We ought to be on our way.” Jasper moved the trash can back to the edge of the clearing. He met up with Delilah by the passenger side of the truck. “Did you have a good time?”

  She nodded as she squirted some hand sanitizer in her hand. “Here, take some of this.”

  “What all do you have in that purse? You’re like a Boy Scout. Aren’t they the ones who are always prepared?”

  “Do you want some or not?”

  He held out his palm, then rubbed the hand sanitizer between his hands. “There. Now I’m ready for anything.”

  “Anything?” she asked, a sly smile spreading across her lips.

  twelve

  “What exactly do you have in mind?” Jasper sat behind the wheel, looking at her like he could see past the front she put on for everyone else, like he could see straight through to her core.

  “I don’t know. That lemonade you gave me must have been full of sugar. I was pretty tired when we got here, but I think I’d have trouble falling asleep if you dropped me back at the house now.” That was mostly true. What she really wanted was the chance to spend more time with him.

  “So you’re looking for a way to burn off some of that energy?” His eyes might have sparkled a little. Or maybe it was the light hitting him at just the right angle. It could have been wishful thinking, but she felt like he was flirting with her a bit.

  “Sure. Do you have any ideas?” She flirted right back. That kiss they’d shared the night before had left her in a worthless state. The more she thought about it, the more she felt completely unfulfilled. The kiss itself had been remarkable. But it had also cracked open a longing she couldn’t seem to shake. Lying next to Jasper through the movie, even with a dog the size of Buster between them, had only increased her inexplicable need.

  “We could”—he checked his phone for the time—“
head over to the bar in Swynton for a drink. They’re serving for another couple of hours.”

  “Isn’t that pretty far out of the way?”

  His shoulders rolled. “Well, yeah. But it’s not like I’ve got to get you somewhere super early tomorrow.”

  “If that’s what you want to do.”

  He studied her for a long beat. “I’ve got another idea.”

  “Uh-oh. What kind of idea?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He fired up the engine and headed back the way they came. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he fiddled with the radio dial with the other. “What kind of music do you like?”

  “I’m flexible.”

  He settled on a country station. “You sure are accommodating tonight.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Buster’s nose nudged into her arm. Technically he was sitting in the back seat, although he’d been working his way onto the console.

  “Get back, Buster.” Jasper rested his elbow between them, forcing Buster to retreat to the back seat again. “He’s used to riding shotgun.”

  “I feel so special. You’ve given me priority seating over your dog.” Delilah let out a soft laugh. Maybe it was the sugar in the lemonade. Or maybe it was spending the evening watching one of the most romantic movies of all time, knowing she was sitting next to the best kisser she’d ever met. Whatever it was, something had loosened her grip on her self-control. She’d shed the weight of her public persona. For some reason when she was alone with Jasper, she felt like she didn’t have to put on airs or worry about what he would think of her.

  “You should feel special. You’re the first woman to displace Buster to the back seat. Not even Abby gets to ride up front when he’s in the truck.” Jasper reached back and ruffled the dog’s fur, earning him a few long swipes of wet dog kisses.

  Delilah smiled to herself. Jasper had just confirmed there wasn’t another woman in his life. She’d assumed as much after spending the night at his place. But having him confirm that she was the first woman to displace the dog convinced her he wasn’t dating around. That definitely made her feel better about planting that humdinger of a kiss on him the night before.