Page 25 of Camilla & Dallas
She shook her head, folding her arms. “You can take me home.”
He sighed, watching her turn around and head back the way they’d come. Dallas couldn’t help the groan that slipped from his lips as he raked a frustrated hand through his hair. They’d been getting along on good terms, hadn’t they? He went over their conversation at dinner in painstaking detail but couldn’t figure out what he might have said that would have offended her. He came up blank.
Camilla waited for him at the side of Mateo’s truck. When he got there, he stopped in front of her. In one last ditch effort, he heaved a sigh. “I don’t understand what’s going on, Camilla. Please… talk to me.”
She scoffed, not meeting his eyes. “Of course you don’t. And if you have to ask, then you’ll never know.”
That was it, then. Camilla was mad. She had every right to be. He’d told himself that over and over again. She didn’t trust him, and he didn’t deserve it anyway. Dallas couldn’t expect to come waltzing into her life and have everything return to normal. He’d hoped that she’d be willing to stay friends, but clearly that was going to be nearly as impossible as winning her heart again.
With a click of a button, he unlocked the doors and she climbed inside.
She didn’t say a single word the whole drive back. And when he put the truck in park, she bolted. He watched her go, more flustered and frustrated than he’d been in a long time.
Dallas madeit a point to come to the main part of the ranch at least once a day since his friend-date with Camilla. He’d wanted to see how she was doing—had hoped she might be open to a conversation after the heat had died down.
But Camilla had other plans. She was back to avoiding him.
If he had been a lesser man, Dallas might have washed his hands of the whole situation. He would have turned his back on any hope of getting back into Camilla’s good graces. The weaker part of him wanted to do just that.
Unfortunately, there was a hole in his heart that refused to be ignored. It was a Camilla-shaped hole, and the only way to heal it was to get some closure of his own.
Dallas needed to get Camilla to talk to him. They both needed to come to terms with what he’d done seven years ago. When she’d said that she was over it, she’d been lying. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so mad now.
When he pulled onto the property and hopped off the ATV, he nearly climbed right back onto that seat and took off again. He’d gotten done with his work and had already given Camilla a couple days to cool down.
But maybe he hadn’t given her enough space.
He should go back to the cabin.
That would be the respectful thing to do.
“Hey, Dallas. You looking for Mateo?”
Dallas turned to find Roman studying him, his expression unreadable. Had Camilla been right about her family hating him? Mateo didn’t seem too bent out of shape from their past. But Roman was a different breed. He’d always been more protective over his sisters.
Rolling back his shoulders, Dallas refused to show Roman any weakness. “Actually, no. I thought I’d look around at the setup you guys have here. It’s fascinating.” Not a complete lie. Dallas had always been interested in the lifestyle Camilla and her siblings led on their ranch. It was one of the reasons he’d gone into wildlife research.
While the Palmer family didn’t work with wildlife, they worked closely with animals. Camilla was in her element when she was with the puppies. He’d wanted to learn something that could complement her interests.
Ironically, he’d lost her in the process.
“You realize this isn’t a tourist attraction, right?” There was a bitter edge to Roman’s words, and the bite was enough to draw Dallas back to the present.
Dallas chuckled. He hadn’t meant to. In fact, the sound was more strangled than it should have been. But what else couldhe do? He pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “What if I’m willing to help out a little? I finished up my reports early today. If you need an extra pair of hands, I’m more than happy…”
Roman arched a brow, but he didn’t immediately shut him down.
That was a good sign, right?
They stared each other down for a few long moments—moments that had Dallas itching to explain himself and ask if Roman knew of anything he could do to get back on Camilla’s good side. But then Roman sighed and nodded.
“We just received our feed order. You can help me unload.”
Dallas smiled. He didn’t know if it was relief or something else. Maybe he just needed to stay busy. He couldn’t help but let his attention sweep his immediate surroundings, something Roman caught onto quickly.
“She’s not here.”
He stiffened, his focus clashing with Roman who was now as stoic as ever with arms crossed and his jaw rigid.
