Divine Phoenix(Divine Creek Ranch 10)(53)

When she merely nodded, he added, “Let me guess. It was your ex’s idea, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Men love long hair. I love it, but I don’t blame you if you cut it off.” Adopting a pleading tone, he said, “Just don’t go super short. It’s so pretty long.”

“I’ll bear that in mind, cowboy.”

His tanned, somewhat weather-beaten face broke into a smile. “Cowboy?”

“Sure. If you’re going to be a rancher then I want to call you cowboy.”

“I’m more used to reining in a Humvee. That’s gonna take some getting used to.”

“It’s good to have you home safe. Was it rough in the desert? Mountains? I don’t know where you were.”

“Both. All over.” That was all he offered, and she left it at that, not wanting to pry.

“I’m going to start seeing a counselor tomorrow, about my…stuff.”

Concern for her formed a crease between his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? PTSD?”

She nodded as he put his arm around her shoulders. “Yes. I haven’t been sleeping well. Nightmares. Panic attacks. I had trouble last night with the storm blowing through.”

“Clay mentioned you couldn’t sleep. Still scared of storms?”

“Yeah. That’s gotten worse. I have a lot of issues I need to sort out. I journal a lot and that helps but doing it on my own hasn’t worked too well. Del, if you ever want to talk, I’m here for you, okay?”

Del smiled down at her warmly and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you, Lily Bell.”



* * * *



Del gently fingered the strands of her hair that fell down her back. Lily was a portrait of contrasts. He could see the girl she had been in the woman she had become, but the fire that had always burned brightly within her was now banked. He noticed it most with the way she considered her words before she spoke. When he knew her years ago, she had rarely ever filtered her thoughts before speaking her mind. The hesitancy was almost poignant for him to see because he’d appreciated her bluntness.

But on the other hand, the softened edges also added to her beauty. Her eyes reflected the soul of a person who had lived beyond her years and borne a lot of trials. The fact that she had not grown bitter was a testament to her strength because he knew how easily that could happen.

Lily placed her warm hand on his forearm. “I won’t pry into personal stuff and I promise I won’t judge you.”

How did she know that was at the core of his fear? His failure to save one innocent woman had haunted him since retiring from Browder-McCormick, a private military company. Even though the failure had been a company-wide failure, he still felt personally responsible. The screams of a guiltless woman as she died by torture powered his nightmares every night and were enough to make him wish he never had to sleep at all.

Del looked into her eyes and saw her sincerity and was about to reply when the waiter returned to their table. “Could I offer you dessert?”

Lily shook her head and was about to refuse when he placed his hand on her thigh. “Do you still have the best peach cobbler in Texas?”

The waiter grinned and nodded. “How about a big slice, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and two spoons?”

Del grinned at the way she jammed her lips together and replied, “That sounds about perfect but make it just the one spoon.”

“I’ll be right back with it, sir.”

When the waiter was gone, Lily said, “Thanks. The last thing I need is dessert.”

He had every intention of her having dessert, but he kept his thoughts to himself as her thigh twitched under his hand. She bit her lip and glanced down at it then looked up at him with a tinge of extra pink in her cheeks, but she didn’t remove it. So he left it right where it was. It felt right.

“I…” Her voice dwindled off, and he watched her swallow and then lick her lips, which he would’ve had to be a dead man not to react to. His cock tingled and lengthened. Her earlier words came to mind, about him and Clay finding a perfect little woman to shack up with, and it surprised the shit out of him when his cock did not go limp but hardened some more. Did not know that about myself.

“You…what?”

Lily sounded a little flustered when she giggled and said, “I forgot what I was going to say.” She glanced at him, and he could practically feel the heat from her pink cheeks. He liked putting a blush there. The waiter brought the dessert and placed it in front of him. He lifted his hand from her thigh and held the dish while he gathered a bite on the spoon. She looked up in confusion when he held the spoon in front of her mouth.