I turned to face her, the taste of her still on my lips. “It already did.”
CHAPTER 13
DELILAH
I tiptoedinto Abby’s room and pulled the door closed behind me. I might have spent a magical evening with Jasper, but I wasn’t quite ready to announce it to the whole wide world. By the time I’d changed into my pajamas and got settled on the trundle bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. The night’s events kept playing through my head like a loop stuck on repeat.
I’d been in Ido for just over forty-eight hours, but I already felt like I was part of the town. Even more disturbing, I felt like I was becoming part of the Taylor family, which might make it hard to stay impartial when it came time to make me recommendations to the contest committee. If Jasper resigned as the hospitality host, I might not feel so conflicted.
As I wrestled with myself, trying to get comfortable, my phone vibrated. Stella’s picture lit up the screen. Why did my mother only call late at night? I dismissed the call, figuring my mother would call back in the morning. But then my phone vibrated again. Stella wasn’t the kind of person to give up, not when she needed something. So, I pulled the blanket around my shoulders and crept out of the room. By the time I made it downstairs and out onto the porch, my mother had hung up and called back twice.
“Hello?” I answered as I pulled the front door closed behind me, then slipped into a rocker on the porch.
“Were you asleep?” Stella asked.
“Not yet. Is something wrong?”
“Walter and I broke up.” My mother sniffled. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
I let out a sigh. The dramatic rise and fall of my mother’s love life never seemed to end. “You’re probably better off without him.”
“He was my last chance at a happily-ever-after. I’ll never find true love now, not at my age.” When my mother got like this, it was better to stay quiet and offer emotional support than try to get her to face reality. I had learned that lesson too many times to count.
“I’m sorry. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
“I wish you were here. How am I supposed to get through this without you?” Stella had a history of relying on me to help her through the series of breakups.
“I wish I was, too. But you’ll manage. You’re a beautiful, strong, brave woman.”
“If I’m so beautiful, why did he leave me?” Stella moaned.
I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders. “I’m sure it’s him, not you.”
“He said I was too demanding. Can you believe that? Me? Too demanding?”
It wouldn’t do any good to tell the truth, not in a situation like this. “That’s crazy. See? He doesn’t deserve you.”
“That’s right. I feel so alone right now. Can you come home for a few days?”
“You know I can’t do that. How would it look if I left now? When all of this is over, I’ll be back.”
The muffled sound of Stella blowing her nose came through the phone. “One more pageant, sweetheart? Can we do one more run for the big title?”
I hated that my mother seemed to use me to make herself feel better. But it had been just the two of us for so long. What was I supposed to say? We’d talked about this more than once. The Miss Lovin’ Texas pageant was supposed to be my last. I didn’t want to be one of those pageant queens who didn’t know when it was time to move on.
“Can we talk about it when I get home?” If I could put Stella off for a few weeks, it might buy me some time.
“But I’m feeling so low. It would give me something to look forward to if I knew we had another competition to look forward to.”
“It’s late. How about we pick this up again tomorrow? You need to get some rest, and I’ve got a full schedule.”
“I saw your post on social media. I can’t believe they had you traipsing around grapevines in that gorgeous dress. And did you really go to a movie and sit in the dirt tonight?”
Part of my job was to keep my social media updated with pictures and posts of my experience with the contest. Of course Stella would be stalking my accounts. “It was fun. I learned a lot about wine this afternoon and the movie was...”
“What?” Stella asked.
I tried to think of a way to sum up the feelings I had about sitting next to Jasper on a blanket as Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman fought against the love between them on the side of an antique barn. “It was nice.”
