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The running joke was that the water in the river was too thick to drink and too thin to plow. Captain Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition had named it Redstone River. But the Native Americans called it Powder River because the black shores reminded them of gunpowder and that name had stuck.
For Duffy, the river and this basin was what kept his family here in this isolated place. As he looked up at the endless sky overhead and felt the last of the sun’s rays on his face, he yearned to leave and see what was out there beyond the Powder River Basin.
It wasn’t a love for the land or his roots holding him back. He honestly didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life. Here on the ranch, he didn’t have to worry about it. He was Holden McKenna’s son. That was all he had to be. Deacon Yates, the ranch manager, oversaw the running of the place. The ranch hands did the work. Duffy helped when he had to or when he wanted to spend more time with Pickett.
So what was keeping him here? he asked himself. His best friend and Oakley Stafford. He might not love the land like the rest of his family seemed to, but Pickett was his best friend and he’d grown attached to the girl next door. If they would have gone with him, he would have left years ago.
Pickett was now back east. Who knew if he’d even come back to the ranch? It made Duffy want to leave, too. But he couldn’t imagine leaving without Oakley.
Unfortunately, he feared she might not see him as any more than a friend. He’d been afraid to find out. But he was tired of playing it safe, he thought as he saw her pickup headed his way.
Tonight, without Pickett here, he planned to find out. Her truck slowed. He stayed where he was leaning on his truck, waiting. She parked and looked over at him. He motioned for her to get out.
He could tell that she was all business, as she usually was on the nights Dirty Business met. The woman was driven. He knew that she seldom dated. He had the feeling that she was waiting for something. Or was it someone? When not on the ranch or stirring up trouble elsewhere, she spent her time with him and Pickett. Because they were safe?
Thinking of what he’d seen between her and Pickett the other night, he feared that had changed.
She climbed out of her truck and walked toward him, hands on her hips. “What’s up?” Normally, whoever was driving would be waiting in the truck ready to go. “I don’t want to be late for the meeting.”
He pushed himself off the side of his pickup and moved to her, taking hold of her shoulders and backing her up against the side of her pickup. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to do.” He pressed a palm on each side of her, trapping her against the side of the cab as he moved closer.
“Duffy? What are you doing? I need to tell you something on the way to the meeting. We should get going.” She’d gone from possibly amused to annoyed.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a very long time.”
She cocked her head at him, waiting impatiently.
He grinned. “Don’t pretend you didn’t know.”
“Duffy!” She tried to step under his arm, but he blocked her.
He leaned closer. “You’re going to break my heart, aren’t you?” But he didn’t give her a chance to answer as he kissed her. It was just as he knew it would be; her lips full, her taste sweet. But after a moment, he realized that she wasn’t kissing him back.
He broke off the kiss to look at her and saw from her expression that she hadn’t felt it. Not only that, but also she seemed to think he was joking around. “I can do better,” he said.
She shook her head as she put both hands on his chest and pushed him back. “If you’re through fooling around, we need to get going.”
“Thought I’d give it a try,” he said, pretending he really had only been joking as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. “Most women swoon at one of my kisses.”
Oakley laughed. “You sure that’s what they’re doing?” she said as she pushed past him to head for his truck. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”
OAKLEYHADTROUBLEconcentrating during the meeting. She’d been convinced earlier that Duffy had been only kidding around as usual. But on the ride to the meeting, he wasn’t himself. She’d planned to tell him about the Lees brothers threatening CJ, but he’d seemed distracted, even distant.
He hadn’t been serious, had he? She recalled his words. “You’re going to break my heart, aren’t you?” What if he wasn’t joking?
She felt awful at the thought that she’d hurt him. He was her friend. She touched her tongue to her upper lip, thinking about the kiss. Had there been something there? She’d always loved Duffy. There had even been a time when she thought he might become more. But did she still feel that way?
Her thoughts swiftly turned to Pickett. She had wanted him the other night, wanted him to touch her, to kiss her, to hold her. She feared she might have misread the look in his eyes. She felt confused. If only the meeting hadn’t broken up when it did. She ached to know what he was going to say to her, what he might have done if they hadn’t been interrupted.
And now Pickett was gone. He had family! Maybe he would have to stay out there with them. She couldn’t bear the thought that he might not come back.
The meeting broke up and she and Duffy headed for his pickup. In all these years, she’d never felt uncomfortable around him. Being his friend had been so easy. But as they climbed into his truck, she knew she had to do something to break the silence. It felt as if there was now a wall between them.
She’d never wanted to be another one of his women and had always been relieved when he hadn’t made a pass at her. Now that he had, she didn’t want to lose him as a friend. But she was at a loss as to what she could say that wouldn’t make things worse. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about what had happened earlier. If she was being honest, she had feelings for Pickett. But she also felt something for Duffy. She told herself that she couldn’t deal with this right now.
“I need to tell you about Frankie and Norman Lees,” she said as he got the truck moving. “They came to the ranch earlier.”
That got his attention. “To see you?”
