Divine Phoenix (15 page)

A few moments later, as they walked out the door, Tabitha called, “Lily, don’t forget to sign out on your timesheet!”

Clay heaved a disgusted-sounding sigh and waved them on. “I’ll take care of it. You two go have fun.”

Lily hooked her arm in Del’s as he escorted her to his truck, and he asked, “What’s her deal? She acts like someone stuck a turd under her nose.”

Lily burst out in a rash of giggles that was long-lasting and faintly hysterical. She attributed it to the joy of Del being home safe. Finally she calmed as he started the truck and said, “I think she may have been hoping I’d crap rainbows for her while riding a unicorn!”

Del joined her in her euphoric laughter and asked, “
What?
Have y’all been getting into the catnip? You’re full of giggles today.”

Lily let out a long, gusty sigh. “Tabitha was up in the air, harping about my friend, Grace. She has a positive attitude and it irritates Tabitha. I’m just really happy to see you, Del. Things are going so right in my world for once. Even Tabitha can’t ruin my day with all her garbage.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Clay got me caught up on how you came to be in Divine again. I’ve got to tell you it’s all my fault we lost touch.”

“It is?”

“Yeah. I’m coming clean, at least for my part. I’ve felt guilty for years.”

“What did you do?”

“In high school one of my girlfriends found one of your letters to me and the reply I was writing back at the time. She laughed and thought it was funny that I was on the football team and the wrestling team and had a girl pen pal. I gave in to peer pressure and I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. I just got lazy.”

“I never sent that reply and after me and that girl broke up, it had been so long since I’d written that I was embarrassed. I thought you’d be mad at me, or worse, that you didn’t care anyway.”

“No. I always cared, Del. But this is what happens when people are separated by distance. Sometimes the friendships dwindle away.” It got really quiet in the truck, except for the radio playing softly as David Nail sang “Let It Rain.”

“So, I’m sorry. I feel like it was me that let the ball drop.”

Lily shook her head. “No. Clay said the letter writing fell by the wayside for him, too. I’m sorry your girlfriend teased you.”

Del waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, she was a bitch.”

Lily burst into giggles again as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto Main Street.

Five minutes later they arrived at O’Reilley’s steakhouse. “Wow! Big spender.”

“I’m still sucking up,” he replied with a sideways grin. “Hold on. Let me be a gentleman and help you out.”

She waited as he came around and assisted her. When she held on to his shoulder, she couldn’t help but notice how hard and broad his muscled shoulders were. She didn’t pull away when he held her hand in his strong, callused one as he escorted her into the restaurant.

Once they had their iced teas and were done placing their orders, Lily settled back in the booth and looked up at him sitting beside her. She’d thought it odd that he didn’t sit opposite her, but this way she’d be able to hear him talk without shouting across the wide table.

“So…the last time I saw you, we were…younger.” Finding the right word had been difficult.

He turned to her in the booth and settled sideways on the cushioned seat. “You mean helpless?”

Lily pressed her lips together as she remembered the last day they spent together in seventh grade.

At twelve and thirteen, the hormones for adolescence had just barely kicked in for them, besides all the emotional crap going on. Clay and Del were both still scrawny, and Lily was still fat. Lily had begun to develop, but they all three had looked basically the same, only maybe a little taller.

The middle school they’d been bused to outside Morehead was different from the close-knit, rural elementary school they’d gone to in Divine. The kids at the new school had found out that Del was enrolled in special education classes for his learning disability, and they’d been ruthless, mean little monsters. Lily hadn’t been one to sit by while that happened any more than Clay had been.

One day, while waiting for afternoon break time to be over, the teasing had gotten especially bad. One group of disgusting older boys, newly drafted to the middle school football team, had taken it upon themselves to tease and taunt Del about the special classes he took part of the day.

He’d been held back in kindergarten because of extreme difficulty learning to read and write. The boys didn’t care that he had dyslexia. They just wanted a fresh target. Being weak and scrawny, Del was prime meat for them. They’d been murmuring and picking at him in the lunch line and in the hallways, and by break time in the middle of the afternoon, Del had been pushed to his limit.

One of the boys had shoved Lily out of the way to say something ugly to Del, and he’d thrown a punch while Del was trying to help her up, sending them both sprawling to the ground. She’d been seeing red when she rose from the ground. Lily had always been a bit taller than the other kids and never had a problem defending herself.

Unfortunately, the crowd had grown and the kids began chanting, “Special Ed! Special Ed! Special Ed!” Some were also chanting, “Short Bus! Short Bus!” That had seemed to really set Del off, but when the kids had also started chanting, “Chubby! Chubby!” Del had gone ballistic.

The three of them had always stood up for each other. Clay had come running, fists flying, right into the middle of the fray as Del was knocked to the ground again. Lily had been able to hear several girls chanting in a singsong voice, “Special Ed and Chubby sitting in a tree k–i–s–s–i–n–g!” She’d known her mom would be disappointed in her, but she hadn’t been able to ignore it.

She’d slugged one of the boys who had been kicking Del where he was curled up on the ground and helped him back up as another boy kicked her. She turned and gave him a punch in his flabby gut and had laughed at the “ooph!” sound he’d made.

Being shorter than the others, Clay had waded in and was doing his best, but she’d been able to see his tearful frustration at being smaller than the others. Finally the principal and one of the custodians had dragged them apart and broken up the fight. They’d all been hauled to the principal’s office, their parents called, and punishments meted out. If she’d known that would be the last time she’d see them, she would’ve said something besides, “Sorry we got our butts whooped.” Her father had told them that night that they were moving to Durst the next day. When it was all boiled down, the day she left Divine had been the worst day of her life.

“Lily Bell? You in there?”

“I was just thinking about that last day, when we got in trouble.”

Del grinned widely. “Oh, yeah. I had a shiner from that fight that lasted a whole week. You know that one big kid, Durwood Willoughby?”

Her lip curled in disgust. “That jerk? The one with the stinky armpits? I hated him.”

Del chuckled. “Yup, that’s the one. Clay told me he’s the town veterinarian. Cleaned up his act and has become a model citizen. He was an asshole all through school, though.”

Recalling how big a jerk Durwood was, she licked her lower lip. “He busted my lip in that fight. I got in even more trouble when I got home. Then we had to move. I was not happy. So, what happened after I moved away? Your letters were spotty…understandably so.” She’d known that writing wasn’t one of Del’s strong suits, so she’d never expected him to be very wordy.

Del grinned sheepishly. “I never was one for sharing lots of details, was I? I went into the army after graduation. I was in for about ten years before going on to that private gig. I’m done now. I figured I’d try my hand at ranching.”

“Did they pick on you all through school?” That thought made her heart hurt because Del had always been kindhearted.

“Well, I got…not so helpless anymore. I became eligible for the football team, and you can see both me and Clay filled out a bit.”

She could most definitely see that he’d grown into a solid, tall, muscular man. Thinking of Clay brought the night before to mind, which made her feel a little flustered, and Lily nodded. “Yeah, I noticed that you were a little more…structured.” The heat in her cheeks increased when he grinned as she gripped his bicep and lightly squeezed. Her pussy contracted with a slutty wave of wanting. To distract herself from that feeling, she added, “The last time we saw each other we were eye to eye, literally.”

“Yeah, and I think Clay was still shorter than you.”

“Yes, but not so much anymore. You’re both like mountains now.”

Del scrutinized her and finally said, “You grew up beautiful, Lily.”

Looking up at him, her lips were just inches from his, and for a second she felt as if she were being pulled toward him. His lips were curved in a slight smile, and he actually leaned in to her just an inch or two.

The spell was broken by the clatter and crash of someone dropping a plate in the kitchen. “Oh, stop teasing.” The heat rose quickly in her cheeks.

“I’m not pulling your leg. You’re gorgeous. Clay says you’ve been working really hard at the shop, schoolwork, and everything else. I can tell how proud he is of you. I am, too. Will you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“Tell me what happened?” he asked carefully, obviously not wanting to push her into rehashing her painful past.

The issue of the tattoo rose in her mind, and she decided to give him the basic facts and not waste their time together by making him pull the story out of her. The waiter brought his steak and baked potato and her steak and salad and she gave him the facts quickly with as little emotion as possible.

A few minutes later, he murmured, “Lily, if I could change one thing about the past, it would be that you’d never moved away from Divine.”

“That would be nice. But the important thing is that I’m here.” Slipping her hand around his arm, she pressed the side of her head against his big shoulder. “I’m so glad to see you, Del.”

Del gazed at her with his enigmatic gray-green eyes that were at once fathomless but also warm with some deeper emotion. He tilted her chin with his hardened, callused fingertips and placed a gentle kiss above her brow line.

“I’m home now.”

Her heart galloped at the contact, and instant guilt formed in the pit of her stomach even as excitement and desire raced through her veins. The spot between her thighs, claimed by Clay the night before, warmed for his brother just as much.

Lord, have mercy, what he does to me! I should have my head examined.

If she’d still been living in Durst, her mind never would’ve made the leap, declaring Clay’s brother off limits, but this was Divine. Grace and her men, and Doctor Emma and hers came to mind.

Never say never!

After lunch, Lily accompanied Del to the grocery store and the ranch and farm supply warehouse. She volunteered to make some meals for him that he could just pop into the microwave.

“In that case, I’d better buy a microwave.”

That surprised her. “You don’t even have a microwave oven?”

“Nope. There is supposed to be a delivery happening right about”—he checked his watch—“now. My old refrigerator was a goner when I turned on the power this morning. I’ve been away a while so it’s no big surprise.”

“What will you do to make ends meet?”

Del shrugged. “I’m a bachelor. It doesn’t take much to keep me. I’ll be working full time around the ranch on my own, getting things repaired and in order. I made a shit ton of money for the contract work I did in Afghanistan, so I’m good for a while.” His eyes took on a sad, distant look when he’d mentioned Afghanistan, and she could only guess at the things he’d seen over there.

“We should throw you a welcome home party.”

He looked genuinely disturbed by the notion. “Please, don’t. I just want to get settled quietly right now, kind of ease back into civilian life.”

“It could be fun. Since I got here, I’ve made a number of friends. You met one of them earlier. Remember Grace?”

“The blonde, right?”

“Yes. She and her husbands are really nice people. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her and she’s introduced me to some others—”

“Did you say
husbands
?”

Lily laughed softy. “Yep. Three of them. Things have changed in Divine. Roll with it, baby.”

Del cocked his head. “Interesting. Three husbands?”

Lily giggled and replied, “It seems to be working for them. I thought she was crazy until I met her…and them. They make it seem easy.”

Del shook his head. “I’m not sure I could be the sharing kind.”

“Never say never, Del. You and Clay could find the perfect little woman to shack up with.” She tried to play it off as comical, but the thought was actually a pleasant one for her, imagining herself in the middle of that sandwich.

“Speaking of shacked up, Clay said you’re living with him while trying to get the old place fixed up.”

“That’s right. I’ve been working hard to earn money so the work can get started. Jack Warner is the contractor who is going to be handling everything.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, and Del leaned back and picked up the heavy length of it, stroking it between his fingers. Here and there she felt the gentle tug on her scalp, and it sent shivers flurrying all over her body.