Duke
The best fucking kind.
Sam hops back in the truck, a bag of snacks in his hand.
“All right, I got Goldfish, Ritz Crackers, grapes, Cheetos, and blue Gatorade. They didn’t have chicken nuggets, sorry buddy.”
“Yes! I love blue,” Dawson says, leaning over the seat.
“Did you get green?” Dutton asks.
“Ah, sorry, buddy. They didn’t have green.”
Dutton sticks his lower lip out, pouting. I open the bag of Cheetos and hand it back.
“Man, you couldn’t get green?” I ask him.
Sam shakes his head. “They didn’t have it.”
I frown, turning back to Dutton. “What if I get you green tomorrow? Will that be okay?”
Dutton nods, munching on a Cheeto. “Okay, Cowboy.”
“Cool.”
Dutton leans forward, wrapping his little arms around my neck. “I love you, Cowboy. Can we go see Mommy now?”
Emotion chokes me. I pat his hands, attempting to hold back the tears threatening to fall and failing.
“I love you too, buddy. We’re going to see your mom really soon.”
Sam is driving the truck with the cattle trailer and a very drugged-up man thrashing around in the back of it.
It was my idea for him to bring the trailer with him. We’re cattle ranchers. It’s normal for us to drive a long way to pick up a horse or a bull from another ranch.
In this case, I knew none of us would want to be inside a vehicle with Matt for that many hours.
It’s still dark when we make it back to Redford Ranch. The boys slept most of the way, thankfully, but Holden had to take over driving so I could get in the back with them when Dawson woke up with a nightmare and wouldn’t stop crying. He finally fell back asleep on my stomach, his little fist wrapped up in my shirt.
When we pull up to Holden’s house, where Dallas is staying, I lift both the boys up and carry them up to the porch. Holden unlocks the door and pushes it open for me.
I walk in and make my way toward the guest room on the first floor, where I know she is. The door is cracked, so I gently push it open.
Dutton lifts his head. Light from the lamp in the hallways spills inside. Dallas is buried under the pink striped bedding.
I sit on the edge of the bed, gently laying the boys down. “Wake up, Mamas. I got something for you.”
Her eyes flutter open. They’re bloodshot from crying, dark circles heavy underneath them.
“Mommy!”
Then she registers who I just brought back to her. She shoots up from the pillow with a sob. Dutton jumps on her, followed by Dawson, who was still half asleep when I carried him in.
“Oh my God, oh my God!” She sobs into their little shoulders, clutching them tightly to her chest. “My sweet babies!”
Tears are streaming down my cheeks when her eyes rise to meet mine.
“Thank you,” she sobs.
