If someone didn’t answer after he responded twice, he did what he always did...he hung up. He figured that either someone had a wrong number or would call back. Shrugging, he continued down the rows of stalls until he reached the one he was looking for.
“Hey, boy,” he said to Bolero. The horse bobbed his head up and down then put his head over the stall door, waiting for Dakota to rub his nose. Taking an apple out of his pocket, he cut it in half with his pocketknife then held it out to the horse. Bolero gently took the piece of apple. Dakota rubbed his nose. The horse snorted and butted his head against Dakota’s shoulder, then tried to take his hat in his teeth, but Dakota was quick and moved out of reach.
“If you get my hat, I’ll never get it back.”
Bolero was one of the taller Vanners, at sixteen hands. A beautiful black and white horse, he was the most sought after stud in the states. Breeding season was over for this year. Unless someone wanted a horse to be born at a certain time, it was over for now. It was possible to use artificial light to trick a mare’s mind into thinking it was breeding season and come in heat, but it wasn’t done very often. Dakota preferred to let nature take its course and breed when a mare naturally came in season, spring, and summer but there were times, buyers offered more money than he could refuse.
Rubbing Bolero’s velvety nose, he handed him the other half of the apple. He’d only come out to the barn to get out of the house for a little while. This time of the year was slow around the ranch. Only a few sales happened in the winter. Unless some little rich girl decided she wanted a horse for Christmas, he rarely sold any during the winter months. Continuing down the row of stalls, he stopped at each one to check on his babies. Going to the other side of the barn, he looked in on his four Quarter horses.
He’d always loved riding from the time he was a small child to now, he loved the feeling of riding full force. Megan popped into his head. She’d been terrified of the large animals and he’d had to talk her into riding on the horse with him. Eventually, she grew to love it and even had her own horse. Stopping in front of another stall, he gazed in at Dixie, Megan’s horse. She’d left her just as she’d left him. No looking back, just gone. Hating when his mind ran to her, he swore and rubbed his chest. Her rejection still hurt. Shaking his head, he strode angrily out of the barn. When would his mind stop letting her in?
Stepping outside, the snow was still coming down and accumulating very quickly. The wind blew it sideways and slapped it against his face. Ice pellets mixed with the snow, feeling like shards of glass when it hit his skin. Damn, it was cold. Dakota put his head down and trudged through the snow to get to the porch, he stomped his feet to remove snow from his boots then entered the house. Just as he stepped into the kitchen, his cell rang again.
“Slow Creek Ranch,” he answered. No response again. “Hello?” This was getting on his nerves. “Look, if you can’t say something, please stop calling,” he growled.
“It’s me...Megan.”
The air whooshed out of his body. Megan. Why? He sucked in a deep breath. “What do you want?” Did he really want to know?
“I need to talk to you about something, Dakota.”
“We don’t have anything to talk about. Not anymore.” Without hesitation, he hit End.
****
Pain ripped through her to the point where it was almost unbearable. Lying down on the bed, she curled into a ball. He’d hung up on her. He hadn’t cared what she had to say. She’d been right; she knew this would happen. The tears fell and her body shuddered. She’d been so stunned when she realized he had actually hung up, she’d stared at the phone as if it had accidentally disconnected them. Then the realization of what it meant had set in and brought the pain with it.
There was no way she could call him back. He’d just hang up again. He was through with her and wanted nothing to do with her ever again, just as he’d said. She’d hurt him the day she refused to stay with him in Wyoming, and he’d never forgive her but she needed his help. Not only for the money, but he’d been a highly successful criminal attorney before leaving that profession to go into ranching and become the local district attorney so that he could work with his brother, Nathan who was the sheriff of Dry River County. Rolling to her back, she stared at the ceiling.
Leaving his law practice to become a small town district attorney and run the ranch was what had torn them apart. What a dreamer, she’d been back then. Being Dakota Walker’s woman had brought her attention and notoriety. He’d been in high demand since he’d never lost a case. Women adored him, but he adored only one woman. Her. God, what a fool she’d been. They’d be married by now, and maybe even working on a family. They’d talked about it all the time—how many kids they wanted.
Tears ran down her temples into her hair. It was her fault; she’d thrown it all away. All because he wanted to leave Colorado, and work on his parents’ ranch after his brother moved out and built his own place. He had told her that he and Nathan had talked about working together for years and now the time had come. Dakota decided on being a prosecutor and Nathan became an officer of the law. Grabbing a pillow, she hugged it tightly to her, and cried into it, remembering the day she first met him...
Sitting in her car in the mall parking lot, she wondered what she was going to do. She’d just been fired from her job as a sales person. Granted it hadn’t been a great job, but it was a job. She was twenty-six years old and she was having trouble finding a good paying job. Both she and Aiden needed to bring in money. He couldn’t do it alone. He’d been her responsibility since he was fifteen. Now they were both working and still getting nowhere.
Working at a local bank, he was doing his best to get her hired there too. It didn’t look good for her though. The bank had more than enough people right now, or so they’d told him. Sighing, Megan put the car’s gear in reverse, backed out, and hit a car behind her. Putting her head against the steering wheel, she exhaled on a groan. Perfect. As if, her day wasn’t already total crap. Looking in the rearview mirror, she saw a man standing at the side of his car with his hands on his hips. Throwing her door open, she stepped out.
“I’m so sorry––” she started to say.
“Yes, you should be sorry. Did you even look before you backed out? Jesus! I’ll have to replace the entire fender. You put a hole in it.” His back was to her. She watched him run his hand through his thick black hair.
It was impossible to take her eyes off him. He was very tall, and wearing a gray pinstriped suit and his black hair touched the top of the suit’s collar. Silently, she pleaded for him to turn around and when he did, the air whooshed out of her body. He was the most magnificent man she’d ever seen. Sexy was the first thought that popped into her head, but even that seemed to be lacking in describing how sexy he actually was.
He looked to be in his late twenties, early thirties maybe. Black eyebrows sat over eyes that were dark brown surrounded by thick lashes. His nose was straight and narrow. He had a clean-shaven jaw, high cheekbones, and a mouth that was heart stopping. A full lower lip that had her wanting to feel it against hers. Hissing in a breath, she was shocked since she’d never had such a reaction to a man before. Their eyes met and held. A slow, sexy smile lifted his lips and heat rushed into her cheeks.
“Dakota Walker,” he said as he stuck his hand out to her.
“Megan Carson.” She put her hand in his and felt a jolt.
Walking to stand near the hole she had put in his car, he looked at her. “Well, Megan Carson. What are we going to do about this?”
“I’m so sorry. You’re right, I didn’t look, and I wasn’t thinking. I’ll contact my insurance co—” She stopped and swallowed when she saw him shaking his head as he walked around the car.
“I don’t think so.” Walking back toward her, he stopped in front of her and folded his arms across his broad chest. “I’d rather you go to dinner with me.”
“Dinner?” she echoed.
“It’s not that bad. I’ll get it fix
ed...if you have dinner with me.” He grinned at her.
Good Lord! If she had thought him sexy before, it was nothing to when he smiled. His teeth were white, straight, and perfect. He was...dangerous, but not in a scary way. This man was dangerous to her heart and libido. She gave him a shy smile.
“You’re telling me, if I have dinner with you, I don’t have to pay for the damage I did to your car—which happens to be a Corvette.”
He grinned again, and her heart hit her stomach. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Megan didn’t know what to say. Dinner? She didn’t know this man but she wanted to. She’d never seen anything sexier on two legs. Her eyes ran over him. His suit was tailor-made and his shoes were Italian leather. He was rich too, it seemed. Not to mention the fact that he drove a Corvette. A Corvette with a hole in the fender. Corvettes didn’t dent like regular cars. Due to what they were made of, when you hit one, instead of dents, you got holes. It would cost a small fortune to have it repaired and she knew her insurance rates would go way up. Sighing, she looked up at him.
“Deal,” she said to him.
Smiling at her, he had her write down her number. She’d tried to convince herself he’d never call since he was out of her league, but two days later he did call and the romance began.
It’s always great in the beginning.
Sitting up, Megan wiped her eyes. If she hadn’t gone to dinner with him, she never would have fallen in love with him but fall she did, and he had too. They’d had a wonderful relationship going for about a year, but then Nathan got married. Dakota wanted to return to Dry River, Wyoming to run for district attorney and help Nathan with the ranch. She wasn’t going to think about that now. What she needed to do was figure out a way to get him to talk to her.
****
Drawing his arm back, Dakota stopped himself from throwing his phone. What the fuck did she want? Why, after all this time, would she call him? If you hadn’t hung up on her, you’d know! Shit! He didn’t care. There was no reason for her to call him. Then why had she?
Practically marching through the house to his office, he took his coat, hat, and gloves off and tossed them onto the leather sofa. Pulling his chair out, he sat down behind the desk. He glanced around the office. It hadn’t changed at all since Nathan had used it. Bookshelves sat filled with books of every kind along one wall containing anything from romance novels to history books. The wall to the right of the desk had a large window with a window seat.
Closing his eyes, he remembered how he and Megan had sat there and kissed.
He jumped up so quickly that the chair hit the wall behind him. He had to get out of here. Not until now had he thought of that moment. It was her fault. If she hadn’t called, he wouldn’t have thought of it.
Memories of her were all through the house. Nathan loved her as much as he had and Megan had loved Nathan too. Then right after Linc married Roni, Dakota told Megan he’d made up his mind about returning to Dry River to take over the ranch and work with Nathan. Her true nature came out and she refused to move here with him. She didn’t want to live on the ranch. He knew for sure, it was the high life in Denver, she craved.
Son of a bitch! It still hurt. She’d ripped his heart from his chest when she refused to leave her brother behind and come to Dry River with him. Now she was calling him. Why? Fuck it!
Walking to his bathroom, he turned the shower on and stripped his clothing off as steam filled the room. Stepping under the hot water, he put his hands against the wall under the spray, and hung his head to let the water stream down over his body. He had to get her out of his mind. Damn her, for managing to get in again at all.
****
“He hung up on you? Why?” Aiden’s annoyed voice came over the phone.
“I told you, he hates me. I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t have the money and Dakota won’t talk to me.”
“Go see him, Megan.”
“Are you out of your mind? No way would he ever see me. He’d probably have me thrown me off the ranch.” Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down before she yelled at him worse.
“I’ll die in here,” Aiden said quietly.
“Quit being so dramatic, Aiden, it can’t be that bad.”
“Don’t even think you know what it’s like being in here. It smells...it’s dirty, and disgusting. I can’t even use the bathroom in private.” Aiden took a deep breath. “Please. Megan, go see him.”
“All right, Aiden. I’ll go see him. But if you don’t hear from me, you’ll know he’s killed me.”
Aiden laughed softly. “He loves you, sis, he’d never kill you.”
“There’s a very thin line between love and hate and I know he’s no longer on the love side.” She sighed. “I’ll get a flight out and talk to him in person. Give me a day or two before you call me again.”
Hanging up, she leaned her head against the refrigerator. Why had she let him talk her into this? She knew Dakota and his temper, and he wouldn’t hesitate to toss her off the ranch. Not for one second.
Chapter Two
“Are you crazy, Megan? You refused to leave Denver for him and now you’re just going to walk onto his ranch and make like all is nice?” Alison shook her head in obvious dismay at her decision.
“I have to. I don’t have a choice. Aiden needs help and Dakota can help him. He was the best lawyer in Denver.”
“Yes, he was. In Denver. He’s not in Denver anymore.”
Megan stopped packing and looked at her friend. “I’m not asking him to defend him, just give advice on what to do. Maybe he knows a good attorney here who he can recommend. Dakota is a prosecutor now anyway, not a defense attorney.” She hated lying to Alison about the real reason she was going to see Dakota.
Alison stared at her. “Are you afraid to see him again?”
Megan had told Alison all about Dakota.
“Terrified,” Megan whispered. “He meant so much to me and I threw it all away. If I hadn’t, I’d be married to him now. I’d probably have a child now too, if I’d stayed with him. The worst part is...I still love him.” Choking back a sob, she took a long shuddering breath. “I always will.”
Alison wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. Megan smiled then pulled away, picked up a sweater, and folded it. As she turned to put it in the suitcase, she saw the picture of Dakota sitting on the bedside table. Picking it up, she ran her fingertip over him.
“He is so gorgeous,” Alison said over Megan’s shoulder.
“I know. I blew it. The best thing that ever happened to me and I blew it.”
“Are you hoping for reconciliation, maybe?” Alison tilted her head as she looked at Megan.
Sitting down on the bed, she shook her head. “No, there’s no possibility of that anymore. If you could’ve seen his face the day I refused to move there with him, you’d know what I mean. He hates me, Alison. Too much has happened, he’ll never love me again.”
They continued to pack the clothes in silence and Megan hoped, once again, that Dakota didn’t throw her off the ranch after traveling so far to see him.
The next day, she drove to the airport. After parking and checking her luggage in, she sat in one of the many uncomfortable plastic chairs and waited for her flight to be called. She dreaded this so much, she’d been hoping the bank wouldn’t let her have time off so she had an excuse not to go but they had, and now her stomach was in knots over the thought of seeing him again. When the voice on the PA announced her flight, the temptation to run the other way was very strong. Sighing, she stood, walked to the ticket agent as if to her execution, and boarded the plane. She could have driven but it would have given her far too much time to think.
The plane landed in Dry River, Wyoming at noon. Snow covered the ground. She smiled as she looked at the Big Horn Mountains in the distance and realized she’d missed seeing them. There were times she’d hated leaving here when they’d come for a visit, but she always changed her mind once they w
ere back in Denver and going to parties again. Entering the car rental building, she waited at the desk for someone to help her. There was no one else around until the door to a back room opened and a young man stepped out.
“Hello. Can I help you?” he asked.
“I need to rent an SUV, please.”
“Sure. Do you want an SUV or just anything with four-wheel drive?”
“SUV with four-wheel drive is fine. As long as this snow doesn’t mix with ice, I’ll be fine.”
“Yes ma’am. We are expecting more snow though.” The young man helped her with the paperwork, handed her keys to a Tahoe, and pointed it out in the parking lot. Giving him a little wave, she walked back outside to the vehicle, climbed in, started it, and then drove the SUV out of the parking lot.
The memories of driving down this road with Dakota had her eyes filling with tears, making it difficult to see. When they’d visited, they’d spend a week or two here with his brother or his friends, and usually went horseback riding before heading back to Denver. It still amazed her that he had even gotten her on a horse. She’d always been terrified of them. But that terror was nothing compared to what she felt now as she drove into the driveway leading to the Slow Creek Ranch, and Dakota Walker.
As she pulled up to the house, memories came flooding back and she remembered the first time she’d seen it, and how she’d fallen in love with it. The two-story log home was beautiful with its wraparound porch. The beautiful Big Horn Mountains sat in the distance and snow fell from the grey sky. So why was it that the idea of living here was something she wouldn’t even consider? She wouldn’t kid herself, she knew why. She had enjoyed the condo that Dakota had in downtown Denver more. The high-class section of the city and the parties he’d taken her to, and she’d fallen in love with the façade of it all, the thought of being with the in-crowd, the upper class.
Her parents never had money. Megan and Aiden grew up without, so she’d wanted to be in the group who had it, and she’d had it for a year with the fancy parties and dinners, the expensive clothes and jewelry, and the rich friends. She’d had it all, and she had a man who many women would have died to have him look twice at them. Dakota was a highly desired man, by not only women but also other law practices. Ruthless in a courtroom, he’d use his skills as an attorney and his charm on the jury. Being in such high demand, he had to turn cases down. His colleagues admired his skill too. Within six months of joining a well-respected law firm at age twenty-nine, he’d been made partner.
Dakota Bad Boys of Dry River, WY Book 5 Page 2
