Page 153 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Good to hear. He didn’t have to worry about the man.

“Why do you ask?”

“He was outside as I came in. He waved. I just wondered.”

“It’s good to be vigilant, considering the situation.”

“Exactly.”

“Nice flowers,” Pops said a few seconds later.

Corbin looked at the colorful bouquet in question, caught the teasing in Pops’ voice, but he chose to ignore it. “Thanks,” he said lightly. He went to the cupboards. “Is there a vase, or something I can put these in?”

“There’s a Mason Jar on the top shelf, to the right of the microwave. I saw it when I was making breakfast.”

“Oh, yeah. How was breakfast?”

“Great. There are leftovers in the fridge if you want them.”

“That’s okay. I ran by a drive-through and grabbed something before I went shopping.” He reached for the jar and filled it with water. The flowers were wrapped in plastic. A packet of flower food was attached to the stems with a rubber band. He pulled out several drawers. “What about scissors?”

“There should be some in there. I asked Hilda to stock all the cabins with them.”

“Found ‘em.” He cut off the rubber band and removed the plastic. Corbin didn’t know the first thing about arranging flowers. He grabbed the stems and stuffed them into the jar all at once. He stepped back to admire his handiwork. He frowned. It looked pathetic, like a blob. Maybe he should’ve left the flowers in the plastic. He shifted them around a little, but it didn’t seem to help. Oh, well. It was the thought that counted, right? He was a bodyguard, not a florist. Oops, he forgot to add the food. He snipped a corner of the packet, and pushed the stems to the side, then emptied the powder into the water.

He placed the flowers in the center of the table where Delaney couldn’t miss them. Then he sat down beside Pops. “Thanks for holding down the fort.”

“Sure. I enjoyed spending time with Dee. She’s a good girl. We had a great conversation.”

He kept his tone casual. “What did you guys talk about?”

“Oh, you know. Life. Relationships … stuff like that.”

He tensed. “What sort of relationships?”

Pops reached for the remote and turned down the volume on the TV. Then he angled toward Corbin. He arched an eyebrow, a trace of defiance in his expression. “You really wanna know?”

“Well, yeah. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” It was crazy how fast the irritation surfaced.

“We talked about you and her.”

The breath left Corbin’s lungs. His eyes narrowed. “What’re you up to, Pops? You have no right to meddle in my personal life.”

“On the contrary. I have every right. You called and asked for my help, remember? Came here.”

It was just like Pops to throw that in his face. “Yeah, I wanted to bring Delaney, Dee,” he corrected, “here to keep her safe, not for you to play matchmaker.” There was no telling what Pops told her.

“Aren’t you interested in what she said?”

“Well … yeah.” Pops had him and he knew it. He desperately wanted to know what Delaney said, but he wasn’t about to give Pops the satisfaction of begging.

A sly smile slid over Pops’ lips. “She likes you. A lot.”

“Really?” Hope rose in his chest. “She said that.”

“Yeah. Not in those exact words, but that was the inference.”

He gave Pops a hard look. “Are you sure you didn’t misconstrue the conversation?”

---