Page 102 of Taming I Do
“Sure. Do I get some of that coffee, too?”
“You know what? Why don’t you take it? I’m going to follow up with Trent to make sure everything’s okay with those dogs and see how long he expects them to stay in the barn. I’ll meet up with you later?”
“But you wanted to walk me through the events for today, didn’t you?” He’d handed me the bag and the coffee. It wasn’t like him to seem so flustered. Maybe he was feeling just as off as I was.
“How about I drop you off in town and have Suzy walk you through things? There are a few last-minute details I need to work on and then I’ll meet up with you before it’s time to go?”
“I think you’re working too hard on this festival.” I cupped his cheek with my palm. “You know you’ve already impressed me, don’t you?”
“I didn’t know for sure until you just told me.” He rubbed his cheek against my palm.
“I’m not saying you’ve got the win in the bag, but if it gets you out of work so we can spend my last night in town together, I can tell you, you’ve got a really good shot at the title.”
“Shh.” He silenced me with a kiss. “We promised we wouldn’t let the contest come between us. I don’t want to get us disqualified because you’re falling for me.”
“Falling for you?” I sidled up against his chest, wishing my hands weren’t full of breakfast so I could use them for other things, more important things in the moment.
“Aren’t you?” His arms wrapped around me, his hands resting against the sliver of skin between my shirt and the pair of jeans I’d slipped on.
“I think I’ve already fallen.” Rising on my tiptoes, I touched my lips to his.
He deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into my mouth. The man sure knew how to kiss. And someday soon, hopefully my lips would get a lot more action from his.
“We’d better get back.” He let his arms drop from my sides.
I fell into step beside him, appreciating the way he always seemed to adjust his longer stride to match mine.
About twenty minutes later, Jasper pulled up in front of the gazebo in the town square. I popped the last of the muffin into my mouth and drained my coffee. Rows of white tents lined the sidewalk. Vendors were setting up their wares, and I spotted everything from fresh produce to homemade apple butter to midway games. Jasper had filled me in on what to expect at the Fall Festival, but he hadn’t told me it was more like a carnival.
Suzy rushed over when she saw us, her arms full of miniature pumpkins. “Am I ever glad to see you!”
“You need some help with that?” I made a move to stabilize the pile of pumpkins.
“I’m good for now. But I could use some help with the pumpkin bowling station. I promised Lacey I’d finish setting it up before I can run home and get ready.”
“I was hoping you’d be able to take Delilah around and show her how everything’s going to go today,” Jasper said.
I didn’t miss the surprise in Suzy’s eyes.
“Um, sure. Do you have other plans?”
“There’s something I need to follow up on with Mitchell and Trent. I’ll be back before you know it. An hour, maybe two at the most.” Jasper put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I’ll see you later, Miss Lovin’ Texas.”
Then he climbed into his truck and backed out of the space, not even waving as he sped off down the street.
“Is it just me or did he run off faster than shit off a shovel?” Suzy glanced toward the empty spot where Jasper’s truck had been.
“He seemed a little off this morning,” I admitted.
“How so?”
“After we found those...” Jasper had asked me not to mention it to anyone, at least until he had a chance to check with his brothers. As odd as that seemed, I trusted him completely. He had to have a good reason.
“Those what?” Suzy eyed me with suspicion.
I wouldn’t lie. After what Stella had done to Suzy... stringing Suzy along all those years... I’d never tell another lie as long as I lived.
“Dogs. He found a few dogs in the barn and said he needed to check in with Trent, or maybe he mentioned Mitchell. I still can’t keep all of them straight.” I shrugged. “What’s left to do for pumpkin bowling?”
