by Morgan Fox
He took a large step forward, desperate to wrap his arms around her just as he’d seen Clay doing earlier. “I’m sorry, Delilah. I never meant for any of this to happen. I…”
Sometimes finding the right words didn’t come easy for him, but this only happened with Delilah. Never had he struggled to say what he felt with any other women. Generally, the things he said were silly and witty. Maybe the reason he’d lost his finesse with Delilah was that for the first time in his life he was actually falling in love.
He knew it seemed crazy to love a woman he’d just met, but he couldn’t help what was in his heart. His brothers would revoke his man card if they heard the thoughts bouncing around in his head. Delilah was special, beyond anything he’d ever dreamed. Now, thanks to his stupidity, she was planning on leaving him.
Twisting her hands together as if wringing out a towel, she reminded him, “Like I explained earlier, what we had was one nice afternoon, and I’ll be forever grateful that you found me the night of my car accident. You are a warm and caring person, Hunter Boyd, and I’ll never forget what you did for me.”
“I don’t want you to leave, Delilah.”
She shook her head and turned away from him. Running the tip of her finger over the edge of Clay’s desk, she skimmed the stacks of papers beside her. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t have a choice.”
What? She has a choice. She just has to stop acting like a scared little girl and stand on her own. “Yes, you do. You could stay with me. You could settle here in Temptation. Secure that dream ranch you’ve always wanted.” He stepped closer to her, closing the distance slowly as he said, “Let me help you.”
She inclined her head in his direction. “That was only a dream. Nothing more. Besides, how could I settle down here when Warren knows where I am? I have nothing keeping me here but the memory of my mother.”
“You have me,” he told her solemnly. “I care about you. More than I ever imagined possible.”
She shook her head more vigorously. “It’s just another dream, Hunter. You have your own life and ranch. You won’t have time for me. Right now everything seems so clear to you, but for me nothing is clear. I don’t have the family you have. It’s just me. I’m all alone.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong,” Clay’s voice boomed from behind Hunter. “You could stay here in Temptation.” He gripped Hunter’s shoulder. “If you hadn’t noticed, it’s not only Hunter who wants you to stay, but I do, too.” He closed his office door. “I’d say that makes you anything but alone.”
She swallowed hard as more tears seemed to threaten her eyes. “I can’t!” she spat. “Neither of you understand.”
Hunter knew he couldn’t keep Clay from feeling the desires he felt for Delilah, just as Clay couldn’t stop the feelings he had. What he could do was make the choice for them both to fight for her. Together they might have a chance at convincing her to stay. As much as he hated the idea of sharing her with another man, he despised the idea of her leaving even more.
“What don’t we understand? You love this place, and you’ve come to care for both of us.” Hunter flipped his thumb in the air, indicating Clay, who now stood beside him. “I know you do. I’ve watched how you are with Clay, and I know how you are with me. You can’t let the fear your damn stepbrother arises in you drive you away from something that could be wonderful.”
“What? You think the three of us won’t find dysfunction in our relationships? Do you think that sleeping with the both of you was a good idea?” Clay’s brow arched. “How the hell that even happened I have no idea, but it’s not right, and I can’t do this to either of you.” She tossed her arms into the air, looking defeated. “Shit, I can’t do this to myself. I’ve never been so confused in my life.” She covered her face in her hands and wept. Through hard sobs, she said, “Everything in my life turns to shit. You’d be wise to forget me.”
Forget her? I could never forget Delilah.
She rushed toward the door, but Clay grabbed her arm. She glared up at him, her eyes glistening. “I need to go to the restroom. Are you going to have an armed guard escort me, or is it okay if I go alone?” He slowly released her, and she fled the room.
“Maybe I’m not the only one with insensitivity issues,” Hunter muttered.
Clay’s eyes narrowed.
Hunter raised his hands, showing a sign of surrender. “Clay, I know you want to punch me right now.” He lowered his hands and stiffened his spine. “Shit, I want to do the same thing to you.” Clay stepped forward. “But for Delilah, I won’t.” He shifted his stance, leaned against the side of Clay’s desk, and kicked out his cowboy boot. “I think I know of a way to keep that woman here with us where she belongs.”
“With us?” Clay questioned.
Hunter nodded. “Face it, big guy, she likes us both, and I’m not really into losing her because you and I can’t stop cock fighting. So, you can either help me or you can end things with her and I’ll do everything to secure her in Temptation myself.”
Clay eyed him intensely. Damn, he looks like a mean motherfucker when I challenge him. Hope he never really gets pissed at me.
“What’s on your mind, Boyd?”
Hunter stroked the day’s growth of whiskers on his chin. “Delilah wants to own a ranch, and Turtledove Ranch just happens to be for sale. I want you and me to take her there and show her all that she could have here in Temptation if she just fought for it. She’s been through a lot with her family drama, and I know she’s got running away on her mind, but here’s our chance to change that.”
“How do you know that she’ll even like the property?”
My gut told me so. While out horseback riding with her, he saw the fire in her eyes as she explored the ranch. He’d swear he even felt the excitement of a life free of the city blast out of her and radiate like the sun. “She loved Paradise Ranch, and the properties are adjoining. What’s not to love about that?”
Clay narrowed his gaze. A whirl of questions flooded his expression. “So you think that just because she liked Abby’s home, she’ll want to buy Turtledove?”
“Yep, I sure do.”
Clay shook his head. “That would be a great plan if her brother hadn’t already found her here in Temptation. She’ll never agree to it. She’s freaked out enough that he found her here. She’ll never want to stay knowing he could come for her again.”
Hunter’s chest flared with frustration. “What the hell, dude? Are you and Delilah sipping from the same depressing Kool-Aid?” He huffed out a breath. “You really need to join the pep squad and start listening to what I’m saying.” He locked gazes with Clay and said, “She needs us to help her figure things out. She needs us to help her discover what life could be like when fear doesn’t rule your life.” Hunter rose to his full height, his hands digging into his waist. “She needs us to show her how much we care about her.”
Clay arched a dark brow. “How much we care about her?”
“Yes, you big lug, how much we care about her. I’m not blind, you know? I see how you are with her. I watch the tenderness you show to her. Shit, you’ve never shown anyone that kind of attention before.”
For a long moment neither one exchanged a word, until Clay finally asked, “Did you sleep with her?”
“No, but I did have sex with her. It seems you’re the one who did the sleeping.”
Clay’s jaw ticked as his lips pressed tightly together. A deep scowl was etched on his face.
“I think you need to come to terms with how you feel about her, and you either need to admit it to her or you need to step away and let me do it myself. I’m not willing to lose this woman for any reason.”
Clay’s shoulders slouched forward as he rubbed the back of his neck with a stiff hand. “What do you suggest?”
Hunter arched a brow. Holy shit, is someone actually asking me what to do? That was a first. Usually he was the one being told what to do because he was too young to know better. The feeling left him thinking that ma
ybe the three of them actually stood a chance at a future. “Well, if you’re done being a giant pussy, I suggest we figure out a way to be with her…and as much as I enjoy it, we really need to stop fighting over her like two adolescent boys.”
Clay shifted his stance and locked gazes with him. “Why would I want to share her with you? Why shouldn’t I just try to keep her here myself? Why keep you a part of the deal?”
Hunter grinned. “Please tell me that I’m not only the one with the good looks, but also the brains.”
Clay scowled. “I really don’t find you funny in the least bit.”
Hunter chuckled. It never ceased to amaze him how much fun he had teasing and tormenting the big guy. If he were lucky, he’d have a lifetime to enjoy it. “Why wouldn’t you? She’s already told us that she wants to leave, but for whatever reason, she’s slept with both of us, which tells me she doesn’t really want to go. The way I see it, she’s simply looking for an excuse to stay…so let’s give her two.”
* * * *
Clay heard the words moving from Hunter’s mouth but still had trouble absorbing them. Perhaps it had something to do with actually accepting terms to share the woman he cared about. Maybe it was because the idea alone made him uncomfortable.
How would he feel waking up to not only the woman he loved, but to Hunter? He wasn’t worried about the likelihood that Hunter was gay. He knew the young playboy stud wasn’t, but it still seemed beyond strange to share a woman. Would Hunter want to have sex with her at the same time? Would there be even more jealousy issues? Would things get so complicated between them that they ended up worse off than they already were?
Shit! He had no idea, and that made saying yes nearly impossible. Nearly, but not completely.
“How can you be so convinced that this will work? What if we end up fucking things up?” Clay muttered.
Hunter shrugged. “I can’t see how we would.”
“Have you even considered what people will say when they find out that you and I are dating the same woman? Have you considered how that little fact would taint her reputation in this little gossip town?”
Hunter stared at him.
“What about living arrangements? Would you stay at Paradise and leave her in that big ranch all alone? What about me? Would you expect me to sell my home? Or would we simply have three residences and spend the night like young puppies in love?”
“Wow, you really need to get with the glass half-full crowd. You’re a real downer,” Hunter said scowling.
“No, Hunter, I’m just thinking about every aspect of this. If we’re going to do this then we need to have a solid plan and make sure we’ve talked about every rebuttal she might have. Shit, if I’m having them than you better believe she’ll have them.”
Hunter’s expression darkened. “I guess I hadn’t thought about any of this. I was just trying to keep her from leaving us.”
“I know, and you’ve got a great idea on how to make that happen, but we have to have all our ducks in a row before we present anything to her.” Clay rounded his desk to stand beside his chair. “If we’re going to do this, Hunter, we need to do it right.”
Hunter nodded. “Agreed.” He sat in the chair across from Clay. “What do you suggest?”
“Let me—” He stopped abruptly as he watched Delilah enter his office, her face still slightly pink from when she’d been crying earlier.
She entered the room, closed the door at her back, and then settled into the chair beside Hunter.
“Delilah, Hunter and I would like to have dinner with you tonight.” He raised his hand up before she could reject and said, “Our treat. We know things have been hard on you these last few days…well, longer than that really. We’d like to have one night with you where you don’t have to worry about anything. You should be able to enjoy yourself and find some peace before you leave.”
She sat with her eyes glued to the floor. She seemed to be fighting emotions and thoughts she was not sure she wanted to share. As much as he wanted to rise from his chair and haul her up into his arms, he resisted. He kept his mouth closed and let the unnerving silence play its part.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Excellent,” Clay blurted as he stood and then moved around his desk. “I’ll have Deputy James Ryan escort you to my home so you can rest and clean up. He’ll stay outside for as long as you need him, but with Warren here behind bars, you should be able to rest easy.”
She nodded in agreement, but even before he finished speaking his thoughts, he felt Hunter’s gaze burning into him. He did his best to ignore Hunter’s menacing stare, something he was accustomed to as a police officer. The two of them had to work out a few things before dinner, so sending her home with him was not logical. Soon enough, Hunter would understand that and stop looking at him as if he prepared to melt his face off.
Clay approached Delilah and placed his index finger under her chin, raising her gaze to meet his. Her puffy, red eyes pulled at his heart. With the back of his knuckles, he brushed away the fallen tears. “Everything will work out, Delilah. You will find the strength to fight through this. Hunter and I are here to help you. Please believe that.”
She nodded.
Clay did something he couldn’t believe. He cupped her sweet face and kissed her, bending down to take her lips as softly as he could. The salty taste of her tears enflamed his soul. He wouldn’t be able to allow her to leave Temptation, not without first trying everything he could to show her that this little town was where she belonged. He felt it deep in the fiber of his being, and apparently, so did Hunter.
When he eased away from her, Clay saw her astonished expression. The tears that had once leaked from her eyes had ceased. He smiled warmly and again brushed his knuckles down her cheek.
“I’ll be right back,” he told her, glancing over at Hunter, who was watching his every move.
It felt strange to be affectionate with an audience, but kissing Delilah was an impulse that was easily satisfied and too hard to resist.
Leaving his office, Clay headed straight for James’s desk. The tall, sun-blond deputy sat with his back toward him, deep in concentration. The mountainous pile of paperwork Clay had had on his desk earlier in the week had disappeared, and now, staring at his trusted friend, he knew where it had all gone.
“You didn’t have to do that, you know?” Clay told him in a low voice.
James inclined his head to glance at him from over his shoulder and grinned. “I know, and that’s why I do it. You can thank me later when I ask for a day off.” He chuckled.
“Like you ever request a day off. You’re a workaholic, far worse than me.”
“True, but you never know. It could happen.”
Clay smiled at his friend.
“Did you need me to take Ms. Devero back to your place?”
Clay arched a brow. His deputy had keen insight. “Yes,” he said with his brows drawn tight to the bridge of his nose. “How did you know?”
“You pay me to not only take care of paperwork but to be observant, and it looks as though you and Hunter Boyd have something to work out.”
He scowled. Yes, he and Hunter had a lot to work out. He only wished they could come to an agreement before either of them did something stupid.
“Clay, I’ve known you since the day you started here, and I’ve never seen you so fond of a woman before. I’ve witnessed the same fire in Hunter’s eyes. I’d think you’d be pissed at me if I didn’t notice.”
There were times, like now, that Clay thought his friend might be psychic. “James, sometimes I think you are wasting your talent in this small town. Big cities would truly benefit from your keen eye.”
James sat back in his chair. “True, but then who would do your paperwork?” He winked at Clay. “Give me a quick second, and I’ll be right in to get her.”
“Sounds good,” Clay told him and then gave him a solid pat on his back, a sign of appreciation.
Returning to his office, he witnesse
d Hunter holding Delilah’s hand, and the jealous flare he was sure would burn from deep within his gut never surfaced. Maybe there was a chance that he and the young cowboy could make things work with Delilah, after all. He was about to find out.
Stalking into his office, he stood beside his chair and locked gazes with Delilah. Her face no longer held any sign of sadness or fear. She was as beautiful as ever, and his heart squeezed in response.
“Delilah, I want you—”
“Ready, Sheriff?” James said, interrupting him.
Suddenly, having James standing in the threshold to his office had him reorganizing his original thoughts. As much as he wanted to share the passions that flared within his heart, he couldn’t do it with him watching. Hunter, on the other hand, didn’t seem to affect him in the least.
“Delilah, I want you to go with James. He’ll take you home and stay as long as you need him to. I’ll be home as early as I can to pick you up for dinner.”
She rose to her feet. “Okay,” she told him, smiling softly. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
He liked the way that sounded. The image of her waiting for him to come home after a hard day of work made his throat tighten. He never thought about the feelings he’d have over having a woman welcome him at the end of the day. Nor had he given much thought to how incredible it would be to have her lying beside him at night and waking up to her angelic face in the morning.
“James, take extra care of her,” Clay told him, standing to help her out of her chair. “She’s special to me.”
Delilah’s eyes widened briefly, a soft smile on her lips.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Sheriff,” James said, stepping back to allow her to walk in front of him.
Once she and James had left the station, Clay closed his office door again and turned to face Hunter. “All right, Boyd, let’s see if we can figure out a way to keep that woman from running away from Temptation likes she’s been running from her family.”
