She pointed. “Is that where we’re heading?”
Dallas nodded, his hand still gripping her leg.
Is he taking me car shopping or something?
The answer became clear when he pulled off the road into a wide dirt lot where other cars and old trucks sat, parked in lines. Across the lot was the source of the flashing lights.
The county fair.
Complete with a huge, blinking Ferris wheel as well as a merry-go-round and lots of colorful booths that must have held carnival games.
She grinned as they got out of the car.
“Great idea, Dallas,” Mel exclaimed as they walked across the parking lot toward the fair. “Now I can do interviews and ask around about the disturbances.”
He glared, his eyes darker than usual, and she laughed nervously.
“Or we could… have fun and enjoy ourselves?”
Dallas lightened at that and nodded, satisfied. It was a warm evening, and the sun hung low, sending beams of yellow, red, and orange across the cloudless blue sky.
They made their way across the lot, stepping on dirt that was mixed with hay, probably lost from the bales that surrounded the edges of the fair.
Mel laughed and interlocked her fingers in Dallas’s as they passed a young couple who was pulling a stroller from the back of their minivan.
When she looked up at him, she noticed he was watching her, a rare, warm smile on his lips.
She blushed and looked away.
It was almost uncomfortable how right it felt to be here with him.
When they got to the red booth where an attendant was handing out passes and tickets, Dallas pulled out his wallet.
“No, you really don’t—”
But it was useless, as Dallas had already handed the cashier the money and taken their passes in return. He eyed her smugly as they stepped onto the fairgrounds.
All around them, families and couples perused the fair, laughing and moving from one booth to another.
Directly in front of them sat the large Ferris wheel. Mel watched as it moved and spun, carrying its occupants up into the sky, their hands in the air.
She’d never been to a county fair. Living just outside of the city, there had never been any nearby, not that her mom would have been able to afford for them to go to one anyway.
“Well, your idea. What would you like to do first?” Mel asked.
Dallas shrugged at that and watched her expectantly like he was just happy to be there and it didn’t really matter what they did.
Realizing that made her blush again, so she pulled him over to one of the booths in an attempt to distract herself. It happened to be a dart-throwing game.
“You can throw knives,” she said, pointing toward the targets. “What about darts?”
He looked at the targets for a second, then rolled up his sleeves, revealing huge biceps and forearms.
She had to admit that he looked incredibly handsome tonight. He was wearing dark jeans and a green button-up shirt that set off the amber in his eyes.
Looking determined, he pulled out his wallet and handed the wide-eyed teenage boy tending the booth a few bills.
Mel couldn’t help but notice that the teenager’s hand was shaking as he handed them five darts and quickly muttered an explanation as to the rules of the game.
It seemed straightforward enough.
She watched as Dallas positioned himself behind the barrier, gaze steely as he eyed the target.
Mel giggled. She couldn’t believe he was taking this so seriously. Was he trying to impress her?
Who was she kidding? Of course he was, and she loved that. Where other men tried to impress through flimsy wordplay, Dallas impressed through quick, thorough action.
It was one of the many, many things she loved about him.
Love? Could this be love? She frowned as he lined up again, his jaw flexing as he held a hand up and eyed the dart for a second.
Sure, she had never felt this way about anyone else before, and they had only known each other for a few days.
But it just kept feeling more and more right to be with him, and the more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want to think about the fact that she would have to go home once the story was figured out.
She watched him again as he lined up to throw. Quick as lightning, the darts rocketed toward the board, one after the other, with barely any space in between.
Her mouth fell open when the last landed.
Not only had all of the darts struck directly in the center of the target, but he had arranged them so they spelled out a single letter.
The letter “M.”
Looking extremely satisfied with himself, he turned to her and tipped his black Stetson. Then he cocked an eyebrow as if to ask what she thought.
She just laughed and leaned up to kiss him. Dang, this man was wonderful.
Their lips met for a second, and they held the embrace until the attendant cleared his throat and gestured toward a large wall of prizes. Mainly large blowup hammers and huge stuffed animals.
“I’ve, um, never seen someone get such a high score,” he stammered. “You can pick anything you’d like off this wall, ma’am.”
“Really?” she asked, sneaking a look at Dallas. “How did you do that?”
He shrugged, then nodded encouragingly, and she walked over to the wall where a large stuffed animal caught her eye.
She pointed to it, and the attendant nodded and stepped over to pull it down.
He grabbed it, handed it to her, and bid them a good night.
Mel ruffled the stuffed animal’s soft fur as they stepped away from the booth, and when she looked up, Dallas was eyeing her.
He looked pleased, if a little perplexed at her choice.
“You like him?” she held up the stuffed animal, which was orange and lined with black and white stripes.
It was a tiger.
Mel had always liked tigers, ever since she had been a little girl. They were just so regal, vibrant, and beautiful.
Dallas nodded, then cocked an eyebrow as if to
