by Shana Gray
They fell into a comfortable silence as they drove along the highway. Until his phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket, which totally reminded Jimi that she should get back to her hotel room, too. She had a business back home that she needed to check in on. What if something had happened since she’d been gone and didn’t know? Now she was starting to worry about a little bit of everything.
“Aloha.”
Jimi smiled at his island greeting to the person on the other end of the line. But didn’t want to eavesdrop on the one-sided conversation, so she looked out the window of the truck as he drove back the way they had come a little while ago.
“Yes. On my way. I won’t be long now. How’s the foal?” He sighed, and Jimi looked at him. He was nodding at what was being said to him on the other end of the line. Then his face went hard and a muscle jumped in his cheek. “What? No, of course not.” He paused and listened. “No, not interested. Look, okay, I know. I said I’d be there soon.”
Jimi bit her lip, hearing the agitation in his voice. She was starting to super worry now. What was all that about? She had a bad feeling all of a sudden.
* * *
DALLAS DID HIS best not to show how pissed off he was. That phone call from Larson was not what he wanted to hear. He glanced over at Jimi, and anxiety started to fill him. What the hell was going to happen now? He gripped the steering wheel and twisted his hands on it. He hadn’t thought about Selena in years. Larson was all wound up over the fact Selena was back and threatening to show up at the ranch. Just what she was thinking was beyond him. He shook his head and blew out a puff of air, not wanting any kind of confrontation with his ex.
Jimi moved on the seat next to him. He looked at her and gritted his teeth when he saw the worried expression on her face. He didn’t have a clue what to say to her about this.
“Is everything okay?”
He nodded, and answered in a low voice, “Nothing I can’t handle.” He grimaced, realizing he sounded more angry than he’d really wanted to let on.
“That sounds rather dire.”
He shook his head and stretched his arms out so they were straight on the steering wheel and drew in a deep breath.
“Nope. Not dire. Everything will be fine.” Dallas reached across the truck console and took her hand, squeezing her fingers.
He wasn’t ready to tell her everything yet. The fact that he hadn’t told her earlier was only because he didn’t know the direction they were going in. He’d been hurt once before, jilted at the altar. Plus, it hurt too much to dredge up the past. But now with Selena back after all these years and telling Larson she was planning on coming over to the ranch, it made him think fast and hard about a future with Jimi. If a girl who was used to the ranch life like Selena had been able to run away from it and live on the mainland, how could a mainlander ever consider island life?
He sighed, wondering what would bring Selena back after all these years. He’d heard tidbits of information about her now and again. It seemed they were all so quick to tell him what she was up to whenever news leaked back to the island. He’d loved her and thought she was the love of his life. And now she was back.
“You know, you can always take me back to the hotel. If you have something to deal with, it might be best.” Jimi’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“No, I want you to come back to the ranch. I don’t have anything to deal with right now. It’s all good and I’d really like you with me.”
“Only if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
15
JIMI FELT A little ill at ease though Dallas was trying to make her feel better. She had a deep sense of foreboding. Even the darkening skies as they drove closer to the ranch seemed to foretell the developing mood.
When he pulled up in front of the big ranch house she was a little bit surprised, fully expecting to go to the barn or the bunkhouse. So she was slightly confused when they walked up the nice, wide stairs onto the wraparound porch.
“This is a lovely house.” The rag rugs and the rocking chairs with colorful Western-decor pillows gave the feeling they were in the Wild West, not here in tropical Hawaii. The only indication of that were the gorgeous flowers climbing along the deck railing.
“Thank you. We love it.”
Jimi furrowed her brows. Why would he thank her for liking a house that wasn’t his and say “we” love it? When he walked up to the front door, opened it and stepped inside without knocking or announcing their arrival, it truly confounded her. He behaved like this was his house.
But he has a house, on a cliff.
“Come on, let’s grab a drink and find out where everybody is.” He took her hand and led her into a spectacular room with floor-to-ceiling windows along the far wall. They looked out across rolling meadows and down to the sea in the distance. Jimi was awestruck.
She shook her head, still unable to process what was happening here.
“Everybody? Dallas, I’m confused. I thought when you said we’d go to the ranch it would be to the barn or somewhere else, not to the main house. Is it okay to be in here?”
“What do you mean, is it okay to be in here? Of course it is.”
“Is it okay with the owners?”
He had a perplexed look on his face. “What? This is my house. We are the owners.”
Jimi stopped in her tracks, and because she was holding on to Dallas’s hand, he stopped, also. “Hang on a minute. Are you telling me you own this ranch?”
“I thought that was obvious.” He said it rather hesitantly, looking at her with a concerned expression. “Is there something wrong with that?”
Jimi blinked and tried to process this new information. It had never dawned on her he owned the ranch, only that he worked on it. As an employee here.
“N-no, nothing wrong with that and, no, it never occurred to me. It’s just that nothing over the past week or so gave me any indication otherwise. You never said anything. Why?”
He shrugged and looked as if he was trying to come up with something to say. “Well, I didn’t think I needed to. I figured it was obvious.”
She fanned her hand back and forth as if it would help her understand what she was hearing here. “Well, I kind of think it was important. I get the feeling now that you were hiding it from me. Why? Did you think I was a gold digger?”
He shifted on his feet and looked uncomfortable. “No. I never thought that, and actually I’m a little offended by it.”
“Well, I’m offended that you wouldn’t tell me. I feel like you’ve been keeping me in the dark. It makes me feel kind of foolish now.” She put her hands on her hips. “And who’s we?”
He stepped forward and held her shoulders. Jimi looked up into his eyes, and seeing the look of concern relieved her own sense of unease a little bit.
“Honestly, I figured you knew right from the beginning. And I don’t think you are a gold digger.” He paused and pressed a kiss to her lips. “And the we is my brother and sister. Tucker and Larson. Who you’ve met.”
“Oh.” Jimi looked up into his eyes, trying to read them and determine if he was being truthful or not. Nothing in them gave her any indication otherwise. Plus, if she thought back over the last days with him, he didn’t seem to have deliberately held anything back—they just had never talked about it. She hadn’t talked much about her life, either, so how could she judge him? “I guess we have a lot to talk about, don’t we?”
Dallas nodded. “Something to look forward to.” He smiled and took her hand. “Come on, I’d like to officially introduce you to my brother and sister.”
“I’d like that.” She smiled back and followed him through the magnificent rooms. The closer they got to the kitchen, the louder the voices in there became. Some even sounded a little bit angry. Nerves filled her belly and she held Dallas’s hand tig
hter.
“Don’t worry—they’re not going to eat you up. They’re likely having a wild and crazy argument with some friends.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I’m saving the eating part for me later.”
She laughed and gave him a swat on the shoulder. “Timing, cowboy, timing. Not a good thing to have me blushing in front of your brother and sister.”
The kitchen was fantastic. A big country kitchen all done in natural wood tones with white and deep blue accents. More windows graced the far wall, and beyond the cooking area was a big, wide island surrounded by a group of people. Beer and wine bottles were scattered on the surface, as well as bags of chips and pretzels. Jimi tried to assess the mood of everyone around the island. When Dallas made an odd low hissing sound and pulled up short, her heart dropped.
All faces turned to them and silence filled the room. She felt profoundly uncomfortable and made sure she stayed rooted to the spot beside Dallas, even though she felt like hiding behind him. She recognized a couple of faces from the camp—his brother and another man. One woman was sitting down, and she recognized her as the one who’d given her the bad news about her suitcase. Jimi’s heart dropped, remembering how uptight she’d been that day. Even a little short-tempered, and, of course, that had been with his sister. Great start and first impressions. Another woman was standing off to the side a bit, her purse strap still slung over her shoulder, like she’d just arrived.
It wasn’t difficult to pick up the nervous glance Larson swung between the woman and Dallas. Jimi scanned the faces of the other people and she saw they also held strange expressions. The silence lingered and Jimi looked at Dallas. His face was thunderous. She’d never seen him so angry before. The muscles in his jaw twitched, and his temple even seemed to pulse. His face was darkening and Jimi widened her eyes with surprise. This was a new Dallas to her.
“Dallas?” she whispered. “What’s happening here?”
He didn’t answer her and continued to stare at the other people. And then she noticed his gaze switch over to the woman. All the emotions that ran across his face made it like an open book and Jimi gasped. Instinctively, she knew he’d loved this woman at one point in time. And it looked as if he still might. She dropped his hand and stepped away from him, the sense of doom she’d had earlier crashing down around her. It was like he’d forgotten she was there, so intent on the woman across the room.
Jimi looked at her. The woman was intensely focused on Dallas. She was dark haired and dark eyed, but when she walked around the center island toward Dallas, Jimi caught the full impact of her voluptuous beauty. Clearly she had Hawaiian blood. Her thick hair fell to her slender waist, and her body was so perfect Jimi bet she was a hula dancer. She could imagine her dancing with graceful and seductive movements.
Tucker, Larson and the other people glanced back and forth between Dallas and the woman. Jimi was all but forgotten and rather glad of it. She took a step back as if to get ready to bolt from the room and back out the door she’d just come through.
“Dallas.” The woman spoke, and it sounded like musical notes. Suddenly Jimi wished she was properly made-up, her hair done just so and wearing designer clothes. Not in the newly bought shorts and tank top, her bare feet in flip-flops and, surely, her hair a wild riot around her head. She raised her hand to smooth her hair back into place. Jimi felt the need to have her armor around her because without it right now, she felt like nothing.
Maybe that was why she’d hidden behind the makeup and the clothes all these years. She’d never felt good enough. Until last week, after meeting Dallas. But now, seeing him so focused on this gorgeous, natural beauty, totally forgetting Jimi was even in the same room with him, made her question everything, including their last few days together.
“Selena, what are you doing here?” Dallas’s voice was ice.
“I’ve come here to see you. I’ve missed you, Dallas.”
She walked toward him, flicking her gaze over to Jimi as if noticing her for the first time. The look on the woman’s face told Jimi all she needed to know. She’d come for Dallas. And she was determined to get Dallas. Her dark gaze slid away from Jimi and back to Dallas.
Tears sprang to Jimi’s eyes. In those few brief seconds came the crashing realization that she was falling in love with him. Hard. And on the heels of that was knowing she was going to lose him before she ever had a chance to get him. How could she ever compete with an ex? And a stunningly beautiful one at that.
Silence filled the kitchen. The tension was thick and Jimi wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted to flee. Run away. But something held her rooted to the spot. Selena stepped closer to Dallas, and Jimi watched to see his reaction. He stiffened and tipped his head back slightly. His hands were balled into fists.
“Dallas,” Selena said softly, “it’s good to see you. Can we go somewhere and talk?”
He didn’t say anything. And Jimi willed him to tell this woman to go back to wherever it was she’d come from. But he didn’t. He stayed silent and watched Selena. His face was a myriad of emotions until it finally settled down into an expression she was unable to read. The other woman stepped closer until they were about a foot apart. She looked up into his face and Dallas looked down at her.
Jimi covered her mouth, just in case the sob she felt bubbling up inside rushed out. She quickly glanced over at the table, to see everyone else sitting around with their eyes wide and mouths like surprised O’s. Clearly, whatever was going on here was a big deal. What had been the relationship between these two? Just as Jimi was about to step forward and take Dallas’s hand in hers, he reached out to Selena. Jimi froze and held her breath.
“Selena.” He spoke her name in a soft tone, but Jimi heard the hard edge, and it gave her a sense of hope, even more so when he dropped his head and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “There really isn’t anything to say.”
“Come on, Dallas. Of course we have lots to talk about.” Her voice sounded whiny, like a spoiled child. “Can we please talk in private?”
“Why? What good will it do?” He took a step back and toward Jimi, but he kept his hands in his pockets.
Selena didn’t miss the movement and shot a quick glance at Jimi, perhaps realizing for the first time that she was here with Dallas.
“Who’s your friend?” The look that Selena gave Jimi was caustic.
But in that moment, Jimi decided she wasn’t going to let this woman make her feel unworthy, regardless of whatever kind of past Dallas had with her. Everyone had pasts and it was how you dealt with the present that showed true strength.
Jimi stepped toward Dallas and reached out, sliding her hand down his forearm. She gently tugged his hand from his pocket and laced his fingers with hers. Relief flooded through her, unlike anything she’d ever felt before. This was huge. His actions clearly stated something for this woman to understand.
“Anything you want to say, Selena, can be said here in front of friends and family.” Dallas let go of Jimi’s hand and wrapped it around her shoulder, pulling her tight against him. “Our past is done, Selena.” Dallas’s voice brooked no room for argument.
Selena’s face darkened. The beauty Jimi had seen in her a few moments ago was replaced by ugliness and pain, and for the briefest moment she almost felt sorry for this woman.
“How can it be? We’re engaged. We were going to get married!”
“Yes, we were. Until you took off right before the wedding.”
“You’re engaged to be married? And to her?” Jimi couldn’t be more surprised, another thing he hadn’t told her. How many more secrets did he have?
For the first time since entering the kitchen, Dallas turned to Jimi. The stern expression he’d had when staring at Selena softened when he looked at her. He sighed, and she felt the stiffness of his body relax as he focused on her.
“No, we are not engaged. We were,
but that was eight years ago. Everything was planned, everything was arranged, and yes, I did love her.” He drew in a breath. “Not anymore.”
“Tell me,” Jimi whispered and nodded. “It’s okay. I need to know.” She was dying to see the expression on Selena’s face, but she kept her attention fully on Dallas. A connection he needed if he was going to tell her anything.
“She wanted me to leave the island. Because she wanted more than could be offered here. More than I can offer her. So she left the morning of our wedding without a word.”
This time Jimi looked over at Selena and then back to Dallas. “How horrible. I’m so sorry. But if you still have feelings for her and need to... I understand.” Jimi’s heart was breaking into a thousand pieces. She had no idea what he was going to say and was almost overcome by how upset she was getting.
“Dallas, she’s right. I know you still have feelings for me. I’m sorry I didn’t respond to you when you tried to find me, but I just couldn’t come back.”
“So why are you back? You found your rich man on the mainland. Which was all you wanted in the end anyways...the money.”
She shook her head, panic etched on her face. “No, I came back for you. I know you love me and I’m sorry I left. I should never have done that. We can try again.”
Larson gasped from the other side of the room and Jimi glanced at her. She had slid off the stool and stood up, rounding the island as if about to do battle. But with whom?
“Dallas, what are you thinking?” Larson took a few more steps forward.
He held up his hand and his sister stopped in her tracks. Then he turned his gaze onto Selena. Jimi nearly burst into tears of relief when he pulled her tighter and wrapped his arm around her shoulder even more possessively than before. The icing on the cake was when he leaned down and kissed her temple.
It’s going to be fine. He’s fine. It’ll be fine.
“Selena, I said before there’s nothing to discuss. We are ancient history. I have no feelings for you whatsoever. The love I did feel for you once is long gone. After you left, I heard you got married. So likely he dropped you and now you’re coming back to see what you can get from me. But I am not an old bone you can dig up from the dirt and chew again.”