Rugged Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,19
did that?
“I mean, you were just a little…rude this morning.”
“I was?”
“Yeah, you sort of snapped at me and Nick when we got to the barn, like we were holding you up or something. You work here now, Dallas. We did you the favor.” She hated the words as they came out of her mouth. “That’s not what I meant. I—”
“You did me a favor?” he asked. “Wow, I didn’t know that. Thanks.” His sarcasm wasn’t lost on her. “I suppose I’ll send you a bill for fixing the air conditioner in the stable then.”
“Dallas.” She sighed, because this conversation wasn’t going the way she’d thought it would. She honestly hadn’t known why he’d called three times, and for him to simply find out how she was feeling didn’t make sense to her.
“What?” he asked. “You offered me the job last night. I signed the paperwork this morning. I didn’t know I was on the clock today. I have things I have to get done for my kids, and you said we’d start with a quick tour—which Jess, two hours is not quick in any definition I’ve found of the word—and I’d really start tomorrow.”
“I know,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“So I get to be annoyed when you and Nick show up ten minutes late and then proceed to show me the most unorganized mechanical shed I’ve ever seen.”
Jess toed the ground, her eyes trained on the dirt there though she could barely see it in the dim lighting down this hallway. Utility closets lined both sides of it, and they kept medical supplies, blankets, and other odds and ends in the cupboards.
Silence draped the two of them, and Jess felt like they were worlds apart. For some reason she couldn’t name, she wanted to build a bridge to where he was and make things right.
“I’m sorry,” Dallas said, plenty of resignation in his voice. “I guess we just need to communicate better.”
“I’m sorry too,” Jess said. “I didn’t realize we’d—I’d—kept you from more important things.” She wasn’t a mother and never had been. She couldn’t fathom what it took to keep children fed and well and happy, though she did help out with Connor from time to time. Now that the boy was in school, Nate didn’t need as much help during the day, and there were plenty of people around the ranch in the evenings.
“It’s okay,” Dallas said. “I didn’t mean to snap at anyone. I suppose I need to call Nick and apologize?”
“Oh, I doubt he noticed,” Jess said, finally looking up as the conversation improved. “He’s like a duck. Stuff just rolls off his back.”
“Hmm,” Dallas said. “What are you doing tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah, tonight. Say after dinner?”
“I don’t usually do much after dinner unless there’s an emergency in the stables.”
“Maybe we could meet in that tiny room you guys called an office. I have some things I’d like to go over with you about the job.”
Her heartbeat crashed against her ribcage. “You’re not quitting, are you?”
Dallas laughed, and the sound of it lifted Jess’s spirits even more. He had a deep, beautiful laugh, and she wondered if he’d had occasion to use it very often behind bars. She knew he’d just gotten out of prison, but she’d also worked with enough other men to know the ones from River Bay usually weren’t too big of a threat.
Ginger wouldn’t let them come to Hope Eternal if they were.
“No,” he said between his chuckles. “But I need to do some things in the morning, and I was thinking maybe we could meet tonight, and then I could take care of that stuff.”
Jess noticed the vague nature of his statement, and while her curiosity skyrocketed about what “things” and what “stuff” he needed to take care of, she managed to keep her questions dormant. “Okay,” she said. “What time tonight?”
“Seven?”
“Sure, see you then.” The call ended, but Jess stayed in the narrow hallway, thinking. She sometimes got too wrapped up in her thoughts, and she finally forced herself to stop imagining what that night would hold. She’d find out when she showed up in the office in the equipment building at seven o’clock.
She made sure she was early that evening, but she still didn’t beat Dallas to the office. He stood with his back to the doorway as she approached, turning before she could say anything. A smile crossed his face, but it didn’t light up his eyes.
“Hey,” he said, moving one paper behind another in a stack