Page 94 of Cornered

Briggs selected a cowboy hat and paid the girl behind the table. Another girl took their flamingos to another table to attach the accessories with super glue. Lahela watched, her expression bright and full of the life he’d watched drain from it last night. He’d be lying if he said a part of him wasn’t dying to bring up the calls and texts, but Daphne made him promise not to discuss it unless Lahela did first. He wanted to respect Lahela’s boundaries and would, of course, but he couldn’t just turn off the instinct or experience he carried with him from his time as a police officer. And it didn’t prevent him from subtly scanning the area for anything suspicious.

“Oh, they’re so cute!” Lahela accepted her flamingo, Daisy, and his cowboy flamingo, holding them up for him to see. “Do we have time to take a photo of them before the release?”

“If we hurry.” The speakers overhead were already encouraging everyone to deliver their flamingos to the race line, which was a quarter mile up the river.

They found a grassy spot near some trees, and Lahela set their flamingos on the ground and started to pull out her cell phone before hesitating. Not long, maybe a fraction of a second, but enough that it pushed his gaze to the subtle worry in her eyes. That instinct to talk to her about the calls returned, but it was interrupted when Lahela took hold of his hand.

She handed him his cowboy flamingo and then squeezed in next to him, positioning them so the river was behind them. “Say ‘Pink Floyd.’”

He obeyed and smiled at the camera, his eyes captivatedby the image of them together.This. This was what he was wanting—hoping for.So what am I waiting for?

It wasn’t that he’d had a bad experience with women he dated before. All of them were sweet, kind, and fun. But none made him see a future with them. Lahela ... she was different. It was the potential hurt that worried him. Not his, though he’d be crushed if it didn’t work out, but it was the pain he’d witnessed in Lahela when her ex broke her heart. He wouldn’t do that to her.

“There’s no way we’re going to be able to track our flamingos.” Lahela’s laugh pulled his attention to a giant net where thousands of small, rubber flamingos were hanging over the river. “How will we know if we win?”

“Just like Pink Floyd, our flamingos are tagged.” He showed her the number on the bottom of their flamingos.

“Cool. Well, Daisy, it’s been nice knowing you.” She lifted his cowboy flamingo and looked it in the wide, rubber eyes. “You take good care of her, Cowboy.”

Lahela’s words to a toy flamingo somehow claimed a space in his chest.“You take good care of her, Cowboy.”It was a charge he was going to take personally, whether he won Lahela’s heart or not.

SEVEN

IT WAS THE STUFFof Hallmark movies. From the top of the Ferris wheel, Lahela had a bird’s-eye view of downtown Miracle Springs and the festival below. That is, if she wasn’t sneaking peeks at Briggs sitting next to her. Or thinking that with his right arm stretched behind her, she’d only need to scoot a little to her left and she could tuck herself into his side.

It surprised her how much that’s where she wanted to be ... almost as much as the anxiousness that had her doubting Daphne’s assertion that Briggs might like her as more than friends. If he did, why hadn’t he asked her out yet?

The ride slowed to a stop at the platform and the ride attendant let them out. Briggs reached for her hand to help her out. Good manners, that’s all. Yet, his fingers lingered around hers as they walked back into the crowd still enjoying the day.

“Would you like to go for a walk along the river?” Briggs’s voice, impossibly deep but somehow tender, sent an undercurrent of excitement charging through her. “Or we can go, if you’re ready?”

“No.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m not ready to leave yet.”

Briggs’s lips tipped up at the edges, and with a nod, he walked her to the river’s edge.

Lahela’s heart thumped a little heavier behind her rib cage.Why was something so simple as hand-holding enough to drive up the level of attraction? It didn’t just make her feel wanted but also protected.

“Are you having a good time?”

Lahela watched a family on bikes ride past them. The park on the other side of the trail was filled with people enjoying the day. Carefree smiles, laughter, and squeals of delight from the kids on the rides filled the air. Briggs’s thumb brushed across the top of her knuckles and a burst of sweet contentment rushed through her. “The best time.”

“How about I go get us something to drink? Lemonade? Sweet tea? Soda?”

“I’d love some lemonade.”

Briggs tipped his Stetson and it made her smile. “Two lemonades coming up.”

“And I’ll find us somewhere to sit.” Lahela eyed the mostly full picnic tables around them. She pointed to a spot beneath a large cottonwood tree. “What about over there?”

“Perfect.”

Their eyes lingered for a few seconds before he backed up, and Lahela couldn’t help the wide smile filling her face as she started for their spot.Their spot.She could get lost in those hazel eyes.

“Ms. Young!”

She turned and recognized the towheaded boy running across the grass toward her and two more of her students running behind him.

“Samson!” He stopped short of crashing into her. Lahela’s smile moved to the sibling pair. “You guys having fun?”

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