Page 4 of Dandelion Sighs

I yanked my gaze up when she wedged the container at the tip of my boot. That stomped my libido into the ground.

“I don’t know if I can rescue much.” She stopped and hung her head. A weary sigh left her. “Maybe it’s better like this. She was always on the go, and she loved this town so much.”

She put the lid back on the container, set it on the ground, and brushed off my jeans.

Shock propelled through me. It’d been too long since a woman touched me, and she didn’t realize what her innocent, perfunctory gesture was doing to me. “You don’t have to⁠—”

“No, I do. You must be horrified.”

I was more upset at myself for not knowing what to do to help her, and here she was cleaning up the mess. “Not at all.”

She gazed up at me, disbelief in her eyes.

I shrugged. “Not gonna lie, there was a moment—but it’s passed.” Time to be practical. Helpful. It was what I did. “You said your mom was always on the go. Where would she like to be if she was here right now?”

Sheridan rose, brushing her hands off before wincing and staring at them for two seconds and then giving herself a shake. “Um, she loved getting a coffee and then going to the park. That’s why I was here.”

“Then let’s go to the park.” I took the yogurt container from her. Her pretty lips curved into a frown before releasing it. Appreciating her trust in a stranger, I squatted and sifted what I could into the small opening. “Can I ask why yogurt?”

“She ate it for breakfast every morning. And peach was her favorite flavor.”

I certainly wouldn’t think the same of yogurt again. Returning the ashes was nearly futile, but I did what I could and rose. “There isn’t much here.”

“My brothers have the rest, and Mom wasn’t a big person.” She dug around the leather purse hanging on her shoulder. “I have some wipes.”

“Appreciate it.” I wasn’t lying when I said I’d had worse on me. I’d been ranching for the last several years, but body fluid instances were normal in that profession. I traded her the ashes for the wipe. “Let’s go.”

Her eyes widened. “Go where?”

“To the park. It’s only a few blocks down. The farmers’ market should be done by now.” I had just come from there after checking in on my cousins and in-laws. They were all fine. I was the one who was jobless and aimless.

I was between jobs. There was a difference. Some days, it didn’t feel like it.

“You— We? Why?”

“I’m not one to dump a girl’s mom on the pavement and run.”

Her giggle bordered between unhinged and relieved. “Okay. If you insist on being a gentleman, I could use a little reprieve before I scatter the rest of her.”

Chapter Two

Sheridan

Jasper’s long legs chewed up the sidewalk, but he kept his pace slow for me. I clutched the plastic container with both hands. This wasn’t foolish. It wasn’t impulsive. I was in public with the strange man I had picked up outside a coffee shop.

If my brothers heard about what had happened, I’d never hear the end of it. They’d double down on pressuring me to sell the resort. Then, if I sold it, even though I’d have to split the sale with them, they’d have opinions with a capital O about what I did with my share of the money. Mom gave me a chance to make a living doing something that was in my blood.

We approached the park. Beyond the library, the area opened up. Trees towered over an expansive green lawn littered with several white canvas tents that were being taken down. Pickups pulled in and out of the lot. The farmers’ market. I hadn’t returned long enough to ever visit.

Grief tugged at my chest. I should’ve taken more time off. I couldn’t think about it now. I had to keep my wits about me. I didn’t know Jasper Duke, but there was nothing about him that filled me with fear. His reaction was quite respectful. Anyone else would’ve… I didn’t know, but a lot of reactions would’ve been appropriate. Instead, he was helping me.

“Over here is a shaded picnic table.” He veered to the left, onto the grass toward a cluster of tall trees looming over several picnic tables. A family sat at one, and Jasper aimed for the farthest away.

His swagger hooked my attention. Duke. Did I know him? I recalled some Duke girls. Twins. No. They were close in age, though. Then there was a boy. Two? And one in my grade.

“Lily,” I said.

He cast a questioning look my way. “My sister Lily?”