Page 17 of Wistful in Wyoming
Before she finished the command, Dale was already sliding back around the U of the bench seat. Jeremiah realized just how short the woman really was when Dale got to his feet and hugged her. He was over a foot and a half taller than her, and it was almost comical how far he had to bend down to embrace her. “Hey there, sweetheart. Missed you. Where’s your better half?”
Her smile dimmed as they took a step or two away from each other. She had to tilt her head back almost as far as it would go just to look Dale in the eye. “Over at the hospital with her momma. Elise had a stroke the other day, and it doesn’t look good. I’ve been there for most of the day but took a break to swing by and make sure everything was good here before going back.”
Wincing, Dale put a hand over his heart. “Damn, I’m so sorry to hear that. Elise was always a hoot. Please give her and Lizzie a hug from me. I’ll be saying a few prayers for all of you.”
“Aren’t you sweet—you’re a good man, Dale.” Her gaze flittered to Jeremiah. “Who’s this handsome devil. You datin’ a ginger? Good for you.” She reached over and lightly punched Dale’s arm. “I told you to find one. Mine is damn near perfect.”
While Jeremiah blushed, Dale chuckled. “Yes, ma’am, you did tell me that—more than once. Janice Wheeler, this is Jeremiah Urban, and yes, he’s my date.” He gestured from Jeremiah to the woman. “Janice and her wife, Lizzie, own the Wagon Wheel.”
Janice held out a weathered but hardy hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Jerry—can I call you Jerry? Any friend of Dale’s is a friend of mine.” The woman was a fast talker, and it was almost hard to keep up with her. When Jeremiah stood, affirmed that yes, she could call him Jerry, and shook her hand, she winked and tipped her head to the side toward Dale. “This boy’s a keeper if you can get him to settle down. He needs someone strong enough to rope him in but gentle enough to soothe his battered soul.”
For the first time all evening, Dale was the one to blush while Jeremiah reveled in it. He grinned and nodded at Janice. “I’ll keep that in mind, ma’am. And it’s a pleasure to meet you too.”
“Oh, God. Another one who insists on calling me ma’am. It’s Janice—ma’am makes me sound like an old fart.”
The woman was a character, and Jeremiah liked her immediately. “Janice it is. My sympathies for your wife and her mother.”
“Thank you. Now, you two sit back down,” she gestured toward the booth, “so I can get rid of this damn crick in my neck, and enjoy your evening. Was everything okay?”
As the two men sat again, Jeremiah was the one who answered her. “It was fantastic, except for when I spilled my whiskey and water all over the place and we had to switch tables.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “The water I can forgive. The whiskey, well, that’s just a goddamn sin, boy.” She gave him a good-natured slap on his shoulder. “Let me guess—nervous? First date for you two?”
His cheeks burned scarlet again while Dale chuckled, his eyes twinkling as he responded to the woman while keeping his gaze on Jeremiah. “Yup. But don’t worry, Janice, aside from that little accident, the rest of the date has been wonderful.”
“Glad to hear it. Dale, you stop being a stranger—Antelope Rock is only an hour away. I expect to see you and your handsome man here more often, understood?” She didn’t give him a chance to respond before adding, “Now, let me check on my other diners. You two have a good night.”
They bid her goodbye, and she moved onto another occupied table. Jeremiah chuckled. “Wow. She’s something else.”
Dale snorted. “You have no idea. And Lizzie is the complete opposite. She’s a redhead, just under six-feet tall, and a small-time model—for local catalogs, advertising companies, and stuff like that. She’s also a lot quieter. If there was ever an example of opposites attracting, it’s those two.”
Diana appeared next to them. “Can I get you anything else? More coffee or a drink from the bar?”
Arching a questioning eyebrow, Dale looked at Jeremiah, who shook his head. When they’d given their dinner orders earlier, they’d asked Diana to give them some extra time to relax and talk in between courses. However, they’d been there for a little over two hours now, and both men had chores to do early in the morning. On top of that, they still had an hour’s drive home. It was one of several disadvantages to ranching that Jeremiah had learned since he was a kid. For him, typically, late nights were usually the result of an issue with the livestock such as an animal was ill, injured, or giving birth. It was a welcome change to be out past his usual bedtime for a completely different reason.
“Just the check, please, Diana,” Dale told her. “Dinner was amazing as always. Thank Chef Alan for me.”
She grinned. “Will do. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Despite the fact that Jeremiah had been the one to ask Dale to dinner, the retired Marine insisted on paying. With a wink, he told Jeremiah he could pay next time. A thrill that there would be another date coursed through him.
The ride home was a lot more relaxing, partly from the whiskey and wine Jeremiah had drunk earlier and partly because of the man sitting in the driver’s seat. Dale had done everything he could to get Jeremiah to laugh, smile, and completely forget they were out in public as a couple. Even now, Dale was driving one-handed—the other was holding Jeremiah’s hand, their fingers linked together.
As it always seemed to do when you were having a good time, the trip back to the JP Ranch seemed a lot faster than it had taken them to get to Redworth earlier. Of course, the traffic was a little lighter, but Jeremiah knew the reason time had flown was because he was floating on cloud nine. The first date of his entire life, with another man no less, had gone better than he’d ever imagined it would. He wasn’t naive though. Dale had taken him to an LGBTQ+-friendly place in a municipality much, much larger than his hometown. Jeremiah was certain the experience would’ve been different, and uglier, if they’d gone to Bella Mia in the Rock, which was owned by a religious zealot and her family. He could just imagine the look on Chasity Jenkins’s face if he and Dale walked into the restaurant hand-in-hand. She’d probably break out the holy water and throw it at them while praying for their depraved souls. The thought made him snort.
Dale glanced over at him as he drove down the road leading to both the JP and Skyview ranches. “What?”
He shook his head and smiled. “Just thinking about how different this night would’ve been if we’d gone to Bella Mia.”
A bark of laughter filled the cab. “Chasity would’ve tried to drown us in holy water!”
“My thoughts exactly!”
Dale turned the truck onto the dirt drive leading to the JP’s main house, and just like that, Jeremiah’s nerves were back.
Do I invite Dale in? Do I want to?
When he’d been getting ready for dinner earlier, he’d firmly been against the idea of sex on the first date, but now, he wasn’t sure if he could resist Dale if the guy wanted to take things that far tonight. Jeremiah grew half hard at just the thought. He wondered what the reality of Dale in his bed would be like. Mentally groaning, Jeremiah side-eyed his date, hoping something would show on the man’s face and give him some idea of what came next.
