Dallas:Jackass. Was going to check things out on the fieldtoday. It’s getting dark out there. Gonna be a heavy one. Do we have enough hands?
Shit. I’m going to need to be out there. Or at least one of us does.
Dallas:Where are you?
I hear the shower running from the bathroom. I run my hand through my hair. I don’t kiss and tell. Ever. But my brother and I have an understanding that when something affects the other—the ranch, or someone we care about—we don’t hide shit. We’re upfront.
It’s why he doesn’t lie to me when I ask him where he’s been or who his fight was with.
It’s how we work. How Dad raised us. And I can trust him.
Wilder:With Rose.
Dallas:Like since this morning?
Wilder:Like since last night.
There’s a pause in his response time.
Dallas:Does Wes know?
Wilder:No. Keep an eye on things for me today? Equipment, floods, you know the drill.
Dallas:Yeah, yeah, will do. And thank you.
Wilder:For what?
Dallas:For the biggest smile I’ve had in months.
Wilder:Well, wipe it off your face. This is nothing.
Dallas:No. But doesn’t mean you’re not equally fucked.
Fifteen minutes later, Rose emerges from the bedroom, her dark hair wet and her face glowing with something shiny. She’s in that short cotton nightgown I found her in the other night and a grey cotton bathrobe that reaches her knee.
She smells fucking incredible. Like lavender and roses. “I smell bacon.”
I push a steaming cup of coffee her way. “Thank you. Why’s it so dark in here?”
“It’s going to rain and I closed your curtains in case .?.?. we want the lights on.”
She scans the room then turns to me, her eyes brighter than the sun. “Are you staying?”
I finish plating our breakfast and move over to her. “Was thinking about it. You got plans?”
She shakes her head, suppressing a grin.
I lift her off her feet and set her on the counter. “Shame you showered. You’re going to get dirty again real soon.”
She picks up a strip of bacon and bites into it. “You’re teasing me again. I don’t believe you’re not going out there today.”
“Oh, I am. As soon as I feed you, I’m racing back over to my house for more condoms.”
Her eyes flash with excitement but she’s got nothing but sass this morning as she pokes my chest playfully. “Makin’ plans without me, huh?”
I hook my hands behind her knees and slide her against me. She gasps at the contact, that familiar arousal heating her forest-green eyes. “I think I can get you on board with these plans.”
She laughs and it’s like music. Light, easy, free. A sound that annoyed me when she first got here, and now .?.?. I think I know why.
