“Hello,
Dustin.” Shannon forced a smile and resisted rubbing her damp palms against her
thighs. “Dillon asked me to let you know you are needed at the lodge.”
His
eyes smoldered, and the corner of his mouth kicked up. “So you said.”
She
gave a tight nod. “Right. Well.” She lifted a shoulder in an awkward gesture.
“I had better get to the cabin. Have to get ready for tonight.” She swiveled
toward the door. “Nice to see you, Dusty.”
“Welcome
home, Shay.”
Welcome
home, indeed.
Had
coming back to this place been a mistake? She was tempted to tell Carolyn she
could have Gran’s farm because she wanted more than anything to escape back to
New York City where she could lose herself in the hustle and bustle of the big
city. And even though it might be the coward’s way out, she wanted to escape
the history and heartbreak of Dumen Ranch.
****
Dustin
chuckled as Shannon ran out the door, her long brown hair swinging wildly with
each step. A man could drown in those big green eyes of hers. He’d waited
fourteen years for her to come home. At eighteen he’d been too young to
understand why she left, why she refused to believe he could take care of her.
It sucked that she’d been right. What had he known of the responsibility of
being a husband at that age?
So,
he’d done what any self-respecting man would do and pretended to forget about
the love of his life.
Somewhere
inside, he knew Shannon would come home. Even Gran had told him to give her
time to find herself. Not that he knew what that meant at eighteen. Being
Gran’s companion kept Shannon close—mentally anyway. Now that she was home,
could he convince her Texas was where she belonged? He was going to try his
damndest.
This
weekend, while she was captive on the ranch, courtesy of her cousin’s
bachelorette party, he was going to take every opportunity to get close to her,
to remind her of what they once had. If it took physical seduction… His cock
jumped at the idea and the memory of her soft cheek pressed against his short and
curlies. Poor Shannon wouldn’t stand a chance against his Texas charm.
His
cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Roused from his Shannon-fog, he yanked it
out. “Yeah?”
“You
planning on doing any work today? Or am I supposed to pick up your slack?”
Dane, his youngest brother, bitched in his ear.
“Let
me guess, Dillon’s ridin’ your ass again?”
Dane
snorted. “Good guess. So?”
Dustin
sighed. His oldest brother could be a bit of a hardass when it came to getting
work done on the ranch. Though with this bachelorette shindig this weekend, he
couldn’t blame Dillon.
But
his plans for Shannon would have to be put on hold for a few hours longer.
“Tell him I’ll be there in five.”
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