“The beatings stopped. But that mean mouth of his didn’t, did it?”
“No. And it’ll always be like that with him.”
“So are you done with him? Has sharing the truth with your brothers about what an unforgiveable ass**le Casper McKay is freed you to walk away from him?”
“It freed me years ago. But knowing that past history between him and me, can you see why it was so easy for me to believe his claim that I wasn’t his son?”
Rory’s eyes searched his. “That’s the question, isn’t it? Do you think you’re his son?”
“Either way, I don’t care. I spent the last three years comin’ to terms with who I am. Not as a McKay, not as a rancher, not as a gambler, but as a man on my own. Once I liked that guy staring back at me in the mirror every morning, I knew it didn’t matter.”
Dalton took a step back.
That’s when she noticed a half-packed suitcase behind him. “Dalton? Why is your suitcase out?”
A guilty look crossed his face. “I was heading to Montana this weekend. There’s some stuff I need to get.”
“And you also want to avoid your brothers, don’t you?”
He jammed his hand through his hair. “Yeah, that was part of it.”
Rory marched up to him. “You dropped this on them tonight and then you run off the next day? How is that fair? Maybe you’ve had years to come to terms with the idea you’re not Casper’s son, but they haven’t.”
“Which means it’ll take them more than a few hours to process it, Rory. Me goin’ away for a couple of days ain’t gonna matter.”
“You don’t know that. You’re assuming a lot.”
“So are you.”
“Are you telling me to butt out?”
Dalton touched her face. “No, baby, I’m not. I’d never do that. This affects you too. It affects us.”
“Then when did you plan to tell me you were leaving?” When he looked away from her, she knew. “On your way out of town.” Despite her fury, she kept her tone icy. “You say you’ve changed? Bullshit. You’re still running away.”
“I’m not!”
“Yes, you are.”
“Goddammit, I’m not.”
Was he trying to convince her? Or himself?
Rory got right in his face. “Don’t do this. Stay here and deal with it. Stay here with me and let me help you deal with it.”
“Rory—”
“You say you love me? Prove it. Don’t go.” She wrapped herself around him. “Stay. Please. Grab that suitcase and come home with me. Let me take care of you.”
He hugged her so tight she couldn’t breathe. “Okay.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Dalton hadn’t seen much of his brothers in the week that’d passed since his…confession or whatever the hell it was. He’d talked to them both on the phone. That’d been easier than a face-to-face meeting, especially since Brandt and Tell were still in shock. He understood it wasn’t that his brothers didn’t believe him; they just didn’t want to believe it.
Those conversations were the first in the past two months they hadn’t asked if he’d be visiting the rehab hospital.
His sweet, wonderful, thoughtful sisters-in-law had each stopped by in the guise of dropping off a decent home cooked meal for the lone McKay bachelor. He hadn’t minded that Jessie hugged him a lot. He’d held it together when she’d broken down about Brandt’s reaction after he’d left the bar. While part of him was relieved to hear Brandt’s reaction in front of him had been more about saving face until he could unleash his anger in private, another part hated that his brother was dealing with any guilt.
And Rory…after she’d begged him not to go to Montana, something had shifted in their relationship. But he hated to think the change was because she felt sorry for him. And asking why she wanted to spend all their free time together when she’d been so insistent on showing him she had a full life without him, smacked of desperation.
So this official business meeting with Rory gave Dalton a case of nerves. He needed this elk permit. After all he’d been through with his brothers, he knew that he’d never return to ranching with them. As much as he’d harped on honesty between them, Dalton couldn’t tell Rory that the only reason he’d applied for the permit was because of her. If she wasn’t living here he wouldn’t have bothered.
There were a number of ways she could take that—none of his explanations sounded good in his head so he’d be better off not giving voice to them.
And he had to take care today to separate the Rory in his bed from Rory the WNRC employee who was evaluating him. Her evaluation wasn’t as a person. She wasn’t judging him as a lover, or a lifelong mate, but an acceptable risk for the test program.
He’d left the gate open and parked off to the side where she could see his vehicle. He hadn’t unloaded the ATV he’d borrowed from Tell. Rory would need to unload hers and he figured he’d seem overeager if he was ready and helped her without asking. Rory was independent that way.
The wind began to blow. He checked his cell phone to see if he’d missed a call. Might seem like Rory was late, but he’d been twenty minutes early.
The government vehicle bounced into view and pulled up beside him.
There was a moment of awkwardness when they faced each other. But then Rory said, “This is ridiculous,” and leaned in, giving him a quick peck on the mouth. “We’re adults. We can be professional about this.”
“Agreed. So at the risk of offending your professional status, do you need help unloading?”
“No. I’ve got it.”
“Cool.”
They were ready to go at the same time.
“Do you have a preference what I show you first?” Dalton asked.
“Natural boundaries. Then where you’d supplement with fencing. Proposed feed and water sites. And if there’s a section not covered in snow, I’d like to look at the native grass and vegetation, although I realize it’s not an accurate representation this time of year.”
“All right. Since I know the terrain I’ll lead, but if you have any questions or need me to stop or slow down, just honk.”
“Will do. But a slower pace is better for me.”
After adjusting their clothing, heading into the wind, Dalton started down the easiest path. He tried to catalogue the area as Rory might. It did appear a little desolate in this section. No cover at all. Rocky. There was enough vegetation in the summer to run maybe twenty head of cattle but he wasn’t sure what that translated to as far as head of elk. But this wasn’t the area where he’d concentrate the feeding grounds.