“Actually, you’re wrong. Colin is not my client. The city is. My job is to do what’s in the best interest of the city of Snow Creek. And quite frankly, it’s my professional opinion the interests of the city are best served if we don’t spend the taxpayers’ money to prosecute this case.”
“What if you’re wrong? What if I should be prosecuted? What if I beat the shit out of someone else?”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because, Talon, I won’t let you.”
To my surprise, he nodded. “What do I do now?”
“Your attorney will call you and give you the details. There will be a hearing sometime soon, and we will present the plea to the judge.”
“All right.” He dug his hands into his pockets and looked down again. “For what it’s worth, Jade, I’m…sorry.”
I smiled. More difficult words from him. “Sorry for what? For beating Colin?”
He let out a chuckle. “Only for taking it as far as I did. The jerk deserved a good ass whooping for what he did to you.”
“I can’t say disagree with you there. And Talon, I’m sorry too. I’m sorry that Colin put you in a position to do what you did. He should never have come here. I didn’t want him to. It’s over between us. I hope you understand that.”
He didn’t respond. Not that I thought he would.
“Well,” I said, “I guess I’ll get back to the ranch.”
“I thought maybe…”
“What?”
“You might like to have dinner or something?”
“Are you asking me out?”
“Well…you’re here, and I’m here, and it’s almost dinner time…”
I couldn’t help a laugh. He was something else. “Talon, I would love to have dinner with you.
Where do you want to go?”
“Follow me.” And then he smiled.
My heart nearly burst right there. The man had a beautiful smile. I just wished I could see it more often.
We walked a couple of blocks to the greenbelt area. A path of bricks led about a quarter mile into the park under a big shaded oak tree. A red-and-white checkered cloth had been set out along with a picnic basket and a bottle of wine. My breath caught, and I silently thanked God that I had worn pants instead of a skirt to work this morning.
“Did you do all this?” I asked.
“Well, no. Felicia made the food. I just brought it here and set it out.”
Tears emerged from my eyes. Talon Steel was a man of many facets, and I liked almost every single one of them.
To keep him from further embarrassment, I walked forward. “What’s for dinner?”
“Good ol’ country food. Felicia’s famous fried chicken, potato salad, and fresh fruit salad.”
I laughed. “No Steel beef?”
“Steaks don’t make for an easy picnic, unless we grill them here, but grills aren’t allowed in the city park.”
Talon opened the basket and pulled out a corkscrew. He deftly opened the bottle of red wine and poured two glasses, handing one to me. He looked at me for a moment, and I almost thought he was going to propose a toast of some sort, but he didn’t. He simply took a sip, so I followed suit.
Then he opened the basket and pulled out a couple of plates.
“Here, let me help you.” I pulled out the container of fried chicken and opened it. “I like thighs.
What do you like?”
“Thighs? Really? You mean you’re not a chicken breast girl? The leaner cut?”
“Do I look like I try to be supermodel thin? I may be Brooke Bailey’s daughter, but my figure comes from my father’s side. Besides, once it’s battered and fried, the leaner cuts really don’t matter.”
He laughed. A happy laugh. “I actually do like the breast, but not because I’m worried about my weight.”
I scanned his beautifully sculpted body. Nope, he sure didn’t need to worry about his weight. I placed a breast on his plate and a thigh on mine. He scooped some potato salad and fruit on my plate.
I smiled and thanked him. We began eating, and we didn’t talk much, but oddly, the silence didn’t seem awkward. I laughed when he dropped a piece of potato salad on his shirt. I wiped it up with my napkin. For a few fleeting moments, we were almost like a couple, and I wanted to enjoy it.
Appreciate it.
My feelings for Talon had grown deep. I wasn’t ready to say I loved him, and I knew he didn’t love me, but some of the emotion I was feeling went beyond anything I’d ever felt with Colin, someone I’d supposedly been in love with. Something infected Talon, and I wished I knew what it was so I could help him. Since I couldn’t, I wanted to just enjoy this simple meal with him. Maybe he was enjoying it too, and maybe we’d have another one sometime.