“Did they pick on you all through school?” That thought made her heart hurt because Del had always been kindhearted.
“Well, I got…not so helpless anymore. I became eligible for the football team, and you can see both me and Clay filled out a bit.”
She could most definitely see that he’d grown into a solid, tall, muscular man. Thinking of Clay brought the night before to mind, which made her feel a little flustered, and Lily nodded. “Yeah, I noticed that you were a little more…structured.” The heat in her cheeks increased when he grinned as she gripped his bicep and lightly squeezed. Her pussy contracted with a slutty wave of wanting. To distract herself from that feeling, she added, “The last time we saw each other we were eye to eye, literally.”
“Yeah, and I think Clay was still shorter than you.”
“Yes, but not so much anymore. You’re both like mountains now.”
Del scrutinized her and finally said, “You grew up beautiful, Lily.”
Looking up at him, her lips were just inches from his, and for a second she felt as if she were being pulled toward him. His lips were curved in a slight smile, and he actually leaned in to her just an inch or two.
The spell was broken by the clatter and crash of someone dropping a plate in the kitchen. “Oh, stop teasing.” The heat rose quickly in her cheeks.
“I’m not pulling your leg. You’re gorgeous. Clay says you’ve been working really hard at the shop, schoolwork, and everything else. I can tell how proud he is of you. I am, too. Will you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“Tell me what happened?” he asked carefully, obviously not wanting to push her into rehashing her painful past.
The issue of the tattoo rose in her mind, and she decided to give him the basic facts and not waste their time together by making him pull the story out of her. The waiter brought his steak and baked potato and her steak and salad and she gave him the facts quickly with as little emotion as possible.
A few minutes later, he murmured, “Lily, if I could change one thing about the past, it would be that you’d never moved away from Divine.”
“That would be nice. But the important thing is that I’m here.” Slipping her hand around his arm, she pressed the side of her head against his big shoulder. “I’m so glad to see you, Del.”
Del gazed at her with his enigmatic gray-green eyes that were at once fathomless but also warm with some deeper emotion. He tilted her chin with his hardened, callused fingertips and placed a gentle kiss above her brow line.
“I’m home now.”
Her heart galloped at the contact, and instant guilt formed in the pit of her stomach even as excitement and desire raced through her veins. The spot between her thighs, claimed by Clay the night before, warmed for his brother just as much.
Lord, have mercy, what he does to me! I should have my head examined.
If she’d still been living in Durst, her mind never would’ve made the leap, declaring Clay’s brother off limits, but this was Divine. Grace and her men, and Doctor Emma and hers came to mind.
Never say never!
After lunch, Lily accompanied Del to the grocery store and the ranch and farm supply warehouse. She volunteered to make some meals for him that he could just pop into the microwave.
“In that case, I’d better buy a microwave.”
That surprised her. “You don’t even have a microwave oven?”
“Nope. There is supposed to be a delivery happening right about”—he checked his watch—“now. My old refrigerator was a goner when I turned on the power this morning. I’ve been away a while so it’s no big surprise.”
“What will you do to make ends meet?”
Del shrugged. “I’m a bachelor. It doesn’t take much to keep me. I’ll be working full time around the ranch on my own, getting things repaired and in order. I made a shit ton of money for the contract work I did in Afghanistan, so I’m good for a while.” His eyes took on a sad, distant look when he’d mentioned Afghanistan, and she could only guess at the things he’d seen over there.
“We should throw you a welcome home party.”
He looked genuinely disturbed by the notion. “Please, don’t. I just want to get settled quietly right now, kind of ease back into civilian life.”
“It could be fun. Since I got here, I’ve made a number of friends. You met one of them earlier. Remember Grace?”
“The blonde, right?”
“Yes. She and her husbands are really nice people. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her and she’s introduced me to some others—”
“Did you say husbands?”
Lily laughed softy. “Yep. Three of them. Things have changed in Divine. Roll with it, baby.”
Del cocked his head. “Interesting. Three husbands?”
Lily giggled and replied, “It seems to be working for them. I thought she was crazy until I met her…and them. They make it seem easy.”
Del shook his head. “I’m not sure I could be the sharing kind.”
“Never say never, Del. You and Clay could find the perfect little woman to shack up with.” She tried to play it off as comical, but the thought was actually a pleasant one for her, imagining herself in the middle of that sandwich.
“Speaking of shacked up, Clay said you’re living with him while trying to get the old place fixed up.”
“That’s right. I’ve been working hard to earn money so the work can get started. Jack Warner is the contractor who is going to be handling everything.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and Del leaned back and picked up the heavy length of it, stroking it between his fingers. Here and there she felt the gentle tug on her scalp, and it sent shivers flurrying all over her body.
“This is beautiful.”
Proving her hormones were still on the rampage, a mental image popped into her mind of him gathering her hair in his hands gently tugging on it as he entered her from behind while whispering in her ear. She shuddered lightly when the thought turned her on, but thoughts of her ex-husband ruined the moment. JT had pulled her hair during sex, using it as a leash and yanking roughly on it. She slammed the door on the memory. She still hated her hair, but knowing that Clay and Del both admired it made her hate it a little less.
When she merely nodded, he added, “Let me guess. It was your ex’s idea, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Men love long hair. I love it, but I don’t blame you if you cut it off.” Adopting a pleading tone, he said, “Just don’t go super short. It’s so pretty long.”
“I’ll bear that in mind, cowboy.”
His tanned, somewhat weather-beaten face broke into a smile. “Cowboy?”
“Sure. If you’re going to be a rancher then I want to call you cowboy.”
“I’m more used to reining in a Humvee. That’s gonna take some getting used to.”
“It’s good to have you home safe. Was it rough in the desert? Mountains? I don’t know where you were.”
“Both. All over.” That was all he offered, and she left it at that, not wanting to pry.
“I’m going to start seeing a counselor tomorrow, about my…stuff.”
Concern for her formed a crease between his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? PTSD?”
She nodded as he put his arm around her shoulders. “Yes. I haven’t been sleeping well. Nightmares. Panic attacks. I had trouble last night with the storm blowing through.”
“Clay mentioned you couldn’t sleep. Still scared of storms?”
“Yeah. That’s gotten worse. I have a lot of issues I need to sort out. I journal a lot and that helps but doing it on my own hasn’t worked too well. Del, if you ever want to talk, I’m here for you, okay?”
Del smiled down at her warmly and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you, Lily Bell.”
* * * *
Del gently fingered the strands of her hair that fell down her back. Lily was a portrait of contrasts. He could see the girl she had been in the woman she had become, but the fire that had
always burned brightly within her was now banked. He noticed it most with the way she considered her words before she spoke. When he knew her years ago, she had rarely ever filtered her thoughts before speaking her mind. The hesitancy was almost poignant for him to see because he’d appreciated her bluntness.
But on the other hand, the softened edges also added to her beauty. Her eyes reflected the soul of a person who had lived beyond her years and borne a lot of trials. The fact that she had not grown bitter was a testament to her strength because he knew how easily that could happen.
Lily placed her warm hand on his forearm. “I won’t pry into personal stuff and I promise I won’t judge you.”
How did she know that was at the core of his fear? His failure to save one innocent woman had haunted him since retiring from Browder-McCormick, a private military company. Even though the failure had been a company-wide failure, he still felt personally responsible. The screams of a guiltless woman as she died by torture powered his nightmares every night and were enough to make him wish he never had to sleep at all.
Del looked into her eyes and saw her sincerity and was about to reply when the waiter returned to their table. “Could I offer you dessert?”
Lily shook her head and was about to refuse when he placed his hand on her thigh. “Do you still have the best peach cobbler in Texas?”
The waiter grinned and nodded. “How about a big slice, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and two spoons?”
Del grinned at the way she jammed her lips together and replied, “That sounds about perfect but make it just the one spoon.”
“I’ll be right back with it, sir.”
When the waiter was gone, Lily said, “Thanks. The last thing I need is dessert.”
He had every intention of her having dessert, but he kept his thoughts to himself as her thigh twitched under his hand. She bit her lip and glanced down at it then looked up at him with a tinge of extra pink in her cheeks, but she didn’t remove it. So he left it right where it was. It felt right.
“I…” Her voice dwindled off, and he watched her swallow and then lick her lips, which he would’ve had to be a dead man not to react to. His cock tingled and lengthened. Her earlier words came to mind, about him and Clay finding a perfect little woman to shack up with, and it surprised the shit out of him when his cock did not go limp but hardened some more. Did not know that about myself.
“You…what?”
Lily sounded a little flustered when she giggled and said, “I forgot what I was going to say.” She glanced at him, and he could practically feel the heat from her pink cheeks. He liked putting a blush there. The waiter brought the dessert and placed it in front of him. He lifted his hand from her thigh and held the dish while he gathered a bite on the spoon. She looked up in confusion when he held the spoon in front of her mouth.
“What? That’s your dessert.”
Gazing into her eyes, he said one expectant word. “Open.”
Her lips parted obediently and he got even harder. He was in the habit of keeping his cock in check because he’d often been in unsafe, combat situations. Letting his libido off the chain wasn’t a good idea because it led to distractions he didn’t need. Now, he was like an eighteen-year-old boy with a “perma-boner.”
He got a brief glimpse of her tongue as she took the bite, and his cock twinged with need. He wasn’t sure what was hotter, her obedience as he fed her another bite or the way her lips closed over the spoon.
Preparing to take a bite for himself, he asked, “Is it good?”
Lily nodded, keeping her eyes locked on his. “Yes. Very.”
“I like that you’ll let me feed you. Does it feel weird to you?”
Lily’s reddish-brown eyebrows furrowed. “No. Should it?” That might be what she said, but her cheeks still flushed and she looked away for a moment, almost as though she felt a little guilty or embarrassed.
“I haven’t seen you in ages. I wanted to share dessert with you like that but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“I shouldn’t be eating sweets but otherwise it’s…actually kind of nice. Does it feel okay to you?” Lily rolled her eyes in embarrassment. “Did that sound as insecure to you as it did to me?”
Del chuckled. “I knew what you meant. I’m sure glad to be back and I’m even happier that you came back to us. I mean…came back to Divine.”
Lily giggled when heat crept up into his cheeks. “I’m glad I’m not the only one that keeps happening to. Welcome home, cowboy.” She wrapped her arms around him and he returned the gesture.
He fed her another bite and said, “I don’t know why you’re worried about a little dessert. You look fantastic.”
“Thank you.” She tucked her hair behind one ear and took the bite he offered. “That’s enough for me. You eat the rest.”
“Silly woman. I’d fatten you up some more if you’d let me.” She gaped speechlessly at him and trembled slightly when he gently ran his hand over her hair down her back. Feeling daring, he said, “Did I ever tell you that you were the first girl I ever kissed?”
Lily giggled. “No. You didn’t but we were what, eleven- or twelve-year-olds? It was a safe assumption. You were my first, too.”
“Followed very closely by your second, as I recall.” His recollection of that moment was clear as a bell.
Clay had climbed up onto the large roots of a cypress tree on the bank of the Divine Creek and had gotten Del’s attention. “Hey, butt-face, I dare you to give Lily a kiss.”
“Shit, are you crazy? She’d kick my ass,” Del had whispered back.
“Don’t be a chickenshit. If you do it, I’ll give you my allowance this week.” Clay had grinned when he knew he had Del’s attention. If Clay gave him his allowance, he’d have had enough to finally buy that new Atari game.
“Okay. But she’s gonna bust my ass.” To be able to play that new game would’ve been worth it though, and Del hadn’t wanted to be called a chickenshit. He’d jumped down from the tree root and approached the big rock she’d been sitting on by the creek bank. Lily seemed distracted and quiet lately and he was able to sneak up on her almost without her realizing it.
When he planted one square on her unsuspecting lips, Lily had gasped and blushed. He’d braced himself for her to sock him in the jaw, but she’d sat there frozen, leaving an opening for Clay to do the same thing. Afterward, they’d both looked at each other over her head while she sat there stunned, then shrugged and jumped into Divine Creek again. Once they both surfaced, Del said, “You kissed her, too, so we’ll call it even.” He’d never felt cheated for having to wait that extra week to buy his copy of Millipede. Nothing had ever been said about it afterward.
“Happy memories like that got me through the last twelve years.” She looked up at him and he glimpsed that old soul in her eyes again. “I often wished I’d done more than sit there like a bump on a log.”
Wishing for a different path in life for her did no good. “We’re here now, huh?” She nodded and he squeezed her tight. This moment felt like the start of a fresh chapter in his life. He was glad she was there for it.
* * * *
Clay checked the clock again as he sat at his workbench. He’d already decided to invite Del over for supper so they could do some more catching up that evening. He looked forward to Lily’s return from lunch and both of them getting home. When he’d lived alone, his habit had been to sculpt until late at night, but now he looked forward to evenings spent with Lily. Even when he was in his studio working, she was a good company, studying while he did his thing. He avoided thinking of how empty his house would be once her house was finished and she was gone.
“Knock, knock. Clay?” At the familiar female voice, Clay turned from his workbench. Grace Warner stood hesitantly in the doorway.
“Oh, hey, Grace! Come on in. What can I do for you? Was Tabitha not out there?”
Grace nodded but didn’t complain. “She was busy with a customer. I’m sorry to drop back in unannounce
d, I can come back at a better time.”
Clay shook his head. “No, now is fine. What’s on your mind?” He patted Lily’s stool and Grace sat down.
“Well, I was still in the shopping center and decided to come back by. I know Jack invited you to the hog hunt in January, and Lily already told me she would come to the sleepover. But I wanted to include your brother in the invitation. Since he’s more or less new in town, he might enjoy getting to know all the guys.”
Clay smiled at Grace, wondering if she understood the subtle impact she had on the lives of others around her. This is what she did, taking care of people, making sure they were comfortable and felt like they belonged. She’d always done her best to include him, even trying to play matchmaker.
He felt certain Grace was that way because she knew how it felt to be on the outside looking in. He knew that because he understood how it felt to be on the outside. Being a creative, artistic type, even as a small scrawny kid, had gotten him picked on until puberty had hit and he’d bulked up enough to defend himself.
“I think Del would like that.”
“And of course you know that means he’s also invited to the roast and bonfire the weekend afterward.”
Clay nodded and said, “I’ll definitely encourage him to go. He should be settled by then out at the ranch.”
Grace hesitated then said, “Lily seems to be doing well. She’s lost quite a bit of weight.”
Clay nodded. “Yeah. Almost too much. She’s been working out a lot.” He recalled her rubbing her knee earlier and made a mental note to ask her about it.
Grace nodded as though she understood. “It’s tough sometimes. When the opportunity to make changes comes along, it’s easy to lose sight of the actual goal in favor of the action of taking control. Especially when you’ve had no control of your life for a while. Are the two of you doing okay together?”
“Oh yeah.” Because Grace had sensitive radar, Clay changed the subject before she could ask anything else about the two of them. “How is the writing gig? Still spinning sexy fairy tales?” He made eye contact and smiled when he said it so she’d know he wasn’t making fun of her.
The Divine Creek Ranch Collection Volume 4 Page 32