Page 65 of Willow Vale

I took her hand in mine as we walked toward the arena,where I spotted my parents standing by the entrance with a curious River looking everywhere he could.

“The second you want to go, we’ll go,” I told her before we reached the others.

She smiled at me, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m fine. I want to be here to support Finn and Wren.”

I knew she meant it. Her smile might have been forced, but she was being honest. I loved that she wanted to be there for my family. I just wished she noticed that my family had always wanted to be there for her too.

“Lila! Travis!” River yelled, catching our attention. He was holding a cowboy hat atop his head with one hand, entirely too big for him. He ran toward us faster than I’d ever seen a kid run. He crashed into our legs, and I laughed. “Desmond gave me his hat! You like it?”

“You look so good, buddy.” Delilah crouched down to take in his plaid red button down, jeans, and cowboy boots. He’d been begging her to dress him up like a cowboy today for the rodeo. The kid was pretty damn cute.

I joined her so that I could get a good look at him.

The freckles on his cheeks were more prominent than they had been at the start of the summer. Probably because he’d been spending so much time outside on the ranch with me and my dad.

“Look at you. You’re looking like a real cowboy.” I gave him a fist bump.

“Thank you for watching him like always,” Delilah said to my parents as she went in to give them a hug. My mother held onto her for a little longer than she normally hugged others, and I wondered if she somehow knew Delilah really needed that hug today.

“Anytime you need us, Lila, we’ll be there,” my mother said as she released her.

Delilah nodded, and I could see she was trying to hold back the emotions threatening to bubble up to the surface. It was only when she looked at Dad that she seemed to lose the battle. He held his arms out to her, and she walked into a big bear hug from him.

My mother looked to me, silently voicing her concern but I shook my head with a small smile. It seemed to reassure her enough to not press Delilah about what was bothering her.

I leaned down and asked River, “You ready to go see Wren?”

“Uh-huh! I promised I was going to cheer super loud for her!”

“That’s the spirit.” I reached down and picked him up, sitting him on my shoulders. “Let’s get going.”

After listening to the rodeo announcer on the speakers, blasting my ears for two hours and cheering my brother and sister on with River, we all went out for dinner at the steakhouse. The same way we always did after the rodeo every year. It didn’t matter what we were celebrating, the steakhouse on the other side of town was where we went as a family. The only difference this time was that Delilah and River were also a part of the family.

The twins were rowdy like always, teasing each other or playing games with River at the table. He’d been bouncing with excitement like a pinball, and I doubted he’d be sleeping anytime soon.

Delilah sat next to me on the large round booth after the hostess gave us our menus. The steakhouse was crowded with folks heading straight there after the rodeo. It was loud, but at least I could hear the conversation between my parents across the table from us.

We ate—though, Mom kept chastising our dad for indulging in a ribeye and disobeying doctor’s orders—welaughed, and shared stories. And all the while, I slowly watched Delilah’s smile turn into a genuine one, which made me one happy man. Without giving it much thought, I kissed the side of her head, making her blink up at me in surprise.

“What?” I grinned.

“N-nothing,” she said just as my parents exchanged amused looks.

Wren nudged me over River’s head, poking my side until I had no choice but to look at her with a flat look. My sister smiled knowingly at me, scrunching her nose as she did before saying, “I’m happy for you, you big grouch.”

Yeah, I was pretty damn happy too.

Once dinner was over,I drove Delilah and River back to the bar so she could get her Bronco.

Of course, it didn’t start, so I offered to drive her back to her apartment and call a mechanic first thing in the morning to come take a look at it.

We drove in silence for the most part since River dozed off in the back, occasionally snoring softly. In our silence, however, I noticed she was lost in thought.

Every time I glanced over, she was looking out the window. Gone was the woman who smiled wide enough to make my heart leap in my chest. Now there was the girl I’d seen standing in my bar a month ago—sad and weary, stressed beyond belief.

I hated seeing it.

I wanted to erase that look on her face and give her something to make her feel hopeful again. I wanted her to be happy. I’d never wanted anyone to be happy like I did when I looked at Delilah North. Every time she smiled atRiver in that unguarded way of hers, forgetting the rest of the world because she was staring right at it, it was like mine lit right up. Like I didn’t know what living was until I saw her.

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