Page 152 of Wild Card
“What goes around comes around,” Dalton agreed. “But it’s not always enough.”
I knew he was thinking of the Hales.
“There’d be no justice at all without your hard work.”
Dallas had served a two-year term and was due to be released on parole soon. His dad had done only months in jail for his role. They both deserved more, given all the other crimes they’d probably gotten away with, but at least Hale would never have authority over the people of Riverton again, and Dallas wouldn’t have a driver’s license for a long damn time.
“I should be able to wrap up here in the next fifteen minutes,” Dalton said.
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
I turned off the highway onto the bumpy drive that led to the auto shop. I hooked a right toward the junkyard, then kept driving past it to the little house Dalton and I had built on our land.
Dalton had sold off his fixer-upper in the woods for a down payment, and Emory had helped us secure a loan for the rest before he left the bank for good. The two-bedroom house with attached kennel was just on the other side of the junkyard.
It was close to my brothers while still giving us our own space. All of us sharing two bathrooms would be alot.
I let myself in, greeting Sugar and Taz, who liked staying at the house. Loki and Oreo spent the nights with us, but most days, they preferred to play out at the junkyard.
One of our ex-con program employees was covering for me while I took care of foster business. Troy loved dogs, so he’d been happy to have them for company while I was gone.
“Hey, guys. You wanna go visit Banshee tonight?”
Sugar gave a deep woof of approval. Taz lifted his lip in a sneer, probably thinking of Gray, but he’d happily gobble the scraps once we got there.
They trailed me to the kitchen, watching hopefully as I pulled out the ingredients to whip up the cream cheese pinwheels my brothers all loved. I put the cream cheese in the microwave to soften and chopped green onion, corned beef, and jalapeños at the breakfast counter.
By the time Dalton arrived, I was slathering flour burrito shells with the cream cheese mixture and rolling them up to slice.
The dogs tore toward the door as it opened.
“Hey, babies,” Dalton crooned, giving them loving.
I rolled my eyes, smiling to myself. Anyone who saw him now would never know those were my dogs originally. He spoiled them rotten.
In the corner, his bird, Bluey, chirped indignantly. I didn’t blame the poor girl.
Dalton crossed the room, murmuring soft words to the parakeet, then came my way. “Do I have time for a shower?”
“If you make it quick.”
He came up behind me, sweeping aside my hair to press his lips to the nape of my neck. “I’ve been thinking about that quickie…”
I chuckled. “I can feel that.”
His erection nudged against my ass as he pressed me to the counter.
“Want to join me in the shower?” His hand slipped under the hem of my T-shirt. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
I turned, slipping my arms around his neck. “You always do.”
He kissed me, long and sweet. Gone were the days we kissed urgently. Now, we took our time. We still burned with plenty of fire, but it was a tempered fire, one that we knew would last.
“We’ll be late for dinner, and Gray will eat more than his share…”
“I’ll just have to fill up on something else,” he said, voice a deep rumble.
Wehadbeen busy lately. Running the junkyard and the foster program kept me working at all hours. And the sheriff gig was no joke. Dalton worked twice as many hours as Hale ever had. The price of being a good leader, I supposed.
