AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It’s anything but simple. She needs to heal. Focus on that baby.
And me, I have the ranch. With summer slowly approaching, it’s going to take all of us to get it back up and running. Thelodge needs a fresh coat of paint. The chateaus’ need new floors. There’re two horses Ford and I have to haul to Missoula. My loyalty is to my ranch, my brothers, and also the promise I made to Stede.
Protect Dakota.
Not fuck her.
The CB radio buzzes, and Wyatt’s droll voice rings out on the channel I share with my brothers. “We got the Cupcake headed to the barn with the Fairy Tale.”
A growl from Charlie.
I groan at my younger brother’s attempt to play dispatcher. “Knock it off,” I snap into the radio. “And stop calling her Cupcake. Christ.”
That’s my nickname.
Through the window, I watch Dakota follow Ruby out of the lodge. Her dark hair’s peppered with snow, her jacket zipped tight around her belly.
I grin at my secret weapon.
Ruby.
I asked her to get Dakota out of the house this week, knowing it’s impossible for anyone to say no to Ruby.
She needs sunshine, and Ruby and the Montana sky are the best remedies around.
I watch Dakota disappear around the corner, my heart aching.
You’re not helpless.Dakota’s words from last night float into my mind.
Which couldn’t be further from the truth. When it comes to her, Iamfucking helpless.
I avoided her question last night. My nightmares are no longer about my fucked-up mission. For the last two years, they’ve been about Koty. The phone call that won’t go through. Me, screaming out to a girl who won’t answer.
I wish she could see herself the way I see her. Beautiful. Strong. Smart. She has this, even if she doesn’t know it, and I refuse to let her wallow. However long it takes to pull her from the shadows into the sun, I’ll do it.
Wyatt’s lazy drawl rings out. “You got a shit-ton of packages, D.”
Gritting my teeth, I pick up the radio. “Where?”
“Bullshit Box.”
After one last brutal punch, the bag groaning under the momentum, I aim my boots for the ranch. Keena barrels beside me, romping in the fresh coat of snow covering the ground, snapping at snowflakes.
The sight of the Runaway Ranch sign standing tall and proud in the distance resets my mood.
Charlie and Ford, both wearing Stetsons, load up a rusted Chevy with saddles to be repaired in town. They give me a wave and I hold up a hand. As much as I bark at them, working with my brothers is something I would never change.
I trek through the lodge’s gravel lot and head up the deck steps to the Bullshit Box.
Before I can enter, Wyatt greets me at the door with a shit-eating grin. “Girl problems?”
“Wyatt.” I close my eyes, not in the mood. “Tell me something productive or get the fuck out.”
He gives me a salute. “Packages are on your desk.”
It takes me fifteen minutes to unpack it all. I scan what I ordered.
A foam body pillow. Prenatal vitamins. Morning sickness pills, just in case. Bottles. So many types of goddamn bottles.
