When Dalton curled into her completely, she briefly squeezed her eyes shut to stem the tears.
She sifted her fingers through his hair. Petting him. Soothing him. Trying to comfort him.
Dalton pressed a soft kiss on the top of her breast. “Thank you.” Finally his big body relaxed. His breathing turned slow and steady.
Rory couldn’t get to sleep. She’d been tossing and turning before he’d showed up. Wondering how she’d tell him she’d be gone all this week.
What kind of woman left her lover alone to deal with his grief just a few days after he’d buried his father?
She’d debated on postponing the in-person interviews she’d scheduled, but she’d opted to keep the appointments. She’d waited for nine months for these opportunities so no way could she afford to pass them up.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The call from Tell the following week asking Dalton to come over wasn’t posed as a request. Or maybe he’d misunderstood. Seemed he’d been doing that a lot these days.
The weather was crappy. Blowing snow that cut visibility to a few feet out on the road. Took him fifteen minutes longer to reach Tell and Georgia’s place than it should have.
He entered the screened entryway and brushed the snow pellets off his outerwear before he hung up his duster. He automatically kicked off his boots. He glanced up to see Georgia standing in front of the glass door that connected the house and the entryway.
She smiled and opened the door, standing back so her baby bump wasn’t in the way. “Glad you made it. Looks like it’s getting worse.”
“It is. I left Sundance forty minutes ago.”
“The good news is we’ve got food, drink and an extra bed if you get stuck here.” She playfully pushed him. “Oh, don’t look so horrified. Might be fun.”
They walked through the kitchen into the living room.
Brandt and Tell sat on opposite ends of the sofa watching TV. “Hey, bro. Come check this out. It’s so bad out there we made the national news.”
“Uh, yeah, I know. I was just out in it.”
“They’re advising no travel,” Brandt said.
He stared hard at his brothers. “And yet you insisted I haul ass over here right away, in a freakin’ blizzard?”
“Yep. Cause we’re supposed to get ten more inches,” Tell said. “Checkin’ cattle is gonna suck. Good thing we’ve got an extra pair of hands.”
Then both Brandt and Tell looked at him.
“Forcing me to do cattle checks with you? Is this your way of makin’ me feel included in the family business?”
“Yep.” Brandt grinned. “Won’t it be fun? All of us bein’ snowed in together?”
“You have got to be f**king kidding me.”
“Nope. And watch the F-bombs, little bro. Little pitchers have big ears and all that.”
“Where are the boys?”
“Watching a DVD in the family room. Jessie’s not feelin’ well so she’s lying down upstairs.”
“Jessie is here too?”
“Wouldn’t be fun if she and the boys were snowed in at home and I was snowed in here.”
Dalton sat on the recliner. “You guys planned this?”
“Not the snow, but we figured we could take advantage of it. Spend time together when none of us can hop in our trucks and drive away.”
“Besides, don’t you remember when we were kids how much fun it was havin’ a couple of snow days?” Tell asked. “We gotta take these opportunities when they come. Who knows if they’ll ever come again.”
Any anger Dalton might’ve had about his brothers’ manipulation…disappeared. He flopped back in the recliner. “I remember that one snowstorm; I must’ve been eight or so. Luke taught us how to play poker. Guess we didn’t understand that strip poker is something you’re supposed to play with girls, not your brothers.”
Brandt grinned. “Was that the time you had to run outside in your underwear and make snow angels?”
“Yes and the snow was hip deep. Luke and his stupid effed up games. More like truth or dare than poker.” Dalton looked at Tell. “Didn’t you have to eat something weird?”
“A raw egg mixed with a can of sardines.” Tell shuddered. “Nastiest thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. It tasted a whole lot worse comin’ up two hours later than it did goin’ down.”
“I didn’t know you barfed,” Brandt said.
“Like I was gonna confess that,” Tell shot back. “Luke would’ve made me eat another batch because he would’ve claimed it didn’t count.”
“No lie. After I lost the final poker hand, he made me do one-handed pushups until I collapsed.” A few seconds of silence passed. Then Brandt said, “Why’d we let Luke boss us around like that? He never let anyone else be in charge.”
“Because Luke always had the best ideas. And his ideas were usually fun. Plus, he included all of us. He was always like that—from the time Dalton was old enough to toddle along.” Tell stared into his coffee cup. “Even when Luke was in his early twenties and out tearing it up with his buddies, he still made time for us.”
“Might sound stupid, but Luke was more a father to me than Casper ever was,” Dalton said softly. “I ain’t sayin’ Luke was perfect, although as time passes I think we tend to overlook the faults of the dead.” That wouldn’t ever happen with Casper’s memory; Dalton could guarantee it. “Along with teaching us all the ranching shit Dad didn’t know or wouldn’t pass on to us, Luke made sure we had fun. We never would’ve gone huntin’, fishing or camping if not for him.”
The conversation had taken a turn toward melancholy and Dalton wondered what Brandt was thinking. Had to be a Catch-22 for him; he wouldn’t have the life with Jessie and his kids if Luke was still alive. So when Brandt opened his mouth to speak, Dalton braced himself.
“I reckon Luke would expect us to stick together and take advantage of this time to have some fun.” He leaned over and lightly punched Tell in the arm. “Since you’re the most fun lovin’ of the three of us, and I’m the oldest, I’m makin’ that your job. Bein’ the ambassador of fun.”
“Ambassador.” Tell snorted. “I expect you both to salute me from now on.”
Dalton and Brandt flipped him off at the same time.
“Nice, guys. Real nice.”