LITMIR.BIZ

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hurts. But, I shouldn’t have acted or reacted the way I did.”

      Well, if that hadn’t made him feel like more of a jerk he didn’t know what would. “I knew about the payment terms, which I hope to amend sooner rather than later, but I had no idea about the discount. I should be the one apologizing. I was a bit overenthusiastic earlier.”

      “Just a bit.” Delta’s smile tightened.

      The bartender set Garrett’s drink on the bar top. “Did you want to place a food order?”

      Garrett looked over the glossy double-sided menu. “Bacon cheeseburger, medium rare with fries.”

      “Sure thing.” The man turned to Delta. “Your order’s almost up. Do you want them to hold it and serve it with his or bring it out when it’s ready?”

      “Please don’t wait on my account.” Garrett had ruined enough of her day. He didn’t want to add dinner to it.

      “I still haven’t made a dent in these nachos.” Delta sighed down at the plate. “Go ahead and hold mine.”

      “You didn’t have to do that.”

      “Yeah, well, I can’t sit here and eat with you watching me.”

      “I could leave.”

      “You could, but that would be rude of me to ask. Besides, I ordered a turkey club. It’s not like it’s going to get cold.” Delta nudged the nachos closer to him. “Please help me eat these.”

      Garrett lifted a heavily topped tortilla chip. “Think we can start over?” he asked before popping the gooey piece of heaven into his mouth. “Man, these are awesome. You never used to be able to get nachos here. A basket of chips and salsa was about all you could order outside of a burger or a bar pie.”

      “Been away for a while?”

      “Almost five years. I visited my brothers when I could, but it’s been even longer since I came in here.” Garrett lifted his drink. “You still haven’t answered me about starting over.”

      “Hard to forget being asked to do my job differently.”

      “We’ll forget about that, too. Fresh start. This is our first meeting, and you can go back to doing what you do best.”

      “I’m not even going to question why you changed your mind, but I’ll take the do-over.” Delta raised her glass to his. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Garrett Slade.”

      “Same here.” Garrett’s eyes had already begun to water from the scent of the whiskey, but he took a man-sized swallow anyway. “Good Lord, woman!” He exhaled slowly, surprised that flames didn’t shoot out of his mouth. “How do you drink this stuff?”

      Delta’s impish laugh rose above the music. “I can take the heat.”

      Garrett froze. He hadn’t heard those five words in years. He squeezed his eyes shut against the memory, wishing he’d chosen someplace other than the Iron Horse tonight.

      “Are you all right?” Delta’s warm hand upon his arm snapped him back to the present. “You need to take it easy with that stuff. It’s meant to be sipped, not chugged.”

      Garrett shook his head. “It’s not that.” The concern reflecting in Delta’s caramel-brown eyes touched his soul in a way he hadn’t thought possible again. “This is the first time I’ve been here without my wife. We practically lived in this place before we moved to Wyoming.”

      “Where is she now?”

      “She died.” He took another sip of his drink, needing the heat to numb the pain of the memory. “Pancreatic cancer.”

      Delta’s grasp tightened. He could have sworn he heard her swallow hard at the revelation, but when he lifted his gaze to hers, only sympathy greeted him in return.

      She eased her grip. “Her loss must have been devastating for you.”

      “Thank you.” Garrett patted her hand and shifted on his stool, effectively breaking all physical contact between them. He stared down at the gold band he hadn’t found the will to remove. In his heart, Rebecca would always be his wife. There could never be anyone else. “You reminded me of her when you said you could take the heat. Rebecca used to say those exact same words.”

      “Really? Wow.” Delta rubbed her hands up and down her jean-clad thighs.

      “Chemotherapy killed her taste buds and she constantly bet that she could out heat me.”

      Delta stilled. “I’ve heard that.”

      “Some things just stick in your mind, you know?” He folded his napkin into a tiny triangle. “It’s been almost three years and sometimes it feels like yesterday. Coming here is just hitting me harder than I expected.”

      “I can imagine.” She picked up a chip and broke it in half before setting it back down on the platter. “So, this was your spot, huh?” Sadness reflected in her eyes as she spoke.

      “Up until the day we moved away.” Garrett straightened his shoulders. “But enough about that. Tell me about yourself. I don’t remember you when I was growing up here, although you’re definitely younger than me.”

      “I’m from Missoula, born and raised.” She cracked a knuckle against her glass. “And I’m thirty, so if I’m younger, it isn’t by much.”

      “I have three years on you.” Garrett watched the kitchen door, hoping their orders would come out soon. He already felt he had said too much. “So...what brought you to Saddle Ridge?”

      “Henry, Silver Bells’ former farrier. I don’t know how well you knew him.”

      “We spoke a few times in passing. Dylan and Jax always talked about him, though. Seems like a good guy from what I’ve heard.”

      “He and my dad apprenticed together way back in the day.” Delta swiveled slightly to face him, causing her knee to brush against his. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bump you.” Her hand rested lightly on his leg for a brief second, but it was long enough to send his blood coursing quicker through his veins. “When Henry decided to retire, he called and asked if I was interested in taking over his customers. Before that, I was working for my dad. Coming here gave me a chance to have my own business. And Missoula is still close enough for me to visit my family on weekends and holidays.”

      Garrett tried focusing on her face as a whole, but he kept wandering down to her mouth as she spoke. Her lips were full and naturally darkened, as if she’d just been kissed. Not that he needed to be thinking about kissing Delta or anyone else. His heart was permanently shuttered. Stick to the topic, Garrett. “How long have you been here?”

      “A little over a year.” She sipped her whiskey with ease. “Where were you in Wyoming?”

      “Wheatland.” Garrett rolled the glass slowly in the palms of his hands. Oddly enough, he found the liquor less intoxicating than Delta. “My wife and I moved there almost five years ago to be closer to her parents. I managed their cattle ranch up until a few weeks ago.”

      A waitress set both of their meals in front of them. She was one more person he didn’t recognize. It used to be he knew everyone and their brother. When did he become a stranger in his own hometown? At least he’d made one new friend tonight.

      “Silver Bells must be a big change from a cattle ranch.”

      “It is.” Garrett took a bite of his burger and nodded. “It was time, though. I love my wife’s family, but we were living with them. I appreciated their help with the kids, but the place had a shroud of grief hanging over it. They talked about Rebecca all the time and her mother still set a place for her at the table.” Garrett didn’t even have to close his eyes to envision that empty seat across from him. It made every meal almost unbearable. “My kids are mad because I refuse to do that here, but I don’t want them growing up in a constant state of depression.

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