Chapter 8
Camilla
The grey wolf’s lips curled around sharp teeth.
“Don’t move,” Dallas whispered.
She wanted to look up at him, to see his eyes, drink him in. If this moment was going to be her last, she didn’t want to spend it crouching down in the dirt before being taken out by the wolf that was only a few yards away. “Wh-what… do I do?” she whispered back.
“Just… don’t… move.”
She could hear the sound of Dallas moving. The petty part of her wanted to call him a hypocrite for doing whatever it was he thought was more important than staying still.
But then the sound of a shotgun echoed through the air. She startled, a scream nearly ripping from her throat. Ears ringing, she tore her gaze from the wolf to see that Dallas had a shotgun aimed in the direction of the wolf.
The animal had darted from the clearing at the sound of the shot, but Camilla couldn’t bring herself to rise to her feet.
Her heart felt like it was beating a hundred miles a minute.
Her legs shook and her hands trembled. There wasn’t a chance she’d be able to utter a single word to the man standing behind her.
She blinked up at him, shock drenching every part of her body.
With finesse, Dallas draped the shotgun at his back once more. She’d noticed the gun when he’d pulled it from the ATV, but she hadn’t questioned why he’d grabbed it. Her brothers frequently went hunting out in these woods—or rather, they used to before work got busy.
His ice blue eyes found hers, and for a moment they just stared at each other. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Dallas had saved her life. He’d acted quickly. And now, she was falling in love with him all over again for doing so.
Yet the only words that came from her lips were terse. “You shot at him?”
Dallas’s sharp eyes cut to meet hers. If she wasn’t still shaking from her nerves, she might have laughed. The look of pure confusion written in the lines on his face was such that she almost wanted to take back what she’d just said.
He stared at her for a moment, then gestured wildly in the direction the wolf had run to.
“Of course not. It was a warning shot. But good to know that you were more concerned for that wolf’s well-being than your own.
” He let out a huff. “To be perfectly clear, if he’d charged at us, it wouldn’t have just been a warning shot.
And I wouldn’t be losing sleep over it whatsoever. ”
Camilla couldn’t help the way her eyes rounded at his confession.
The side of her heart that loved animals of all kinds didn’t like it one bit.
But the self-preservation that demanded to be dragged to the forefront of the situation was having serious heart-eyes for the man in front of her—the man who’d probably saved her life.
Their gazes remained locked as the rush of adrenaline in her system tapered out. She’d never seen a wolf up close, especially not one that saw her as a threat. It was probably thinking they were in its territory.
Dallas’s soft voice shook her out of her reverie and a chill coursed through her body. “Are you okay?”
She blinked, nodded, then accepted his offering when he held his hand out to her. The zing of electricity between them only increased when he tugged her upward and she nearly collided with his body.
Uneven footing was the least of her problems as she allowed herself to continue her stare.
Once upon a time, this man had made her fall head over heels for him with nothing but a smile and wit.
He’d been her everything. If he’d asked her to run away with him, she couldn’t say for certain that she wouldn’t have done just that.
Once upon a time?
She’d been in love.
She’d had everything.
And she’d believed they could conquer the world as long as they stuck together.
But that reality felt like a lifetime ago.
The tension between them continued to mount as Dallas’s whisper fanned across her face. “Camilla, I—”
She nearly leaned into him, nearly allowed herself to go back in time to the reality she still loved to visit in her dreams. But then she blinked and her logic returned.
Gently tugging her hand free from his grasp, she cleared her throat and then wiped her hands on her pants.
“Let’s see how far out we are from the property line.
I think I can use my GPS to get a good idea.
If nothing else, I’ll drop a pin so Mateo can see it.
I don’t think it’s a good idea to go trekking out right now.
” Her eyes flitted to his only briefly, but it wasn’t short enough for her to miss the crease that formed between his brows—the crease she was all too familiar with—the crease that told her exactly how he felt.
He was hurting.
Camilla shoved that inkling aside. He’d hurt her first. While she didn’t like seeing him hurting, this was the bed he’d made for himself and she wasn’t responsible for fixing it.
She’d made her own bed when it came to Dallas Thorton.
They’d never be getting back together, no matter how much her heart seemed to like that idea.
She swallowed hard, forced a smile, and turned away from him.
After her pin had been dropped and they were on their way back to the house, she allowed herself to finally breathe again.
“Mateo is such a jerk! I can’t believe he made you go out there.”
Camilla sipped on her lemonade as she sat beside Cheyenne on the porch swing.
She’d made it a point not to tell her best friend that her brother had also saved her life from a hungry-looking wolf.
It would only make matters worse. “Yeah. Not cool,” she murmured absently, her thoughts straying to the way Dallas had looked at her far too easily.
“I mean, I love my brother and all, but you deserve to have your space. He hurt you. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
He also saved me.
“Dallas is great and all—well, he’s great when it comes to anything that doesn’t have to do with relationships. Who knows if he can be trusted in that respect.”
Camilla made a noncommittal sound. Cheyenne had been trashing her brother for the better part of the last hour. Okay, maybe not for that long, but it sure felt like it. Anytime Camilla wanted to bring up a way that Dallas had actually treated her right, Cheyenne had shot her down.
“You can’t trust him. He’ll lure you in like he did last time, and then he’ll disappear when it serves his purpose. You deserve better and we both know it.” When Camilla didn’t respond, Cheyenne nudged her with her elbow. “Camilla? You listening to me?”
She glanced at her friend and feigned a smile. “Yep.”
Cheyenne didn’t seem convinced in the slightest. She arched a brow. “Then tell me what I said.”
“Mateo, jerk. Dallas, bad.” Camilla smirked at her best friend. “That’s the gist of it, right?”
She rolled her eyes. “Seriously. You need to put your foot down with your brother.”
“Well, he’s also my boss… so…”
Cheyenne sighed. “I’m sorry. This is so dumb.”
Camilla couldn’t bring herself to agree. She had never been one to believe in coincidences or fate, but after she’d fallen so fast for Dallas and been so hurt by his abandonment, she had to wonder if there was such a thing as soulmates and if she’d simply gotten a bad hand.
She peered out at the trail that Dallas had taken to get back to the hunting cabin as if she expected him to be there now. If he’d come back and told her he wanted another chance, if he’d dropped to his knees to plead for her heart again, would she be strong enough to turn him down?
When he had first arrived? Maybe.
Now? She had no clue.
“Hey, Camilla. Nikki wanted to know if Mateo was back yet.”
Her head lifted to find Jason leaning casually against the railing at the bottom of the steps.
He grinned up at her, and Cheyenne nudged her in the way she usually did when she thought a guy was flirting.
But they both knew that relationships never lasted long for Camilla.
It was getting ridiculous. Three weeks was about the longest she’d kept a boyfriend since her breakup with Dallas.
Jason cocked his head in that endearing way he did whenever she bumped into him in the cafeteria that Mateo had built for the people working at Winding Creek. It was more like an all-purpose space with a kitchen. Jason helped out with food prep when he wasn’t working with the horses directly.
Cheyenne nudged her again.
“Hmm?” Camilla asked, her attention immediately shifting to the sound of an incoming ATV.
Dallas was coming.
“Mateo,” Cheyenne offered. “When is your brother coming back?”
“Oh, right.” Camilla flushed, dragging her eyes back to Jason. “He’s getting back later tonight. Why didn’t Nikki just text him? They’re married, aren’t they?”
Jason chuckled. “True sibling fashion. Apparently, your brother isn’t picking up.” He rapped his fingers on the railing before glancing over his shoulder to see the new arrival.
Dallas remained seated on the ATV, that frown he seemed to be wearing more often plastered to his face. Cheyenne stiffened at her side.
“Well, I better get back to the kitchen. The guys might be coming in late, but I’m sure they’re going to want food regardless.
” He winked at Camilla before sauntering off.
She heard him call out to Dallas, “Hey, man. You’re welcome to get grub anytime you need from the kitchen.
Most folks won’t be back ’til late, so stop by if you get hungry. ”
Dallas gave him a curt nod then his eyes shifted to Camilla.
Cheyenne leaned in close. “You want me to stay?”
Camilla shook her head. “He probably forgot to tell me something I need to tell Mateo. I’m good. Besides, you have to pack for that amazing trip you have planned.”
Still, Cheyenne hesitated, eyeing her brother. “Maybe I should cancel.”
“What? No!” Camilla gave her friend a pointed look. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How many people do you know who go to China to teach English?”
“It’s more common than you think,” Cheyenne murmured, brushing her off.
“Still a great opportunity for a soon-to-be teacher. Really, I’ll be fine.”
Cheyenne continued to frown. “Just promise me something?”
“What?” Camilla let out a mirthless laugh.
“Don’t… don’t let him manipulate you into something. Be strong, okay? There’s someone out there for you. It’s just not Dallas.”
Camilla nodded absently, her eyes shifting to Dallas once more.
Cheyenne would be gone for the rest of the summer, leaving Camilla alone to battle against the irresistible wiles of the Dallas Thorton.
Maybe Camilla should have been more focused on making friends with some of the girls over at the Callahan ranch when she’d moved here.
Well, it was never too late to start, right?
Cheyenne got to her feet, not hiding the disdain in her expression as she headed down the steps and pushed past her brother. All was not well between them.
Dallas’s gaze followed Cheyenne until she got in her car and drove off. Then he looked back at Camilla.
Her heart stumbled a beat. Then slowly sped up as he moved closer to her. He’d only dropped her off a couple hours ago. Why was he back? Had he caught up with the wolf? Thankfully, her questions were answered before she had a chance to put a voice to them.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Camilla got to her feet and moved to the edge of the porch, leaning her forearms on the railing as she stared down at Dallas. He hadn’t bothered coming up the stairs to speak to her. “Is that all you came to say? You could have texted me.”
He shifted from foot to foot and rubbed the back of his neck. “Would you have messaged me back?” There was an accusation in his tone like she was wrong for even making the suggestion.
She scoffed. “I’m not the one who changed my number and ghosted my girlfriend, am I? Out of the two of us, communication is something I was much better at.”
There was a flicker of surprise in his gaze. He opened his mouth, then shut it before shaking his head. “Yeah, you’re right. I could have sent you a message. But that doesn’t answer the question. Are you okay?”
“You already asked me—”
“Just answer the question, Camilla.”
She stilled. There was a sting to his words, one that demanded she didn’t ignore him. “I’m fine,” she whispered. Then she cleared her throat. “And thank you.”
“For what?” he said, not looking at her.
“For… saving me. For keeping me safe.”
Dallas peeked at her. “I’d never let anything hurt you, Camilla. Never.”
She wanted to point out that he’d been the only one to really hurt her, but she bit her tongue. They were finally opening a dialogue, and the lingering questions as to whether she wanted to reconsider something deeper with him seemed to knock the sense out of her.
Camilla nearly brought up the idea—nearly confessed that everything she’d said at the country club had been a lie, but Dallas beat her to it.
“I don’t want to fight with you,” he whispered. “You… what we had… it was more than just…” He looked away and his voice cracked. “Camilla, I miss you.”
She couldn’t speak. Was he really asking her what she thought he was? Could this be what she’d been needing? A humming of nervous energy flooded her senses. She straightened, waiting for him to continue, not daring to believe he might want to try again, even if it sounded ridiculous.
But how could she say no after he’d saved her life?
Then, just like that, it felt like Dallas threw a bucket of ice-cold water all over her.
“Can we… start over? Be friends again?”
Friends.
Dallas wanted to be friends.
Disappointment reigned supreme and she hated it.
And yet, as she stared into the eyes of the man who had made her fall in love with him only to disappear and return seemingly better than ever, she couldn’t find it in her heart to deny his request.
She sighed. “Yeah, okay.”
Dallas flashed her a smile. It wasn’t one of his brighter ones.
Honestly, it barely reached his eyes. But it was there nonetheless, and she couldn’t help the giddiness it stirred within her.
Dallas might not see her as relationship material, but he still cared about her enough to attempt to mend the rift he’d torn in their lives. “Cool,” he murmured.
“Is that everything you needed?” she asked. And somehow she wasn’t surprised when he nodded before heading back to the ATV he’d arrived on.