Dakota Bad Boys of Dry River, WY Book 5

by Susan Fisher-Davis

  DAKOTA

  A Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming Novel

  Book 5

  Susan Fisher-Davis

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dakota Bad Boys of Dry River, WY Book 5 (The Bad Boys of Dry River, Wyoming)

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilogue

  More books by Susan:

  Erotic Romance

  DAKOTA Bad Boys of Dry River, WY Book 5

  Copyright © 2017 Susan Fisher-Davis

  First E-book Publication: May 2017

  Cover design by Amy Valentini

  Edited by Amy Valentini/Romancing Editorially

  All cover art copyright © 2017 by Susan Fisher-Davis

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER: Blue Whiskey Publishing

  Susan Davis

  www.susanfisherdavisauthor.com

  ABOUT THE E-BOOK YOU HAVE PURCHASED: Your non-refundable purchase of this e-book allows you to only ONE LEGAL copy for your own personal reading on your own personal computer or device. You do not have resell or distribution rights without the prior written permission of both the publisher and the copyright owner of this book. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer to peer program, for free or for a fee, or as a prize in any contest. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U.S. Copyright Law. Distribution of this e-book, in whole or in part, online, offline, in print or in any way or any other method currently known or yet to be invented, is forbidden. If you do not want this book anymore, you must delete it from your computer.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Dedication

  As always, a big thank you to my wonderful editor, Amy Valentini.

  My wonderful beta readers: Dedee Hayes, Kelly Ownby, Sandra White,

  and Toby Schuler. You ladies are the best!

  To HeatherLynn Portraits for the photo.

  Contact Heather at: https://www.facebook.com/heatherlynnportraits/

  To Luca Costible for being Dakota. You are such a great guy and

  I love you!

  Follow Luca on his Facebook page:

  https://www.facebook.com/Luchino1980

  To the ladies in the KPO group. I love you all!

  To my wonderful readers. Without you, I wouldn’t be here. I

  appreciate every one of you.

  Follow me on Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/skdromanceauthor/

  Chapter One

  “What do you mean you’re in jail?” Megan Carson hoped her brother was kidding, but he sounded too scared to be joking. Rubbing her temple, she suspected she was getting a migraine.

  “I need to get out of here, Megan. You have to help me,” Aiden pleaded with his sister.

  Mentally trying to count to ten, Megan made it to two before clenching her jaw. “I don’t understand, Aiden. Why are you in jail? What did you do?”

  She could feel her temper rising and being a redhead it wouldn’t take long to surface.

  “I’m being accused of...” His voice lowered in volume. “Embezzlement.”

  “Embezzlement!” Hysteria laced her voice as that oncoming migraine hit.

  “I didn’t do it, Megan. You have to believe me; I swear I didn’t do it. Someone’s setting me up,” he said, his voice cracking through the tinny connection. “Please, you have to help me. You’re all I have. I’m all you have.”

  Collapsing into her favorite overstuffed chair, she leaned her head back wishing she could go back in time and not answer this call. How in the world had this happened? Aiden always seemed to be in trouble. Always. And she’d always get him out of it, but this time she had no idea how to handle this one. Embezzlement was not a charge to be taken lightly.

  Mentally groaning, she exhaled. “What can I do?”

  Aiden’s relieved sigh came across the line. “I need you to bail me out. I had my bail hearing and they’ll release me, if I can make bond. Megan, I need to get out, get a decent attorney, and then I can start looking into who’s framing me.”

  “Bail you out? Make bond? How do I do that?” She was so afraid to hear the answer.

  “My bail’s a hundred-thousand, so if––”

  “A hundred-thousand! Are you crazy? I don’t have that kind of money.” Her headache had turned into a major throb of pain.

  “You don’t need all of it, just ten percent. You have to go to a bail bondsman and he’ll take the money and get me out. Since it’s a first time...uh...major offense, I can get out on bail. But embezzlement is a felony, so I need to get out and find out who set me up.”

  “Oh well, why didn’t you say so? Ten percent? No problem. Just let me write you a check. Aiden! What makes you think I have ten thousand dollars?”

  “I know you don’t have it, but Dakota does,” Aiden said in a quiet voice.

  Hissing in a breath, Megan shook her head. No. No way would she ask Dakota for money. He wouldn’t help her anyway. Not hating her the way he did. No, she couldn’t ask him.

  “There is no way in hell that I will ask Dakota for anything. I’ll figure something out. I’ll see if I can get a loan from the bank. Something.” She sighed. “I’ll let you know tomorrow. Call me after I get home from work.”

  Megan didn’t listen to anything else her brother had to say but instead hung up the phone, put her hands over her face, and cried. Damn Aiden. Since the age of fifteen, he always seemed to be doing something wrong. Ever since their parents had died ten years ago, Megan had taken care of him and gotten him out of trouble every time he fell into it. But this time, this was different. This was big, huge. Embezzlement.

  Placing her hands on the table, she looked at the phone. Shaking her head, she stood and walked away from her phone. She would not call Dakota...no way.

  ****

  Dakota Walker sat in his office staring out the window. Snow. Again. Three straight days of it. Growing up in Wyoming, he should be used to it but when he had things he had to do, it was a pain in the ass. Rolling his chair back from the desk, he stood and walked to the window to gaze out at the landscape. A grin lifted his lips when he saw his horses running in the snow, chasing each other.

  Raising Gypsy Vanners had been in his family for years. A beautiful stocky horse, the Vanner always looked as if it were floating when it runs due to the feathers that flowed from its knees to its hooves. The horse was not a tall breed, only thirteen to sixteen hands, but a solid animal that made a great work or pleasure horse. The Walker family had been selling and breeding them successfully for quite a long while now.

  Dakota and his brother, Nathan, had inherited the ranch when their parents died in a plane crash twenty years ago. Nathan, being five years older, raised Dakota from the time he was thirteen. When Nathan married She
lly two years ago, he took half of the thousand acres and built a home for him and his wife. Dakota took over the original ranch house. Although he’d once been a successful attorney in Denver, Colorado, he’d given it up to help Nathan with the ranch and become the district attorney of Dry River, and he’d never regretted that decision for a minute. Well, there had been only that one regret, but he wasn’t going to give her even a second of thought. Tossing his pen down onto the desk, he strode from the office.

  Walking through the house, he couldn’t help but be proud of what he’d done with the ranch. The Slow Creek Ranch had always been a prospering one but once Dakota took over, it had flourished. As he walked through the living room, he glanced around at the log exterior walls, stone fireplace, and brown furniture with cream accents while his boot heels clicked on the gleaming hardwood floors.

  Entering the kitchen, he poured himself a cup of coffee then leaned a slim hip against the countertop, and took a sip of the hot brew. The black appliances and cherry hardwood floors were the newest additions to the house but he could still feel his parents here. He supposed that in a sense they still lived on because forty years ago, his parents had a dream of raising a beautiful horse not commonly known.

  They’d raised American Quarter Horses for years until a trip to Europe introduced them to the Gypsy Vanner. The unique type of horse they’d been looking for to breed. After buying four, they started the ranch and it prospered almost immediately after people got their first look at the majestic animal. The horse had a broad chest, short back, and a long mane and tail that flowed. Mostly in black and white, known as piebald, there were also some in solid colors. The Gypsy was a very pleasant joy to ride, as well as being a hard working horse. Dakota fell in love with the horse too, and had several of his own but one in particular was his favorite. Bolero was like a puppy around Dakota. The horse would follow him around and butt his head against Dakota for attention. Bolero loved his master as much as his master loved him.

  Dakota straightened up when he heard someone on the porch. Striding to the door, he opened it just as Gary Rigman, the ranch manager, was about to knock. Gary stomped his feet to remove snow from his boots before entering the house. The two men grinned at each other, sharing a mutual respect.

  “Damn this snow, Dakota. It’s getting worse as the morning goes on. You’re lucky you have today off.” Gary took his hat, coat, and gloves off. He nodded when Dakota raised a coffee mug at him.

  “I know. Landon Martin called and canceled his appointment. I don’t blame him. No one should be out in this shit. I go back to work tomorrow, so I hope I can get to the office. If not, I suppose I can always work from home.” After handing Gary a cup of coffee, he joined Gary at the table. Holding his coffee up, Dakota grinned as he watched Gary spoon four teaspoons of sugar into the cup.

  Gary glanced up and with a grin, he said chuckling, “I need something to get me going.”

  “Yeah, I see that.” Dakota laughed and shook his head in wonder.

  The two men sat in a comfortable silence as they drank their coffee. Gary stood, took his empty cup to the sink, and then looked at Dakota. “Do you want me to let the horses out for a while? It’s going to keep snowing through tomorrow, but they love being out in it.”

  “They can be out for a while. Keep an eye on Sparkle. She’s the biggest fan of the snow but being pregnant, I want her safe.”

  Gary chuckled. “She’s like a child in it.” He shook his head. “I can’t figure out why she’s like that, but I’ll keep an eye on her. She’s early into the pregnancy, but better safe than sorry. As much as we went through with the artificial lighting to get her in season, she’d better behave herself.”

  After giving Dakota a nod, he put his hat and coat on, then headed out the back door pulling on his gloves.

  Dakota watched him walk to the barn. The wind was picking up and it was going to be a bad snow. Now why ever would Wyoming in early November make it a bad snow? Chuckling, he emptied his coffee cup, and headed back to his office. There was still paperwork he needed to work on, day off or not.

  ****

  “I’m sorry, Megan, but you don’t have enough credit to get a loan of that amount. I’d be glad to give you a loan for twenty-five hundred.” The loan officer smiled at her from behind his big mahogany desk in an irritating and condescending manner.

  Megan wanted to scream at him. The amount he was offering would do her no good whatsoever. Twenty-five hundred was a long way from ten thousand. Sighing, she leaned back in the chair. It wasn’t his fault. Since she’d never established any real credit, it was her fault. Knowing how damaging credit cards could be, she’d never had one. The only credit she had was a car loan four years ago. Now no one wanted to take a chance on her for that kind of money without collateral.

  “If you could get someone to co-sign, we could do it,” Clark Bartlett added.

  “I don’t have anyone who would co-sign and to be honest, I would hate to have to ask anyone.” Standing, she put her hand out to him, and he took it in his. “I’ll figure something out. I appreciate your time, Clark.”

  Leaving his office, she walked slowly toward the elevator, passing rows of portraits of the bank’s previous officers. How ironic that she worked in this very bank as a loan officer yet couldn’t give herself a loan. A job she hated actually. Choking back a sob, she walked through the double doors of the loan offices and stepped into the elevator. Pressing the button for the fifth floor, she leaned back against the wall and wanted to cry.

  How in the world was she going to get Aiden out of jail? Maybe she should just leave him in there then maybe he’d finally learn a lesson. Mentally shaking her head, she knew she couldn’t do that. Aiden was her baby brother and he was right, he was all she had. Now, anyway. Staring up at the ceiling, she rapidly blinked her eyes.

  At one time, she’d had the man of her dreams but then like an idiot, she’d refused to go with him when he’d asked. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. Idiot. What an understatement that was.

  When the elevator stopped at her floor, she straightened up and waited as the doors opened then stepped out. The receptionist smiled at her while she was talking on the phone. Megan forced a smile and walked toward her small office. Once she put her purse in the lower drawer of her desk, she pulled her chair out and took a seat, then sifted through the paperwork sitting on her desk. Her co-worker, and friend, Allison Cook, stuck her head in the door.

  “Well? What did he say?”

  “He said no or I needed a co-signer.” Megan sighed as she looked absentmindedly at her paperwork.

  “I’d sign for you, but I have horrible credit thanks to my ex.” Allison sighed. “I’m so sorry, Megan. What are you going to do?”

  “I have no idea. When Aiden calls tonight he’s going to be so disappointed.” She shrugged. “I can’t get him out. He’s going to have to sit in jail until his trial because I have no way to help him.”

  “Oh, honey, I really wish there was something I could do to help you.” Even though they were friends, Megan knew there was no way Alison could help her.

  “Don’t worry about it. He’s just going to have to stay there until his trial date, which is next month.” God! A month in jail! Aiden would go insane. And that was only the beginning of the trial, if found guilty of embezzling, there was no telling when he’d ever get out. And there was nothing she could do.

  She chewed on her bottom lip as she heard Alison sigh then head toward her own office when they both saw the boss come out of his office. Megan looked at the stack of paperwork and did all she could not to cry. This was one night she dreaded going home, and having to tell Aiden that she couldn’t get him out of jail.

  “What am I going to do? I can’t stay in here, Megan! I just can’t,” Aiden said when they spoke later. He sounded like he was crying and it broke her heart. He was twenty-three years old, but seemed so much younger at times.

  “I tried, Aiden. I just don’t have the credit––”

/>   “You didn’t try! You could call Dakota. He’d help me...well, he’d help you, and you know it,” Aiden shouted through the phone.

  Closing her eyes, she pinched the bridge of her nose. He didn’t understand and had no idea what it would take out of her to ask Dakota for money. The last time they’d been together was the worst day of her life. The look on his face when she told him she wasn’t staying with him in Wyoming. The hurt look on his face when he told her that she’d better be damn sure because he would never take her back, if she left. He hated her for it and she knew there was no way he’d help her.

  “Aiden, I can’t ask him. I just can’t.”

  “So I have to sit here until my trial? Megan, I could get up to twenty-five years for this. It’s a felony. Something I didn’t even do. Jesus! Would it kill you to ask Dakota? Ten thousand dollars is pocket change to him.”

  “Aiden, you have to understand, I crushed the man when I rejected him. I can’t expect him even to talk to me. Dakota would never help me,” she said through clenched teeth.

  Aiden didn’t answer her. All she heard was his breathing. He had to be hurt and scared. After taking a deep breath, she blew it out. “I’ll think about it,” she told him.

  “Please Meg. He’s the only one who has that kind of money. I know he was disappointed when you didn’t go with him, but he was crazy about you. I know he’d help us,” Aiden pleaded.

  After repeating she’d think about it, they hung up. Now she had to wonder how she could even call Dakota. After two years, just pick up the phone and say, Oh, hi Dakota. I know it’s been a while since we spoke, but do you happen to have ten thousand dollars I could borrow? That would be super! That would go over like a lead balloon. He’d hang up on her. No matter what she’d told Aiden, she couldn’t call Dakota. As she sat in the chair, she stared at the phone. Sighing, she picked it up, and dialed the man’s number, all the while praying he didn’t answer.

  ****

  As Dakota walked through the barn, his cell phone rang. Pulling it from the pocket inside his coat, he didn’t recognize the number but he answered anyway. “Slow Creek Ranch.” No response. “Hello?”