Page 75 of Dust and Desire
My heart sank as we filed inside, taking in the sparse motel furniture and the few personal belongings scattered about. An expensive-looking leather suitcase sat open on the bed, filled with clothes that screamed money. On the nightstand sat a silver picture frame containing a photo that made my blood run cold.
It was Alex, but not the Alex I knew. This was a younger version, maybe three or four years ago, laughing at something off-camera. He looked carefree in a way I’d never seen him, and he was clearly unaware the photo was being taken.
“Jesus,” Caroline breathed, picking up the frame. “This is sick.”
Ali was examining the contents of the suitcase with professional detachment. “Everything here is expensive,” she said, gingerly lifting a silk shirt. “Designer labels. And look—” She gestured to a small velvet box sitting among the clothes.
Marcus carefully opened it with a pen, revealing a silver ring set with a black stone. “A wedding ring,” he said grimly.
My stomach turned. This man wasn’t just stalking Alex, he was planning a life with him, a life Alex clearly wanted no part of.
“There’s something else,” Caroline called from the bathroom. We hurried over to find her pointing to a lit cigarette still burning in an ashtray. The window had been thrown wide open, the curtains rustling in the breeze.
“He musta fled the moment he saw us coming?—”
But before he could finish his thought, a gunshot split the air. All of us nearly jumped out of our skins.
“Don’t fuckin’ move!” we heard someone scream outside. “Or I’ll turn you from a bull to a heifer in one shot!”
It was Dolly.
Chapter 27
Alex
It nearly killed me to ignore Dustin’s texts. Once he started calling me and leaving voice messages, I felt a very real pain in my chest and had to turn off my phone. I just couldn’t stomach hitting the ignore button anymore. He meant the world to me and there I was, trying to pretend he didn’t exist.
It broke my heart.
But I knew I didn’t have a choice. And I couldn’t go back, not even for one night. That’s why I’d split in the middle of the day, left only a small note behind, and got a room in the next small town over. If I was anywhere near Dustin, anywhere that I might run into one of the wonderful people from Sagebrush, I’d never be able to leave. And if I didn’t leave, Keith would hurt Dustin… or worse.
I didn’t sleep that night. Not a wink.
When morning came, I did everything I could to busy myself. I wasn’t due to meet Keith until sunset. It meant I’d have to go back to Sagebrush and even step on Baker Ranch land again, but nobody ever went to the abandoned north barn. Nobody would see me arrive and nobody would see me leave with Keith. If I was lucky,they’d find my rusted-out truck someday parked along the backside of the barn. Even then, I doubted it.
When I checked out of the motel that morning, I went to a diner to get some breakfast. But I could barely stomach my coffee, much less food. So, I went on a walk and that’s what I did for most of the day. I just wandered around, thinking about everything I’d ever done wrong in my life and how it had all led to this. I was gonna lose the man I loved more than anything to a rich asshole with an ego and a small dick. But if it kept Dustin from harm and stopped him from being dragged down with me, it was worth it. I didn’t want him getting caught up in the stupid things I’d done as an angry kid. He deserved better than that.
By the time the sun started sinking toward the horizon, painting the Texas sky in shades of orange and pink, I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. My hands were shaking as I climbed into my truck and started the engine. The drive back to Sagebrush felt like heading to my own execution.
The familiar rolling hills came into view as I crested the last rise before town, and my chest tightened with a longing so fierce it nearly doubled me over. This place had become home in a way nowhere else ever had. These people… Logan, Caroline, and especially Dustin, had become my family. And I was about to lose it all.
I took the back roads to avoid driving through town, winding my way toward the abandoned north barn on the far edge of Baker Ranch property. The old structure sat in a hollow between two hills, hidden from the main ranch buildings and forgotten by everyone except the occasional coyote looking for shelter.
When I pulled up, Keith’s red truck wasn’t there yet. Part of me felt a flicker of hope. Maybe he wouldn’t show, or maybe this was all some sick game. But I knew better. He’d be here. He always kept his word when it came to the things he wanted. And that hideous wedding ring had my name on it.
I sat in my truck for a few minutes, gathering what little courage I had left, then forced myself to get out and walk toward the barn.The old hinges creaked as I pulled open the heavy wooden door, and the musty smell of hay and dust hit me immediately.
My breath caught as my gaze fell on the figure standing in front of me. But it wasn’t Keith’s lithe form waiting for me in the dim light filtering through the gaps in the weathered boards.
It was Dustin.
He stood in the center of the barn, his dark hair disheveled like he’d been running his hands through it, his blue eyes blazing with an anger I’d never seen before. His whole body was tense, coiled like a spring about to snap. He was staring right at me.
“You son of a bitch,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “You were just going to disappear? Without a word? Without even giving me a chance to—” His voice cracked, and he had to stop and take a shuddering breath. “To fight for you?” Dustin finished, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “After everything we’ve been through?”
I froze in the doorway, shock paralyzing me. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Dustin wasn’t supposed to be here. Keith would arrive any minute, and then?—
“How did you find me?” I managed, my voice barely audible over the thundering of my heart.
