Page 101 of Taming I Do
I led her down, past Tie Dye’s pen, past the old barn where we’d relocated Abby’s horses, to the big barn I wanted to turn into an event venue.
“You brought me to the barn for breakfast?” she asked.
“I wanted to get your opinion about something.” I slid the big door open. “After you.”
We walked into the dim interior. I glanced around. It was going to take a hell of a lot of work to transform the interior, but it would be worth it.
“Smells like manure. Is that what you wanted my opinion on?” She held out her hand, beckoning for the brown paper bag.
“Not exactly. But you do have a valid point. Maybe we should wait on the muffins until we’re done here.”
Her eyes rolled and her hip bumped mine. “What kind of opinion did you want?”
“What would you think about us turning this place into a wedding barn?” I bit down on my lip while I waited for a response.
She didn’t answer right away, but took her time, letting her gaze drift up to the high peak of the ceiling and along the thick rafters that had held the barn up through years of daily use, hundreds of storms, and generations of Taylors.
“I think it could be lovely.”
“Really?”
“Really. Is that what you’ve been working on with Lacey?” She arched a brow. “I know the two of you have been up to something.”
I nodded. “Yeah. She thinks it would be a good complementary business to the Phillips House. She’s getting so many requests, she’s had to turn some away.”
“It could be beautiful in here.” She reached for my hand. I shifted the bag into the same hand as the thermos and twined my fingers with hers.
“Is this the kind of place you might want to have your wedding someday?”
Her eyes sparked. “My wedding? What makes you think I’m the marrying kind?”
“I don’t care what kind of kind you are, as long as you’ll be mine.” I pulled her against me and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I can’t wait for this contest to be over.”
“You and me both.” She held tight, wrapping her arms around me.
A soft whimper made me pull back. “Was that you?”
“No.” Delilah held perfectly still.
The noise came again.
“Is there some kind of wild animal in here?” Delilah asked.
“Hold on a sec.” I moved to the very back of the barn, to one of the stalls we hadn’t cleaned out yet. I peered over the edge. Six kennels sat inside the stall.
“What is it?”
I flipped on my flashlight app. “Oh, hell.”
Delilah
I suckedin a breath as I looked down on the crates filled with dogs. “What are they doing here?”
Jasper turned me toward the door we’d come through. “You know what? I bet Trent or Mitchell is helping Zina out again. Sometimes they deliver dogs for her when they get adopted out of state.”
“I thought Zina said she only adopted to local families. She told me she likes to meet them and make sure they know what they’re getting in for before they take one of her dogs.”
“Yeah, I think that’s how she usually does it. But if she gets a lot of dogs, sometimes she works with rescues in other states to do the legwork for her.” He pulled the door shut behind us as soon as we walked through. “Did you want one of these muffins?”
