I jump to my feet. “It’s success? We’re barely hanging on as it is, Pops! Never once has she lent a hand when we’ve had a project or a crisis. She was always too busy taking pictures for her non-existent photography business. You ever think about that? She’s never pitched in like a family’s supposed to. Thisranch has persisteddespiteher being yet another mouth to feed.”
“I ain’t arguing with you there,” Pops says on a sigh. “But the fact is, they didn’t have a prenup, and in Oklahoma, it’s an equitable division. She has a lengthy list drawn up of why she thinks she deserves half.”
I rub my aching neck as I pace. “And I can come up with a lengthy list of why she deserves nothing!”
“Dallas?” Shelby’s soft voice takes me by surprise.
I spin on my heels and see her approaching, hair tumbled around her shoulders and breasts swaying in her tiny tank top. Goddamn it. She’s so fucking beautiful, I physically ache to pull her into my arms. Instead, I swallow hard and focus on the current crisis. Pops stays on the phone while I fill her in.
Shelby’s eyes widen, but then she surprises me by snatching the phone out of my hands. “Pops? I have an idea.”
“I’m all ears, darlin’,” I hear him say back.
“We’ll get dressed and meet you at the house. I’ll call Frankie and Morgan on the way over. You wake up Skye. All hands on deck.” Shelby pauses a moment, then hangs up the phone and tosses it to me. “Get your fine ass in jeans, Gamble. We got a ranch to save.”
She marches away from me to get dressed, leaving me with a tantalizing view of those short shorts. For the second time before dawn, I drop my chin to my chest and groan. Why did I have to go and fall in love with her? Why is nature so cruel as to make her perfect for me, but I’m not perfect for her?
Shelby’s back out, dressed in jeans and a tank top that shows off her perfect cleavage, boots on and keys in hand. I’m barely getting my jeans on. “Chop, chop, Dally.”
I’m so fuckin’ hard I can’t button my jeans. “Go stand in the kitchen,” I growl.
Shelby’s gaze falls directly to my problem. Then she grins and shakes her ass, walking to the kitchen with Nelly scrambling to keep up with her. I gaze up at the ceiling and think about Meemaw’s chickens. When I’m finally ready to go, Nelly runs out the door to the truck first, and I snatch the keys right out of Shelby’s hands.
Just because I’m not the right guy for her doesn’t mean I’m going to stop being a gentleman. She doesn’t fight me on it, which is a nice change of pace. We head for the big house, bumping over potholes and gullies I’ll eventually fix. If we still have a ranch once Ridge gets past this divorce, that is.
“So, what’s your big plan?” I ask when we finally crest the hill and see all the lights on at the house.
Shelby’s thumbs have been flying over her cell phone screen the whole time we’ve been driving. “Wait and see,” she mumbles.
I clutch my chest. “Wow. Won’t even tell your fiancé?”
That gets her lifting her head. She fires a one-eyed look of disdain my way. “Oh, now you pull out the fiancé card? After you vehemently told me last night that you’re planning our breakup?”
I shove the truck into Park. Nelly paws at the window in the back of the cab, eager to get out. “For your benefit,” I remind her.
She shrugs. “Then I’m not telling you about my plan. For your benefit.” Her smirk is annoying as fuck. I’m about to tell her that, but she slips out the door and Nelly follows her, nearly kicking me in the face as he jumps into the front seat and out the door.
I shake my head and pray for patience. The sun is just starting to lighten the sky when I get out of the truck and look east. Part of why I didn’t get into ranching as deeply as Ridge was because of the early morning hours. I’m more of a night owl myself, mostly because I don’t plan on sleeping right away when I slide into bed.
“Keep up, Gamble!” Shelby calls from the porch before she slips inside the house.
“I like her,” Meemaw crows from right beside me a moment later.
I clutch my chest. “Jesus. Didn’t see you sitting there.”
She’s in a rocking chair on the porch, in a dark corner like a weirdo. She’s got a Silkie clutched to her chest as she pets its head. She hasn’t put her dentures in yet, which I only know because she gives me a gummy smile.
“You, on the other hand…you’re an idiot.”
“Love you too, Meemaw.” I roll my eyes and head inside.
Everyone’s assembled, sitting on various furniture in the family room and sipping on hot coffee. I pour myself a cup and have a seat next to Shelby on the love seat. She puts her hand on my thigh, which makes me groan internally. Never in the history of ever have I complained about a woman putting her hand on my leg. Except today. Except Shelby. Right when I’ve decided I have to break up with her.
“I’ve been texting my little brother, Archie. You all remember him?” Shelby asks, oblivious to my turmoil about her hand.
“Does he still have reddish-blond hair?” Skye asks. “He was such a little thing. So cute with that red hair.”
“Just what a man wants to be called. Cute,” I grumble.
