Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

D awson breathed in the cool wind as he escaped the hot house through the front door. He looked up into the cloudy sky, feeling as gray and whipped and strung out as the atmosphere appeared to be. "Dear Lord," he breathed.

If he'd known it would be an hour-long ordeal with everyone poking fun at him about his non-relationship with Caroline, he'd have herded her off the ranch himself. Ruffin looked up from the corner of the yard, where he'd been sleeping in the shade, and Dawson motioned him to come forward.

"Come on, bud. Let's get out of here." He turned back to open the door for Caroline, who had two plastic containers filled with food. Of course Momma couldn't let her go home empty-handed. Of course Caroline wanted some chili quesadillas for her sister and niece. Of course Dawson was being silly.

But he had work to do, and lunch with girlfriend had not been on his schedule for today. Neither had counsel April . Or deal with Duke . Or be super social during a meal.

In short, he was exhausted, running behind, and irritated.

Never a good combination for him.

Caroline spilled out of the house behind him, still exchanging pleasantries and promising to tell Momma how the chili quesadillas were received at her house. She finally made it outside, and the door closed, sealing everyone else in. Thankfully.

She grinned from ear to ear and said, "They're so great."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She looked over to him, pure sunshine pouring from her. "Thanks for inviting me."

Dawson nodded and walked with her to her SUV. "Listen," he said, the word vomit about to come up. Perhaps all he'd eaten for lunch would too. "I do want to go out with you." He gestured wildly behind him with one arm. "In case I'm the only one who hasn't said so today. So…what do you think? Dinner this weekend?"

Then she wouldn't randomly show up on the ranch and blow up his schedule. He didn't say that out loud, because he had more practice than April in schooling his tongue.

Caroline put the food containers in the back seat of her SUV, really torturing him by not answering right away. She faced him, her smile soft and bright at the same time. "I'd like that," she said.

"Yeah? You're not going to cancel last-minute?" He wasn't sure why he didn't believe her. "I mean, it would just be easier if you said you couldn't go. I get it."

"I didn't say I'd go," she said coolly. "I said I'd like to go to dinner with you this weekend."

He glared at her. "You know what? I've had enough games for one day." Enough teasing. Enough swoops of his stomach from embarrassment or frustration. "I have to get to work." He turned away from her to find Ruffin waiting like the trusty pal he was. And dogs never made fun of him, which suddenly became the biggest plus for them.

"Dawson," she said, latching onto his arm quickly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you."

He turned back to her, finding worry in her eyes. "Really," she said. "I'd like to go out with you this weekend, and yes, we're going to make that happen." She swallowed hard, looked at her hand, and yanked it back as if just now realizing she touched him. "I am going to talk to Belle."

"I've heard that before," he said quietly, and in the softest tone he could muster in his current mood. "So it really would be easier if you just said no. Then, if the time is ever right and you do ever talk to Belle, we can go out."

"I'm going to talk to her tonight." She lifted her chin. "I've tried a couple of times, but I'm really going to do it this time."

"Okay," he said.

"It took me four attempts at a conversation with my ex-husband before I was able to tell him I was leaving."

Dawson froze, his gaze suddenly searching all over Caroline's face for answers. She looked past him, though, her way of protecting herself. He reached out and took her hand in his. "Okay, sweetheart. It's okay."

That got her to step into his arms. Dawson could hold her for hours and hours. He loved the shape of her in his life, and despite his irritation of only moments ago, he simply knew she belonged with him.

So he could be patient.

He pressed his lips to her lower earlobe, and then moved down a couple of inches to her neck. She smelled like fresh cotton and dirt and a little bit of chili, and he was instantly drunk on the scent of her skin.

He pushed her hair back and kissed her neck right above the collar of her shirt. "Okay," he said, sliding lower to her collarbone. "Whenever you're ready. Whenever Belle's ready."

She tilted her head back, and Dawson swept a kiss up to her chin, getting dangerously close to her mouth. But he couldn't do it. He couldn't kiss her in front of his parents' house, with likely everyone in his family watching.

Especially April.

So with blood burning like fresh lava, he straightened and looked at her. Her gaze had heated considerably too, and he simply nodded at her and pushed his cowboy hat lower over his eyes.

"Dinner," she said. "Friday night. Six?"

"I can make six work," he said in a strangled tone.

"So can I."

He reached past her and opened the driver's door. "I'll text you later."

She got in her SUV, backed out, and left the ranch, dust lifting into the air behind her tires. Dawson stood there in the gravel parking area, and watched.

He hadn't even realized anyone else had come outside until Zona said, "April will do your small animal chores, Daws," as she went by. "And Brandon said he'd make dinner tonight. That should give you back the time you lost during lunch today."

She got in the truck as Duke and April went by, both of them wearing somewhat sheepish looks on their faces. So they at least recognized how they'd embarrassed him today. They left, and still Dawson stood there.

He had no idea where Daddy and Brandon went, but they didn't come out front. No, it was his momma who came and linked her arm through his. She stared down the road that led to Duke's and off the ranch. "She's a lovely woman, Dawson," she said fondly. "I do hope it works out for you two."

"Me too, Momma," he whispered.

"You been praying over her?"

"Yes," he admitted. "Her sister is having a hard time right now, and Caroline thinks us dating will cause a lot of problems and pain for Belle."

"Ah, I see." Momma leaned her head against Dawson's arm, the way she so often did to Daddy. "So two more to add to my prayers. All right. I can do it." She turned and headed back to the house while Dawson marveled over the strength of his mother's faith.

And all at once, he realized he should've been praying for Belle too. Not just his own selfish needs and wants to have Caroline in his life. Not just for strength and clarity of mind for her to talk to Belle.

But for Belle herself to be healed enough for her to understand her sister. For her to support her sister. "For Belle," he murmured.

And then, because he had lost a lot of time already today, he turned away from the road, away from his thoughts, away from his family, and headed for the safety and the perfect organization of his barn-office.

Once inside, he locked the door and leaned his back against it. "Lord," he said, almost panting for how fast he'd walked here. "Calm my troubled soul." He took a deep breath, trying to fight off the panic, trying to ward off the rising desperation.

If he could just go through his routine, he'd be fine. He opened his eyes and caught sight of his whiteboard. "First," he said, stepping over to it and plucking off a blue note. "The owls got measured."

He put that note on the corner of his desk. "I moved the sprinklers in field four." The green note—an agricultural one—joined the blue one. Blue, for physical facilities tasks. "I ran five miles this morning."

The yellow note—personal goals—got added to the completed pile. He meticulously went through what had been done, and he made new notes for Link coming to the ranch to see the owls on the fence line, for a phone call he needed to make in the morning, and for a meeting he'd found out about via email just before April had shown up.

Then, he stared at the pink pad of sticky notes, his fingers twitching toward it. He'd written on so many of these, but only once had he used the word "date."

Now, he quickly peeled off a note and picked up his pen. Date with Caroline , he scrawled, and then he stood and added the pink note to Friday's column on his board.

"Dear Lord," he prayed. "Bless Belle that she can have ears to hear and a heart open to her sister's words."

And blast it all, Duke had been right. It had been real nice to have a different voice utter a prayer in the Rhinehart family.

Now, if only God could make this prayer come true soon. "Tonight," he whispered, totally begging for himself now. "Please, God, help them both to make it through this tonight."