Page 33 of Mountain Rescue
“It’s okay, girl,” he softly said as he eased over to her. “No one’s going to hurt you. I just had a bad dream.” He leaned back against the wall and put his hand on top of her head. “You’re okay.” She crawled onto his lap. “We’re two messed-up creatures, huh?”
“Two beautiful creatures.”
Dallas lifted his gaze to the woman sitting in his doorway with her legs crossed and her hands clasped together. How long had she been there? He was losing his skills if she could sneak up on him like that.
“I woke you. I’m sorry.” He’d never wanted her to see his body. He should have shut his door, but he’d left it open so he could hear if anyone tried to break into the cabin.
“You didn’t. I was reading a boring book, hoping it would put me to sleep. I heard you, and I just couldn’t pretend I didn’t.” Her gaze traveled over his scarred chest and arms. Since he was only wearing boxer briefs, he was glad Bella’s body was hiding his messed-up legs. The expression in her eyes went from appreciation to pity.
“Don’t,” he said, almost cringing at the snarl in his voice, but he couldn’t take anyone’s pity, one reason he’d fled from his family. He especially couldn’t take hers.
“What? Don’t what, Dallas? Hate that someone hurt you? That your body is marked by their cruelty but still beautiful? Sorry, but I get to own my feelings about you.” She tilted her head as she stared back at him. “Do you think you can handle me touching you right now?”
There was nothing he wanted more, but he was still too raw after his nightmare. “I don’t think I can.”
The ride to K-9 for their meeting with Jack and Noah was the quietest time he’d had with Rachel in the few days he’d known her. He hated that he was to blame for the distance between them, but it was for the best.
As he turned onto the gravel road that led to K-9, he glanced at her. She was wearing one of her disguises, probably the one she wore on the plane, that of a college student.
If the college girl with long blond hair, black skinny jeans riding low on her hips, and the pale blue off-the-shoulder blouse had been in one of his classes, he would have begged her to go out with him. The man he was now wanted to see the real Rachel sitting next to him, not this pretty sorority girl who was ignoring his existence.
He couldn’t stand her silence. “Hey, I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She finally looked at him.
“For last night.” He parked the car, then shifted to face her. “I’m giving you mixed signals, and that’s wrong of me.”
“What you’re giving me is whiplash, but apology accepted.” She put her hand on the door handle. “No more kissing, okay?”
His first impulse was a resounding no, he didn’t agree, not after knowing how sweet she tasted, how soft and warm her lips were. And even more than those reasons, was this one...she was the only person since his rescue that he could tolerate touching him. How was he supposed to turn his back on that?
“Fine, no more kissing.” Because he couldn’t resist messing with her a little, he said, “Until we get married. Then all bets are off.” She laughed, and he felt a hundred feet tall for putting that light in her eyes.
“Someday I’m going to accept your proposal just to see you panic.”
He wasn’t sure he would, but that was his secret. He already knew he’d pursue a relationship with her if he’d met her before his time in Hotel Hell, but now he was a mess. And it wasn’t just that holding him back.
Dallas loved working with the horses, and he was good at it. He could work for Phoenix, who’d taken what had been a minor segment of the family business and built it into a substantial training and breeding operation, but Dallas wanted something of his own. If he could just figure out what that was.
As much as he tried not to, he envied his siblings. They had found their places in life. Money wasn’t an issue. Each sibling had a trust fund and owned shares in the ranch, even he and Shiloh, and they were all wealthy. But he wanted a purpose, and he wanted to love whatever that might be. Until he figured out his future, it wasn’t fair to involve someone else in his life, not when he didn’t even know where he’d end up living.
“Whoa, who are you and what have you done with Rachel?” Noah said when Rachel walked into K-9’s conference room with Dallas.
Dallas grinned. “Meet college girl, Rachel’s alter ego.”
Jack walked in and came to an abrupt halt at seeing Rachel. “Incredible. If I passed you on the street, I’d walk right by never realizing it was you.”
“That’s the intention of doing this,” Rachel said. “Hopefully, Robert won’t realize it’s me if I show up on any security cameras he manages to see.”
Jack pulled out a chair at the table. “There’s always the chance he can find out you flew into Asheville, and that concerns me.”
“Nope, I flew to Atlanta, then paid cash for a junk car and drove it here disguised as an old lady.”
Noah whistled. “You’re one clever woman, Rachel Denning.”
She really was, and Dallas loved the big smile that blossomed on her face at the praise. He put his hand on her back and guided her to the chair next to Jack, then took the seat next to her, across from Noah.
“You have that phone with you that you used to call the police?” Jack asked Rachel.
