Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
BUTTER ME AND CALL ME A BISCUIT
Shelby
One of the many traits that makes Dallas so likable is his willingness to do just about anything. The man is always up for a good time, but he’s also the first to volunteer when somebody needs a favor or a boost.
Anytime he hears the opener, “You know what we should do?” he’s already out of his chair and ready to go. Road trips, tractor races, arm wrestling, skinny dipping, roping contests, dares, random favors, you name it.
I’ll never forget our senior year spring play when the male lead got mono and there was nobody to fill in.
The whole cast was devastated until Dallas waltzed in and volunteered for the gig.
Despite him forgetting lines or reading them off his hand, his charm won over the audience, and the whole cast got a standing ovation.
Then there was the weekend he and Houston drove out to Missouri, where I was stressing out in vet school, and they kidnapped me for a Kenny Chesney concert. It turned out to be one of the best weekends of my life, one we still talk about.
And the time he fixed Jeannie Rochety’s leaky roof while she was in the hospital having surgery, and nobody could figure out who did it. To this day, I’m the only one who knows.
So, it shouldn’t surprise me that Dallas would get a wild hair and reenact our first meeting as some kind of grand gesture.
Especially knowing how upset I was on Friday night with the perimenopause bombshell.
It’s exactly the thing a great best friend would do to cheer me up, and I don’t know that I’ll ever forget the sight of Clara and those chickens going at it.
Thank god Meemaw’s favorite, Isadora, wasn’t involved or we all might have been shot.
“Hey, Shelby, you got a minute?” Skye calls from the barn.
I peel off my gloves and drop them by my gear. I’m pretty much done here, and my next client isn’t until this afternoon. Plenty of time to help Skye and grab some lunch in town. I’ve got no clue where Dallas snuck off to, but I see Ryder shadowing Pops as he feeds the horses.
“What’s that noise?” Ryder asks, his features pinched as his head cocks to the side. We all stop to listen, and sure enough, there’s a low-frequency rumbling sound.
“Damn oil well.” Pops scowls. “The Kincaids ain’t keeping up with maintenance. Those pumpjacks probably haven’t been serviced in months. I’ll have a word.”
“It’s super annoying,” Ryder complains. “Can’t we tell them to shut it off?”
“Afraid it’s not that simple. Come on now and help me feed Lulu.”
Ryder frowns but does as he’s told.
“What’s up?” I ask Skye. She’s standing at the barn door with their pretty Appaloosa named Tango.
“Probably nothing. I was exercising Tango yesterday, and it felt like she might have been favoring her front left.”
“Lemme take a look.” Skye holds Tango’s rope while I test her joints and examine her hooves and shoes. “I don’t see anything. She’s letting me maneuver her around without being jumpy. Shoes look good. Walk her around and let me see.”
Skye leads her in a few circles as I watch, but she looks fit as a fiddle. I check my watch and make a decision.
“Go on and saddle her up. I’m gonna grab something, and then I’ll take her for a ride just to make sure.”
“You sure you have time for that?”
“No problem.” It’s been a while since I’ve gone for a good ride, despite it being one of my favorite things to do. “I’ll enjoy it.”
Satisfied with my answer, Skye takes Tango back into the barn, and I head to Dallas’s truck that’s still parked by the house. He must be helping Ridge with something on horseback because both Whiskey and Echo are gone.
I swing open the passenger door and go right for the glove box where Dallas keeps a stash of protein bars. It’ll have to do since it looks like I’m not getting lunch today. I shove one in my jeans pocket, but just as I go to close the glove box, something catches my eye.
“What the…”
Closer inspection reveals a white box with a label that reads Ovulation Test Kit, along with numerous pamphlets about fertility. Where in god’s name did he get this? Did he really buy this for me?
“Dallas, you big softie.” I smile, imagining him walking into the pharmacy in Hornville and asking what his perimenopausal friend might need to help her get pregnant.
I shouldn’t have said anything to him. I haven’t even made an appointment with my gynecologist to confirm my decrepit state, and here he is taking action.
He’s probably out right now finding me a man who has baby fever.
“She’s all set!” Skye hollers, and I close both the glove box and the truck door before heading over.
I give Tango a few pets and tell her what we’re going to do, then mount her. We take a few paces, and it’s clear she’s ready to ride, so I give her the reins, and we take off in a canter heading west.
The rolling plains open up before us as we crest the first hill, tall grass swaying in the afternoon breeze, with the odd cluster of trees dotting the fence lines. The sky is an enormous sheet of blue, nearly cloudless, the only decoration being a group of birds circling to our left.
Tango’s hooves beat out a steady rhythm on the compact dirt, changing pace as she breaks into a gallop.
I let out a whoop, my nose filling with earthy red dust and a hint of sweet hay.
The breeze is glorious against my skin as we speed through the grass and across a dry creek bed until we near the river.
“There’s not a thing wrong with you, is there?” I ask as I slow her down, and we approach the riverbank.
“You caught me.” Dallas’s voice nearly startles me out of the saddle.
“Give a girl a warning, Gamble.” I laugh and dismount, holding Tango’s reins as we wander in the direction of his voice.
We finally round a huge oak tree, and there he is, shirtless and waist-deep in the river. From the pile of clothes on the grass, I don’t have to wonder what he’s wearing on his bottom half. A familiar tingle starts climbing up my thighs to my belly at the thought.
“It feels great. You should come in.” He runs both hands through his thick, wet hair, droplets flying in every direction. He looks like a model for an adventure advertisement.
I secure Tango’s reins to a tree branch and start toeing off my boots. It is August in Oklahoma, after all. “I figured you were helping Ridge, but here you are playing hooky.”
“More like hiding from the humiliation of my failed grand gesture.” He scrunches his nose, making him look just like his son.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” My socks are next, and then my jeans. “Where did you learn about grand gestures anyway, cowboy?”
He swirls his hands through the water surrounding him and shrugs. “Some woman on a podcast was talking about them being her favorite part of a romance book, so I figured you might like it. Had to ask Siri for specifics, though.”
“I did like it.” I hate that he went to the effort and worried he messed everything up.
“Even though I fucked it up?”
“Hey, you made me laugh, so that’s gotta count for something.
” Off goes my shirt and tank. I can’t believe how casually I can undress in front of him now.
Used to be, I’d wear a cover-up around him, or at the very least a modest one-piece bathing suit.
But he’s made me feel so beautiful lately, it’s easy.
“Wasn’t really what I was going for.”
My underwear and bra are last to go until I’m standing there naked. Dallas takes his fill and doesn’t pretend otherwise. “Well, if you were trying to cheer me up, you did the trick.”
He makes a noncommittal noise, and I’m not sure if it’s in answer to my comment, or if his penis has taken over all brain function at this point.
I wade in up to my knees and pause, letting my body get used to the crisp water temperature. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.” He’s still staring, but at least he’s recovered his ability to speak.
“Why do you have an ovulation test kit in your glovebox?”
His brows spike. “You snoopin’ through my things, Sweetness?”
“I needed a protein bar.”
He nods and pauses. “Can I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“Why do you think I have an ovulation test kit in my glovebox?”
I’m up to my waist now and can’t help smiling at him. I want to jump into his arms and stay floating in this water with him forever. “Because you’re sweet, and you want to help me have a baby.”
“Correct on both counts.” He winks, snaking out an arm and snatching me. I yelp, and he pulls me into his chest.
A drop of water falls from the tip of my nose. “Well, I have unequivocal proof I’m not pregnant at the moment since I’m on my period.”
“Ah.” He nods sagely. “Shark week.”
I break free and splash water at him. He throws his arms up to block it while laughing his ass off.
“You’re an idiot,” I inform him.
“You’re not the first one to tell me that.” He pulls me in again, and I let him.
Without much thought, I reach down and circle his length with my hand. He’s already hard, even in the cool water.
“And what do you think you’re doing, Ms. Sweet?”
“Whatever I damn well please,” I tell him in a voice that sounds like a purr even to my own ears.
I pump a few times, adoring the feel of his hard, velvety cock in my hand. “We’ll need to wade into shallower water for what I’ve got in mind, cowboy.”
There’s no need to tell him twice. He bends to capture my lips with his as he marches me backward until the water hits just to my thighs. I break the kiss and drop to my knees, ignoring the river rocks digging into one kneecap.