23. Dalton #2
We got in my car, and I drove us home, going slowly, my headlights on bright when I could, to avoid running over foxes and deer and coyotes.
When I pulled up to bunkhouse six, I turned off the lights and the engine.
Grabbed my phone, then ran my hand beneath the seat, and yes, there was the small bottle of lube.
I shoved both into my pockets and got out of the car only to see Xander, Dillon, and Cameron, all lined up. Xander had my suitcase next to him.
“Hey, guys,” I said, and if I’d not already, and gladly, agreed to move in with Jake, I’d have been feeling I was just about to get kicked out of the club.
“I packed it,” Xander said. “I was careful. Didn’t want anything to get lost.”
“I’m sure it’s all here.” I reached for the handle. Jake got to it first, because of course he did.
“Any of you fellows want to come looking for coyotes with us?” he asked.
I hadn’t planned on us doing that, but of course, for Jake, his responsibility to the ranch was paramount.
And it would only take a little while. The night was dark and cool, and maybe we could hold hands as we shone our flashlights against the rocks and between the pine trees.
“No,” Cameron and Dillon said together, but Xander said, “Yes.”
“I’ll get a flashlight for you,” Jake said. “We’ll put this stuff away and be out in two minutes. You wearing sturdy shoes? Good.”
Inside, the bunkhouse was stuffy. Jake hung up his hat, placed my suitcase near the bed, and grabbed three Maglites: one enormous blue one, a medium red one, and a small black one.
“I expect he gets first choice,” I said, churlish because, in truth, I was resentful about having to share Jake with anyone, let alone the new kid.
“No.” He held out the flashlights. “You do.”
Now I felt like a heel. I took the small black one, and Jake gripped the blue one. Which meant Xander could have a good, hefty flashlight in a shiny color.
We stepped out onto the porch. Jake didn’t bother to lock the door, and when we went down the steps, there was Xander. I couldn’t see his expression, and he probably couldn’t see mine. But his attention was on Jake anyway.
Jake handed him his flashlight. “Now, what we’re going to do is walk out toward Ten Mile Creek, just west of us. Go up and around the main fields and back down again.”
“What happens if we see a coyote?” Xander asked.
“Nothing too exciting,” Jake said. “They’re out there, living their lives, and that’s fine. We just want them to stay away from livestock. From the ranch. The flashlights will alert them to our presence, and we leave our scent behind, which tells them this isn’t a place they should hang around.”
Walking away from the dots of light that hung on the front porches of the bunkhouses, we made our way along the dirt road to the creek. Then we turned north along it, crunching through wild grasses, cactus, old wood, and leaves.
There weren’t as many trees as were along Ten Mile Creek, and they were mostly shadows at the edge of the beams of light from the flashlights. The air was warm around us and fairly still. Our flashlights didn’t reflect any predators’ eyes as we passed the lights along the ground.
At one point, I brushed up against Jake, and he reached up to cup the back of my neck, letting his fingers rest there, and then I felt a whole lot better about everything.
As we walked through a dark field, another man, also with a flashlight, came up to us. The tall grasses whispered and crunched beneath his boots.
“Jesse,” Jake said. “I’m good to do this.”
“What are you doing here, Jake?” Jesse asked. “I’ve already done the upper field.”
“Why?” Jake clearly felt like he’d gotten behind on his job.
“Because you were supposed to be out having fun with this fellow.” Jesse swept his flashlight beam over me.
“I was,” Jake said. “We were. Then we came back.”
“Well, you’re still off the clock. Do your best, Dalton, to see that he doesn’t do any more work until tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, boss,” I said.
“And who’s this?” Jesse asked. He angled the light of the flashlight in Xander’s direction. “Xander?”
“Yes, sir.” Xander sounded a little like he thought he was about to be thrown into the path of an oncoming semi.
The wind was picking up. I could smell the water of Ten Mile Creek and the tail end of the sun’s warmth in the grasses. Pine needles in the dark. Feel the pull of the weight of the earth beneath my feet, because we were, after all, in the middle of a large field, with darkness all around.
“So you’ve done this part, and I’ve done the upper,” Jesse said. “That’ll do for tonight, I think.”
The four of us walked back together. Pleasantly tired, I stayed close to Jake’s side, just about bumping into him with every other step.
When we arrived at the bunkhouse, I went up to the porch, expecting Jake to be right behind me. But he was standing at the bottom of the steps, and I turned to see Xander had reached out to him.
“Mr. Jake,” Xander said, “I really am sorry about Daybreak. I didn’t mean to hurt her. And if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you or pay for the damage, I will.”
“Just do your best.” Jake’s voice was low, like he was talking to a wild thing. “Do what’s asked of you on the ranch. Ask questions if you don’t understand something. Pay attention. You’ve got a chance here, and I don’t want you to let it slip away from you. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Just Jake,” Jake said. “Or Mr. Jake, if that suits you better.”
“Okay, Mr. Jake.”
“Bed now,” Jake said to him. “It’s late.”
Jake came up those stairs holding two flashlights and took mine from me.
“Bed,” I told him, echoing his tone. “It’s late.”
“Yes, it is.”
He guided me inside the bunkhouse with his body. With a clunk, he placed the flashlights on the table and, with the light off, pulled me to him. Cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. Kissed me again.
“Thank you for the date,” he said. His fingers were in my hair, and I got the biggest hug. “Didn’t realize you were in charge of me taking time off.”
“Everybody is,” I said, half laughing. “Because you never do otherwise.”
Those were all the words we said to each other as we took each other’s clothes off and tumbled into the bed, never turning on the lights, not even once. Kisses followed. More kisses. Touches. Sweetness. Warm skin wrapped in soft, tumbled sheets.
I woke to sun coming in through the windows of the bunkhouse. Sounds from outside. I checked my phone, which Jake had plugged in for me. It was breakfast time. Jake had probably already been at work for an hour, and I needed to get something to eat and tackle the pile of work that awaited me.
I showered alone, quickly shaved and got dressed, and ate breakfast, all in under half an hour. When I got to the office, Lucas was leaning against the desk, looking bright and chipper, talking on his phone.
“So,” he said a moment later, putting his phone in his back pocket, “when are you going to make an honest man out of Jake?”
“What?” I’d not been expecting that to be the first topic of the day.
“People saw you kissing at the saloon,” Lucas said. “And you moved into his bunkhouse, so are you going to ask him to marry you or not?”
“Only if you’re my flower girl,” I said, floundering in a sea of irritation and confusion.
“Fuck you, and yes,” he said. “But seriously, like I warned you before, people won’t like it if they find out you’ve been using Jake as Mr. Right Now.”
“Using Jake?” My voice rose, and then I realized this reaction had been Lucas’ intention. We’d often helped each other out of confusing situations and crossroads with no easy solution. He was just rattling my cage to get me to face facts.