Second Chances (15 page)

The
front door opening and closing snared her attention. Turning, she found Evan,
Dusty’s youngest brother jogging down the front steps and heading her
direction. His brown eyes, so like Dusty’s locked with her own. “Pretty cute
fuzz balls, huh?”

She
watched him approach, lean against the fence, and reach through to rub a dainty
head. “Yeah. Sweet too.” The dark brown alpaca nibbled at her fingers as if
reminding April she still stood there wanting more attention. Automatically,
April lightly scratched the animal’s forehead.

A long
moment passed where neither spoke. Finally, Evan sucked in a breath. “If it’s
any consolation, Dusty’s a jackass.”

She
nearly grinned at the revelation. Most likely, the brothers threw out the
insult toward one another from time to time. “He sees a beautiful woman who
used to share his life. Now, he feels like he has a second chance with her.”
She spouted off the facts, carefully keeping any hint of annoyance from her
flat tone.

Evan
twisted to peer down at her. His jaw ticked before he released a long sigh.
“He’s blind as a mole. Can’t see through her curves to the cold heart
underneath.”

April
shrugged. What could she say when she agreed wholeheartedly.
His life, his choice.

“You
can’t imagine how surprised we were to pull into the driveway of the stable and
see you, especially once we learned you were a boarder, not a stable hand.”

Her
brow furrowed. “Why?”

“Because
Dusty swore off women three years ago. He might tolerate boarders, but never
would he pack one up and bring her here to meet the family.” Evan studied her
face closely.

“He
needs help with my filly. She—”

“Bullshit.”
He shook his head. “That’s an excuse and we both know it. The fact is, you’ve
grown on him and he couldn’t bear to leave you behind to find your own
accommodations.”

“We’re
friends.” She clung to the word even as another lance stabbed at her heart.
Sure, she used to think they had started on the road to something more, but the
appearance of Colette changed everything. Friends were all they could be.
Unfortunately, being around Dusty right now hurt too much. She couldn’t march
up to him, dump her feelings out, and wait to hear the brisk rejection. No, she
had no choice but to make herself scarce, help out the family as much as
possible, and pray the fire turned and soon. As generous and kind as the
Delaney family had been, she desperately needed to return home where she could
shed a few tears in private.

His
gaze met hers. “Let me tell you something about Dusty. He was heartbroken when
Colette broke up with him. Mad as a hornet too. When he returned from active duty,
he went a little wild. Ended up with a lowlife, money sucker named Rose. He
fell for her hook, line, and sinker.” Evan paused to lightly brush another
alpaca nose. “We all knew her game. Archer even hired a PI to find evidence of
her numerous schemes of sidling up to wealthy men, throwing herself in their
beds, then making off with a vast amount of money. When Archer presented all
this to Dusty, he was pissed. Accused us of trying to interfere in his life.
Even came to blows with Archer over it.”

“His
pride was hurt,” she whispered the words, finally understanding why Dusty
distrusted women and why he’d not been in contact with his family for so long.

“That’s
one thing Dusty has in spades. Pride. Being a SEAL only reinforces that.”

“I’d
heard he didn’t care for women outside of a warm bed, but didn’t know why.” She
blew out a breath. “He had to have been devastated.”

Evan
nodded. “So, you see why we couldn’t believe he made sure you tagged along? As
far as we knew, he would no more date a woman seriously than a pig could sprout
wings and fly.” He stared at her intensely. “You’re special to him. Never doubt
that.”

April
smiled sadly. “Right now, I believe the best thing for him is for me to lay low
and head home as soon as possible. He’s been through so much. If Colette can
make him happy, then more power to her.” Standing on tiptoe, she brushed a
quick kiss across Evan’s cheek. “Thank you. Dusty doesn’t know how lucky he is
to have you for a brother.” She stepped back from the fence. “And on that note,
I better head back to the kitchen. I’m sure Carrie would appreciate the help.”

Evan
tipped his head her direction, his dark eyes full of concern and a spark of
frustration that carried over to his face. She wanted to soothe his features
into the fun loving handsome man she’d only seen thus far, the one who needled
his brothers incessantly, and kept the family in wide smiles and laughter. But,
she couldn’t. He seemed to want exactly what she did—Dusty to turn away from
the brunette bimbo and set his sights back on April. The decision lay out of
her hands and right on the shoulders of the man who hadn’t taken his eyes off
Colette since she showed up.

Walking
back toward the house, April contemplated the front door only for a moment
before taking a detour around the side. Unwilling to come face to face with the
new couple, she opted to slink in through the back kitchen door.

Not
bothering to knock, April pulled the door open and slipped in, noting Carrie
and Tess already loading the dishwasher after scraping remaining food into a
bucket to be given to the crows later. “What do you need me to do?”

“Kick
Dusty’s butt all the way to Canada,” Carrie snarled, scraping more food off a
plate, before placing it in the dishwasher.

April
sighed. She’d like to, but getting all bent out of shape about his latest love
interest didn’t help her cause. Nor did pouting and moaning about her lot in
life and his decisions. “It doesn’t matter.” She popped the stopper in the sink
and started setting dirty dishes inside. After finding the detergent under the
counter, she squirted a healthy bit into the stream of water from the faucet.

“I
don’t understand why he’s all googly-eyed with her.” Tess grabbed a couple of
clean dish clothes and placed them on the counter next to the sink.

“They were
nearly engaged. He deeply cared for her at one time.”

“You’d
think he would remember how she dumped him.” Tess frowned severely.

Carrie
finished filling the dishwasher, added powder, then shut the door. She pushed
the start button and twisted to face the other women. “Pretty chicken shit way
to do it and we’ve never forgotten. Neither has Dusty, once he comes back to
his senses.”

“I’m
sorry.” Tess shot April a sympathetic look. “I know you have feelings for him.”

April
swallowed hard. “Thanks.” With nothing more to say and a ton of dirty dishes in
wait, she went straight to work.

Dusty
still couldn’t believe his eyes. After all these years, Colette was sitting on
the front porch swing beside him. Just like old times. More than one evening
found them cuddled together as they rocked peacefully, whispering endearments
and sweet nothings in one another’s ears. Often, they would have to dash
upstairs to his bedroom before they ended up naked and in a more than
compromising position on the front porch for everyone to see.

Memories
and feelings assailed him. All good, happy, and mixed with some pretty erotic
nights. He felt eighteen again. His problems fell away as he absorbed the
thrill of being around the one woman he loved enough to almost marry.

“You
look more beautiful than ever. Where have you been these past years?” After she
sent him a breakup letter, she’d basically disappeared. He’d asked around when
he returned from Afghanistan, but no one seemed to know where she’d gotten off
to.

“All
over.” She grinned up at him as she rested her hand on his thigh. “Traveled the
world for a while before I realized money couldn’t buy happiness.”

He
frowned. “You got married.”

“And
divorced.” She looked down as he covered her hand with his. “I thought I needed
something more, something exciting.” Her chin lifted and she met his gaze.
“Turns out I’d walked off and left the best thing that had ever happened to
me.”

“Colette—”

“Let me
finish, please?” She blew out a breath. “It took me a while to see my mistake.
I heard you’d moved on and figured you had your own family by now. When I
learned you were back at the ranch and still single, I couldn’t believe my
lucky stars. I thought…”

“What?”

“I
hoped you still felt for me like I still feel for you.”

Dusty
froze. How many times had he thought of Colette over the years? Hundreds? He’d
forgiven her for moving on, not able to wait the long years for him to return
from war. If he returned at all. Not every woman could be attached to a soldier
and their path wasn’t easy. He understood this and realized Colette needed a
man at home, someone she loved and could count on being there. Sadly, she
apparently didn’t find what she needed in her ex.

His
hopes leaped quelling the soft nagging voice in the back of his mind. Colette
had returned to him. She wanted him, needed him, and he wasn’t about to look a
gift horse in the mouth. He’d been head over heels for her before he left for
war and evidently the feelings hadn’t changed much over time. Yet, he couldn’t
seem to voice the sentiment. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her and sealed
his lips over hers.

She
rested her head on his shoulder and he sighed in contentment. Long ago, he
envisioned years of sitting on this comfortable porch swing, looking out over
the land, and living their lives together. The dream dissipated with the Dear
John letter he’d received.

Now, he
had one more chance. Colette wanted him and his old fantasy resurged.

“Never
seen the likes. A fuzzy animal on stilts spitting in Brand’s face and all he
does is cuss.” Colt lurched to the side, avoiding Brand’s attempt to smack his
arm.

“Nasty
tempered beast, I’ll agree. Glad he’s not mine.” Getting comfortable once more
on the wide leather couch, Brand crossed one leg over the other.

Dusty stood
at the entrance to the living room, listening. His lips curled up at the
corners as they continued to give Brand a hard time. He’d just said goodnight
to Colette with a kiss and a promise to meet her tomorrow. His day couldn’t be
better and spending the evening with some downtime hanging out in the man cave
sounded like a perfect ending.

“Beaten
by a llama. What’s the world coming to?” Evan asked.

“Llama
stew, probably. Except he doesn’t want to get on the bad side of that perky
little redhead.” Archer reclined back in his chair.

“She’s
got some nice curves,” Colt offered up.

“And
she’s a doctor too. Talk about a catch,” Evan replied.

Brand
rolled his eyes. “I don’t care about her money.”

“Maybe
not, but I saw how you looked at her today. It’s a miracle she didn’t go up in
smoke from spontaneous combustion.” Archer grinned wickedly.

“I’m
just doing her a favor. Besides, she’s a prickly little thing.” Brand took a
drink of his beer.

“Uh-huh.”
Dusty walked in, headed for the smaller love seat, and plopped down. “I think
she’s caught your eye, bro.”

“Just
like that little blonde caught yours?” Evan asked.

Dusty
frowned. “Colette is brunette.”

“I was
talking about April.”

“We’ve
been through this already. She’s just a boarder. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Four
sets of eyes stared at him. He glared right back.

“That’s
good to know. I’m thinking about asking her out.” Evan nodded slowly. “Nice
body, pretty hair. Sweet tempered. Yeah, I could get used to her sleeping in my
bed.”

Possessiveness
and protectiveness jumped to the fore. Dusty opened his mouth, then shut it
again promptly. The gut reaction confused him. Colette had reappeared in his
life, quickly slipping back into the position as girlfriend. April had never
been there. Sure, they had shared one kiss, a reckless impulsive act that he
couldn’t quite understand and refused to dwell on.

So, why
in the hell when he had a drop dead gorgeous woman in Colette draped all over
him, did he care if Evan asked April out? Because, even though he presently
didn’t want her for more than a friend, he didn’t want another man to snatch
her away. His rational mind argued he couldn’t have it both ways.

Maybe
not, but that didn’t mean he would encourage his single brothers to sniff
around April. She could make her own choices, certainly, but he didn’t have to
like them.

“If I
wasn’t married, I’d certainly consider April. That girl has a brain and isn’t
afraid to get dirty.” Archer crossed his legs at the ankles.

“You’d
never have to worry about her wandering off, unless it’s for another animal in
need,” Colt added.

“Exactly.”
Evan sipped his beer and nodded. “I’m definitely going to ask her out.”

Studying
Evan, Dusty couldn’t decide if his younger brother simply tried to yank his
chain, prod him into opening up more about April, or if his interest proved
true. Try as he might, he couldn’t picture Evan and April as a couple. Not with
vet school right around the corner, the physical distance between their homes,
and a few years separating them in age. Certainly some obstacles, but that
didn’t always ensure a quick end to any blossoming relationship.