Page 64 of Willow Vale

The look he gave her was harsh enough that it made Irene release my arm in a heartbeat.

“Delilah.” He only had to say my name for me to understand what he wanted before he was holding out his arm toward me. I didn’t hesitate to go to him, and he glanced down at me when I reached his side. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”I am now,I wanted to say, but it was hard to find the words amidst the lump in my throat. My hands were shaking despite myself, and he seemed to notice because his anger only seemed to grow more as he held one of them in a firm grip.

Whatever shock had been on Irene’s face was quicklyreplaced by disgust as she sneered at him. “Stay out of this, Adler. This is between me and my daughter.”

“Funny that word pops up when it’s convenient for you,” Travis growled, shifting so he was standing in front of me. Shielding me from her. Protecting me. I could only stare up at him in awe as he stood tall and said with authority, “I suggest you leave before you really piss me off.”

I heard her laugh, a cold sound that grated on my ears. “Oh yeah? What are you going to do?”

Travis voice was deathly calm as he said, “Don’t ever touch Delilah again. That’s the only warning I’ll give you. She’s not a defenseless kid anymore, and I won’t stand by and let you hurt her again.” Before she could say anything else, he took my hand in his and tugged me toward the bar. “Let’s go.”

The door opened and a pissed off Mark walked out with Finn right behind him. The two reminded me of a dog herding sheep as Finn released the man’s arm by giving him a slight push. Finn’s gaze was flat as he looked between Irene and Mark. “Bar’s full. Go find somewhere else to drink.”

Irene looked at me with betrayal in her eyes. “Are you kidding me? This is how you’re going to treat me, Delilah?”

“Try to come into my bar again and I’ll have the cops kick you out next time,” was all Travis said before he guided me back into the bar.

Finn stayed behind, clearly making sure neither of them would try to come back inside.

Travis led me through the crowd of people and the last thing I wanted to do was talk about what happened out there. My shaky breaths were drowned out by the loud music playing. If any patrons around us saw what happened through the windows, they didn’t show it as they kept dancing and drinking to their hearts’ content.

Before he could take me to the breakroom, I tugged on Travis’s hand, stopping him when we made it to the center of the makeshift dance floor. He turned to look at me with his usual scowl but whatever expression he saw on my face made his sharp features soften.

The lights were dim, casting a fiery glow in the bar as faces blurred all around.

I didn’t want to know if Desi or Finn were watching us now.

I didn’t want to look over my shoulder to see if Irene was still standing outside.

I just wanted Travis.

We stared at each other as if we were the only two people left in the bar. I took his hand and led him further into the crowd. He pulled me into his arms just as the band started to play Chris Stapleton’s “The Fire.”We swayed from side to side, joined by other couples dancing along to the music. My hand rested over his chest as his cupped the back of my head. In that moment, I wasn’t sure where I ended and he began. As if, in this moment, there truly wasn’t a single thing that could come between us.

“Did she hurt you?” Travis asked me. I shook my head. I couldn’t find the words to speak just yet, too afraid of what would happen if I did. Understanding this, he said, “I’m so sorry, Delilah.”

I went up on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck. We stopped swaying when he held me tight. Two statues frozen in time as the world blurred together around us.

“She didn’t even ask about River.” I wiped away a stray tear.

He captured my face in his hands and rested his forehead against mine. “He doesn’t need her. He has you and me, that’smore than enough. We’ll love him enough between the two of us.”

He kissed me then. Slowly easing away the pain in my cracked heart. Putting the pieces back together bit by bit. Proving to me once again that it wasn’t just me and River anymore. I feared we hadn’t truly been alone since the moment I found my way back to Travis.

CHAPTER 24

Travis

When the rodeowas in full swing, the bar emptied out with patrons going off to see the cowboys show off at the rodeo—Wren and Finn included. They were doing team roping together just like they used to before she moved to Montana.

Finn was a natural born wrangler, so he’d been roping ever since he was a kid just like me. Wren caught the bug a little later; nevertheless, she was a great wrangler too. My sister’s passion was in training horses—being with them in the stables, riding them, taking care of them. When Dad started bringing in rescues, it was a dream come true for her.

But she was an Adler, which meant she was good at whatever she set her mind on learning.

Delilah and I went to meet up with my parents once it slowed down at the bar and Desi said she and Jake could handle things without us. We decided to take my truck to drive to the rodeo on the other side of town.

I told her we didn’t have to go after the run-in with Irene, but she insisted on going, especially since River was with my parents.

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