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“Hey, Corbin! Flamin’ Cheeto?”
Chapter Ten
When Corbin only stood there staring, Belle quickly sat up and tried to explain.
“I bet you’re probably wondering what I’m still doing here. You see I was planning on getting a hotel room last night. But you’re right. The hotels anywhere close to town are a little seedy. And I just can’t stay with my family right now. So I thought you wouldn’t mind if I stayed a couple nights until I figured out what I wanted to do. But if you’re not agreeable to that, I’ll—” She cut off when Corbin held up a hand and stopped her.
Usually, he was dressed to perfection—his hair styled back, his T-shirts and western shirts spotless and wrinkle-free, and his boots polished. Today, his T-shirt was streaked with dirt and there was a tear in his jeans and mud on his boots. When he pulled off his hat and tossed it to the kitchen table, his hair looked sweaty and mussed.
Why this dirty, sweaty Corbin caused a tingle of sexual awareness to settle in the pit of her stomach, Belle didn’t know. But there it was, making her feel more than a little confused.
Corbin studied her for a long, tummy-tingling moment before he glanced down at the chips, candy, and soda cans that filled the coffee table. “Did you buy out Crawley’s entire snack section?”
She blushed. “I guess it looks like it, doesn’t it? And it’s all your fault. I had so much fun trying all the different drinks at the Hellhole, I decided to do the same with snacks.”
He arched an eyebrow. “And what conclusion did you come to?”
“Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are now my favorite chip. Chocolate Frosted Donut KitKats my favorite candy and Wild Cherry Pepsi my favorite soda.”
“I have to disagree.” He picked up the bag of barbecue chips and ate a chip. “Kettle Backyard Barbeque chips beat out Flamin’ Cheetos any day and no soda on God’s green earth will ever beat out Dr Pepper.”
She laughed. “Spoken like a true Texan. And what about candy?”
“I like it all.” He sat down on the couch next to her and picked up the KitKats and snapped off a bar. He finished the entire thing in two bites. “Damn. You’re right. These are good.” He glanced at the television where a commercial was playing. “So what are you watching?”
“Hope Floats.” When he didn’t appear happy with her choice, she amended. “But we could watch something else if you want.”
He shook his head. “Your decision, remember?”
“But it’s your home.”
He toed off his boots and placed his feet on the coffee table. “Not anymore.”
It should have been awkward watching a movie with a man she wasn’t sure even liked her. But for some reason, it wasn’t. Probably because this relaxed Corbin was different than the inflexible Corbin. She was surprised to see he had a hole in one sock and the tip of his big toe stuck out. It was somehow sweet and endearing. As were the flecks of barbecue dust on the corner of his mouth and the way he tried all the different candy she’d bought.
He was eating a Red Vines licorice when he glanced over and caught her staring at him. “What?”
“Nothing. I just noticed that you’re a little . . . mussed. Did Daddy have you working on the ranch today?”
Both eyebrows lifted. “I don’t work for your daddy.”
“I didn’t mean that. You just look like you’ve been doing manual labor.”
He glanced down at his shirt and brushed at a dirt spot. “Sunny and I ran across a steer caught in a mesquite tree and had to get him out. By Sunny’s reaction when the steer was free, you would have thought we’d lassoed the moon.”
Belle now understood why. “I saw her drawings of the ranch.” When his gaze shot over to her, she blushed. “I know. I shouldn’t have snooped, but now I get why you wanted her to have the ranch. It’s obviously her dream.”
He didn’t answer right away. He just stared at the television, his face set in its usual stern lines. But his voice wasn’t stern when he spoke. It was soft and achingly sad.
“She did those drawings mostly from memory. Uncle Dan only took us to the Holiday Ranch a few times when he was working for your daddy. But it was like every detail was burned into her brain.” He hesitated. “I get it. The Holiday Ranch is a picture-perfect home.”
She knew she shouldn’t side with Corbin. He was the man taking the ranch from her family. While she didn’t agree with his methods, she now understood them. He wasn’t a villain. He was just a man who loved his sister and wanted her to have the home she’d always dreamed about.
She reached out and touched his arm. “I understand. I would do just about anything for my sisters too.”
He turned to her. “Then make up with Liberty and stop holing up here.”
“I’m not holing up here.” When he sent her a skeptical look, she sighed. “Okay, I’m holing up. But I just can’t seem to think for myself when I’m around Liberty. It’s my own fault. I’ve always just followed her lead. But now I need to figure out how to lead myself. And like Mimi says, I can’t do that when Liberty and any of my sisters are around.”
