by Milan Watson
Ford shrugged. “Lace? What happened to plaid?”
“Plaid is from the old west, honey, this is the new west,” Kelly said sweetly before turning back to Gemma and Betty.
Dusty saw how Ford unconsciously draped his arm around Kelly’s chair, the type of affection his brother had never shown any woman before. He still couldn’t believe how hard or fast Ford had fallen for Kelly.
“Will you be wearing lace?” Drake’s voice had never irritated Dusty more than in that moment. To watch his younger brother flirt with Gemma was like watching someone fall from a Mustang, it was inevitable that it would end up with pain, for Drake at least.
Gemma laughed. “I just might, although I don’t think it would look too great with this ankle brace.”
Drake leaned into her. “I think it would look just fine.”
Dusty caught the blush on Gemma’s cheeks and lowered his stare to his meal. All through dinner the engagement party was discussed with Drake flirting every chance he got. By the time everyone’s plates were clear Dusty wanted some fresh air, but he knew the rules. “I’ll clear up.”
He collected the dirty dishes and moved to the kitchen to rinse them before stacking them in the dishwasher, but although he had removed himself from the table Drake’s voice still carried to him.
“If you think you’ll have trouble with them stairs, Gemma, I wouldn’t mind giving you a ride up,” Drake said in the same voice he used to charm girls at The Barn on Friday nights.
Dusty purposely clanged a pot louder than necessary to distract Gemma from answering. When he glanced up he saw her watching him with that knowing look. A look that spoke of the past, that spoke of stolen kisses and hot summer days. Dusty felt his throat close up from wanting her. How was it possible that he could want her this much after what she did?
“I’ll help Gemma to bed,” Kelly offered, sensing the tension in the room.
“Clayton, I think I’m going to turn in as well,” Betty said as she stood up.
Dusty didn’t move as the women and his father all headed to bed. As soon as the large living area was clear he turned to Drake. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Drake got up, letting the chair scrape on the plank floor as he moved to Dusty. “I’m doing nothing I can be blamed for. She’s a pretty girl and right within my reach.”
Dusty stepped forward, leaving barely an inch between him and Drake. “She’s staying here in a professional capacity; try to remember your manners.”
Drake chuckled. “You’re into her, aren’t you? I thought that ship had sailed a long time ago.”
Drake’s soft laughter grated on Dusty’s nerves more than he wanted to admit. “I’m not into her; I’m just saying back the hell off.”
“Or what?” Drake challenged. Of all the Caldwell men, Drake was a known player. He fell in love about as often as Dusty polished Sammy’s saddle, and out of love just as much. “You couldn’t keep her interested in the past, no harm in me trying. Perhaps she just hooked up with the wrong brother.”
Before Dusty knew it his fist flew out and landed straight on Drake’s jaw. He hadn’t punched one of his brothers since he was in high school, but the crunch of his knuckles against bone didn’t give him the same sense of satisfaction it had back then.
Drake cursed as he lifted an arm to swing back but Ford caught his fist just in time, restraining it back. At the same time Dusty felt Logan’s hand grab him by the scruff and pull him away.
“That’s enough!” Ford said with a low voice.
Drake rubbed his jaw, shaking his head.
“He was asking for it,” Dusty explained, wishing Ford hadn’t stepped in.
Drake chuckled. “You mean you’re too chicken shit to ask for what you really want? Ain’t that the truth.” He shook his head and shrugged free before walking out the front door.
Dusty cursed. “I shouldn’t have let him get under my skin.”
Ford cocked a brow. “The real question is if he got under your skin because he was right?”
“What the heck is going on down here?”Clayton called from the top of the stairs.
Logan, always the peacemaker stepped forward. “You know Dusty and Ford, they’re roughhousing again.”
“Well git, I’m tryin’ to get some sleep up here,” Clayton said before he turned and headed back to his room.
Dusty gave Logan a grateful look before he headed out the front door as well. Instead of heading to his own place he headed to the stables. He needed something to clear his mind and right now the love of his life was the best option.
As soon as he was out the door Logan turned to Ford. “This is going to be a problem. Dusty still cares for her and now Drake has the hots for her.”
Ford shook his head. “Drake knows where he stands now, he’ll back off. Question is if Dusty is going to step up.”
Chapter 14
Gemma let out a contented sigh as she closed the door of the pickup. She hadn’t looked forward to spending an afternoon with Dusty, especially not after this morning.
She had woken up in the Caldwell home feeling disoriented and her ankle protesting after driving the day before. When she finally hobbled downstairs to find coffee it was only to be met with complete silence from Dusty, Drake and Ford. Drake sported a dark purple bruise on his jaw and not one of them spoke to each other even though they all greeted her.
Something had happened and she had a feeling it had something to do with her. She wanted nothing more than to go home, but after spending the afternoon at the construction site she knew she would need to check in regularly. They had to move one cabin three feet to the right to accommodate a large boulder, and there were bound to be other small changes to come.
Although she wouldn’t admit it she was grateful for only having to ride shotgun back to the house instead of all the way back to town. Dusty had barely said two words to her all afternoon; although he had stayed within arm’s reach the whole time. Every time she seemed to miss a step he was already reaching out to catch her, luckily she managed to regain her balance every time and didn’t need his rescuing or the assault on her senses from his touch.
He climbed in and gunned the engine without even glancing her way. Shifting the pickup into gear he started up the dirt road that would take them back to the main house.
Gemma searched the lines of his face and wondered when he had become so hard. Where was the fun guy she had fallen in love with? The one who could flirt and make her smile, or make a double entendre and wait for her to blush.
A sigh escaped her as she shook her head. The past might be in the past but it was clearly affecting their current business relationship. If this project was going to work they needed to be able to talk, and right now he couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as her.
Gemma had laid awake so many nights wondering what had gone wrong between them. Perhaps she needed to dig up the past to deal with the atmosphere currently riding shotgun in the pickup with them. “Dusty?”
Dusty glanced at her briefly before turning his gaze back to the road. “Yeah?”
“Why are you so angry with me?” Her voice was soft, barely loud enough to hear over the roar of the engine. “Back then… I’m still not sure what happened.”
Dusty yanked the handbrake, bringing the pickup to a sudden stop before he turned to her with a narrowed look. “Really? You’re not sure what happened?”
“Please, I don’t want to fight.” Gemma said with a sigh. “I just don’t understand what happened that you’re so angry with me. You’re the one that stopped calling and coming around. I’m the one that should be furious,” Gemma said, getting on a good mad of her own.
Dusty climbed out of the pickup with a curse before moving around and dropping the tailgate. Gemma felt the pickup shift when he hoisted himself up. Anger was brimming off him and judging by Drake’s jaw she wasn’t even sure if she should push any more today, but deep down she knew Dusty would never harm her – or any other woman.
She opened the door of the pickup and put out her crutches to hold her weight before shifting herself out. Carefully she hobbled over the rocks and dirt to the tailgate. She turned and braced her hands before hoisting herself up next to him. She didn’t say a word; instead she sat by him overlooking Falcon Falls, waiting for him to make the next move.
After what felt like an eternity he turned to her with a searching gaze. “You really don’t remember what happened?”
Gemma shook her head, swallowing as his aftershave drifted to her on the breeze. For a moment she thought of all the men she had dated in Denver and not a single one had made her nervous and excited at the same time. “I just remember you blew me off. Are you saying that isn’t what happened?”
Dusty shifted and leaned closer until his lips were barely an inch from hers. “Close your eyes.”
Gemma frowned. “Dusty, I’m not in the mood for games.”
Dusty shook his head, his warm brown eyes sparking with anger. “You want to know what happened I’ll tell you, but only if you close your eyes.”
Gemma shrugged and finally did as she was told. She could hear the emotion in his voice as he began to speak. “Imagine meeting someone for the first time and just knowing you had to have him. Imagine keeping tabs on him all through high school but always keeping your distance because he was involved with someone else. Needing and wanting him from afar for years. Feeling your blood simmer whenever he turned his gaze on you…”
Gemma’s breath caught. With her eyes closed she focused on his voice and his proximity, realizing that right now she was more turned on that she had been in a very long time.
“Now imagine that person finally being free. You wait at a distance for them to heal and mourn the broken relationship, just biding time until you finally make your move. Then one night you take your chance with honky-tonk music playing in the background and their friends watching on from a distance. That night you realize that every single thing about her was better than you imagined. Her hair was softer, her lips sweeter, her smile even more powerful when aimed directly at you.”
Gemma was taken back through time to that night at The Barn with Bobby. She remembered their first dance, their first kiss, and the first time he looked at her as if the world started and ended with her.
“You spend the next few weeks of summer falling head over heels in love, not stopping even for a moment to consider you were falling too fast. Besides, I’d been waiting for you for almost two years…”
His voice cracked as he began speaking directly to her instead of in the third person.
“I knew it was too soon, but I didn’t hesitate because I wanted you Gemma. I wanted everything we were too young to want. I wanted a future with you; I wanted to build a life with you. I tried to slow myself down but my heart was rushing in at full speed. You were… everything to me…”
Gemma felt a tear slip from her eyes as she opened them. Heat had pooled between her thighs even as it ripped her apart to hear the emotion in his voice. This was the Dusty she remembered, the one she had ached for months after arriving in Denver.
Dusty’s gaze was pained but he still hadn’t moved. Her heart swelled in her chest wanting to take that hurt from him. “Then what happened, Dusty? … I wanted all of that too…”
Dusty scoffed, shaking his head. “I’ll give it to you. I’ve never seen someone lie with a straight face before.”
The look he gave her was cool, even cooler than the one he had given her back then. It was as if someone had just doused her with a bucket of ice-water, putting out all the flames that had just caught light.
The anger was back and Gemma realized she still didn’t have her answers. “What are you talking about?” Gemma asked, confused. “What happened, Dusty, what changed what we had? One day we were talking about going to Denver together and the next you just stopped calling. What did I do wrong?”
Dusty searched her eyes and shook his head. “I came over one night to surprise you. Ford was heading to Whiskey Woes to catch up with some friends so I walked to your parent’s place. I hoped you’d be surprised to see me, happy even. Instead… there you were sitting with Joe Parker on the porch swing. He had his arm wrapped around your shoulders; you were gazing into his eyes… You told me things were over with you two that first night we kissed but that evening I saw it with my own eyes. You were seeing him on the sly while leading me on as well. What was I – a little distraction?” he asked with anger blazing in his gaze. “That was the night I lost my trust in women, the night I lost my trust in you…”
Gemma shook her head completely baffled. “Wait? What? You saw me with Joe Parker?”
“On the porch swing at your parent’s house,” Dusty confirmed as Gemma’s world began to fall apart around her. “I stayed in the shadows – didn’t want to ruin your tender moment.” His voice held the bite of pure acid.
“And that’s why you stopped calling? That’s why you didn’t text me? You stupid barbaric fool!” Gemma found her outrage was just waiting to explode.
“What was I supposed to do, Gemma? Try and compete for your heart with Joe Parker, who you’d dated through most of high school. Hell, we barely had three dates.”
Gemma huffed as she shifted herself off the tailgate. She steadied herself on her crutches before meeting his gaze. “You were supposed to trust me, Dusty. That’s what you were supposed to do. If you’d come up to the porch that night, or even just called me, I would’ve told you.”
“Told me what, that you and Joe patched things up? I could see it with my own eyes and didn’t need any explanations.”
“You idiot!” Gemma cried out. “We didn’t patch things up. He heard that I was seeing you and came by to ask me back. If you stayed around another five seconds you would’ve seen me shoving him away and getting off the damn porch swing before I told him to leave and never come back. I told him that I finally found someone I wanted to spend my life with.”
Dusty looked like he’d just seen a ghost. His mouth opened and closed again. “You and Joe didn’t get back together?”
“No, we didn’t. If you don’t mind I’d like to get back to the house now. I’ve suffered enough idiots for one day.”
Gemma couldn’t believe that she had lost years of her life wondering about what if’s just because Dusty hadn’t trusted her. If he had stayed around she would’ve told him all about Joe groveling, instead he’d made his own assumptions and broken her heart.
She struggled into the cab of the truck and slammed the door. Dusty took a few minutes before he finally came around and climbed in. He didn’t say a word as he glanced at her. Gemma could suddenly understand his anger because she was feeling it right now. “Just drive,” she bit out before turning her gaze out the window.
Gemma couldn’t help but feel regret wash over her. She’d been too hurt when Dusty hadn’t called that she didn’t want to embarrass herself by calling him. Now, years later, it was too late to rectify a misunderstanding, especially one that could have changed her entire life.
All she could hope for now was to put the past behind her and finally move on from the Caldwell who had stolen her heart all those years ago. Because if he didn’t trust her, there was nothing to go back to.
Chapter 15
Dusty didn’t drive; he sat with his one hand on the steering wheel and the other itching to reach out to her. He asked her to close her eyes while he talked because if he looked into her eyes long enough he would fall again.
He had been so sure of what he’d seen that night he had never told another soul, simply because he didn’t want Gemma’s reputation tarnished in Saddleback Ridge. Now it was hard to accept that he was the one who deceived her. If he had called, gone to talk to her, or even just stayed for five seconds longer things could’ve been so different.
He let his eyes trail along the lines of her face, remembering how smooth her skin felt beneath his fingers. He could feel need pool in his groin even as his heart ached for her touch. It was
stronger now than it ever was back then. It was as if he was looking at a part of his soul, a part he couldn’t have back.
She was sitting barely a few inches from him and yet he couldn’t reach out and touch her. Everything in her body language spoke of anger and disappointment. Just like he’d been furious with her for cheating on him, she was furious with him now for not trusting her.
He thought he’d knock her on her ass by revealing that he knew about her reconciliation with Joe Parker; all he’d managed was to knock himself down. Dusty had never fought his brothers over a woman before and yet he’d punched Drake for just flirting with her. The emotions were too complicated to understand, the draw too strong to ignore.
“You still need to head into town,” Gemma finally said, not meeting his gaze.
Dusty nodded and hit the gas. Whatever he wanted to find between them he wasn’t going to find it today. Too much time had passed and although they were both stumped by the misunderstanding that had drawn them apart, it seemed neither of them was ready to face the heat simmering between them in the cab as he drove back to the ranch.
After making sure she was safely inside and being entertained by Kelly, he started to head out. One of his horses had a weeping eye and although he knew exactly what the horse needed, he didn’t have that salve in stock. He had to stop by Blake to pick up some before he stopped to get some more of Betty’s wine. With three women living on the ranch a bottle a week was coming short.
As he climbed into the truck Kelly rushed out. “Dusty wait!”
Dusty rolled down the window as Ford’s fiancée jogged towards the pickup. “Could you stop by Bobby’s? Apparently she got some things from Gemma’s apartment but she won’t be able to make it out tonight.”
“Fine.” Dusty groaned.
“What happened with you two? You both seem in a foul mood since you came back from the construction site? Everything alright with the dude ranch plans?”
“They’re just peachy,” Dusty said with a tip of his hat before he pulled away.
