25. Duke
DUKE
PRESENT DAY
Ipark a few blocks away from the house. I crack the windows open and turn off my truck.
I watch Matt as he pulls into his driveway and climbs out of the driver’s seat.
The caseworker exits the passenger seat, says something to him, and walks to a small black car parked on the curb. She pulls away and disappears down the street.
Matt gets the boys out of the truck and leads them into the house.
“What’s your plan here, Duke?” Holden says.
I remove my cowboy hat and set it on the dashboard and run a hand through my hair.
“You gotta think through this, brother. That guy is a real piece of shit. We could get rid of him, but he’s also their dad. You can’t do jack shit about that.”
“Do you think she’d ever forgive me?”
Killing Dallas’s ex-husband is all I can think about lately. It was already an idea forming in the back of my mind, but after the drunk-driving incident and seeing how it affected her mentally, I’ve had trouble sleeping because it’s all I can focus on.
The Redfords don’t bother waiting on the justice system to pull through and actually deliver the punishment that fits the crime when it comes to abusive men.
If “justice” does ever get served, it’s never equal to the damage that was caused, and the offender is still on the loose, wreaking havoc on more lives.
Over the years, my brothers and I have bonded over our shared affinity for rehabilitating abusive men the good old-fashioned way—with a .22 between their eyes.
Sorry doesn’t even come close to cutting it when you’re dealing with emotional trauma, physical harm, or sexually exploitative acts. The only possible retribution is bloodshed.
Blood is the only way these men can pay for their sins against women.
It’s practically biblical.
Then there’s Dallas. As far as I can tell, she hates her ex now.
But he’s still the man she was married to and once in love with.
And they share two children. Part of me can live with her hating me, if she and the boys are safe.
I can picture myself living out my life with her right next door in the bunkhouse, the boys growing up, thinking I’m a monster who stole their father.
But they’d be safe. Nothing matters more than that.
“I don’t know. How bad was he to her while they were married?”
“You’d get a more accurate answer to that if you asked your wife.”
He pulls out his phone, and I watch Matt come back outside to his truck. He grabs something from inside it and returns to his house, unaware that he’s being watched.
“Hello?” Rosie’s voice comes through the phone speaker.
“Hey, baby. I got a question for you. How bad was Dallas and Matt’s marriage? What all did he do?”
She sighs. “I mean, she hasn’t told me exact specifics.
But I know she was afraid of him and terrified to leave, knowing she’d have to split custody and leave the kids with him.
I always thought he was controlling. She was weird about money sometimes, like she’d say she didn’t have enough to grab a coffee because she spent too much on groceries, things like that.
I saw bruises on her forearm once that I swear looked like a handprint.
She said it was nothing and changed the subject.
And ever since the split, when the boys are with him, she’s a mess.
Even before the drunk-driving incident she was. ”
I inhale deeply, my heart rate speeding up. I’m trying to remain calm as Rosie talks. My gun is in the back seat.
“Why? What are you and Duke up to? You can’t just kill him.”
“Angel, we would never do that.”
She’s silent for a moment. I can picture her on the other end of the phone, twisting her red hair around her finger and debating whether or not she believes him. Holden and Rosie have a strong bond, but I know murder is something she’s against, until there’s no other option.
“I know what’s happening is really stressful for everyone, but what Dallas needs is an emotional support system and friends to help her through this. Not a firing squad. Y’all should come home.”
“All right, we will. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I shake my head. He hangs up the phone and starts texting someone.
“I’m not leaving. He could be in there, taking shots right now.”
“Jensen is coming to camp out here. He’s less likely to fly off the handle if Matt does try to leave.”
Jensen has worked for us on the ranch for years now. I trust him more than any of the other hands.
“When have I ever flown off the handle?”
“We both know when it comes to Dallas Hayes, you’re not thinking straight.”
When we pull back up to the house, Holden gets on the side-by-side and goes home. I’m walking toward the side entrance when I spot Dallas over in the garden. It’s been neglected since Dolly moved out, and Rosie has her own.
It’s an unusually hot day for early spring, and she’s wearing Daisy Dukes and a pink tank top that shows off a sliver of her stomach.
She’s talking, but there’s no one there. I would assume she’s on the phone, but her hands are full. One has the water hose with the spray nozzle on, pointed at the dirt. In the other one, she lifts up a full bottle of rosé and starts chugging it.
I approach her tentatively.
“Yeah. Yeah, of course. He’s just trying his best.” Her voice turns mocking. “He’s trying his best, Dallas. After all, boys do need a father figure.”
I chuckle, and she flips around, clearly startled.
“Don’t sneak up on me.” Her eyes are blazing, and I can instantly tell she is not in a good mood.
“How’d drop-off go?”
She doesn’t know I followed her there and parked outside Matt’s house for several hours.
She lowers her lashes and turns back around. “Fine.”
“You just gonna get drunk because you’re upset?”
“Yeah, I am. You got a problem with that?”
“Nope.”
She starts chugging the wine and spraying the dirt again.
“I don’t think anything’s gonna grow there. The plants died off last summer.”
“Well, you don’t garden, do you?”
“You could teach me.” I walk up closer, not quite touching her.
“Well, for starters, I planted seeds. That’s why I’m watering.”
“What did you plant?”
“Tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, jalapenos, green onions, and green beans.”
“That’s a lot of green.”
“Hopefully.”
“Why do you like gardening so much?”
She sighs and takes another drink of wine before continuing.
“It’s therapeutic. It’s not all-consuming the way that motherhood is, but it has some of the joy, on a much smaller scale. I get to take care of them, watch them grow, but I can walk away anytime and not feel like my heart and soul are walking around, unprotected in this cruel world.”
I watch her for another few moments. She turns the water off and faces me. Her eyes are misty and red-rimmed.
“What do you need, Mamas? What can I do?”
My chest feels hollow, and my muscles are tense. I hate that all I can think of are violent resolutions. I want to be more than that for her. Even if it’s not her becoming my girlfriend and eventually my wife.
I just want to fix it. And I don’t know how.
She licks her lips, a single tear trailing down her flushed cheek. “You can hold still for a minute.”
“Okay.” I narrow my gaze at her.
She takes a few steps back and tilts her head, studying me. “Yeah, right there.”
I puff my chest up, thinking she must be checking me out. Then she lifts her hand and sprays me with ice-cold water.
“Hey!”
I duck to the side, but she doesn’t stop. My shirt is soaked and sticking to my chest with freezing water. So, I make a beeline for her. A smile flashes across her lips before she drops the hose and takes off running.
“No, ma’am! You don’t get off that easy.” I chase after her, catching her easily.
I wrap my arms around hers, lifting her body into the air. She laughs and snuggles against me, trying to kick me with her bare feet.
“Let me go!”
“No can do, not yet.”
I haul her back to where she left the hose in the grass. She struggles harder.
“Duke, no! It’s too cold! Don’t spray me!”
“You started this, woman.”
I switch her body over to one arm and bend down to grab the hose. She tries to wiggle free even harder, but she’s no match for me. I finally let her go, knowing she’ll run. She drops to the grass and takes off again.
I press down on the spray nozzle and chase her. She drops the wine bottle in the grass.
“Ahh!” she screams when the cold water hits her back. “Duke! Stop it!”
I laugh, sliding the lock over the nozzle so it keeps spraying. I set it down face up so the water goes into the air like raindrops. I chase her down again, catching her closer to the bunkhouse.
“Why do you keep running? You know I’m faster than you.”
“I give up. I surrender.”
“Nope. Not yet.”
I lift her up into my arms, this time flipping her over my shoulder with her head dangling behind me. She doesn’t give up easily. Her tiny fists are pounding against my back as I take her back over to the hose.
“This is stupid! You’re just wasting water.”
“I wouldn’t call this wasteful. I’m sure the grass could use it.”
I flip her back over, laying her down on the wet grass and pinning her to it. I move her arms above her head and hold them with one hand. She’s trying to glare at me, but I can see that she’s fighting a smile.
Water sprinkles down over us like real rain.
“Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
She shakes her head. Her blond curls are wet, spread out around her head. I can see her nipples poking through the tank top, and she’s clearly not wearing a bra.
“I’m not sorry.” She lifts her chin.
“Hmm, that’s okay. I’m not either.”
The playful mood quickly turns when she feels the erection in my jeans growing against her hip. Her lips part, her eyelids drooping.
“You need someone without the damage,” she whispers.
“Why does it have to mean anything?”
She stares at me, blinking with wet lashes. “I’m a mess right now. A fucked-up mess.”
“I’m not asking you for anything. I just want to be here for you through this, however you need me.”
She raises a brow. “However, as in …”
“As in anything you need. Whoever you need me to be for you.”
“That could have multiple interpretations.”
“It could.”
“Well, how did you mean it?”
“How did you take it?”
She groans, trying to free her hands. I let her go, brushing my thumb over her nipple. She gasps when I squeeze it between my thumb and forefinger.
“Because I meant it like a friend, for emotional support, someone to spend time with, get drunk and garden with, who can take your boys to the lake, whatever you want. But physically … we both know a friendship between us would only work if it’s a very special kind.”
Her hands move up to wrap around my neck, her fingers scratching against the roots of my hair at my nape. Her gaze is searching mine.
“I can’t give you more than that right now.”
“I know.”
“Don’t fall in love with me.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “Baby, haven’t you heard? I don’t do the love thing.”
I can’t tell if she buys the lie because she pulls me down to her lips instead of answering.
Her kiss tastes like rosé and salty tears.
I kiss her hard, sliding my tongue through her lips.
I push my knee between her legs. She groans into me, grinding against my knee.
I suck on her full bottom lip, my dick growing hard.
I pull up her tank top, releasing her lips to wrap mine around her puckered nipple. She gasps, pressing her chest up into my mouth.
“Feels so good,” she whimpers.
I suck harder, using my teeth to scrape over it. Her fingers tighten in my hair, pulling on the ends.
“I need it in me, Duke. Please fuck me.”
I love how needy she sounds. Her voice has a raspy edge to it. I switch to the other nipple while I reach down and unbutton my jeans. I pull down the zipper and struggle against the wet denim.
I finally get my erection out after pulling my jeans all the way down to my mid-thigh. My ass is out in the open, but I can’t be bothered to care right now. Someone walking by might get an eyeful of my pale cheeks.
Dallas works on her shorts, pulling them down a few inches. I wiggle them all the way off and position myself at her entrance.
“You know, anyone could—”
“Don’t care,” she pants.
“And I don’t have a—”
“Stop talking and put it in me, dammit!”
I do exactly what she said. I shove it in, all the way to the hilt in one thrust. She gasps, her face twisting in pain.
“Shit, did I—”
“No, no, it’s fine. I just need to adjust for a second.” She’s panting, her exposed breasts still puckering in the cold water.
I pull out, slowly inching back in. I watch her face, searching for signs that it’s too much for her and she might need a break. She parts her lips, exhaling a sensual moan. The head of my dick twitches inside her.
“You are so fucking hot.”
“Says you.” She closes her eyes, gripping my shoulders.
I take it as a sign to pick the pace up and thrust into her harder and faster. She wraps her legs around me, the water still sprinkling over us.
I reach down to grab the handle of the sprayer. Her eyes widen when I position it over her clit.
She clenches around me. “Fuck … that feels incredible.”
I continue thrusting slowly while holding the sprayer positioned over her clit.
Her mouth drops open in ecstasy when she whimpers, “I’m coming.”
I feel her muscles tighten around me as the spasms wreck her body. Her fingers dig into my arms, nails slicing into my skin.
“That’s right, baby. You look so perfect under me right now.”
I wait until she pushes away the sprayer and opens her eyes, and I start fucking her harder, chasing my own release.
I’m seconds from coming when I hear the car door slam, and a voice interrupts my hazy, lustful thoughts.
“Really, Duke? Right out here on the lawn?”