The sheriff doesn’t reach back out, but Warner has been in contact with us all week about the situation with the human remains that were found. I’ve been bracing myself for the fallout if a band of law enforcement vehicles shows up.
If worse comes to worst, I’ll turn myself in and say that I killed Jed in self-defense. I haven’t told my brothers that, but as the only one without a family or a significant other, it’s the only thing that makes sense. I could serve a few years in prison. I don’t want to because I’ve heard the food sucks and there’s no beer. But I’d survive.
I’d definitely have to kill Matt first though, just to ensure Dallas and the boys were safe while I was gone.
Stop fantasizing about killing him.
I wait in the arena for over an hour, but she doesn’t show. Her minivan is parked outside the bunkhouse, so she either forgot about the lessons or doesn’t want to see me.
While I’m waiting, I throw the lasso around the dummy, looping it repeatedly as my mind wanders.
Sometime over the course of the last few months, I’ve let Dallas Hayes consume my entire being. She’s all I can think about. When she’s not in my bed, I lie awake and think about her. I imagine the feel of her hand in mine and her scent of jasmine and vanilla on my pillow.
She’s infused so far into my brain that I don’t see a way out. I know we agreed to just be friends with benefits, but I’m already struggling with that actually being enough.
The unknown of what’s going on with her boys and the custody situation is another aspect that’s eating me alive. I want her to know she can talk to me, lean on me, confide in me. But for some reason, I can’t even get a text back.
Am I pathetic?
I rub a hand over my face, finally deciding that I need to be a man, get a grip, and just go talk to her. The sky is turning sunset orange when I start walking over to the bunkhouse.
I’m still holding the rope when I knock on the front door. I hear a commotion behind it, followed by little feet on the wood flooring.
“Dutton, don’t just open the door when—” I hear Dallas’s voice as the door swings open, a little boy wearing only a pair of underwear standing behind it.
He pops a Goldfish from his snack bag into his mouth and stares at my rope.
“Hey, bud. What are you up to?”
“Dawson, it’s Cowboy!” he calls back into the house. Then he faces me again. “Mommy sick.”
“Your mom is sick?”
Dallas appears in the doorway then, her nose red. She’s wearing an oversize hoodie despite the warm day and has no makeup on. She’s still beautiful, but she looks like she’s not feeling well.
“You probably don’t want to come in. I might be contagious.” Her eyes drop to the rope in my hand. “Oh shit, I totally forgot. I’m sorry. I should’ve texted you.”
I hand it over to Dutton, who’s still eyeing it curiously. He grabs it and grins, running back to where his brother is on the couch, playing with a toy truck.
“I wish you’d told me. I would’ve come over earlier. Where’s Eden?”
“She went to stay at her brother Adam’s place for a week or so. She didn’t say how long.”
I kick off my boots on the porch and take a step inside.
“Well, you know, as friends and neighbors, it’s my job to lend a hand.”
“Duke, it’s fine. I just need to sleep. I have a bad cold, possibly the flu. I don’t want to get you sick.”
“Who’s taking care of the boys while you’re like this?”
She looks over at the TV, where a cartoon is playing. “TV time to the rescue.”
The boys aren’t even paying attention to it. The place is a wreck. Two plates of half-eaten chicken nuggets are on the coffee table. The kitchen counter is littered with the remnants of the day’s meals that were never finished or cleaned up. A pile of tissues is on the end table.
Dallas gnaws on her lower lip. “Uh, yeah, I was going to clean up after they went to bed. It’s been a lazy day and?—”
“Go sit down. Do you have any medicine? What have you eaten today?”