by Dylann Crush
Zeb turned around in his chair. “What’s up?”
“This is Delilah. She’s the current Miss Lovin’ Texas and I’m showing her around the rescue. I told her about the program we’re working on that pairs youth with the dogs.”
Zeb nodded. “It’s been working well so far. The kids get a chance to work with the animals and the dogs get the opportunity to socialize and learn some good behaviors. Some of these kids feel so out of control. It’s cool to watch them learn how to control their own emotions.”
“What happens to the dogs? Do the kids get to adopt them?” Delilah asked.
“If possible. But their home environment doesn’t always allow that. Some of these kids live in apartments or mobile homes that don’t allow pittie mixes.” Zeb glanced toward Zina. “But my sister’s working on trying to change some of that.”
“You’re siblings.” Delilah felt so stupid for not noticing that sooner. The high cheekbones were the same, and so were the brown eyes.
Zeb grinned. “I don’t like to advertise it.”
“I’m not that bad, am I?” Zina gave her brother a playful punch to the shoulder.
“Nah.” He leaned down and patted his thigh. The dog who’d been lying at his feet got up then sat down next to him. “This is Semper. He’s the reason we started the program.”
“Can I pet him?” Delilah asked.
Zeb nodded.
She reached her hand out to the dog. Semper sniffed, then glanced up at Zeb, who nodded at him. The dog nudged his head under her hand.
“He likes you,” Zeb said.
“Want to meet some of the other dogs?” Zina asked.
Delilah nodded. “It was nice to meet you, Zeb.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” He called Semper back to his side.
Zina led her back to the main room, then through a door to the back of the building. “Zeb and Semper are proof that the programs we’re putting in place work.”
“Was he in the military?”
“We both were. He came home with debilitating PTSD. I feel like Semper is the only reason I have my brother back.”
“Do you think the same kind of training you’re doing with the teenage boys would work to empower girls?” Delilah’s head spun with ideas. Maybe that would be a way to work directly with the girls she wanted to help.
“Absolutely. I mean, it depends on your goals. But we’ve seen incredible progress with some of the kids we’ve been working with. Zeb takes a van full of dogs into the city twice a week and runs classes at a local park. Some of these kids have been through hell and back. Working with the dogs teaches them how to build empathy and gain confidence. A dog won’t respond to a handler who’s out of control. I’ve seen kids start with nothing and end up working their way through school, getting jobs, and turning their backs on the bad influences that landed them in trouble in the first place.”
“I’m working with my mentor on putting some programming together to empower young girls. I don’t know if there’s a place for training dogs somewhere in there, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”
“Are you working locally? I’m sure we could partner on an initiative.”
“I’m not sure.” Delilah’s current plans involved moving back to Dallas at the conclusion of her term as Miss Lovin’ Texas. That was about as far from local as she could get. But Zina’s testimony had given her plenty to think about.
“Have you ever had a dog?” Zina asked.
“No. I never had a chance. We moved around so much as I was growing up.”
“That’s too bad.” Zina leaned down and opened the kennel of a shy light brown dog. “This here is Chantilly. She was surrendered a few weeks ago when her owners found out she was pregnant.”
“When is she due?” Delilah ran a hand over the dog’s head, pausing to scratch behind her ears.
“Another six to eight weeks. We’ve had a lot of puppies born at the rescue.” Zina shook her head. “It’s a damn shame what some of these poor creatures go through.”
Delilah spent the rest of the afternoon helping out around the shelter. She fed the dogs, worked with a few of the newer rescues on how to walk on a leash, and spent plenty of time being smothered in warm, wet doggie kisses. By the time she checked her phone, it was almost dinnertime.
“You want to stay for dinner?” Zina asked.
“Thanks, but I’ve got plans.” At least she thought she did. She wasn’t sure where she and Jasper had left things. Last night had been magical, but he’d been a little distant that morning and disappeared before she could say good-bye after lunch. For a moment she wondered if he’d changed his mind about getting involved. But that was silly. She didn’t have any reason to doubt him.
“If you want to come back and visit, you’re welcome anytime.” Zina walked her to the parking lot, where Delilah’s obnoxious pink truck sat in the shade.
“Thank you so much. I may take you up on that if I can come up with a way to work the dog training into the program I’m putting together.”
“Like I said, I’m happy to help.” Zina pulled her in for a hug. “Any friend of Lacey’s is a friend of mine.”
Delilah waved through the windshield as she drove away. Friends. She could easily be friends with a woman like Zina. Lacey, too.
For the first time in a long time she let herself imagine what it would be like to settle down somewhere. Somewhere she could be herself and stop worrying about putting on a front or keeping up appearances. Moving back to Dallas and working side by side with Stella every day wouldn’t provide that kind of environment. Could she find that somewhere else? Somewhere like Ido?
As she pondered her future, her phone lit up. Jasper. “Hello?”
“Hey, sorry about earlier. If you’re up for grabbing a bite, I’d love to take you out.”
“I’d like that.”
He told her he’d pick her up at her camper in forty-five minutes and she disconnected. They’d be far enough from Ido tonight that she wouldn’t have to wear her sash. She and Jasper could be two people out on a date.
Just a guy and a girl who might kind of like each other sharing a meal.
fifteen
Jasper scrubbed a towel over his hair as he stepped out of the shower. Looked like Colin had gotten up earlier, raided the fridge, and was now passed out again in his bed. He and his brother were going to have to have a heart-to-heart soon. But right now, Colin needed sleep more than anything. He looked like shit. Shit that had been run over a few times. Besides, he wasn’t going anywhere without his boots, and Jasper didn’t want to let his brother’s unwelcome arrival get between what had started up with him and Delilah.
By the time he’d tiptoed into the bedroom and pulled on some clean clothes, Colin stirred.
“Hey.” Colin swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Where are you off to looking so spruced up?”
“Dinner.”
Colin ran a hand over his belly. “I’m starving. Want to pick me up something while you’re there?”
Jasper shoved an arm through his sleeve. “Not really. Are you ready to talk to Bodie?”
Colin let his head drop. “I changed my mind. Just give me my boots back, and I’ll be on my way.”
“That’s how you want to play it?” Jasper asked. “You show up here, a gash in your arm, and now that you’re fixed up, you want to pretend like everything’s fine again?”
“Look”—Colin stood and stretched his arms over his head—“I was in a jam. You helped me out, and now I’ll be on my way.”
“I’m not going to continue to protect you.”
“Is that what you call it?” Colin smirked. “No offense, little bro, but not even you can protect me from the bogeymen I’m involved with now.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way, you know. I can help.”
“Help what? I’m not going back to jail. I
can’t.” His gaze changed. Something dark passed through. Colin stepped into the jeans he’d shed when he crawled into Jasper’s bed the night before. “I’d rather die than go back to prison.”
“What if it didn’t come to that? Let me talk to Bodie. We’ll figure something out.” Jasper hadn’t planned on seeing his brother again. But now that he was here, how could he turn him away without trying to help?
He thought he was helping by taking the blame for Colin’s absence. He’d rather have his parents think that he and Colin had a falling-out than break his mom’s heart by telling her he’d gone to jail. He thought he was protecting everyone. But now he knew he couldn’t spend his life trying to fix everything for everyone. It was impossible. And sooner or later, the lies he told, even if he’d told them with good intentions, were going to catch up to him.
“I don’t think Bodie’s going to want to hear what I have to say. At least not enough to keep me from going back to jail.” Colin cocked his head. “Any chance I can bum a clean shirt off of you?”
“Yeah, take what you want.” It was clear Colin wasn’t going to accept his help. Maybe he could appeal to his buried sense of family. “Hey, did you hear Lucas has a kid now?”
Colin picked a shirt from the drawer and tugged it on over his head. “No shit?”
“Maggie. She’s almost three. Mom’s planning a birthday party for her next month. If you stick around—”
“Cut it out. You know I can’t do that. Just give me my boots and I’ll be gone before you get back from dinner with that hot beauty queen you’ve been banging.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Jasper gripped the doorframe.
“You talk in your sleep.” Colin looked around the floor, probably trying to locate his boots.
“Wait until I get back from dinner. We can talk.”
“I don’t need to talk, I need to get out of here.”
“That’s not what you said last night. Not when you showed up with your arm messed up, and—”
“Forget it. I was messed up last night. Didn’t know what the hell I was saying.”
“You sure about that? Because you said something about there being a big event coming up. Whatever you and the scum you’re hanging out with have going on, it better not interfere with Lacey’s plans.”
“I’m outta here.” Colin gave up looking for his boots and headed for the front door.
Jasper took in a deep breath, his heart pounding in his chest like a jackhammer that had spun out of control. He waited a few moments, figuring he and Colin could use a minute or two to calm down.
After he’d taken a few deep breaths, he walked out the front door just in time to see Colin pull the passenger side door of a giant black truck closed. The tires spun on the gravel and the truck fishtailed down the drive.
Jasper slapped his palm on his thigh. “Dammit.”
His brother was gone, and it was all his fault . . . again. Not even the promise of Delilah waiting for him to pick her up for dinner could put a smile on his face. Why did he have to be so good at ruining everything?
* * *
* * *
Ten minutes later he tried to paste on a grin as Delilah got settled in the front seat of his truck. She was full of smiles and smelled like she’d been soaking in strawberry lemonade all day. Hoping her good mood would rub off on him, he got behind the wheel and started toward the restaurant.
As he drove past fields that had just been harvested, she filled him in about her visit with Zina. Her eyes sparkled with excitement over some new idea she’d come up with. Seemed she and Zina had spent a lot of time talking about the programs they’d put in place at For Pitties’ Sake. Delilah wondered if the girls she wanted to work with might benefit from the same types of options.
“After talking to Zina and Zeb, it hit me. Maybe pairing the girls I’d love to support with rescue dogs would help them build up confidence.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” Jasper drummed his thumb against the steering wheel, his mind half-engaged with listening to Delilah and half wondering where Colin might have gone.
“You okay?” Her fingers brushed his arm.
He caught her hand in his and let them rest on his thigh. “Sorry. I’m a bit distracted.”
“I can tell. What’s going on? Is something on your mind?”
“It’s nothing.” He tried to placate her with a smile.
She didn’t smile back. “You’ve been off today.”
“Just some family stuff. I had a rough talk with one of my brothers. He’s in a bit of a bind and I’m not sure what’s going to happen.” He didn’t want to drag Delilah into the mess with his brother. Even though they’d taken things to a whole new level, he still had to be careful about oversharing. She needed to view the town in the best light possible if Ido had any chance at all of being named the most romantic small town in Texas.
“You know, it’s never too late to do the right thing.” She lifted a shoulder. “Not sure if that helps, but it’s one of the principles I try to live by.”
“Thanks. I’ll pass that along.” He lifted their hands to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. “There’s just been a lot on my mind. Work on the orchard is going well though.”
“That’s good. Your mom said you’ve got a lot to do still. I figured I could be in charge of my own schedule over the next few days to give you a chance to get caught up.”
He let their hands rest on his thigh. “I don’t mind driving you to events.”
“I know. But with everything you’ve got going on, it might be easier. Plus, the sooner you get the orchard cleaned up, the more time we’ll have to spend together, isn’t that right?”
She looked so happy at the idea, he didn’t want to ruin it. But somehow the thought of spending the next few days without her put an even bigger damper on his mood. “If that’s what you want to do.”
“Good. Now that’s settled, give me the scoop on the assisted living facility on the outskirts of town. Lacey has me scheduled to be the hostess at their fall dance this week.” She reached out and adjusted the vent. “I think it’s great they’re still encouraging romance, but how romantic can it be if they’re cramming it in between lunch and the afternoon nap hour?”
Jasper had skimmed the big binder Lacey gave him. She had Delilah booked with events at places he’d never even heard of, and he’d been a lifelong resident of Ido. “Tell me where else she has you going.”
“Well, there’s the Sweetest Day bake and take. Jojo is going to be teaching a cupcake-baking class and I’m her assistant. We’ll be making cupcakes and candy for people to take home to their sweethearts.”
“Mmm. I could get on board with that.” Jasper licked his lips. “I still owe you that chocolate bourbon pecan pie cupcake. I should be able to drop some pecans off at Helmut’s this week, so I’ll ask him to make up a batch.”
Listening to Delilah go on and on about all of the romantic things she’d be doing during her time in town made him wish the two of them didn’t have to downplay their attraction. He’d love nothing more than to be able to take her out to dinner somewhere in town, not sneak off to the Mexican restaurant two towns over so they wouldn’t be recognized.
“Here we are.” He turned in to the parking lot. At least tonight they’d be able to hold hands and not have to pretend he was nothing more than her driver.
“Hey, isn’t that Helmut’s bike?” Delilah pointed out the window.
A line of Harleys sat in front of the restaurant. Either Helmut was dining in tonight or someone had stolen his motorcycle. He was the only person Jasper knew who drove around with a sidecar. So much for having a night away from prying eyes.
“Well, we might not be able to treat this like a date, but at least they have amazing enchiladas.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.
Delilah gave him a wistful
smile as he got out of the truck and went around to open her door. “Maybe one of these days we’ll be able to go out to dinner without it being a show.”
“Maybe if I quit as your hospitality host, that day would come a whole lot sooner.” Jasper held the door as she brushed past him and entered the restaurant. With so little time together, he needed to decide. What was more important . . . making sure she saw the most romantic side of Ido, or having the freedom to make sure she saw the most romantic side of him?
* * *
* * *
Delilah spent the next week and a half calling bingo numbers at the ladies’ luncheon, decorating the sidewalks around the town square by drawing hearts with the local day care kids, and leading a small group of Abby’s classmates in some basic pageant-training classes.
She’d been having an absolute blast, except for having to save the kid who’d shoved a piece of chalk up his nose. They’d managed to avoid a trip to the emergency room thanks to the set of tweezers in various sizes and shapes that she carried in her emergency kit.
While Jasper spent his days working on the orchard with his brothers, she’d been given the royal treatment by the town. Kirby even took her on a tour in his custom limo.
She was blown away by the hospitality the townspeople had shown her, but there was one man she didn’t seem to get enough of . . . Jasper. If absence made the heart grow fonder, she felt like she could have been head over heels for the hazel-eyed cowboy by now.
The last time they’d been together she hoped they would have a chance to see what it would be like to be on a real date. But that dream had been dashed to bits when she realized they’d never be able to get far enough away from Ido to completely avoid the residents.
Delilah had started to wonder if she’d imagined the attraction between them. Maybe she and Jasper were destined to just be friends. But then she remembered the way it felt to have his lips on hers, to feel him moving inside her. Which is why she decided to take matters into her own hands and surprise him with a homemade dinner.