Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
THAT PLACE IS BEING HELD TOGETHER BY TERMITES HOLDING HANDS
Dallas
What the actual fuck is happening here? Shelby’s cheeks are flushed.
Elias has shifted further across the bench seat to be directly across from Shelby, not me.
These two can’t seem to remember I’m even sitting at this fuckin’ table.
Rude, if you ask me. Which they won’t because they’re too busy flirting.
Doesn’t Elias see the big ass ring on her finger?
You know, I liked this guy. Thought he might be perfect for Shelby, but I’m seeing his true colors now, and they’re ugly.
“Hate to break this up, but Shelby has an early day tomorrow, and my honey bear needs her sleep.” I slide out of the booth and hold out my hand to Shelby. If I hear one more goddamn Christmas carol from the speaker above my head, I might scream.
She blinks up at me in surprise. “Don’t we need to pay first?”
My polite grin turns into a grimace. “I already did.” Which you’d know if you were paying me any attention at all.
“Thanks, man. That’s awfully nice of you.” Elias, the fiancé-stealing asshole, shakes my outstretched hand like we’re buds. Pals.
Well, he can fuck right off. No way in hell am I setting him up with Shelby.
I release his hand as soon as possible and hold it out again to Shelby.
She takes it, sliding out of the booth while giving me weird looks.
I wrap my arm around her waist the second she’s standing, hauling her against my side.
She lets out a surprised squeak. I gesture for Elias to take the lead.
Not gonna let that fucker walk behind us and have the privilege of seeing my fiancée’s fine ass. No sir, no ma’am.
The goodbyes are rushed, and I’m sure Shelby’s gonna let me have it during the truck ride home for being rude, but I don’t give a damn. I get her settled and come around the front of the truck, rolling my eyes when I see Elias getting into a small hybrid car I wouldn’t be caught dead in.
I barely get my door shut before Shelby lights into me. “What is your problem, Gamble? That was a perfectly nice man, and you had to go all caveman on us. Me Dallas. She mine.” Her voice is dripping with sarcasm and a terrible accent.
“That’s a Tarzan phrase, not caveman.”
She practically levitates off the seat. “Missing the point here, Dallas! He was hot. A professor of poetry?? He’s my dream man, and you had to be rude to him!”
I scoff, turning the wheel toward home. “He’s not your dream man.”
“Says who?”
I turn toward her, now just as furious. “Says me. Your best friend. The one who knows you best. Did you not see his lame-ass car? Or the way he lifted his pinky when he drank his beer? Men don’t do that.”
Shelby’s mouth pops open. “Are you actually serious right now?”
I stop at the four-way intersection, looking both ways before taking off again. “Dead serious. Besides, you have my ring on your finger, and that asshole was flirting with you. The last thing you want is to get messed up with a man who doesn’t understand boundaries. That’s how affairs happen.”
Shelby snaps her mouth closed and crosses her arms over her chest. Ha! She knows I’m right. I let her stew on that while I drive. It’s only when we’re pulling up the driveway to my house that she speaks again.
“I would like to point out that while he was definitely flirting, there’s no difference between what he was doing and what you’ve been doing your entire life. If you have a problem with him, you have a problem with your own behavior.”
With that bombshell dropped, Shelby slides out of my truck and starts walking to the porch like she’s won the argument. I run after her, anger and what feels like a creeping sensation of humiliation, fueling me to lash out. I snag her elbow just in front of my screen door.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I demand over the chirping of crickets in the air.
Shelby lifts her little nose in the air and huffs like I’m the biggest idiot in the world. Normally, I would agree with her, but I’m not sure how the tables got turned here, and it’s making me want to dig in my heels.
“You know what I mean, and if you’ve got any sense between those ears, you’ll think on it tonight.” Shelby pulls her arm away from me, and I let her go. The screen door almost clips me in the face when she doesn’t hold it for me as she passes through.
I growl and follow her inside. She toes off her boots by the entryway table and spins to face me.
“One last thing. Don’t ever call me honey bear again.”
Honestly, with her cheeks heated and her lips puckered like that, she kind of looks like a pissed off bear. I just manage to control the chuckle. “I think honey bears are cute.”
“Dallas,” she growls, stomping her foot.
And that’s cute too. But I’m no dummy, and I keep that to myself. I’ll just have to call her honey bear in my head. She can’t police my thoughts.
And telling me to think on her comments about my flirting?
Well, that sounds a lot like introspection, and I don’t like to do that much.
Life’s too short to think on all the ways you’re failing.
Better to just stumble through this life making people smile.
I may have faults, but I’ve singlehandedly made every woman in this county smile like a schoolgirl.
Even ol’ Mrs. Perkins. I think when I get to those pearly gates, that’ll be enough to grant my entrance.
Shelby heads to my room while I strip down to my briefs and make a beeline for the couch. If she’s going to be staying here long term, I’ll need to come up with a better sleeping situation. My back can’t take much more of this insufferable couch.
My phone pings with a series of texts. I pick it up and wish I didn’t.
Houston: You know what they say, you should always sleep with your fiancée before the wedding to check out your sexual compatibility.
Houston: Or will you be practicing celibacy during your marriage with Shelby?
Houston: Come on. Answer me. I’ve been contemplating this all week. I have to know.
Houston: Do they make a reverse Viagra? Something to kill boners? ’Cause you’re gonna need it, boy.
I’m woken up before the sun is up the next morning, my phone vibrating off the damn coffee table. I manage to feel around the floor and pick it up, squinting with one eye to see Ridge’s name on the screen.
“Hey.” My voice is rough, but I’m wide awake. Ridge wouldn’t be calling this early unless something is wrong.
“Shelby with you?” Wind muffles Ridge’s voice, so I know he’s outside.
“Yeah. I mean, no. Well, yes.” Fuck, Dallas, your brother doesn’t need to know our sleeping arrangements. “What’s wrong?”
“Got some calves not breathing right. Pops and I separated them from the herd first thing this morning, but we need help to figure out what’s wrong and to check the rest of the herd before it infects all of ’em.”
“You sure they’re not right?” Ridge isn’t exactly the most optimistic person in the world. He’s been known to be a bit of a hypochondriac when it comes to the herd.
He grunts. “The thermometer I stuck up their asses tells me this is serious.”
I grimace, scrubbing a hand over my face.
I never did take to ranching like my big brother and my parents, but I help out because it’s the family business.
Besides, the ranch can’t really sustain all of us financially anyway.
My woodworking projects bring in a steady paycheck, more so than ranching full-time would.
Also, I tend to leave all rectal procedures to Ridge and licensed vets, namely Shelby.
“I’ll go wake her up and be right over,” I promise, ending the call and heading straight to my bedroom.
Shelby’s curled on her side, sleeping peacefully. I rip the blankets away and nearly swallow my tongue seeing her in those stupid pajamas that leave very little to the imagination. She wakes instantly, already fighting mad.
“What the fuck?” She sits up, boobs nearly popping out the top. She tries to snatch the covers back, but I put them in front of me instead, mostly to hide the erection that has no business being there. Fuck, I should have put jeans on first.
“Ridge called about the herd. We have a problem.”
That’s all it takes to have her shifting into business mode. She leaps out of bed and points to the door. “Get out so I can get dressed.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I let go of the covers and head to get dressed myself but stop at the doorway to glance over my shoulder for one last look at those pajamas.
Shelby’s standing there next to my dresser, frozen in place with her hands gripping a pair of jeans.
Her teeth have her plump bottom lip in their grasp.
Well, looky there. Shelby Sweet is staring at my ass.
My grin is instant. And smug. “Like what you see, Sweetness?”
Her gaze flies to mine, eyes widening. She spins away, and now I get the pleasure of seeing her ass barely contained in those little shorts. “Get the fuck out, Gamble.”
The grin only intensifies. “Yes, ma’am.”
I close the door behind me. There’s a bit of pep to my step as I find my clothes from last night and pull them on. Always did like a pretty lady’s eyes on me.
By the time I get my boots on and find my wallet, Shelby’s ready to go. We hurry to her Blazer without talking about the arrangements. I know her vehicle’s loaded with all the equipment she needs for a vet visit, but I take the keys from her hand.
“Hey!”
“We can argue later about the fine line between old-fashioned gentlemanly gestures and overstepping toxic masculinity. For now, get your butt in the truck, and let’s save my family’s ranch, huh?”
She huffs, but does what I say, slamming her door just a little harder than necessary. “I can drive just fine, you know.”
I crank the engine and back out of the driveway. “Just ’cause you’re capable doesn’t mean you should. What kind of man would I be if I let a woman drive me around?”