Chapter 46
840 Words
Emma was released the next day. Dean took her back to his place and helped her up the porch steps. She saw the new front door and paused.
“You got a new door.”
“Yeah. I had to.”
“You had to? Why?”
Without warning, the door opened from the inside and Dallas stood there. A delicious smell rushed out to greet them as they gaped at his grinning face.
“That would be because of me, darlin’.” He took her overnight bag from Dean’s hand. “I kicked the damn thing in.”
Her brow was furrowed. “Why would you do that?”
“Rescue mission.”
Emma stared up at him. “Ummm. What?”
“Never mind, baby.” Dean helped her inside and sat her on the sofa. He turned his attention to Dallas, and raised his eyebrows when he saw the pots boiling away on the stove. “What are you doing here, man?”
“What’s it look like, you fool? I’m cooking.”
“You don’t cook,” Dean pointed out.
“I do cook,” Dallas corrected him. “I just don’t cook very often since I have nobody to cook for. But I knew y’all were coming home today, and I wanted Emma to have something to eat.”
“Oh, Dallas.” Emma smiled at him. “Thank you, but I’m really not hungry.”
“Yeah, I get that. But I did lots of research and you need to start taking better care of yourself, hon. When you get your bone marrow transplant, you’ll have to be strong enough to recover well.” He nodded at his laptop that was open on the coffee table. “I found a bunch of soup recipes and I’ve made three different kinds. What do you want to try first? Chicken noodle, tomato with rice, or mushroom with beef?”
They both stared at him.
“What?” Dallas said. “I know hot soup in the summer isn’t awesome, but I was thinking it may be all you can handle right now, Emma. I made sure to make soups with some bulk, you know, and lots of veggies, but if it’s too much, you can at least drink the broth, right?” He paused, a bit unnerved at the continued silence. “Um. You don’t like soup?”
“Come over here, Dallas,” Emma said quietly.
Unsure, he walked over to the sofa. Slowly, Emma got to her feet and he looked down at her. It surprised him when she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Mindful of her fragility, he gently returned the hug, his eyes meeting Dean’s over Emma’s head.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Dean nodded.
“It’s no problem, hon.” He traced large circles on her back, soothing her a bit. “No problem at all.”
She pulled back. “So… I’ll have the tomato, please.”
“Good choice,” Dallas said. “Dean? You want some?”
“Yeah. I’ll try the beef.”
“Also a good choice.”
They sat at Dean’s kitchen table, eating, chatting easily. Dallas watched her closely, saw how her cheeks rosied up a bit as she ate. He knew that she may well not be able to hold the food down later, but for now, it was doing her lots of good.
She glanced up at him. “Hey, Dallas?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while now.”
“Shoot, darlin’.”
“Well, it’s pretty obvious you’re from Texas…”
“Guilty as charged. Born and raised in Dallas.”
“And I was wondering – is your name really Dallas? Like your birth name? Or is it a nickname?”
“Oh, boy,” Dean said.
“What?” Emma asked. “Touchy subject?”
“Sort of.” Dallas shrugged. “I hate my real name – like f*****g despise it. When I joined the forces, everyone got a nickname and Dallas was mine. Never let anyone tell you that us military boys are even slightly creative.”
She laughed.
“So, it’s my name now. Suits me way better than my birth name, I assure you.”
“I get it,” she said and she turned to Dean. “What was your nickname?”
“Uh-oh.” Dallas stood up. “Time for me to go now.”
“What? Why?”
Dean was bright red. “Uh, well. My nickname was in reference to… uh. To – to the number of women I went home with.”
She studied him. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“So… better that I not know?”
“Oh, for sure, darlin’.” Dallas picked up her empty soup bowl and set it in the sink. “For damn sure. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Trust me on this one.”
- Writer
