I try to push it down, try to focus on the task ahead, but it’s hard when the ranch is still reeling from all that’s happened.
It isn’t Clint’s truck I find at the ranch gate.
It’sher.
Dakota is standing by the front gate, her back slightly turned to me. Her hair is pulled back loosely, and she’s wearing oneof those faded flannel shirts that somehow makes her look both rugged and delicate at the same time.
But it’s the way she holds herself, distant, carrying a weight on her shoulders, that catches my attention.
I can tell something’s off. Her posture is guarded, her head slightly tilted as though she’s lost in thought, probably trying to sort out whatever’s been troubling her. I assume it’s about last night.
I can onlyimaginehow much that was for her. I’m sure Dakota has never been with three men at once before, so it must have been a lot.
It worries me. I wonder what she’s here to say. Hopefully not that she never wants to see any of us again…
I push the thought away. Now’s not the time to dwell on that.
I make my way toward her, trying not to seem too eager but unable to ignore the pull. Something deep inside me just knows she needs comfort, and I want to be the one to offer it.
I stop a few feet away, not wanting to startle her. She doesn’t seem to notice me at first, still lost in her own thoughts.
“Hey,” I say, keeping my voice soft, the way I always try to when it’s just us. “You good?”
Dakota startles slightly, then turns toward me, her eyes meeting mine. For a brief moment, her expression softens. She’s struggling to hold it all together.
“Yeah,” she says, but the word is clipped.
She’s not fooling me. I can hear the hesitation, feel the distance between us.
I take a step closer, offering her a small, reassuring smile.
“You don’t have to pretend, you know,” I say. “I’m here if you need to talk. Or if you just need someone to listen.”
Dakota looks down at the ground. I can see her jaw tightening as if she’s trying to keep it all together.
But I know better than to believe everything’s fine when she’s looking at me in this way… like she’s one breath away from breaking.
“I just… I need to speak with Clint,” she says, the words coming out carefully, almost as if she’s been rehearsing them. She doesn’t meet my eyes when she says it, and I can tell she’s trying to hide whatever else is going on in her mind. “Is he here?”
“He’s out at the moment. We need a security system for the ranch. It’s been… a day.”
“What happened?”
“Fire,” I say quietly, keeping my tone even. “The barn is… well, pretty much gone. Luckily, we got the horses to safety in time.”
“And you think someone did this? That’s why you want a security system ?”
All I can do is offer her a one-shouldered shrug. “There has been a lot going on, and I think Clint wants to be sure everything is okay.”
“I’m sorry that happened. I guess…” She bites her bottom lip. “I really do need to talk to Clint, kinda urgently, so I guess I’ll wait for him. Hope it isn’t too much.”
That familiar knot in my chest tightens again, but this time it’s different. Something shifts. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable, but the words are already on the tip of my tongue. I can’t ignore the suspicion that’s been gnawing at me for days.
Ever since I first saw her with her child.
“Dakota…” I pause, gathering my thoughts. “About Charlie… is there something you need to tell us? Or maybe something I’ve missed?”
Her eyes flicker toward me, wide and uncertain. I’ve just struck her with a question she didn’t expect. She takes a stepback, instinctively retreating, and the space between us feels heavy with my words.
