Chapter 7
Dallas
Something didn’t add up.
The more time Dallas had observed Camilla, the more confused he’d gotten. The second she’d walked into the country club, he’d noticed. How could he not? She was an ethereal being wherever she went. That’s why he’d noticed her all those years ago.
How had she not gotten hitched? Why was her boyfriend allowing her to go out alone and dance with other guys? If she was with him, he wouldn’t let her out of his sight. He could see his weaknesses for what they were, and at this point, he wouldn’t apologize for them.
Dallas could be possessive when it came to relationships. Maybe that was why he was so willing to propose so early to Camilla.
Or maybe it was just how he felt about Camilla.
Regardless, he wasn’t her boyfriend now, and watching her dance with other guys had his blood simmering at an unreasonable level.
Last night’s interactions seared through his skull as the early morning light filtered through the trees. Out here in the wooded area surrounded by nothing but nature and creatures, Dallas was left to his thoughts.
And he was miserable.
All he could think about, all he could see in his head, were Camilla’s eyes right before she made her escape.
He hadn’t expected her to humor him—to dance with him like it was old times.
That was his first mistake. He could see it now.
One touch was all it had taken for him to completely lose track of his resolve.
Hadn’t he promised himself and Cheyenne that he’d leave her alone and let her resume their friendship?
Yes… but he’d also told himself he wasn’t going to lose her entirely and would try to regain some semblance of a friendship.
He muttered a disgruntled sound as he yanked his pack from the ground and headed through the foliage that surrounded him.
He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Camilla.
He was supposed to be working. There were clear wolf tracks several paces away from the hunting cabin.
Paw prints and signs of hunting critters were everywhere.
The wolves were definitely encroaching closer to civilization, and it would soon present a problem that the state would need to resolve.
Dallas slowed when he caught sight of prints that had to belong to more than one wolf.
He stopped, lowering his pack to the ground before he dug through it for his field journal and a pencil.
Notating his findings had become second nature.
At least when he could still shut off the part of his brain that interfered with his work.
Thoughts of Camilla drifted away as he scribbled down the information he’d need for his report. Then he grabbed his pack again.
Mateo didn’t expect him to report any of his findings, but Dallas knew he’d like to be informed of what was taking place on his property. Heck, he might even be interested in coming out and seeing the extent of everything.
Once upon a time, Camilla might have been interested in coming out to see something like this.
That all too familiar ache returned to his chest, and as usual, his instinct to rub at it hit him hard. Rather than feed that temptation, he curled his hand into a fist. He wouldn’t succumb to the habit. Not anymore.
Dallas pulled up to the main house. He’d been right about Mateo wanting to know more about the tracks he’d found, and they’d set up a time to head out and take pictures.
Mateo had also wanted to know how far from the property line the wolves had come, which meant he’d need to come out to the site for a better idea.
The second Dallas shut off the engine of the ATV, he heard it.
Or rather, he heard them.
“You promised,” Camilla snapped.
“I know. And I’m sorry—”
“No, you’re not,” she huffed. “If you were, you’d make someone else go.”
Mateo sighed. Dallas couldn’t see them, but from the direction their argument came, he figured they were near the barn. A handful of cowboys were coming and going, loading up horses into trailers. There were dogs in crates as well.
Mateo’s voice rang out again. “We’ve been over this. I forgot about the ranchers’ event.”
“Then tell him you’ll check it out later.”
“We don’t know how long he’s going to be here. I need to know if there’s a way we can prevent the wolves from getting even farther onto the property. Camilla, if it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t be asking you. Everyone else is busy.”
She released a sound that resembled a scoff, but there was a pain to it that had Dallas wincing.
“So instead of keeping your promise, you’re throwing me into the fire.
I see how it is.” At that moment, Camilla appeared in the doorway of the barn.
Her eyes clashed with his for a second before she huffed out another disgruntled sound and stalked toward her house.
Mateo came out second. He made a face—something that looked more apologetic than anything else. “How much of that did you hear?”
“Enough to know that you’re making my—” Dallas cut himself off before he could say what was really on his mind.
She’d nearly been his fiancée, but he’d left before he’d made that a reality.
“Ex…” he settled on the word, swallowing it like the bitter pill it was, “do something she would rather die than go along with.”
Mateo frowned. “You know it’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it?” Dallas let out a mirthless laugh. “I saw her last weekend, you know—at the country club.”
His friend’s brows lifted in surprise. Clearly, Camilla hadn’t said a word. Dallas couldn’t pinpoint why that fact hurt him.
Clearing his throat, Dallas looked away. “So, she’s coming out to see the tracks.” It wasn’t a question. “Why are you doing this to her?” The second that question slipped past his defenses, he regretted it.
“Why am I doing this to her?” Mateo’s voice rang with derision.
“I’m not doing anything to her. I allowed you to work from our property as a favor to you.
Or have you forgotten already? You’re the one who reached out to me.
You’re the one who claimed to understand the pain you’d be causing by showing up.
I’m not going to lie and tell you that everything is cool between us.
We’re still friends… but that doesn’t change the fact that you broke my sister’s heart. ”
Dallas had expected this conversation. He’d only been surprised it had taken this long to have it.
Not even Mateo was willing to look past what Dallas had done.
The ache in his chest shifted to his jaw in a physical way as he clenched his teeth tightly together.
Mateo didn’t have to send Camilla on this outing.
She was right. He could have sent someone else or waited until he wasn’t busy. Dallas wasn’t leaving right away.
And yet…
The question in his mind tickled his senses. If he took Camilla out to the tracks, she’d be forced to have an actual conversation with him. The selfish side of him couldn’t ignore the way fate had gifted him this moment—even if Camilla hated him all the more for it.
When Mateo seemed to understand that Dallas wasn’t going to say anything further, he gave him a curt nod and went after his sister.
The ghost of Camilla’s touch when she’d wrapped her arms around his middle on the drive over still warmed him. She hadn’t said a word since she’d climbed on the back of the ATV. Nor had she spoken as they’d hiked their way toward the first signs of wolves.
Twigs snapped behind him as she followed in his wake. He could feel her eyes on him for most of their walk—sense the unspoken words she wanted to say. The whole time, he’d burned to turn around and force her to do just that.
But he couldn’t—wouldn’t.
Then, out of nowhere, her voice came to him. “Do you like it?”
He stiffened, unsure if he’d heard her. Dallas pulled a branch out of the way and held it for her before giving her an inquisitive look.
“Your job,” she rasped. “Do you like your job?”
Dallas nodded, a twitch to his lips the only signal his body was willing to give him that he was being granted a reprieve from her foul mood. “It’s amazing.” She passed him, and on instinct, his arm reached out to grasp her wrist. “Wait.”
She stared up at him. They were practically pressed together by the branches and other foliage in the area.
Her eyes locked with his and everything shifted.
The air grew denser. The electricity in the air ignited.
Camilla didn’t pull away even though their faces were mere inches apart.
Her lips parted and the action drew his focus to them.
For one insane moment, he thought about stealing a kiss from her then and there.
It would be the last time he was this close to her; he could feel it.
The temptation that unfurled in his chest threatened to overtake all his sensibilities.
And when she whispered, “Dallas?” he nearly lost the last shred of control he had.
A snap of a branch a little way off brought back the clarity he needed, and he released her before jerking his chin to her feet. “You almost…” His voice trailed off as he watched her gaze lower to the tracks he’d brought her here to see.
Surprise, awe, and curiosity flooded those confused eyes of hers, and she crouched down to get a better look at the tracks.
She reached out, her fingers grazing the ridges of the prints in the mud.
“They’re… bigger than I thought.” Her eyes flitted up to meet his.
“How many do you think there are?” There was an almost reverence to her voice—an inquisitiveness that he’d fallen in love with all those years ago.
His brows furrowed as he took in the scenery around them. “More than one, but other than that, it’d be hard to tell until I can canvas a wider area.”
Camilla’s attention shifted around as if she’d be able to do just that. “What’s going to happen?”
“What do you mean?”
“After you gather all your data. What then?”
He stared at her. Gone was the animosity that had been flowing off her in waves. There wasn’t a hint of the anger she harbored for him.
Camilla was the woman he’d loved—still loved. He’d known she would be curious about this sort of thing. While she might not have been interested in a career like his, she’d always been intrigued by the wilder aspects of nature.
Dallas shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “We’ll send the data through the proper channels so they can deal with the wolves in the best possible way.”
“What does that mean?”
“Sometimes it’s as simple as drawing them away. Other times they have to get relocated.”
She nodded, and what he wouldn’t give to know what was going on in that brain of hers.
A low, rumbling growl drew his attention to her, and his frown deepened until it clicked what he’d heard. His head snapped up and he came eye-to-eye with one of the wolves who must have been prowling the property.
Camilla gasped, her sharp intake of air causing the wolf to snap its focus to her for the next three terrifying seconds before Dallas’s instincts took over.