Page 57 of Before You Can Blink (Rust Canyon #4)
Jett
June
Main Street was crowded with folks packed in practically shoulder to shoulder with the summer solstice event in full swing.
It was strange looking around at the many faces, missing the ones who had passed on and clocking all the new ones that had taken their place. Life kept moving on, and a new generation was now leading the charge.
The only thing that never seemed to change was Rust Canyon’s rustic charm.
I chuckled to myself, thinking back to a time when being stuck in this small town had threatened to suffocate me. Now, it brought only comfort.
There was no doubt my change in attitude could be traced back to a singular person.
And staring at her now, I couldn’t help but smile as she patiently loaded ice cream cups with as many toppings as the long line of children at her station requested.
Not a day went by that I didn’t express my extreme gratitude to the man upstairs that her kidney transplant had been a complete success, and she was back to being an active member of the community.
Watching from a distance only satisfied me for so long. The need to touch her grew overwhelming, and I shoved off the light pole I leaned against and navigated a path to where she worked.
With a wave of my hand as I drew nearer, I caught Rose’s eye. “Care if I steal my girl away for a dance?”
At the sound of my voice, my bride’s head whipped up, cheeks pinkening like she was a teenage girl instead of a woman in her mid-seventies. And damn if it didn’t give me a thrill knowing I could still make her blush after nearly fifty years.
“Jett,” Daisy’s voice came out breathless.
“Come on.” I extended a hand, curling my fingers as I beckoned her.
Shaking her head, she gestured around the busy station. “I can’t leave Rose with all of this.”
Rose nudged her shoulder. “Go. I’ve got it covered.”
Daisy fixed me with a stare, looking between me and her friend. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you two planned this.”
I chuckled. “You’re giving me far too much credit, darlin’. Truth of the matter is, I couldn’t stop staring at the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on, and it felt like I might die if I didn’t get a chance to hold her in my arms.”
A corner of her lips twitched as she hummed. “Haven’t heard a line that smooth in ages.”
“That’s a darn shame. Remind me to give your husband a stern talking to,” I teased.
She rounded the edge of the table, coming to stand directly before me. “Little hard to do that when he never finds himself in front of a mirror. ”
Unfiltered laughter burst free from my chest. “Well, can you blame him? Every time he does, there’s some old man staring back at him.” I made a show of shuddering. “Scariest fucking thing.”
Her hand landed on my chest, her eyes softening. “Oh, I don’t know. That old man has a certain appeal. He’s distinguished.”
I grunted. “If by distinguished you mean he’s got a head full of gray hair and has gone soft around the middle, sure.”
Lips folding inward, she tried to hide a smile. “The silver fox look works for you, but boy, do I miss that six-pack.”
For that, I tickled her side, and she let out a loud squeal, causing several heads to turn in our direction.
Bringing her close, I dropped my forehead to hers. “Dance with me, Daze.”
Shyly, she confessed, “It’s been a long time. What if I’ve forgotten how?”
“Want the good news or the bad news first?”
Daisy reared back, cocking her head to the side. “What?”
“The bad news is you were never the greatest dancer to begin with.” Her mouth dropped open, and it took a full minute before she recovered enough to smack my arm.
“But the good news is that I’m not spry enough to two-step anymore.
So, we’re gonna take it nice and slow, no matter the song. Just me and my sweetheart.”
She practically melted into a puddle before my eyes when I tacked on that last part. “Okay, I’ll let you push me—slowly—around the dance floor, Mr. Sullivan.”
Taking her hand in mine, I guided her to where the makeshift dance floor was set up in the middle of the street.
A band on stage provided live music, and a lively group of young people were dancing faster than I ever remembered doing it myself.
Electing to stay toward the outside so we didn’t get trampled, I looped my arms around my wife’s waist, and we began to sway.
Her head came to rest against my chest, and she let out a contented sigh. “This is nice.”
“Sure is,” I agreed.
While we moved to the music, my eyes began to wander. A familiar shock of blonde hair caught the corner of my vision, and I remarked, “Paisley sure seems to be popular with the boys. I saw her out here earlier with a different one than she’s dancing with now.”
Daisy craned her neck to get a better view of our granddaughter. “Not sure why you’re surprised. She’s a pretty one, that girl. Takes after her mama.”
“I don’t remember all the young men sniffing around Penny at this age,” I muttered. Paisley wasn’t set to turn fourteen for another two months.
“That’s because Penny only had eyes for Tripp. The other boys knew they didn’t stand a chance, so they didn’t bother trying.”
She had a point, but that didn’t mean I had to like the way young Jason Dillon’s touch ventured south toward Paisley’s backside.
I gripped Daisy tighter, nearly growling, “He’s gettin’ too handsy with her.” Then I released my wife, dead set on charging that boy and teaching him a lesson or two on how to respect a lady, when my wife’s hand landed on my arm.
“Oh, no you don’t.”
My head whipped back around, eyes bulging. “Excuse me?”
Using a finger, she pointed at Paisley. “You see that girl over there?” Obviously, I did, or I wouldn’t be so worked up over some little shit putting his hands where they didn’t belong. “That’s Tripp’s daughter. It’s his job to handle that situation. ”
Almost as if on cue, our son magically appeared, cutting into the dance the two kids shared and dismissing Jason as steam practically poured out from Paisley’s ears.
Daisy said, “You’re Grampa. You get to sit back and wait for your princess to come over and complain about the injustice of her daddy embarrassing her in front of the entire town. Then later you can high-five Tripp for running the boy off.”
Eyes wild and searching, our granddaughter’s gaze landed on where we stood, and she stomped over, chest heaving and face flushed. “Did you see what he did?!”
“Uh . . .” I blinked at her until Daisy discreetly elbowed me in the ribs, and I found my voice. “Yeah, yep.”
“He’s totally overreacting. We were just dancing!” Paisley’s voice took on such a high pitch that I winced.
If I opened my mouth, I knew I’d land myself in the doghouse because I wholeheartedly agreed with her father’s actions. The safest course of action was to smile and nod. “Mm-hmm.”
“Ugh!” She stomped her foot. “All my friends from school saw!”
After a quick scan of the area, I found that far more of them were locked in on her public tantrum than had seen Tripp scare off her dance partner. Not that I would ever point that out to her, especially when it could help deter a few extra boys from getting too close for my liking.
Like a switch was flipped, she deflated before our very eyes, and her lower lip began to tremble.
Uh oh.
“I just—” The first tear fell down her cheek, and when she opened her mouth again, only a broken sob came out.
Within seconds, I gathered her into my arms, murmuring words of comfort against the top of her head .
When I peeked at Daisy, she wore a look that said told ya so .
While I would happily take the role of the hero over the villain, it still killed me to see her cry. Upset Sullivan women would forever be my kryptonite.
Sniffling, Paisley peeked up at me with glassy eyes. “Can I stay at your house tonight?”
“Sure, darlin’. Whatever you want.” I smoothed a hand down the length of her long blonde hair.
She squeezed me so tight I could barely breathe. “You’re the best, Grampa.”
Daisy rubbed our granddaughter’s back, her gaze firmly fixed on me as she winked and said, “He really is.”
All these years later, she still saw something in me I didn’t see in myself. And I still considered myself the luckiest son of a bitch on earth that she’d chosen to build a life with me.