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“Only when I was little.” She gave Gilley’s head a pat. “Turns out, now I love them.”
“And how does Liberty feel about you getting a big dog?”
Belle’s smile faded and she lifted her chin. “It doesn’t matter what Liberty thinks. It’s my choice. So tell me what’s going on. Mama called me and said you needed help in a bad way.”
“That’s an understatement,” Sweetie said as Corbin took Tay from her. “When I told Liberty I’d help her out, I didn’t realize how stressful event planning is. The band didn’t show up, the clown got sick and we had to find a fast replacement, and now the veterans are about to do battle. And I just can’t deal with it.”
Belle placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “You go sit down and have yourself a nice glass of sweet tea. I’ve got this.” As soon as Sweetie left, Belle moved right into the middle of the veterans and pinned on a bright smile. “Hey, y’all! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Belle Holiday. I spoke to each and every one of you on the phone a few weeks back. I’m so pleased you agreed to be here today. Wilder is one lucky town to be blessed with so many honorable and courageous men and women who had served our country so proudly. And speaking of proud, I know everyone here is as proud of y’all as I am and can’t wait to honor you on this beautiful Memorial Day. Thank you for your patience and kindness to your fellow veterans and for reminding us of what true heroism is.”
The vets all exchanged guilty looks.
“Now let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Belle handed Corbin the leash before she took the man with the cane’s arm. “As our oldest and most celebrated hero, you’ll go first, Mr. Wazowski.”
Corbin didn’t know how she did it, but she got all the veterans up on the stage and through the ceremony without one thrown punch. As soon as she stepped off the stage, Cloe was there with another Memorial Day disaster and Belle was off again to deal with it . . . leaving Corbin to handle her overgrown, misbehaving mutt.
If Gilley wasn’t trying to jump up and eat Tay—or more like lick her to death—he was tangling the leash around Corbin’s legs, or grabbing chicken off people’s plates, or stealing the pacifier right out of Tammy Sue’s toddler’s mouth, or lifting his leg on Mrs. Stokes’ camping chair.
Of course, Mrs. Stokes didn’t seem to care. Nor did any of the other folks. It was hard to get mad at a dog that looked like a huge fuzzy Muppet. Even Tay didn’t seem to mind Gilley. When the dog finally ran out of energy and flopped down on the quilt, placing his big head on Corbin’s leg right next to where Tay was sleeping, the kitten merely opened one eye for a second before she went back to sleep.
“I never took you for an animal person,” Mrs. Stokes said as she licked her red, white, and blue Popsicle.
“I’m not.”
She looked at Tay and Gilley. “You could’ve fooled me.”
He scowled. “Where’s Sunny?”
“She’s enjoying her day with Casey Remington.”
Corbin stiffened, causing Gilley to lift his head and look around for danger. “She’ll get involved with that country Casanova over my dead body.”
“Casey’s not that bad. And I don’t think you’ll have a choice if that’s what Sunny wants. She doesn’t strike me as the type of woman who lets other people tell her what to do. And speaking of women with minds of their own, Belle certainly has found her gumption.”
He followed Mrs. Stokes’ gaze to the woman he’d been trying to avoid looking at for the last hour—unsuccessfully. Belle was talking to the clown and no doubt giving him a pep talk like she had the veterans or a scolding like she had the band that had arrived late. He had never realized how good she was at managing people. Probably because Liberty had always monopolized people’s attention. Liberty got her way by being dynamic and strong willed. Belle got her way too. Just in a quieter, more subtle way.
Which explained a lot.
After watching her today, he was no longer confused about why she didn’t see him as the enemy. Once again, she had tricked him. Using her bright smiles, sweet words, and hot kisses, she had snuck under his defenses and bent him to her will. And her will was to get her family’s ranch back. She had made it perfectly clear only minutes before she had kissed him.
The kiss had only been part of her plan.
Well, it wasn’t going to work. He wasn’t going to be played by the Holiday sisters again. He intended to make that perfectly clear.
He got up and handed Tay to Mrs. Stokes. “Could you keep an eye on Tay. I’m going to take Belle her dog.”
Gilley was thrilled to get back to his master. He tugged on the leash and tried to move Corbin along faster to get to Belle who was still talking with the clown.
“I’m just amazed you’ve never clowned before, Josiah. And it was just so sweet of you to offer to help out when Twinkles caught a cold and couldn’t do it. But maybe instead of juggling Hula-Hoops, you could have a Hula-Hoop contest with the kids and give the winner a Hula-Hoop as a prize. That way the kids can all get involved, instead of just watching.”
The clown hesitated for a second before he nodded. “I guess I could do that.”
“Great!” She hurried back on stage and made the announcement that a Hula-Hoop contest was starting before she rejoined Corbin and took Gilley’s leash. “Sorry I left you with Gilley.” She leaned down and took the dog’s huge head in her hands. “Were you a good boy, Mickey Gilley?” She looked up at Corbin. “Was he?”
“He was fine.”
She straightened and smiled brightly. “See. Adopting him wasn’t a bad decision.”
Since he wasn’t there to talk about Gilley, he didn’t reply. “We need to talk.”
