by Amanda Renee
Delta chose to ignore the comment. If she didn’t engage her, maybe she’d drop the conversation.
“I’m just saying,” Belle added. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to go to the movies with or take little day trips with?”
“My day trips consist of driving hom—back to Missoula to visit my family, and I’m not big on the movie theatre.” So much for not engaging her. “Even if I was, I have friends I could call. I don’t need a man to complete me.”
“But don’t you want one to share your life with?”
“If and when the right man comes along, I will consider it.” She lowered the horse’s hoof. “But Garrett is not that person. He’s not ready. And neither you, or Harlan, or anyone can determine when he will be. He’ll know when the time is right. So put your arrows back in their quiver, Miss Cupid.”
“Okay.” Belle rested her head against the horse’s neck, making it almost impossible to tell where her platinum hair ended and his light mane began. “But please think about seeing Kacey.”
“That I’ll do.” She needed to swing by Silver Bells to check on Lightning Bug anyway. “I’ll pick up Jake early from BowWowWowzer’s and go today. I’m sure he’d love to see her, too.”
She was only doing this for Kacey. It had nothing to do with wanting to see how Garrett was handling everything. Her parents had blamed themselves when it had happened to Delta. It wasn’t always easy to ask for help as a kid. And at the time, a part of her blamed them, too. How could they not have known she was in so much pain? But she had done everything in her power to hide it from them and her brothers.
As an adult, she understood both sides of the equation. Okay, so maybe she could bend her friend rule and offer some comfort to Garrett. If she could just manage to keep her heart out of it, she’d be fine. Delta sensed another test of her will coming on and she wasn’t so sure she’d pass this one. She wasn’t Wonder Woman. She didn’t have a shield to protect her. And Lord knew she needed one against Garrett Slade.
Chapter Six
Jake barreled down the stable corridor toward Kacey. Garrett hadn’t seen her smile that big in—he didn’t know how long. His daughter knelt on the floor and wrapped her arms around the dog’s neck, burying her face in his long blue merle coat. He glanced toward the entrance, but didn’t see Delta. If Jake was there, she had to be somewhere nearby.
“Daddy, where’s Delta?”
“I’m sure she’ll be in shortly.”
When fifteen minutes had passed, Garrett’s concern grew. Where was she? Could Jake have gotten away from her and run to the stables? He told himself not to worry, but lately it was all he did.
“Sweetheart, you stay here with Jake. I’ll be right back.”
Garrett’s strides lengthened as he headed for the door. He swung it wide and saw Delta lying on the ground, next to her truck.
“Delta!” he shouted as he ran to her.
She scurried to her feet, holding a long pipe like a Samurai warrior. “What?” She glanced around her. “What is it? What did Jake do?”
“He’s fine. He’s with Kacey. I saw you lying on the ground. Are you all right?”
She rubbed her forehead, leaving behind a dirt-streak. He fought the urge to wipe it away. The last thing he needed was to come in contact with her skin, which he imagined was silkier than silk itself.
“I am, but I can’t say the same for my tire.” Delta stepped to the side. “I knew something didn’t feel right when I was parking. My jack keeps slipping so I can’t raise it enough to change the damn thing. Getting a new jack has been on my list for months and I never do anything about it.”
Garrett crouched next to her truck and saw two nails sticking out of the tire. Probably courtesy of the renovations they had been doing on the ranch’s outbuildings. “Let me change it for you. I’ll pay for your new tire, too. This is our fault. I told those guys to go over the ground with a magnet to pick up all the nails. Not just for the cars, but for the horses and our guests. I don’t need someone or something impaled on a nail.”
“I appreciate that, but I’ve been all over the place today so I could’ve picked those up anywhere. All I need right now is a heavy-duty jack. You wouldn’t happen to have one around here, would you?”
“Yep. I have one in the barn.” Garrett hadn’t noticed the flecks of gold in her eyes before. They reminded him of a piece of amber he’d found as a child. Alluring yet mysterious.
“Um, if you tell me where in the barn—”
“I’m sorry. My mind was elsewhere for a second.” Garrett stepped around her, careful not to accidentally brush against her body. “Let me go get it. And don’t argue with me... I’m changing that tire.”
Delta held up her hands in surrender. “Okay. My bones are aching from working this week anyway, so be my guest.”
Garrett enjoyed the sight of a woman who didn’t mind getting her hands dirty. Probably too much so where Delta was concerned. It didn’t help that the woman smelled dark and delicious. As if that was even a scent. He still couldn’t pin down what she was wearing. A woman who worked around horses all day should smell like horse. And hay. He would even settle for manure. Anything to distract him from the allure that had begun to draw him toward her. He had Belle and Harlan to thank for that. Every time Kacey had mentioned Delta’s name over the past week, they had taken every opportunity to remind him she was single.
A half hour later, Garrett let the jack down and removed it from under her truck. “You’re all set. Please let me take your tire into town so I can get a new one put on this rim.”
She stepped closer to him. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll just have it patched.”
“Nonsense.” Garrett swore he could feel the heat emanating off her body in the cold Montana afternoon. “You, uh—you do way too much traveling to ride around on a patched tire, especially with a truck this size.” Garrett reached for the tire and began rolling it toward his truck. “I’m not going to discuss it further,” he called over his shoulder, grateful for the distance between them. “I’m getting you a new tire and I’ll have it back to you on Monday.”
“Absolutely not.” Delta ran to block him, causing Garrett to slam into her and push them both against the bed of his truck. He grabbed her waist to steady her, allowing the tire to wobble to the ground. Delta’s lush, full lips were inches from his as they parted slightly. As she inhaled, her breasts pressed against his chest, sending his mind in numerous directions. “But, I will take you up on your dinner offer, if it still stands.”
Garrett tried to open his mouth to speak but feared any movement he made would be toward her, especially toward kissing her.
“Garrett.” Her hands wrapped around his, which were now resting on her hips. “Did you hear me?”
“Ye—I—Yeah—Yes!” Garrett released her and took a step back, tripping over the tire instead.
“Watch out!” Delta grabbed hold of his arm and steadied him before he hit the ground. “Don’t you go falling head over boots.”
Too late.
“I’m good.” He lifted the tire and set it in his truck bed. “This is coming with me.” He grabbed two bungee cords from his cab and began to tie the tire in place. If he kept his hands busy, they wouldn’t wind up back on her. “So, what’s this about dinner?”
“I heard what you had said and maybe I have been a little too rigid with my rules. Dinner with a friend never hurt anyone.”
Garrett looked up just as she tucked her hair behind one ear, exposing the delicate side of her neck. It was one of his favorite places to kiss on a woman’s body. Well, Rebecca’s body. He’d never been with anyone else. That fact alone was enough to temper his libido. Despite his attraction to Delta, if it came down to it, he wouldn’t be able to follow through. He couldn’t betray Rebecca that way.
“Harlan and Belle are taking the kids this weekend. We have a little arrangement goin
g on. Why don’t we go over there?” Safety in numbers, Garret thought to himself.
“I was thinking someplace a little more private. Where we could talk...alone.”
Garrett’s pulse quickened. “Isn’t that living a little too dangerously? You’re just tossing all your rules out the window.”
“This has nothing to do with rules.” Delta inched closer as he jumped from the truck bed. “It has everything to do with you and what happened with Kacey. I can relate to how she’s feeling. But I also understand how you’re feeling because I watched my parents go through the same thing.”
Garrett couldn’t deny wanting to talk to her about Kacey. He had picked up the phone repeatedly during the week and set it back down, uncertain how to ask her to relive a painful time in her life just to give him some peace of mind.
“I’d like to get your input on the situation, if you’re sure it won’t bring up too many bad memories.”
“Undoubtedly it will, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized you need a friend who’s been there. I want to help you, if I can. Heck, maybe if we spend some time together, Belle and Harlan will lay off the matchmaking. With Valentine’s Day coming up, maybe we can duck and dodge Saddle Ridge’s cupids together.”
Her idea wasn’t half bad. It would keep his brothers at bay. He wasn’t so sure about Belle, but it might work. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Great. Oh, and as for my tire, I’m going to deduct the price of a new one off your next invoice.” She lifted her chin defiantly.
Garrett laughed. He should have known it wouldn’t be that simple. “You’ll do no such thing.”
“Oh, please, you’ll never even know. I’ll just leave something off an invoice and you won’t be the wiser.”
“Are you challenging me?” Garrett watched her draw her bottom lip inward, renewing every urge to kiss her.
“Daddy, what time are we going to Uncle Harlan’s?”
Garrett stepped back from Delta and clenched his fists. That was close. Too close. He was a fool for thinking of kissing her, even for a second. “Not for a few more—”
“Delta!” Kacey ran down the walkway with Jake in tow and threw herself into Delta’s arms. “I missed you.”
“You missed me?” She looked at Garrett questioningly as she hugged his daughter.
He shrugged, surprised at Kacey’s attachment to someone she’d only met once.
“I wondered when I would see you again. Daddy, can Delta come with us tonight?”
“Oh, honey. You don’t put someone on the spot like that.” He wanted to spare Delta having to say no to his daughter.
“Your father just asked me the same thing. I would love to.” Delta smiled up at him and shrugged. “How could I possibly turn down an invite from you?”
“Yay!” Kacey jumped up and down. “Can Jake come, too?”
“I don’t know about that.” Delta laughed nervously. “I think one extra guest for dinner is enough. Jake’s been at doggy daycare all morning so I’m sure he won’t mind staying home and catching up on his beauty sleep tonight.” She held Kacey by the shoulders and lowered her face to hers. “I’ll tell you what, though, you are welcome to play with Jake whenever you want. If it’s okay with your father, I’ll give you my number so you can call me and we’ll set up a playdate.”
“Did you hear that, Daddy?” Kacey tugged at his arm. “It’s okay, isn’t it?”
It was more than all right. If Delta could make his daughter this happy by allowing her to spend time with Jake, she could move in for all he cared. “Sounds good to me.”
“We’re going to have playdates, Jake.” The dog jumped up and down on his hind legs in front of Kacey and if he didn’t know better, he’d swear the animal understood what they were saying.
Kacey stopped jumping and ran over to Delta’s rear passenger-side window. She climbed on the running boards and pressed her face against the glass. “Is that a guitar?” She expectantly looked at Delta for a response. “Do you play?”
“Yes.”
“Are you in a band? Can you teach me to play?”
Delta threw her head back and laughed. “I’m not in a band. But I do bring it with me to the convalescent home here in town. Sometimes when I visit the people there, they ask me to sing songs for them.”
“What is a con-con-val—”
“Convalescent. It’s a nursing home.” Kacey didn’t realize it, but she had been to one before. Rebecca had spent two months in one before they brought her home to die. Garrett swallowed hard. “People stay there when they need 24-hour care. Delta goes there to cheer them up. If you want to learn how to play guitar, I’m sure Dylan will teach you.”
“I want Delta to teach me.” She turned away from him. “Can I go with you to the con-va-scent home?”
Garrett didn’t want his daughter visiting a nursing home. Not this close to the anniversary of her mother’s death.
“Not tonight, honey.” Delta seemed to sense his anxiety. “Jake and I wanted to stop in and see you and Lightning Bug and then I need to shower and get cleaned up. I’ll stop by the home and then I will meet you both for dinner. When is dinner? I don’t want to be late.”
“Not until seven, seven-thirty. By the time Harlan gets home from work and I get out of here and clean up myself, and then wrangle my two, it takes us a while to sit down and eat.”
“Sounds perfect.” Delta wrapped an arm around Kacey’s shoulders and began walking toward the stables as Jake fell into step beside them. “How would you like to help me examine Lightning Bug’s foot.”
“I’d like that.” Kacey wound her arm around Delta’s waist in return. “You still didn’t say if you would teach me guitar or not.”
“If your father says yes, then I will.” She turned to him. “I wouldn’t mind at all.”
“Daddy, can I?” Kacey’s doe-eyed expression made it impossible to refuse.
“If Delta is willing to teach you, sure.” Garrett had been trying to think of the perfect birthday gift for his daughter. He had already considered a puppy, but now he was thinking about a puppy and a guitar. Were his ears ready for that kind of assault? If it made her happy again, he didn’t care. He’d like to see his daughter stick with something. She bored easily and he didn’t know if that had been because of the somber environment they had been living in or if she genuinely hadn’t found something she really cared about. Maybe animals and music would be her thing.
“Thank you, Daddy.” Kacey ran over and gave him a quick hug before running back to Delta and grabbing her hand. “I can’t wait to tell Ivy.”
“I heard you’re in a new school.” Delta unlatched Lightning Bug’s door and stepped inside while Kacey climbed up on a hay bale and watched her through the stall bars. “How do you like it?”
“It’s okay.” Kacey shrugged. “I still haven’t learned everyone’s names yet.”
“Yeah, that’s always hard,” Delta said as Garrett sank farther into the shadows of the tack room doorway. A part of him felt like he was spying on his daughter. The other part felt if he had done more spying, she never would have been bullied to the extent she had been. “I went through that when I went to a new school, too.”
“You did?” Kacey lifted her head.
“Things were a little different back then. They didn’t kick my bullies out of school like they did yours. All they did was move us to different classes, which didn’t help on the playground, so my parents put me in a private school, too.”
“Did you like it?” Kacey asked.
“Not at first. I was scared. And like you, I didn’t know anyone. But the teachers were nice and the kids were even nicer. Some of my best friends to this day were from that school.”
“Really?”
“Yep. It’s just like when I moved here from Missoula and started a new job. I knew one person in town. I had to star
t all over again. And you know what? It was so much harder as an adult than it was as a kid. At least when I was your age, I had classmates to talk to and get to know. Here I had to go out to strange places and make a point of meeting people. I was nervous.”
“You were?”
“Oh, yeah. But I did it, and I have some great friends here, too.”
“Like Daddy?”
Delta paused. “Your daddy and I are getting to know one another a little better.”
“Are you still nervous around him?”
Now there was a question he wanted answered himself. He leaned farther into the corridor to hear Delta’s response, but of course she wouldn’t make it easy on him. The two had taken to whispering like two schoolgirls. Curiosity be damned, he was just happy Delta got his daughter talking freely about school. She hadn’t been as forthright with him. The woman may pose a serious risk to his heart, but she was good for Kacey. And her needs came before his. As long as he kept all of his wants and needs where Delta was concerned in check, he’d survive.
* * *
THE FOLLOWING NIGHT, Delta stood in front of her open closet door and stared into the emptiness. She had nothing left to wear. It’s just dinner. Then why was she nervous? It’s just dinner. For the second night in a row.
She turned to the mound of clothes on the bed and sighed. She had tried everything on. Twice. And she still couldn’t decide what to wear tonight. Yesterday had been easy. They had gone to Harlan and Belle’s with the kids. That was a jeans-and-sweater-type event. One she had enjoyed more than she’d anticipated.
Oh, and that Bryce. She just wanted to eat him up. He had such a cherub face, with pink rosy cheeks, beautiful blue eyes and white-blond hair. That was how she pictured Rebecca. She had no idea what the woman looked like, but that image had come to mind before she’d even met Bryce. She and Garrett had created two beautiful children.
And Delta needed to remember that.
Garrett was in love with Rebecca. There would never be anything more than friendship between him and Delta. She grabbed the empty hangers from the closet and began plucking items off the bed one by one. Black jeans, a pale blue denim shirt and her leather motorcycle jacket. There. Done.
