Dax: Military Heroes (The One I Want Series Book 4)
Page 7
“It was the night of the Spring Formal.” A tear slipped out. “I blew all my exams afterward. I couldn’t focus.”
“I’m certain you did well on your tests. You’re a smart girl.”
“You’re not upset?”
“Why would I be upset? Give it some time. I’m sure the two of you can figure things out.”
There was something in his expression. Anger and rage, but also something much more concerning. Her father’s smile faltered, as if the bottom had dropped out of his world.
Or maybe, she imagined the reaction, transferring her residual emotions onto her father’s expressions. Whatever it was, her father recovered quickly. A soft smile turned up from the grim press of his lips.
“I don’t think there will be any figuring it out. Not after what he did.”
“There has to be more to the story, Danielle. You’ve got some time apart. Once you see each other again, and have a minute to talk, maybe things will be different. You’re a smart girl who thinks everything through. You’ll figure this out too.”
Her father liked Scott and had already accepted him into the family. He didn’t understand there would be no going back. She and Scott were a thing of the past, but she wasn’t going to argue with him. He would have to process the disappointment on his own, just like she was would.
She gripped her father’s shirt and gave a light tug. “It’s good to see you.”
Her father and Scott got along well, and Scott asked her father for his blessing before presenting her with that ring. It had to be a disappointment to know the son he thought he was getting turned out to be the biggest douchebag in the world. And she knew the two of them had talked about the ranch and what the future might bring. Scott was supposed to take over operations while her father moved into retirement.
Calling off the engagement affected her father as well.
She didn’t know what would happen now. There were no sons to hand the ranch down to, and she had a career as a veterinarian to pursue.
He gripped her shoulders and bent his knees until he could look her in the eye. “He’s lucky he’s not here. If he were, I’d cut his balls off.”
“Daddy!”
“I would. Either that or use him for target practice.” He wiped at her tears. “We’ll make do and he’s going to be sorry when you take over the world.”
“I’m not taking over the world.”
“With all your girl power? You’re definitely taking over.”
She laughed beneath his praise. He’d always been her number one fan.
“We’ll see.”
“You can do anything you want, Danielle, and he’s a fool for cheating on you. But, don’t make the mistake of closing off your heart. People make mistakes.” Her father released her and straightened to his full, towering height. “Now, let’s get inside and put some food in your belly. Are you hungry? Or did you stop at Marge’s for pie?”
“Pie and ice cream. Caitlyn was there.”
“Ah, well, I’m surprised you came home at all. I’m sure you two wanted to catch up.” He took the steps off the porch easily and retrieved her bags from the back seat of the Jeep.
“I knew you’d be waiting and I didn’t want you to worry.”
“You could’ve called.” He took the steps back up in slow motion, not because of age, her father was a man who never hurried. His idea of rushing was to bend his head downward and saunter with a bit more swagger. That’s just the kind of man he was, born with a calm disposition and a steady outlook.
“I know, but I wanted to see you.” She held the door for him.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and ushered her inside. The rest of the evening they spent talking about her school, her plans for next year, and the clerkship opportunities which might be available.
He wanted her to take her clerkships in Montana, as close to home as possible, but she didn’t want to limit herself if she didn’t have to. He didn’t push, or force his wishes on her, but continued with his steady support and confidence that his little girl could do anything she wanted.
She asked how calving season was going, knowing the ranch tended to struggle this time of year and he asked about her drive home.
“I got a flat.”
He arched a brow. “You did?”
“Yes. A guy stopped to help.”
“Really?” He leaned forward and placed his elbow on his knee. “You were safe?”
“I was safe.”
“You can never tell. Did you have your gun?”
“Yes. I had it.”
“You didn’t try changing it yourself?”
She explained about the problem with the lug nuts and the less than stellar man who helped, then abandoned her to finish the job.
“Well, that’s strange, but it’s hard to find good men. Seems like he helped as you needed it.” Somehow, her father knew there was more to the story. He would never ask, and would never accuse her of having a smart mouth, but it was implied in the way he rolled the cigar between his fingers and in the long, steady look he leveled her direction. “I’m assuming you managed to change the tire since you’re sitting here.”
“I did, no thanks to him.”
Her father gave a shrug. “Sometimes helping someone can be problematic. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking his side.”
“Not taking any sides. Just saying I know my daughter.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I didn’t raise you to be a damsel in distress.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t need help from time to time.”
“Now, that is probably the wisest thing you’ve said all night. Sometimes, it can be hard to let others help. This isn’t the first time you’ve had this problem.”
That comment had her flopping back on the couch with exasperation. She’d been known to be strong willed growing up. Her father raised her to be independent and she let everyone know she could take care of herself. Sometimes, that came at a price.
“I don’t want to talk about that anymore. Tell me about the ranch. Have you found any help?”
“Well, I hired on a good man. He knows a lot about cattle and is a Godsend.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” Her father needed someone who was a real asset to help out this time of year.
They talked until he started to yawn. Still early in the evening, she shooed him to bed, knowing he would be up before dawn. In the echoing silence of the house, she cleaned the dishes and headed to the back porch to read before going to bed.
A chill hung in the air, but it wasn’t too cold that she was uncomfortable. Unseasonably warm for spring, she enjoyed the stillness of the night air and stared up at the sky looking for shooting stars. As she daydreamed about her future, the stars put on a show.
Then she saw it.
The ruddy glow of a fire on one of the distant hills. Someone was out in the back pasture. Flames flickered in the night, but didn’t spread. It had to be a campfire. Nobody should be out there, and she considered waking her father to check it out.
But it was late, and she didn’t want to bother him. She would, however, investigate first light. If there was a drifter camping out on their land, he would need to be dealt with, one way or the other.
Eventually, the warmth of her bed called to her and she snuggled beneath the thick blankets, drifting off into a sleep filled with dreams of a man in worn blue jeans.
Chapter 9
Dani
Bright light woke her the next day, shining through a gap in her curtains. She stretched and pulled on a faded pair of jeans, her boots, a tee-shirt, and a light jacket for riding. A quick peek inside her father’s bedroom confirmed he was already gone.
She fixed a light breakfast, then headed out to the barn. Her horse, Honey whinnied when she sniffed at Dani’s approach, and they spent a few minutes reconnecting before Dani took Honey out of the stall and saddled the mare.
Wit
h her backpack full of supplies, she planned on a day roaming the ranch. She didn’t know how often her father got Honey out for a ride, and decided to spend the day with her horse while the weather held. This time of year, blue skies and fair weather were transient things to be enjoyed, and she had deep thoughts to sort out. Top of that list was how to deal with school, and avoiding Scott, while she finished out the semester.
Honey enjoyed the freedom of being out of the barn and Dani gave the horse the lead, nudging gently with her knees to guide them toward the back pasture and the hill where she’d seen the campfire last night.
Honey picked her way across the field, walking and cantering, flicking her tail, and enjoying a little taste of freedom. Eventually, they made it to where Dani thought the fire should be, and sure enough, some asshole had built a ring of rocks. The charred remains of a fire blackened the ground inside.
A quick check revealed a man-sized depression in the low grass, the tracks of a single horse, and more concerning, the deep impressions of one of her father’s cattle, probably a bull by the depth of the tracks.
She would need to speak with her father, because there was no reason for anyone to be traveling across their lands. Cattle thievery, in general, was a thing of the past, but there were still stories of the occasional rancher who had to deal with unscrupulous men. Looked like someone had a mind to run off with one of their cattle.
She climbed back into the saddle and followed the tracks. This close to the mountains, their ranch was more a series of rolling hills than flat plains. A river ran through the land, forming bluffs with sharp drop offs to the river below.
That river began as Bear Creek, after which their town was named. Bear Creek wound its way down from town, joining with other tributaries, and grew wider and calmer as it entered their land. Crystal clear from snow runoff from the mountains, she spent most summers swimming in the icy waters. It was one of the few ways to escape the sweltering summer heat.
This time of year, the water in the river was barely above freezing, which was why the sound of splashing drew her up short.
She veered away from the path the interloper took and crested the rise of a bluff which overlooked the river. The tracks of the man’s horse, and the bull, veered to the south, working down to the river.
Alone, she was no match to meet a man head on, but she could take a look from the safety of the bluff, not to mention she had a gun. She dismounted Honey and tied the mare to a low hanging branch of one of the few trees just out of sight. She walked the rest of the way up to the bluff, crouching low so as not to reveal her position.
Her eyes widened when the naked man in the water stood to his full height. Broad shoulders rippled with muscles and tapered down to a slender waist and tight buns. Holy sculpted masterpiece.
Her jaw dropped.
He faced away from her, running his hands down his body, then suddenly his entire body went still. He cocked his head, listening, then returned to washing himself. His clothes were stretched out on a boulder sticking out of the water within arm’s reach of him. They dried in the sun and she spied toiletry items on top of the clothes.
The muscles of his back flexed as he scrubbed at his hair and he ran his hands across the front of his chest, moving them in circles. Her mouth went dry thinking about all the hard angles and ridges of muscles on the front of his torso.
His movements were slow, sensual and full of masculine perfection, completely entrancing, and he moved as though he was aware of everything and anyone. Only, he didn’t seem to be aware of her peeking over the edge of the bluff.
She wanted him to turn around and silently sent out a plea for just that, as if the universe would grant such a wish.
A rich lather covered his head, trickled down the broad expanse of his back, and washed away in the slow flowing waters. The firm globes of his ass flexed, and she propped up on her elbows to stare at the perfection of his lean, muscular body.
That’s when she noticed the scars across his shoulders and along his back. There were so many and they were relatively new. Pink, puckered skin drew tight into angry lines. From the tip of his shoulder to the crack of his ass, the entire expanse of his back was littered with horrific scars; a testament to a horrendous injury in his recent past.
She couldn’t help but gasp.
He immediately erupted into action, leaping toward the boulder and pulling a rifle out from beneath the stack of clothes. When he spun around, she slammed flat against the ground and prayed he didn’t catch her spying, but the rifle was already rising and pointing directly at where she hid.
“It’s not polite to stare.” The deep, rumbly bass of his voice penetrated the distance. “I know you’re up there. Might as well show yourself.”
It couldn’t be. The man was her stranger.
She lifted her head and peeked down. He lifted his chin, eyes glinting with steel. He squinted against the early morning light and there was no denying the truth.
That was Dax.
How had he known she was up on the bluff? She’d been absolutely quiet and there was no way he could have heard that tiny gasp.
Water streamed down his nakedness and when he straightened, his body moved with a sinuous glide of power and lethal intent. The water revealed more than it hid beneath his waist. His chin lifted, bringing the intensity of his gaze to pierce the distance between them. Although half a river and a forty-foot bluff separated them, she felt as if he could leap the distance in a heartbeat.
Reason said she needed to inch back, run for her horse, and gallop the hell away, but she found herself pushing off the ground as she revealed her location. A few steps, and she was at the edge of the forty-foot cliff. She readied to lock herself in a battle of wills with the most confusing man she’d ever run across.
Standing at the edge of the bluff, she glanced down at the near side of the river. Under a copse of trees, hidden from her before, his horse and a steer stood in stoic silence, while a dog curled up on the ground. That dog lifted its nose and sniffed the air.
Silence descended between them, echoing in the beating of her heart and thundering in the ragged pull of her breathing. The wind whistled across the rolling hills, but it was the stillness between them that made her suck in her breath.
“You don’t belong here.” She finally managed to get the words out, and fumbled with the gun in the holster at her hip.
“Says who?”
“Says me.” She aimed the gun at him. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but this is private land. I’ll call the Sheriff.”
“Go away, little girl.” His husky drawl whispered across her skin, lifting the fine hairs of her arms.
“You go away. You don’t belong here.” She widened her stance and lifted her gun. “I have a gun.”
“So I see.” His eyes pinched. “The question is whether you know how to use it. As I remember, you seemed to brag about being a decent shot. Somehow, I’m not impressed.” He lifted the barrel of his rifle. “I, on the other hand, am an expert marksman. How about you put that pistol down before you hurt yourself.”
“You, arrogant prick.”
“Wow, such manners, although I’m not surprised. You seem to have difficulty with gratitude.”
“Me?”
“Yes, little girl. You. The one pointing a pistol at me while I’m naked and defenseless.”
“You don’t look very defenseless and you’re pointing a rifle at me.”
“Only because you’re trying to sneak up on me.”
“I’m not sneaking up on anyone.” She pointed to the bull. “I’m tracking down a cattle thief.”
His face broke into a cheeky grin. “Is that what you think?”
“Proof’s in the pudding. That bull belongs to my father. If you don’t leave right now—”
“You’ll what?” He kept the barrel of his rifle pointed at her chest.
Unlike her pistol, which grew heavier with each second, he held his without any sign of fatigue.
“I haven’t done anything wrong.” He took a step forward. The water lapping at his waist dipped, and the V-shaped ridges of muscles over his hips angled down, dragging her gaze with them
Dax continued out of the water, and every step seemed to occur in slow motion. He didn’t rush and kept his gaze locked on her, through the sight of his rifle. The confidence in his stride kept her mouth gaping and her pulse pounding. He slowly rose out of the water revealing every glorious and erect inch of his tight and toned, body.
Her breath hitched and she lowered the pistol. He made no attempt to hide his erection, or any other part of his naked body.
He walked away from the clothes spread out on the boulder in the middle of the river and slowly lifted the barrel of the rifle to adjust for his new position.
“Like I said, little girl, it’s not polite to stare. Do you like what you see? Because you really should be paying attention to me and not my cock.” His expression slipped.
She gulped, eyes fixated on the perfection of his body and the prominent evidence of his arousal. Was that because of her? Or was it simply the way men were?
His husky drawl was all the more potent due to the thick Texas twang layered on top. He continued to walk out of the river, closing the distance, and moved with such stealth she couldn’t hear the tread of his bare feet on the soil. The man moved like death, a lethal powerhouse of deadly force she should run away from. But, her feet were rooted in one spot and there was no way she could turn her back on…that.
Thankfully, she had the protection of the bluff. Steep walls kept him down by the river and her safely forty-feet up an impassible cliff, although she had a sinking feeling that wouldn’t stop him. She tightened her grip on her pistol.