24
T ousled hair. Tangled limbs. Dakota in my bed.
For the last seven days, every night, every waking moment has been us. We haven’t stopped having sex since we got back from the Little Prairie Market. Barely leaving bed except to refuel, rehydrate, and repeat.
But now it’s time to face reality. What the fuck was I thinking?
Me claiming Dakota’s baby as mine in front of half the damn town makes things even more complicated.
But when I saw her taking Sheena’s attack with a stubborn chin and tear-filled eyes, the shadows inside of me raged.
I couldn’t stop myself from stepping in.
The last thing she needs is any small-town drama. So, I kissed her. To make them shut up. To take that sad look off her face. Dakota told me she didn’t want people to know the truth, and this way, the truth is ours and ours alone.
No one will disturb the peace Dakota’s created in her life. Especially not the bastard who put his hands on her. He’s mine. He just doesn’t know it yet.
The late morning sun shines outside my window and my ears pick up the distinct sound of tractors puttering around the yard.
“Shit.” I glance over with a groan. Dakota’s buried beneath the rumpled sheets, so deep all I can see is her mound of dark hair and a creamy white leg tossed over the covers, tangled with mine.
A wave of primal protection crests over me. In a single action, I’ve claimed her. And her baby.
Everything is different. The way we breathe. The way we move. The way we fuck. There’s no more distance between us. And it has me realizing I have to be honest with her about how I feel. What I want. We’re good together, and I want more of that good.
But first, there’s work to be done. Work that takes me away from the gorgeous woman in my bed.
I press a kiss to the top of her head. “Cupcake, I have to go.”
For the first time in years, I’ve shirked my responsibilities on the ranch. Even as a kid, I was the one rounding up my brothers for farm chores. The ranch can run on autopilot with Charlie around, but it’s damn duty that has me dragging my sorry ass out of bed to go help my brothers.
Facing them is inevitable. By now, everyone knows about me and Dakota. I’ve gotten no less than ten texts from the boys at the station. The kicker was a text from Stede yesterday that simply said: Let’s talk, son.
Christ.
The man’s going to kill me.
I owe it to him to have a sit down. Soon, too.
Dakota peeks her head above the blankets, her dark eyes sleepy as she burrows into my chest, causing my cock to jerk like a puppet on a string. “Stay.” Her scratchy morning voice rasps against my skin. “Don’t make me beg.”
A smile tugs at my mouth. “What if I do?”
She tips her head back, sticks out her tongue. “Then no kisses. No cupcakes.”
“But I like your cupcakes.” Impatient, I devour her mouth. Our lips lock together, warmth rising in the sheets between us.
Fuck the ranch. All I need is Dakota.
And I’m the damn fool who took this long to realize it.
I lick and kiss my way down her neck until my teeth graze the dark pink bud of her nipple. She moans, a content exhalation, and I pull her closer.
Her belly kicks me in the stomach, causing me and Dakota to freeze. We laugh, and I surf my hand beneath the covers, resting it on her bump. “Squish’s got the timing down pat.”
She feels her ribs, stroking her palm over the moon of her belly. Softness is etched across her pretty face. “Hmm. Squish is killing my lower intestine.”
“Be good to your mama,” I tell her belly. After a second of hesitation, I give in, pressing a soft kiss to her stomach.
I feel the hitch of her breath, and her hand lands in my hair, her graceful fingers dragging over my scalp.
The pain of knowing Dakota’s pregnant with another man’s child has slowly ebbed. Whatever happens, I’ll be in her child’s life. She and her baby aren’t alone anymore. They have me. It’s that easy.
But I can’t lose sight of what’s on the line. Their safety. Her ex is still out there, and I can’t afford distractions. I need to be operating at 100 percent. Even if the distraction is gorgeous as hell.
I kiss the freckle on her lip and sit up.
“I need to go see about the ranch,” I say, grabbing my clothes off the corner chair. “Check in with my brothers.”
“I can help with chores.” Dakota sits up in bed, and the sight of her smile renders me motionless. She looks stronger, happier than on the day I picked her up at that motel.
Pride flares inside me. My girl. My goddamn girl.
I run a hand up her shoulder and through all that dark silky hair. “I want you to rest.”
She fingers the dog tag around her neck. A teasing smile tugs at her lips. “What if I need you?”
“Baby, you press that button and you’re going to give me a one-way ticket to a heart attack.” I slip my shirt over my head, grab my CB radio. She’s still staring at me with those dark, stubborn eyes. “You want to help, feed Keena. Take her for a walk.”
She laughs, rolls her eyes. “Oh, sure. Give me the fun job.”
I plant one last kiss on her lips before dragging myself away from her.
This woman’s a distraction, interrupting all my best laid plans.
And I fucking love it.
On my way out, I lock the lodge and straighten up on the front porch. It finally looks like spring. The low-hanging gray clouds that loomed over the ranch are gone. Chased away by bold, bright sunshine. I take a breath and get to work.
Two hours later, after checking in on my dogs and running them through a series of training exercises, I make a stop at Charlie’s cabin.
“Well, look who rejoined the land of the living,” Charlie says, glancing up from his cup of coffee and running his eyes over me.
Ford, sitting at the counter, snorts, ignoring me in favor of the beer in front of him.
“Coffee,” I demand as step I inside and glare at Charlie.
I’m not in the mood for an asshole pile-on session from my brothers.
“Hi, Davis.”
At the bright chirp of a voice, I halt in my boots and look down, about two seconds away from barreling over Ruby, who sits cross-legged on the floor.
Three mewling kittens crawl across her lap.
What the hell do they plan to do with three kittens?
Strike that. There are four. Another one claws at the front of Charlie’s shirt.
He looks big and awkward holding the small bundle of fur.
I smirk at Charlie as he passes it down to his wife.
He jabs a finger at me. “Not a word.”
My brother’s a goddamn sucker. But for once in a damn long time, I understand. I think of the stuffed bears I’ve been buying for Dakota’s baby. I don’t have a fucking chance.
“You want one?” Ruby asks. The kittens sound like slowly deflating balloons with their imploring squeals. “They need homes.”
I grin. “Keena would love her.”
She gives me a chiding look, then says, “We rescued them from the woodpile.” A calico kitten casually eats Ruby’s hair while she cuddles it. Her pretty face turns solemn. “Because of the wolf.”
“Wolf?”
Charlie says something in a low voice to Ford and that’s when I notice a pile of trash and bones on the kitchen table.
I scrub a hand down my face, turning to Charlie. “What did I miss?”
“The wolf’s still getting onto the ranch,” Charlie says, sliding a cup of coffee my way. “We took those cattle off the public grazing land up at Eden and moved them closer in, but the wolf followed. Killed a heifer last night. She’s sneaking onto the ranch somehow.”
“She’s a wolf,” Ford says with a shrug of his shoulders.
Charlie’s eyes darken. “Chuck Gibbons said his granddaughter was almost attacked. If he hadn’t had bear spray with him, it could have ended differently.”
“Jesus.” Annoyance flares beneath my skin. Not knowing what’s going on with my family chaps my ass. “Why didn’t anyone call me?”
Ford cocks an eyebrow at me and picks up his beer. “Been busy.”
I move to stand with my brothers at the island. Cross my arms. “Not too busy for my family.”
Ford just stares at me.
A white-hot frustration boils under my skin. Ford likes to piss me off. Normally, I find it amusing, and give it back as good as I get it. Today, I’m damn close to dumping the entire pot of coffee over my twin’s head.
“Speaking of family…” The edges of Charlie’s lips twitch. “I hear congratulations are in order. You and Dakota being in a family way and all.”
Ruby giggles and stands, gently cradling a marmalade kitten in her arm.
“Christ.” I groan. “Who else knows?”
“I reckon the whole damn town after what y’all did at the market.”
A grin appears on my face before I can smother it out.
Fuck, but I want the whole town to know what I do.
That Dakota’s devastation is everywhere.
My disheveled hair from where her hands have been.
Scratches down my back. My rumpled shirt carries the scent of her perfume that not even ranch work can chase away.
Ford’s sullen voice carries across the room. “Just because y’all are humping like bunnies doesn’t mean you can forget about the ranch.”
“Don’t fucking start,” I growl, swinging his way. Next to me, Charlie tenses. “And I haven’t forgotten about the ranch.”
“Bullshit.” Ford shakes his head. “We got problems here, man. And you got too many distractions. Too much girl drama.”
“Yeah, you’d know all about girl drama, wouldn’t you?” I say, my voice low and dangerous.
Ford’s eyes flash. “What’s that supposed to fucking mean?”
“Easy, we’re all in this,” Charlie reminds us.
A charged silence falls over the kitchen as both of my brothers stare at me. One confused, the other pissed off.
They don’t understand the history between Dakota and me. If I finally opened up to them, would it make things easier? I’m a rock, but it’s not doing me any favors. They’re my brothers, and by holding back, I keep them at a distance. Every day I don’t tell them the truth, I push them away.
That changes today.