So he’d learned a few things about himself: he was adaptable. He was a self-starter—he could count the number of times he’d lazed in bed on one hand. It’d been easy to get up and start his day when he hadn’t a clue what the day had in store for him.
“Didja take pictures, play tourist, what?”
“Not really. I mostly wandered here and there. The reason I haven’t tried to explain it to you guys before now is because I can’t. Not over the phone, not in person. Alls I can say is I had to go and I don’t regret a minute of bein’ gone.”
“So now you’re livin’ in Montana? What do you do up there?”
“Been a logger in the summer. I’ve been leading elk-hunting parties in the autumn during bow hunting season for the past two years.”
“So you really have become some kind of Montana mountain man? Hunting, logging, and livin’ off the land?”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing,” he answered Brandt a little testily.
“Just don’t seem like your kinda thing. Your social life was almost as busy as Tell’s. And now you’re just happily holed up in the middle of nowhere Montana?”
Tell leaned forward. “Ya ain’t on the run ’cause you killed somebody?”
“No. Enough with the questions about me. I’m here to talk about Casper, remember? I understood about half of what the doctor said yesterday.”
“Dad refuses to speak. But he won’t get better without therapy. So the doctor wonders if there’s anyone Dad will listen to about resuming therapy,” Tell said.
“What about the uncles?” Dalton had seen them briefly yesterday.
“He fakes sleep whenever they show up. They’d be the hardest ones for him to face with his stroke-altered speech issues.”
“Was the woman I saw darting in and out of the room a nurse or something?”
“No. That was Dad’s girlfriend. Barbara Jean.”
Dalton laughed. “Good one, Tell.”
“I’m serious. Barbara Jean and Dad have been together for over a year.”
“They met at church,” Georgia said. “She’s really sweet. She takes good care of him.”
“Casper has a girlfriend,” he repeated. “Is she deaf so she doesn’t care if he yells his head off at her?”
“Jesus, Dalton, that’s not funny.”
He looked between his brothers. Then his brother’s wives. “Am I missing something? Or did I stumble into an alternate reality where Casper isn’t a flaming asshole?”
“No, but—”
“But what? He made some kind of amends with you guys, given how horrible he’s always been?”
“It’s not like that,” Tell said.
“Then maybe you oughta tell me what it is like.”
“It’s gotten easier.”
“Like you’re havin’ him over for supper kind of easy?”
Brandt shook his head. “He asks to see the boys and we meet. During that time he doesn’t give us ranch advice, or try to convince us to join his church. He ain’t allowed to run down Mom, or say nasty shit to our wives.”
“So the meetings last…under four minutes? Because that’s about as long as he can go without bein’ insulting.”
“Guess you wouldn’t know, huh? Since you ain’t been around him for three goddamned years?” Tell shot back.
Thank God for that. Dalton changed the subject. “Can he stay in the rehab wing indefinitely?”
“Guess that’s a week by week thing and we’re back to it bein’ dependent on how his therapy is goin’.”
“There’s no reason for them to keep him if he isn’t making progress,” Tell said. “So they’ll turn him out and make it someone else’s problem.”
“Meaning our problem,” Brandt said.
“Whoa.” Dalton’s gaze winged between his brothers. “Are you actually considering moving him into one of your houses?”
Uncomfortable silence.
How in the hell could either of them even consider that?
“Brandt. Do you need me to remind you that after Luke died he kicked Jessie out? Off the ranch? Out of our lives? He didn’t give a shit if she was homeless. What goes around comes around.”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
Dalton looked at Tell. “You’re willing to have that man in your house, around your kids day after day even knowing what he’s capable of? For who knows how fuckin’ long because we all know the man is too goddamned mean to die?”
“Dalton. That’s not helping,” Jessie said quietly.
“Well, it needed to be said because it doesn’t seem like any of you are lookin’ at this from any angle besides guilt.”
“Fine. How would you handle it?” Tell asked.
Their skeptical looks didn’t deter him. “Casper still gets financial compensation from the ranch although he’s retired. If he gets kicked outta the rehab place then he’ll need to be set up in a long-term care facility where he’s not paying for expensive therapy he has no intention of doin’. The place might eat up every bit of his ranch income and anything he might’ve saved up, but it’s the most logical choice.”
“Finally the voice of reason,” Georgia said and reached over to squeeze Dalton’s hand.
Jessie nodded. “It’d be a different situation if Casper was a guy everyone loved. Heck, I’d be fine havin’ him live with us. But he’s not that man. And he’s not gonna change now. Like Dalton said, I suspect Casper will act a whole lot worse.”
“He can suck it up and start doin’ rehab, or he can live in a nursing home.” Dalton looked between his brothers. “So which one of you is gonna tell him?”
“Why you pushing this all off on us?” Tell demanded.
“Because I’m the youngest and he’d discount anything I said.” His phone vibrated. The caller ID read Rory. “Sorry, I hafta take this call.” He excused himself from the table.
Chapter Four
Rory swore she wasn’t going to call Dalton. That’d teach Mr. I-Can-Kiss-You-Anytime-I-Want a lesson.
So why was her phone in her hand?
Because you’re a freakin’ marshmallow when it comes to Dalton McKay.
No, she wasn’t. Not anymore. But after the flashback, she’d wondered where he’d been the past three years. The jerk owed her an explanation. So she’d hear his excuses and move on.
She hit dial before another voice popped into her head with advice.
He answered with, “I knew you’d call me.”
“And there’s the reason I shouldn’t have.”
Dalton laughed. “Don’t hang up on me. Just a sec.”
Rory heard muffled voices in the background.
“Sorry about that.”
“Where are you?”
“At Brandt’s. And you timed this call perfectly because things had started to get a little heated. Anyway, are you working at the Twin Pines tonight?”
“No.”
“Can I see you?”
She fiddled with the straw in her to-go cup. “What do you have in mind?”
“Dinner. Conversation. Friends catching up.” He paused. “Don’t deny there’s unfinished business between us.”
“I don’t. But I’d really like to keep the Sundance and McKay gossip mongers out of our…unfinished business or whatever it is.”
“Which is why I’ll cook for you. I’m renting a house on Royal Street. It’s baby blue with red shutters. Can’t miss it.”
“Aren’t you staying with your brothers or in your old trailer?”
“I gave the trailer up when I left. I’ve been on my own too long to try and follow someone else’s rules. So do you wanna come over right after work? Or do you need to go home first?”
Wearing her less-than-flattering work uniform would reiterate the friendship line. But part of her wanted to saunter in wearing a sexy outfit, even when that’d give Dalton the wrong idea.
“Rory?”
“Sorry, yeah, I’ll need to go home, change and let the dog out.”
“You still
have Jingle?”
“Yep. She’s getting up there in years though. Anything you want me to bring?”
“Just yourself. I’m really looking forward to spending time with you, Rory.”
When she almost admitted she felt the same, the angry girl who’d been taken for granted and taken for a ride by this man reared her ugly head and barked out: don’t fall for this because it’s an act; always has been, always will be.
So she said, “See you later,” and hung up.
The rest of the workday dragged ass. Rory wondered if she’d ever get out into the field and utilize what she’d learned earning her degrees. Given she hated this job, it’d be easy to spiral into the my-degrees-are-worthless-what-the-fuck-was-I-thinking school of thought.
After she got home, she poured herself a drink. Standing in front of her tiny closet, she pondered clothing choices. A dress? Trying too hard. Jeans, hiking boots and a flannel shirt? Not trying at all. Rory slipped on her favorite khaki pants, a soft-hued angora sweater in heather brown, and drove into town.
She parked behind his pickup at the seen-better-days house and entered the yard through a chain link fence. She held her hand up to knock only to have the door opened immediately.
Dalton grinned so widely his beard moved. “Hey, gorgeous. Come in.”
Rory started to take her coat off, and Dalton was right there, helping her. “Thanks.”
“No problem. The kitchen is this way.”
The living area didn’t have a stick of furniture. At least the eat-in dining room had a table and chairs.
“After I invited you I realized I hadn’t been to the store. Since I spent most of the day at the rehab place in Spearfish, I picked up pizza, fried chicken and hot wings.” He headed to the fridge. “Want a beer?”
“Ah, no.”
“That’s right. You’ve never been a beer drinker. Sorry, but alls I’ve got is Coke.”
“Coke is fine. But the food—”
Dalton got right in her face. “Please tell me you haven’t turned vegetarian in the last three years?”
Tempting to lie to test his reaction, but she shook her head. “I’m not a vegetarian. I tried it for six months but couldn’t stand a life without bacon.”
“That’s no kinda life. Let’s get this stuff moved to the table.”
“It’ll be easier to dish up here.”
“Good plan.” Dalton didn’t back off. He remained in that too-close-for-comfort zone.
“What?”
“I thought about you a lot over the years. More than was healthy, that’s for damn sure. But those snapshots of you in my head didn’t do you justice. Here I am, standing in front of you. And honest to God, you are so beautiful I can’t think straight.”
Her stupid belly swooped. “Still the same bullshit charmer, I see.”
“No ma’am. I’ve told you that you’re beautiful before this.”
“I didn’t believe you then, either.”
Dalton followed her, step for step as she tried to retreat. “Don’t run from me, Rory. It’s long past time we both stopped running.”
His eyes were the bottomless blue that pulled at her like an ocean current.
He’ll suck you in, spin you around and spit you out.
That broke whatever weird hold Dalton had on her. She reached up and tugged hard on his beard. “Back off, Jeremiah Johnson.”
He laughed. “For now. But first, this.” He pressed his lips to hers in a gentle kiss that should’ve been chaste—but wasn’t. Not at all. He murmured, “I’m glad you’re here.”
This was the Dalton she remembered prior to the night everything had changed between them. As much as that comforted her—because she hadn’t seen this side of him in a long time—it also scared her; she’d never been able to resist this Dalton.
He backed off. “I’ll bet you’re starved after workin’ all day. Help yourself.”
“There’s a ton of food here.” She dished up KFC mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, green beans and macaroni salad.
Dalton poured her a Coke. “It’ll tide me over for a couple of days. Livin’ where I do, there’s no fast food. I don’t miss it, except for fried chicken. The frozen kind from the store never tastes as good.”
Rory added a slice of pizza to her plate and a breadstick. “When I went to college I lived on the fast food I’d been denied in my youth. I packed on the freshman fifteen in no time. I lost it all after I returned to healthy eating.” Why had she blathered that? And why was she acting nervous and jittery like this was a first date?
“It’s good to indulge sometimes.” Dalton sat across from her, his plate piled high.
“So what’s going on with your dad?”
He gave her the basic rundown, finishing with, “Freaked me out to see him like that.”
“Do you have any idea how long you’re staying?”
“There are things I’ve been putting off that I’ll deal with while I’m here.”
That wasn’t an answer. “How’d you end up living in Montana?”
“When I returned to the States after my European jaunt, I intended to settle wherever…” He paused and looked away. “Those plans fell through, so I spent the summer workin’ as a logger. Then a buddy who owns a hunting lodge in Alder needed a guide for elk season. I stayed on through the winter and did odd jobs to earn my keep. Went back to logging in the spring and throughout the summer. Then autumn rolled around again and I was back on guide duty.”
They ate in silence for a while. But she couldn’t stop thinking about how things had played out between them. The lies. The lust. The moment when all of that had come to a head and altered their friendship beyond repair.
“Rory?”
Startled, she glanced up at Dalton. “What?”
He gestured with his spork. “You’re pulverizing them poor green beans.”
She glanced down to see a smashed pile of green goo on her plate.
“What were you thinkin’ about that put you in a murderous mood?”
Do you really want to talk about this?
Yes. They’d avoided this subject for far too long.
Rory pinned him with a hard stare. “I was thinking about the summer after my senior year. Specifically that night you sweet-talked me into the cab of your pickup. The night you punched my V-card?”
Dalton choked on his beer.
“You didn’t even call me the next day. Then I left for college two weeks later. Is that night ringing any bells for you? Or as a McKay male have you popped so many cherries that you don’t even fucking remember?”
“Of course I remember.” He took another long swallow of beer. “I was an ass, okay? I was also twenty, with big plans to get laid at every opportunity.”
“I was just another opportunity to get your rocks off?” she demanded.
“I was a horny twenty-year-old,” he repeated. “Getting my fair share of ass is all I cared about. Do I wish I could erase the shitty things I’ve done? Especially to you? Absolutely. You want me to apologize? Fine. I’m sorry. I should’ve called you. But if I had, I probably would’ve asked if you wanted to hook up again and fucked you against the pickup, just to mix it up.”
“That is not an apology, Dalton McKay.”
Dalton stared at her thoughtfully.
“What?”
“Maybe you’re not lookin’ for an apology from me. Maybe you oughta forgive yourself for bein’ a starry-eyed eighteen-year-old girl who let a punk-ass cowboy you trusted sweet-talk you out of your virginity.”
Had that really been her issue? Was it still her issue?
“If I could go back and do it over, I’d give you more than some fevered groping in the cab of a truck.”
He traced her hairline from her forehead to her ear.
Hey, when had he moved so close? And why wasn’t she pulling away?
“I’d romance you underneath the starry sky. I’d take my time with every inch of you and try not to set the world speed record for how fast I coul
d get off. You deserved better and I knew it. I knew how lucky I was to even get with you.”
His smoky eyes and deep rumbling voice hypnotized her. She found herself leaning closer. “Why?”
“You had this way of scaring most of the boys off.”
“Except for you.”
“Except for me.”
“Why?” she asked again.
“I knew you. I’d seen your sweet side beneath that in-your-face persona you’d adopted the year you grew from a shrimp into a pinup dream.”
Rory bit back a groan. In ten months she’d shot up eight inches, a complete transformation from a waifish girl into a clumsy amazon. She’d gone on the offensive to stave off anyone verbally attacking her and calling her a freak.
“Your height, your brain, your body—” big shocker that Dalton didn’t offer her a lascivious grin, “—were intimidating, even for me, and we were friends. I dreaded the day when you finally realized how gorgeous you were. So you were taking off for college and I wanted a piece of you for myself—a piece that no other guy would ever have.”
He’d always been calculating; she hadn’t expected him to admit it. She didn’t know how to respond.
“But I promise you that’s not me anymore.”
She snorted. “So you’ve changed?”
“Yep.”
“How?”
“In all the ways I needed to. Getting away from here was the smartest thing I ever did. I got a chance to see the world outside of Crook County and the McKay ranch. I got to see who I was outside of bein’ part of the McKay family.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
Dalton took her hand. “Because in order for you to trust me I have to prove to you I’ve changed. And I intend to do whatever it takes to do that.”
Keep it light. “Whatever. I don’t suppose you bought dessert.”
“As a matter of fact, I did. Two of those fancy pudding cups from KFC with the whipped cream and chocolate shavings on the top.”
Rory smiled. “I remember how jealous we were of the kids who got pudding cups in their lunches because we never did. Now I can buy them anytime I want and I never do.”
Redneck Romeo (Rough Riders) Page 4