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“Right.” He broke away from her, leaning back in his seat, beads of sweat trickling from his brow. Her hand was still on his crotch. “Damn.” He exhaled slowly, his breath whooshing from his strong body. “You get to me, woman.”
Dusty removed her hand from him and leaned back into the passenger seat, trying to steady her breathing. “I-I don’t mean to.”
He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers together. “It’s not a bad thing, darlin’.”
With those words, she catapulted back into reality. It was a bad thing. She had to stop it.
Oh, she didn’t want to. She ached for him, for his kisses, for his touch, for his sex embedded deep inside her. But she had to end this. She couldn’t get close to him, couldn’t let him in.
Couldn’t risk him learning the truth.
Quick as lightning, she disentangled her hand from his, grabbed the door handle, and fled.
Chapter Five
Zach cursed as Dusty ran away from him, her shirttail billowing in the winter breeze. The Colorado winter was mild, an Indian summer that had continued through January. No snow to speak of yet. Zach wanted to run after her, to find out what was wrong, but he was so hard he couldn’t move.
What was it about this woman? He wanted her like he had never wanted anything. Clearly, she felt it too. So why did she keep running away?
He fished his keys out of his pocket, turned on the engine of his truck, and opened the windows, letting the January breeze flow through the cab. He thought it might help him cool off, but he didn’t hold much hope. He wanted to go after her, but she was out of sight now, and he had no idea where to look.
What could be troubling her? Was it his fault? He was the one who’d forced her to talk about her mother earlier, but she had seemed okay with that. Maybe it was the money thing. She and Sam were sharing a hotel room. Were things really that tight for them? Only one person, besides Dusty, had the answers. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Chad.
“Hey, Zach,” Chad said into his ear.
“Hey. Have you
seen Sam this morning?”
“Yeah, he’s right here with me. We’re checking out some of the livestock, and then we’re going to head out for a bite of lunch. You want to meet us?”
“That’d be great, little brother.”
“Hey, I’m taller than you are.”
“You’re still my little brother. Where should I meet you?”
“M and D’s Barbecue. In about half an hour.”
“Great. I’ll be there.”
And I will find out what is going on with Dusty. Figuring out that sweet little thing had somehow become a priority for him.
* * *
M and D’s had the best barbecue in the nation. At least in Chad’s vocal opinion, and Zach agreed. Sam, however, had tears in his eyes and water running out his nose after the first few bites.
“I told you not to get the spicy sauce,” Chad said, laughing at his friend. “A Montana boy can’t take all the pequin and jalapenos.”
“Peking what?” Sam said, reaching for his water glass.
“Not Peking, you moron. This ain’t China. Pe-keen. As in hot chile peppers.” Chad motioned to their waitress. “We’re gonna need lots more water here. And a few Kleenex, please.” Chad turned to his brother. “You’re quiet today.”
“Ain’t much to say.” Zach munched on his ribs and turned to Sam. “O’Donovan, you’re red as a beet.”
“Really, I’m fine.” Sam coughed and drank more water.
“Dusty and I worked with Diablo this morning,” Zach heard himself say.
