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His words stunned her. She was captivated by his two younger brothers and was probably falling in love with them, too. Jackson’s demeanor was kind and playful. Phoenix’s was intense and wicked. Dallas’s was very different, yet just as attractive to her. Honest and stable. If he promised to protect her heart, she didn’t doubt that he would follow through. That only added to her desire for him.
“I must be completely crazy to even...” She looked at the giant cowboy, with his sexy, pleading green eyes. Tiny shivers of desire shot through her. “How does something like that kind of relationship work?”
He smiled. “Don’t think about tomorrow, Jessie. You’re strong and smart, sure. But this is a lot to take in. Just concentrate on right now. Let me earn your trust, love.”
Someday she would likely have to walk away from him and his two brothers, no matter what the consequences. “Okay, Dallas. I’m going to focus on the here and now.” She reached across the seat to the driver’s open door where he still stood and offered her hand.
He took her hand and brought it up to his lips. “Thank you, love.”
Chapter Three
Jessie released Dallas’s hand and left the cab of the truck. The full moon lit the landscape, enhancing the surrounding beauty in a soft glow. Dallas came around from the other side of the vehicle. He stepped next within touching distance of her, but didn’t actually touch her.
She couldn’t process the plural marriage bomb he’d dropped at the moment. “Let’s change the subject. Okay?”
“Sure thing.” His smile returned, and the last of her anger evaporated. “We’re good then.”
“We’re good.” Her nerves calmed.
The cowboy sidled up next to her and put his arm around her. It felt really wonderful.
“Is this your house?” She pointed to the rock structure. She knew that when each of the Wilde brothers had turned sixteen they’d received land from their parents to build a house on. At eighteen, they’d been expected to move out of the family home and into their own, kind of a rite of passage in their family.
“I’d love for you to see my house, Jessie.”
The two Wilde brother houses she’d seen so far were amazing. Jackson’s smacked of Frank Lloyd Wright’s influence with its simple lines and warm colors, blending into the scenery that surrounded it. Phoenix’s was stark and ultramodern. It demanded the eye, contrasting completely from the nature around it.
Dallas’s home was just as amazing as the other two, but a completely different design. With its thick rock walls, it looked much older than it could’ve been. A passerby would’ve guessed it to be more than a century at least. Its facade was a testament to Dallas’s youth. The strength and determination he must’ve needed to complete such an undertaking amazed Jessie. This building would last with ease beyond her lifetime and the next generation’s, too.
The surrounding landscape was rough and barely touched. Trees, wildflowers, and patches of grass filled the space around the home. Off in the distance, the mountain peaks poked up into the sky as if an attempt to touch the moon. The air was clean. She looked up into the night’s canopy and spotted the stars that could still be found in the moon’s strongest light. There were tens of thousands of them, twinkling brightly.
Dallas stated softly, “Shall we see what you think of my home compared to Jackso
n’s and Phoenix’s?”
“Competitive?”
He laughed. “Oh, yeah.”
“Then you better show me if I’m to be the judge and jury.”
“I’m sure the court will rule in my favor.”
She studied the exterior. It was impressive. “You should be proud, Dallas. You’re quite the builder.”
“Took me four years to build.”
“Really? I thought you only had two years to build it until you had to move out from your parent’s home?”
“That’s right. I moved out at eighteen, as expected, even though it wasn’t completed. I lived in a tent for almost two years until I finished it. I wanted to build something that would really last. So I settled on stone.”
“Wow.” It looked like a single-story fortress. “I bet it could stand anything Mother Nature might dish out. How thick are the walls?”
“Four feet. I needed the extra time to get just the right boulders.”
“Amazing. You actually lived in a tent.”
He laughed. “Yes, ma’am. Actually, it wasn’t half bad.”
