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“No, CJ. He acted as if he’d been expecting them. He definitely had some business with them. They were worried he’d try to make a deal with the sheriff by ratting them out. They threatened him if he did.”
“Ratting them out about what?” Duffy asked, sounding like his old self.
Oakley shook her head. “That I don’t know. But they scared him. The thing is how does he even know them? I thought they just came to town to try to stop the vandalism of the gas equipment.”
“If they are involved with your brother, then they’ve been here before.” He glanced over at her. “Knowing you, you tried to get him to tell you.”
She chuckled, but it held no humor. “It didn’t go well.” She told him about CJ rising from the chair, lunging at her.
“Are you saying he can stand?”
Had he stood up or had he only thrown himself from the chair? She couldn’t be sure because it had happened so quickly. If her mother hadn’t forgotten her purse and come back...
“I think he would have choked me to death if Mother hadn’t come in when she did.”
They had reached her pickup. He parked and quickly turned to her. “Why didn’t you tell me this? Are you all right?” He seemed to remember why she hadn’t told him earlier and dropped his gaze as if embarrassed.
“I feel like things are escalating,” she said quickly, hoping to cover the awkwardness she knew they both felt.
“You need to be careful. You aren’t going to stay in that house, are you?”
“Don’t worry. Tilly and I have the apartment in town. I’ll make sure I’m never at the ranch when Mother isn’t there.” She hesitated. “You haven’t heard from Pickett, have you?”
From his expression, it was the wrong thing to ask. “No. I’m not sure he’ll even come back.”
She shook her head. “It’s Pickett. Of course he’ll come back,” she said, hoping it was true as she opened her door. “He’d never abandoned us. We’re a team.” Duffy said nothing, but she saw the muscles in his jaw tighten. “Thanks for the ride. Let me know if you hear anything about the next meeting or the Lees brothers.”
“Or Pickett,” he said, nodding, but he grinned when he said it. “See you.”
She closed the pickup’s door and walked to her own rig. She thought he might not wait for her to leave like he and Pickett always did. But as she started her truck, she saw him sitting there, his engine idling, waiting. She was so thankful for his friendship and felt such love for him.
Could one kiss ruin everything? She loved both him and Pickett and that was the problem.
What about the feelings she had for Pickett? What if they weren’t reciprocated? What if they were? Even if she kissed Duffy again and felt something more, how would this end? She feared that if she fell for either of them, it would destroy the trio of friends.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
OAKLEYREALIZEDTHATshe wasn’t up to returning to the ranch. It would be just like her mother to be waiting for her return. She didn’t want to get into an argument with her, not tonight. Everything that had happened today had her head spinning as it was.
Getting the apartment had been a great idea, she thought as she opened the door to find her sister hard at work on her wedding planning.
“Am I glad to see you,” she said to Tilly and threw herself down on the couch.
“I know that look.” Her sister chuckled as she joined her at the opposite end. “I’ve just never seen it on you before. Who is he?”
Oakley hated to tell her. Tilly knew about Dirty Business and about her spending time with Pickett and Duffy. But like her, her sister had assumed they were just good friends.
“Duffy kissed me tonight,” she blurted out, not ready to tell her about what hadn’t happened with Pickett—had almost happened maybe.
Tilly’s eyes widened. “You and Duffy McKenna? Don’t tell me you—”
“We didn’t.Ididn’t,” Oakley said quickly. “I mean, I didn’t even kiss him back, it happened so fast. I always wondered what it would be like to kiss him, though.”
Her sister was shaking her head. “Is this about you and Duffy? Or you and Mother?”
“What?” she demanded. This is not the way she thought the conversation would go, considering that she’d listened to Tilly ad nauseam for years about her dates. “It has nothing to do with Mother.”
Tilly raised a brow. “Are you sure?”
