Cowboys & Navy SEALs

Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

T he Bear Claw Resort was brimming with people. Corbin placed his hand on the small of Delaney’s back, maneuvering her through the crowd as he nodded at familiar faces.

A guy stepped in front of them, wearing a large smile. “Hey, buddy, I didn’t know you were back in town.” He gave Corbin’s hand a hearty shake.

Scott Linton and Corbin played high school football together. Corbin hadn’t seen Scott in several years, might not have recognized him out of context. Gangly in high school, Scott had put on at least fifty pounds.

“Good to see you, Scott.”

“Yeah, you too, man.” He turned to Delaney. “Who’s the babe?”

Babe? Seriously? Scott was certainly lacking in the manners department. “This is my girlfriend, Dee,” Corbin said coolly.

“Nice to meet you,” Delaney clipped, picking up on Corbin’s annoyance.

Scott didn’t try to hide his appreciation as he looked her up and down. “You’re certainly elevating the class here tonight.”

“Thanks,” Delaney said with a surprised laugh.

Corbin saw Addie across the room, a welcome distraction. “Take care. We’re going over to say hello to my sister.”

Scott nodded, stepping back to let them by. They pushed past him. “Good to see you,” Scott called after them.

Addie broke into a smile when she saw them. “I’m so glad you came.” She hugged Delaney first, then Corbin. “You both look fantastic.”

“Thanks,” they said simultaneously. They turned the same direction as Addie, their backs against the wall, facing the crowd.

A wicked light came into Addie’s eye as she gave Corbin the once-over. She turned to Delaney. “What I want to know is how in the heck did you convince my brother to wear a tux?”

Corbin chuckled. “Because Dee has the art of persuasion down to a science, that’s how.”

Delaney’s eyebrow shot up. “Really?”

“Yes, really,” he countered, placing his arm around her waist, drawing her close. “I believe someone promised me a dance,” he murmured in her ear.

She turned and looked up into his eyes. “It would be my pleasure.”

“Excuse us, Addie,” he said, sweeping Delaney into his arms and pulling her onto the dance floor. He loved having Delaney this close, marveled at how petite she was. She was an excellent dancer, moving in perfect step with him. Despite his misgivings about safety, he was suddenly glad they’d come. If all was going according to plan, Sutton and his guys were moving in on Hugh right about now. Hopefully, by the time Corbin and Delaney returned to the cabin, it would all be over. Corbin had been tempted to tell Delaney all that was happening, but didn’t want to cause her additional stress. It was better to let things unfold, then tell her when it was over.

He pulled her closer, then leaned in and nuzzled her ear. “You’re so beautiful,” he uttered. He lowered his mouth to her earlobe, planting a light string of kisses down her slender neck. She melted into him, resting her head on his shoulder. The song ended all too soon. Corbin hoped the band would play another slow song, but they played a fast one instead. Delaney pulled away from him. “Do you wanna dance to this one?” He wasn’t in the mood to fast-dance, but would if Delaney wanted to.

She shrugged. “We could … or we could go back and talk to Addie.”

“Let’s catch up with Addie,” he said quickly. They walked to where they’d last been standing, but Addie wasn’t there. Delaney pointed. “She’s dancing.”

Corbin spotted Addie with a tall, dark-haired guy that he’d never seen before. Her smile was a mile wide, and she was dancing her heart out. She waved when she realized they were watching her.

“Your sister’s spunky,” Delaney said admiringly.

“Yes, she is,” Corbin chuckled.

“She looks very pretty in her blue dress.”

Did she? Corbin looked. Yes, Addie did look good. Corbin had been too consumed with Delaney’s fantastic looks to pay attention to anyone else.

“Well, well, didn’t expect to see you here tonight,” a deep voice rumbled.

Corbin turned as Sheriff Cliff Hendricks approached. The old sheriff had gone gray and developed a paunch since Corbin had last seen him, but he still wore the same disapproving scowl Corbin remembered.

The Sheriff’s bushy brows bunched. “What’re you doing here, Spencer?”

The hair on Corbin’s neck stood. There had never been any love lost between him and Sheriff Hendricks. In the Sheriff’s eyes, Corbin had always been a loser. “Hello, Cliff.”

Sheriff Hendricks frowned like he didn’t appreciate Corbin using his first name. He looked at Delaney. “Who are you?” he asked bluntly.

Delaney arched an eyebrow, her eyes sparking. “The name’s Dee,” she shot back. “And who might you be?”

Corbin laughed inwardly when the man’s face went red. It had taken all of two seconds for Delaney to put the old geezer in his place.

“I’m the sheriff,” he blustered.

She didn’t back down an inch. “Do you have a name?”

He blinked rapidly. “Uh, Cliff Hendricks.”

“Nice to meet you, Cliff,” she said.

The sheriff turned to Corbin, his eyes narrowing. “I don’t want you causing any trouble.”

Irritation scorched through Corbin. He tried to think of a rebuttal, but Delaney reacted first.

She laughed lightly. “Are you always this friendly to guests? Corbin told me how nice the people of Birchwood Springs were, but he might have to retract that statement.”

The sheriff’s eyes bulged.

“From where I’m standing, the only one causing trouble is you,” she continued. “We were minding our own business until you came up.” She flashed a cheery smile. “If you’ll excuse us, we were going to get some punch. It was nice meeting you, Cliff.” She let her voice hang a little on his name as she lifted her chin in the air and walked regally towards the refreshment table. It was all Corbin could do not to hoot in the old sheriff’s face, as he hurried to catch up with her.

“Wow, that was incredible. You cut ole Cliff down to size. I would give anything to have that on video.”

She didn’t stop walking until they reached the table. When she turned, he realized she was livid. “That man was intolerable,” she hissed.

“Yes, he is.”

She shook her head. “What’s his problem?”

“Cliff’s always been a pompous jerk. He got it in for me when I soaped up the fountains in front of the bank where his wife worked.”

A laugh gurgled in her throat. “Are you serious?”

“Yep. And then there was the time he caught me sneaking into this very ski resort.”

She shook her head. “You were a menace.”

He drew his lips together. “I’m afraid so.” A smile tugged at his lips. “But I’m a changed man now.”

She put a hand on her hip. “Try telling that to the poor chopping block you destroyed.”

He winced. “I guess I deserved that.”

She cocked her head like she’d just thought of something. “It must’ve been hard to come back here, when people like the sheriff have so little regard for you.”

“Yeah, I suppose. But coming back has made me realize that for every person like Sheriff Hendricks there are lots of good people too.” His eyes held hers. “The main reason I brought you here was because I knew I could keep you safe.” Of course coming to a public party wasn’t part of the plan, but so far, everything seems to be going okay.

She gave him a radiant smile. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

She touched his cheek. “For being you.”

A few minutes later, after they’d gotten their fill of punch and cookies, Delaney motioned at the stage. “Who’s the band?”

“I dunno. Someone local, I guess. I’ve never heard of them before.”

She pursed her lips. “They’re pretty good.”

He made a face. “I would hardly call singing off key and fumbling over the lyrics good .”

She laughed. “Don’t be mean.” She motioned with her head. “Let’s get closer, watch them perform.”

“Ah, the truth comes out. You’re wishing you were up there performing. It’s hard to be a peon in the audience,” he teased, “after you’ve gotten a taste of stardom. Don’t worry, you’ll be back up there before you know it.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She tugged on his hand. “Come on.”

Delaney’s nerves were jumping like a scared rabbit. Had they not been in a crowded place, she was sure Corbin would’ve picked up on her emotional state by now. Wallace’s bear story kept running through her mind. He was right. Time was running out, she could feel it. But she didn’t want to do anything to harm Corbin or his family. Wallace assured her that everything would be okay, but what if he was mistaken? He’d never met Hugh, didn’t realize how ruthless Hugh was. Still, it would be better to face Hugh when they were prepared. He would find them eventually. She offered up a silent prayer, asking for courage to do what must be done.

They were standing near the stage, watching the band. Corbin was right. The group of middle-aged men weren’t very good, but the audience didn’t seem to mind. Corbin’s arm was draped over her shoulders as they swayed to the beat of the music.

“Hey there,” Madison Wells chirped loudly as she threaded through the people to reach their side.

Delaney cringed. Not that dreadful woman again.

“Hey, Madison,” Corbin said dully. The pained look on his face was so obvious that Delaney couldn’t help but chuckle.

Madison gave her a blistering look. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing,” Delaney said nonchalantly. Just wondering when you’re gonna get a clue that Corbin is taken, she added mentally .

“Remember when we came to a sweetheart dance together, Corbin?” Madison asked, her tone going intimate. “It was right here on this very floor. We danced every dance and then afterwards, we went back to my house.” Her eyes took on a dreamy look. “You played the guitar and sang that song you wrote for me. Then we got into the hot tub together.” She giggled. “Well, I’m sure I don’t need to remind you about that. It’s certainly imprinted on my mind and heart.”

Hot needles rained down on Delaney as she looked at Corbin’s strangled expression. Then she saw the look of triumph on Madison’s face.

It took every ounce of control she could muster to keep from clocking the idiotic woman.

Time to act, her mind screamed. At the same moment, Corbin cleared his throat like he was trying to come up with something to say that would smooth things over. Before she could talk herself out of it, Delaney took off the wig, her hair tumbling around her shoulders. Tonight, she’d left off the hairnet and fixed the wig loosely on her head for this very purpose.

Madison’s eyes bugged as Corbin’s narrowed.

“You’re Delaney Mitchell,” Madison stammered.

She threw back her head, tossing a hand through her hair. “In the flesh,” she said loudly.

“What’re you doing?” Corbin muttered.

Before he could grab her arm, she rushed forward and climbed onto the stage. The music dribbled off as the musicians stopped playing one by one, gaping at her like she was a ghost. Murmurs rustled through the crowd. She smiled brightly, stepping up to the lead singer. “May I?”

“Of course.” He gave her an enamored grin as he handed her the microphone and stepped back.

Showtime. “Good evening, Birchwood Springs!” she boomed. “It’s a pleasure to be here with you tonight.”

Thunderous applause rippled through the audience. “It’s Delaney Mitchell,” a man yelled.

“I’d like to sing one of my favorites, a song about my home state of Alabama.” She looked at the man holding the guitar. “May I?”

“Of course,” he said proudly, removing the strap and handing it to her.

Delaney could only imagine what Corbin must be thinking, but she was doing what had to be done. She started playing and singing. The band joined in shortly. She was only halfway through the song when she saw Corbin striding towards her, a furious expression on his handsome face.

He took her arm. “Let’s go,” he hissed in her ear.

She jerked out of his grasp, continuing the song.

“I said, let’s go,” he repeated.

Before she could protest, he put his arms around her waist and threw her over his shoulder, the guitar falling noisily to the floor. Boos rang out across the audience as he carried her offstage.

“Put me down,” she demanded, beating his shoulders and kicking. He paid her no mind, carrying her through the backstage area and out the exit door. Of all the humiliating things to do! “I said put me down!” she screamed.

Finally, he did so, dropping her on the ground where she landed square on her rear end. “Ouch,” she yelped.

He ran both hands through his hair, a look of disbelief on his face. He pointed at the resort “What was that all about? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

She jumped to her feet. “On the contrary, I’m trying to save us.”

“How? By letting the whole world know where you are?”

“By luring the bear to us.”

The whites of his eyes popped. “What?”

“Wallace told me the story about the bear and how people got killed because it attacked when they were unaware.”

He barked out an incredulous laugh. “Are you talking about that stupid bear story Pops tells?”

She rocked back. “Yeah, but it wasn’t a story. It really happened to him and his hunting buddies.”

He shook his head in disgust. “Yeah, it happened, but the story gets bigger with the bear growing more ferocious and more people dying every time he tells it.”

She gulped in a breath, horror trickling down her spine. “Wallace said that Hugh would eventually find us and that it would be better here, where we can get prepared.”

He swore. “The old man’s losing it. Oh, my gosh,” he lamented. “I can’t believe he went behind my back and convinced you to do something so stupid. People in the audience were videoing you, Delaney. It won’t take long for the word to get out that you’re here.”

She jutted out her chin. “I know, that was the point. And it wasn’t stupid.”

“What?” he fired back.

She straightened her shoulders, looking him in the eye. “It wasn’t stupid,” she repeated. “Your grandfather’s right. We can’t keep running. We have to face Hugh. On our own terms, on our own turf. That’s the only chance we have.” The truth of her words settled into her heart as she spoke them, letting her know she’d made the right decision. “Heaven favors the righteous cause,” she said quietly.

“Are you listening to yourself? Hugh’s a cold-blooded killer.” There was a crazed look on his face.

She balled her fists. “Don’t you think I know that?” Her voice rose. She locked eyes with him. “I’m tired of running. We have to end this thing once and for all.”

He shook his head, sounding weary and defeated. “I want it to be over too, but at the end of this I want you to still be breathing.”

She stepped closer to him. “Look at me.”

He grunted.

“I said look at me,” she ordered.

Reluctantly, he turned his eyes to hers.

“It’ll be okay. Wallace is right. The only way around this thing is to face it head on. I want a life with you, Corbin Spencer.” A lump formed in her throat. “I love you.”

He blinked in surprise, a tiny smile flickering over his lips. “I can’t believe you said it out loud.”

She touched his face. “Like I said, I want a life with you, Corbin Spencer. A good, long, fruitful life away from the fear. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

His eyes went soft. “I love you too. And I want that same thing.”

“Good, we’re in agreement.” She squared her jaw. “From this point forward, no more running.”

A resolved expression came over him, reminding her how much of a warrior he really was. “No more running,” he repeated, a fierce light shining in his eyes.