Page 23

Chapter twenty-three

Just to mess with him

Mason

The high of Lori makes the almost two hour drive to Dix’s house go by in a haze.

I’m on autopilot when I pull into his sweeping driveway. I always forget how nice his place looks in comparison to the old building of the ranch.

Doesn’t surprise me. Dixon is very much a “everything has its place” kinda guy. Always has been.

Even as a kid, one of my favorite pastimes was to rearrange his toy cars because I knew it would piss him off.

Huh, maybe I was a bit of an ass to him.

I’m glad he still likes me.

The rust on the hinges makes the door squeak when he opens it. Tossing his bag over the seat, he slides in and slumps, making his dark cowboy hat cover his face.

His usually crisp mustache is blurred with a day’s worth of whiskers that have their own touch of gray in the edges.

“Mornin’, sunshine.” I give him a wide grin. “Late shift?”

Grinding the gears in my Dodge, I swing the trailer wide to miss the fancy trimmed shrubs by his gate.

He groans. “Back to back twenty-four hour shifts. And, understaffed as usual.” He tilts his hat and fixes one of his brown eyes on me. “What the fuck has you so chipper?”

I can feel myself squint. “Nothin’. You’re just particularly crabby today. Here’s some more good news; another run was made last night. I figure another thirty head or so.”

That’ll divert him.

He holds a half stake on the ranch, so it hits him just as hard.

“Jesus Christ, Mason. They’re getting yarded out from every corner. What the hell is Wade doing about it?” He runs his hand over his face, making some of the brown hairs on the edge of his lip stick up.

“There ain’t a lot he can do without catching someone in the act when we can’t find the cattle. But, Blue has his feelers out. I’m curious to see what happens in Cheyenne.” My hope is we can figure out who brought those cows in and finally get some answers.

So, I can get back home to Lori as fast as possible.

This coffee she made is perfect. Exactly how I like it.

“What the hell is going on?” Dixon is staring at me with one eyebrow raised. “You have the dumbest look on your face. I haven’t seen that dopey grin since—” He cuts himself off as a broad smile shows the whites of his teeth. “You met someone.”

How does he do that?

“No.” I know I can’t say much. I’m not sure if he’ll keep his mouth shut around Sophia until Lori is comfortable enough to tell her.

“You’re so full of shit. I’ll figure it out. You’ve always been crap at keeping secrets.” He glances down at the bag of food in the console between us. “At least you brought snacks this time.” Opening the top, he rifles through and pulls out a sandwich.

With a flourish, he peels something away and smacks me in the chest with it.

“No?” He drops my lunch back in the middle and pulls out an apple. “You lie worse than your dog.”

I catch sight of something yellow fluttering on my shirt.

A post-it note with a smiley face, just like the one I still jack off to on my shower door. Well, I didn’t have to this morning.

I’m screwed. “You can’t tell Sophia.” I know he’s been checking in on her to see how her leg is.

He snaps a piece of fruit off and chews for a moment. “What does she have to do with your new gal?”

My knuckles tighten on the steering wheel. Taking a deep breath, I admit the truth. “It’s her best friend, Lori.”

Coughing, he jerks himself up to dislodge the chunk he’s choking on.

“Seriously? So, she’s your daughter’s age? Like, you’re old enough to be her dad?” He sits back and rips another bite off.

“Wow, Dix. You’re so fucking smart, you should be a doctor or something.” I can’t tell if he’s pissed, but the question alone irritates the heck out of me. “Who cares?”

The blue Henley over his shoulders lifts and drops in a shrug. “I don’t. I’m just trying to paint a picture. I mean, is she Sophia’s age?”

Fine. “She’s a little older. Twenty-two or three. I haven’t exactly carded her. But, I know she’s in her last year of school.”

It’s almost here. What’s going to happen then? I haven’t really thought that far out. Everything has been a whirlwind since yesterday.

Will she come back? Would she want an old man when I’m sure she’d have her choice of any guy her own age?

Why does it make me cranky thinking of a bunch of young bucks chasing her around, trying to touch what’s mine?

“So, why can’t my niece know?” He nibbles the last of the core and finds a napkin to wrap it in.

At least Dix is tidier than Sawyer. I won’t have to worry about cleaning out the truck after he’s been in it.

Everything has its place to him. Even garbage.

“I dunno. Maybe I’m the dirty secret.” I echo her words to him. I guess if she isn’t planning on staying at the ranch, I should just enjoy the time I get.

It does feel a bit like a punch to the gut thinking about it.

“I think she’s worried Sophia will be mad at her.” I can’t imagine Sophia’s reaction to me will be all that great, either.

“Maybe you should tell them both how it’s going to be. Take control of the situation.” His eyebrows raise as he looks at me like the answer is obvious.

No wonder he’s still single.

“It’s more complicated than that.” I shake my head. “They’ve been friends for a while. It’s important to Lori that they stay that way. I get it.” If it takes patience, I have that.

I can wait.

His jaw ticks. “There’s a gas station up ahead. You can pull over and let me drive.”

Classic Dixon. Trying to take control over something he has none over.

“I gotta piss anyway,” I grumble.

Sometimes, I don’t feel like the oldest.

He starts refueling, so I wander inside to grab some extra bottles of water.

Don’t really need them, but take advantage of a chance to stretch my legs after several hours in the truck.

The girl behind the counter looks like she’s twelve, but I bet she’s closer to Sophia’s age.

“Senior discount?” she asks me with a plastered smile.

For fuck’s sake. “No, thank you.”

When I climb into the passenger’s seat, I pull down the visor to check myself in the mirror.

Yea, still a touch of gray on the temples, but not a whole lot.

A little in my beard.

“Problem?” Dixon side-eyes me as he slides behind the wheel. He takes one of the drinks and cracks the top.

“I’m a damn grandpa.”

He splutters water and glares at me. “What the hell?”

“That girl thinks I’m ready for a nursing home.” I gesture behind us at the distant convenience store.

Kinda makes me want to use rude gestures in her direction.

It ain’t her fault.

“Jesus, Mason. You’ve got to stop with all of this shock and awe crap today.” He wipes the dribble from his chin and raises his middle finger at me.

I wait until he has his bottle tipped again. “I didn’t use a condom.”

The splash of ice cold water across my face shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it still makes me gasp when it hits me.

It doesn’t stop me from losing myself in laughter.

He tilts his head, hiding his expression. “You’re just begging for a wreck, aren’t ya?”

But, he chuckles, too. “You’re asking for trouble, you know.”

“Maybe. Odds are low. Remember how long it took Carolyn?” A pang goes through my chest. It seems like a lifetime ago.

Dixon scratches the dark whiskers on his jaw. “Yea, but I’ve learned a bit since then. I’m thinking most of those difficulties were on her side.”

“You don’t have any kids. Last I heard, Cade didn’t either.” Who knows about him though. I haven’t seen hide or hair of him since Carolyn passed.

I didn’t want to.

“That doesn’t mean we’re shooting blanks, Mason. It means we, well, I speak for myself. I’ve been careful.” He braces his hands and pushes himself against the seat in a stretch. “I’m not a fan of taking chances.”

I don’t think he sees me roll my eyes. “Right. Always in control.”

Maybe Lori will get pregnant.

It makes the blood rush to my groin. Now, I want to try like hell.

Sophia won’t hate her, not if she’s carrying my baby.

God damn it. Sitting in the truck with my brother is not the time to get hard.

“Did you book a hotel?” Dixon breaks up my thought process.

“For me and Lori?”

The empty water bottle bounces off of my shoulder when he swings it at me like a wiffle bat. “No, dumbass. Us.”

Lori has my head all kinds of messed up.

“No. I jumped in the truck as soon as I got the call from Blue.” Well, a few minutes afterwards, but my mouth was too busy for anything else.

“Maybe you should just marry that girl so you can pull your head out of your dick. I don’t understand why you aren’t more concerned about the tens of thousands of dollars that are being rustled right beneath your nose.” His lips thin as he glances at me. “This is hemorrhaging us money.”

That sobers me better than the icy shower he gave me.

If we don’t figure out how to stop them, we’ll be broke. All the hired hands will be out of work. We might lose our buyer contracts if we can’t fulfill them.

It’d be a cascading effect that could ruin us.

Yet, my brain clings to his first phrase on repeat.

Can I keep her? Would that even be on the radar?

One night and already contemplating it. I wonder if a ten year break before finding someone new counts as a rebound? Lori doesn’t feel like one.

I want to see her eyes light when she laughs. And, she knows exactly how I like my coffee.

There’s a look she gets when she’s determined that makes a piece of me want to rally for her. Maybe it’s the set of her jaw, or the way she holds her shoulders back, but it makes a fire burn seeing her overcome her own doubts and succeed.

No, this is more than just a fling.

It’s more like saving up to buy a dream horse, and finally getting to take that first ride.

Better than I ever could have imagined.

When the engine dies, it startles me to see we’re parked in front of a low motel.

“Going to wake up long enough to go inside? Or are you planning on sleeping in the truck?” Dixon pulls his bag from the backseat before slamming the door shut.

Was I napping? As itchy as my eyes feel, I doubt it.

My phone vibrates in my pocket now that we’re back in service.

Flipping through the messages, it’s mainly Ford with routine questions.

Sawyer finally woke up and caught up on chores.

But, there’s one that catches my eye.

Lori: Hope you have a safe drive!

Fuck. I do want to keep her.

Me: Made it to the hotel. Wish you were here.

She’d be a much more fun roommate than my grumpy-ass brother.

He already has his clothes folded neatly on the long dresser in the room. “What time are we meeting Blue?”

“I think he said around ten.” My eyes flick to my cell when it beeps.

She sent a smiley emoji.

“You know,” Dixon sighs. “I think it’s great you met someone who puts that dopey fucking grin on your face.”

“Gee. It’s almost like you give a shit.” I strip my shirt off and toss it over the back of the chair, just to watch his expression.

There’s the nose wrinkle I was expecting.

He turns his wrist to look at his Rolex. “Believe it or not, I do.” He pulls the thin blanket up over his shoulder, and within moments is lightly snoring.

Two nights in a row of minimal sleep is catching up with me. I’m out of coffee. And, to make things worse, Dixon is already showered and shaved by the time I roll out of the lumpy bed.

I manage to catch up in record time, and jump in the passenger’s seat without spilling the little styrofoam cup of half-rancid liquid the motel tried to pass off as dark roast.

To his credit, he doesn’t say anything.

I do get the discerning eyebrow from him.

If that’s the worst I get, I can live with that.

“So, I’ve got good news and bad.” Blue doesn’t bother with pleasantries when we climb out of the truck at the livestock barn. The smell of old manure is almost enough to overwhelm me in the hot Wyoming afternoon.

“Let’s hear it.” I steel myself for the worst.

Dixon crosses his arms over his broad chest and widens his stance.

“Well, I was able to prove to Delbert in there—” Blue gestures crudely behind him. “—that those are, indeed, your steers.”

That’s a relief. We won’t be going back empty-handed.

“And, the bad part?” Dixon pushes.

“The seller.” Blue picks up his worn baseball cap to scratch the top of his head with the bill before lowering back over his hair. “There’s nothing there. It’s just a P.O. box.” His handlebar mustache twitches as he twists his mouth to the side. “Can’t trace them.” He finishes with a spit onto the dry dirt.

“What the hell does that mean?” I was hoping for some answers, not more questions.

“Aren’t there cameras or something here?” Dixon interjects.

Blue glances between the two of us. “No surveillance. We’re screwed there. And, it means that we’re not going to be able to easily figure out who’s behind it . I’ve shuffled the information to the main office to see if they can locate the box owner.”

“Isn’t there some sort of tie to the new brands on them?” I know there’s a registration process that takes a lot more than just a mailing address.

“They seem to be bogus. But, I’m heading into the barn to document them all.” His blue eyes squint at us. “Might as well hunker down. It won’t be until late when I finish.”

Dammit. There goes my plan to sneak into bed with Lori.

Dixon smiles at me and gives me a slow wink. “Looks like you’re with me another night.”