Delta's Dawn

you and to hell with the consequences.” The sight of her swollen lips and passion burning in her eyes is almost his undoing. Delta leans back and eases off of him, pulling the blanket closer.
“I'm sorry, Daniel. Thank you for helping me and racing to my rescue.” Delta turns and hurries upstairs to dress. Embarrassed by her actions, she wonders what he must think of her. Part of her wishes, he would take the choice away from her, but she knows in her heart that she isn't a one night stand kind of girl. Jacob was her only lover, and they were married right after high school. Damn, she's never been this physically attracted to someone. Running a shaky hand through her hair, she pulls on some jeans and sweatshirt to go help him.
Daniel will never forget the sight of her with that pistol in her hands. Who the hell taught her how to handle a gun like that? Her hands weren’t even shaking. Thinking about her has his curiosity piqued even more. “Who are you, Delta Richards?” Daniel grumbles and turns away. Grabbing his shotgun, he leaves to get some wood from the barn. When Delta returns, he is screwing a thick sheet of plywood over one side of the glass door. “It looks like it's just the one door and that can be replaced in the morning.”
“I'll sweep the glass up,” Delta grabs her pistol and tucks it in the back of her jeans before starting to sweep. Moving out to the back deck she sweeps, and confusion clouds her mind. She didn't have fish, and this is definitely fish and guts that are smeared all over her back deck. When the last of the glass is swept up, she glances around the woods, looking for the bear. Daniel finishes sweeping the glass inside and hurries to be with Delta.
“Daniel, I need to say this again. I didn’t have fish for dinner. Who put this here?” Delta asks him when he steps outside.
“I don’t know, but for now, we need to clean this up. I will send a crew over in the morning to fix the door. Tonight, I will spray the deck with a cleanser and rinse it with the hose. You should probably get some sleep. I heard you have a hot date tomorrow.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have to take me to dinner. We can reschedule,” she moves away to help with the trashcan.
“You aren’t getting off that easy, Delta.” He stomps to stack the chairs up and orders her inside. “Go to bed.”
“I want to help you, dammit. I'm so amped up, I don't think I could sleep even if I wanted to.” She shoots back at him.
“Delta, it isn't the bear I'm worried about. Watching you,” Daniel moves in, and she is startled by the strength in his dark gaze, “and tasting you, I don't blame the bear for trying to get at you.”
“I… okay, then,” she grins and hurries upstairs. “Goodnight Daniel.”
“Good night, Delta. I will make sure the bear doesn’t come back.”
Her heartbeat accelerates when he follows her to the stairs to kiss her once more. “Thank you. Don't stay up all night, Daniel. You need some sleep too.”
“I'll be dreaming of you in satin and steel. That's a vision that will be burned in my mind forever.” His laughter follows her, and she hurries upstairs to close her door with Sasha inside.

Chapter 5
Daniel sleeps on her couch and leaves before dawn the next morning. The thought of the bear returning and her alone, even with a pistol, was a chance he wasn’t willing to take. He orders a new door and has the maintenance crew from the lodge picking it up at the local store. It will take a few hours to get it fixed. Stepping from his office, he goes to the front desk after they open at eight am.
 “Good Morning, Melody, will you order the Dozen Red Rose Facial for Ms. Delta Richards and have it delivered to Sara Janes Cottage around ten am this morning.” That will allow the crew to fix her door and make sure the deck is clean before she gets home.
“Of course.” Melody picks up the phone and calls the spa to make the reservation just as Abby runs up to her Dad.
“Guess what? Mom called, she bought my tickets for spring break! I’m leaving on Monday morning.”
“That's great, peanut.” He hugs her tightly running a hand over her blonde hair and grins.
“All set Daniel, the roses will be arriving at ten a.m., and they have a reservation for her at ten thirty for a facial. Will that be all?”
“Thank you, I also need you to check for a reservation for Ms. Richards, for a guided tour.” Chase helps a guest at the front desk and then turns to listen.
Melody types and nods, “She has a tour scheduled for Tomorrow morning at eight a.m.”
“Excellent, I need you to change the schedule. Ms. Delta Richards will be going on a private guided tour for two.”
Melody frowns and types on the computer, pulling up the reservation and places the order. “Right, who will be the guide?”
“I will be,” Daniel grins at his father walking in and misses the shock on Melody’s face.
“Will you need a breakfast basket?” she asks sweetly as she types his name.
His eyes light up, “Yes, perfect. Make sure there is an extra quilt, I don’t want her freezing. Thanks, Mel, you're a gem.”
Melody smiles at him.
“You have a date with Delta?” Abby asked in surprise. Daniel pulls her away from the desk and sits with his daughter at the fireplace. He looks at his daughter and brushes the hair back from her eyes. “Is that all right with you?” He asks quietly.
“Of course, I like her,