Rugged Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,55

didn’t confirm or deny what Nate had said. Everyone in River Bay had a past, that was for sure. Some had done bad things, but most of the men there had made bad choices, which lead to bad things happening, which lead to their incarceration. They weren’t inheritently bad men.

“I can call Jesus,” Dallas finally said. “But he’s probably not even in the country anymore.”

“Can’t hurt to try,” Nate said. “If this is the only way you’re going to get out from under this….” He let his words hang there, and Dallas hated this feeling of being trapped between two impossible solutions.

His lungs hardened, and all he could see was the horrible, red-rimmed eyes of his children as they melted into his arms. He would not put them through that again, which meant he could not allow Josh to “drop by” his house again. Or his workplace, his parents’ house, or anywhere else he and his kids might be.

“I’m going to call him right now,” Dallas said.

“I’ve got a friend in law enforcement that could help,” Ted said. “And about two dozen of the best lawyers in Texas who know how to find people online. I’ll put some feelers out.”

“I’ll call the Warden,” Nate said.

Dallas turned away from his sleeping kids. “The Warden?”

“Yeah,” Nate said. “We’ve stayed in touch, and he’s dead useful with stuff like this. He has ears in places no one else does.”

“I bet he does,” Dallas said. He hadn’t been close to the Warden, and he hadn’t known anyone had. The Warden held himself apart from everyone, and Dallas had dealt with him several times because of the beating he’d taken.

“Let’s talk tomorrow,” Nate said.

“You sure you’re okay there tonight?” Ted asked.

“There’s room at the ranch,” Nate said. “We can make sure no one comes near you or even onto the property.”

“I’m okay,” Dallas said, though his gratitude for his friends couldn’t be quantified. “But thank you.”

“I’m going to come stay with you,” Ted said. “He has two kids. He shouldn’t be alone.”

Dallas let him and Nate talk to each other, though they were talking about him, without saying anything. This was just another one of those times where he had to let someone else take care of him.

Nate had done it in River Bay. They’d all looked out for each other after that. He thought of Slate and Luke still behind bars, and when Ted said, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes, Dallas. What do you need?”

“Could you stop and get some Frosted Flakes?” he asked. “My kids love those, and we’re out.”

“Sure,” Ted said. “Anything else?”

“No, I think that’s all.” He drew in a deep breath. “And guys, we’ve got to go check on Slate and Luke.”

“Yes,” Nate said instantly. “Let me call the Warden and find out about the next family day.”

“Okay,” Dallas said. The call with his friends ended, and he took a deep breath. If he didn’t make his next call right now, he wouldn’t do it. He thought of Jess, but he scrolled through his list to find Jesus’s number. They’d been in the infirmary together for a few days in the first six months of Dallas’s stay at River Bay, and they’d bonded a little bit.

His line rang and rang, and no one answered. He didn’t get a disconnect notice, but his heart still fell toward his shoes. His feet hurt. His back hurt. He hadn’t been anticipating driving for four hours and then working on a broken down vehicle for five more.

He’d missed his date with Jess, and his children had been abandoned once more. Fierce anger burned through him, and he started to dial Jesus again. He wasn’t going to let this drop, even if the conversation would be hard to have.

Before he could connect the call again, his line rang, and Jesus’s name sat there. Hope shone brightly in Dallas’s soul, and he quickly connected the call. “Jesus,” he said.

“Amigo,” Jesus said, holding onto the O for a long time. “What’s up, bro?”

“Jesus,” Dallas said with a chuckle. He cast a quick look behind him at his sleeping kids—his angels—and softly stepped out of the room. “I’m looking for my ex-wife,” he said as he went down the hall. “And you’re sort of the expert at finding someone who doesn’t want to be found.”

“Not sort of the expert, muchacho. I am the expert.”

Dallas laughed with Jesus, and said, “All right then. Can you help me?”

The next morning, Ted sat at the kitchen table with Thomas and