Page 14 of Camilla & Dallas
Regardless, he wasn’t her boyfriend now, and watching her dance with other guys had his blood simmering at an unreasonable level.
Last night’s interactions seared through his skull as the early morning light filtered through the trees. Out here in the wooded area surrounded by nothing but nature and creatures, Dallas was left to his thoughts.
And he was miserable.
All he could think about, all he could see in his head, were Camilla’s eyes right before she made her escape. He hadn’t expected her to humor him—to dance with him like it was old times. That was his first mistake. He could see it now. One touch was all it had taken for him to completely lose track of his resolve.
Hadn’t he promised himself and Cheyenne that he’d leave her alone and let her resume their friendship?
Yes… but he’d also told himself he wasn’t going to lose her entirely and would try to regain some semblance of a friendship.
He muttered a disgruntled sound as he yanked his pack from the ground and headed through the foliage that surrounded him. He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Camilla. He was supposed to be working. There were clear wolf tracks several paces away from the hunting cabin. Paw prints and signs of hunting critters were everywhere. The wolves were definitely encroaching closer to civilization, and it would soon present a problem that the state would need to resolve.
Dallas slowed when he caught sight of prints that had to belong to more than one wolf.
He stopped, lowering his pack to the ground before he dug through it for his field journal and a pencil. Notating his findings had become second nature. At least when he could still shut off the part of his brain that interfered with his work. Thoughts ofCamilla drifted away as he scribbled down the information he’d need for his report. Then he grabbed his pack again.
Mateo didn’t expect him to report any of his findings, but Dallas knew he’d like to be informed of what was taking place on his property. Heck, he might even be interested in coming out and seeing the extent of everything.
Once upon a time, Camilla might have been interested in coming out to see something like this.
That all too familiar ache returned to his chest, and as usual, his instinct to rub at it hit him hard. Rather than feed that temptation, he curled his hand into a fist. He wouldn’t succumb to the habit. Not anymore.
Dallas pulledup to the main house. He’d been right about Mateo wanting to know more about the tracks he’d found, and they’d set up a time to head out and take pictures. Mateo had also wanted to know how far from the property line the wolves had come, which meant he’d need to come out to the site for a better idea.
The second Dallas shut off the engine of the ATV, he heard it.
Or rather, he heard them.
“You promised,” Camilla snapped.
“I know. And I’m sorry?—”
“No, you’re not,” she huffed. “If you were, you’d make someone else go.”
Mateo sighed. Dallas couldn’t see them, but from the direction their argument came, he figured they were near the barn. A handful of cowboys were coming and going, loading up horses into trailers. There were dogs in crates as well.
Mateo’s voice rang out again. “We’ve been over this. I forgot about the ranchers’ event.”
“Then tell him you’ll check it out later.”
“We don’t know how long he’s going to be here. I need to know if there’s a way we can prevent the wolves from getting even farther onto the property. Camilla, if it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t be asking you. Everyone else is busy.”
She released a sound that resembled a scoff, but there was a pain to it that had Dallas wincing. “So instead of keeping your promise, you’re throwing me into the fire. I see how it is.” At that moment, Camilla appeared in the doorway of the barn. Her eyes clashed with his for a second before she huffed out another disgruntled sound and stalked toward her house.
Mateo came out second. He made a face—something that looked more apologetic than anything else. “How much of that did you hear?”
“Enough to know that you’re making my—” Dallas cut himself off before he could say what was really on his mind. She’d nearly been his fiancée, but he’d left before he’d made that a reality. “Ex…” he settled on the word, swallowing it like the bitter pill it was, “do something she would rather die than go along with.”
Mateo frowned. “You know it’s not like that.”
“Isn’t it?” Dallas let out a mirthless laugh. “I saw her last weekend, you know—at the country club.”
His friend’s brows lifted in surprise. Clearly, Camilla hadn’t said a word. Dallas couldn’t pinpoint why that fact hurt him.
Clearing his throat, Dallas looked away. “So, she’s coming out to see the tracks.” It wasn’t a question. “Why are you doing this to her?” The secondthatquestion slipped past his defenses, he regretted it.
“Why am I doing this to her?” Mateo’s voice rang with derision. “I’m not doing anything to her. I allowed you to workfrom our property as a favor to you. Or have you forgotten already? You’re the one who reached out to me. You’re the one who claimed to understand the pain you’d be causing by showing up. I’m not going to lie and tell you that everything is cool between us. We’re still friends… but that doesn’t change the fact that you broke my sister’s heart.”
