Dakota Storm Read online

  She'd quit comparing the two men around midnight and focused only on her relationship with Brandon. Why did she love him? Because he was stable? A nice guy? There wasn't much she could come up with. Reality had slapped her so hard that she’d slipped quietly out of bed and snuck into the living room to cry. And not just any type of crying—ugly crying. She didn't even know herself anymore. She was tired of dancing around the same issue she'd skirted around for the last four years: her feelings for David.

  Yep, David had up and left. And he'd taken nearly every piece of her with him. In today's society, she'd felt like she'd had to buck up and put on a good face. Didn't hurt. Didn't sit in her gut like a pain that even morphine couldn't touch. She was a strong woman, capable of moving on, kicking ass, and taking names. An independent woman. That’s what society wanted to see, right?

  Instead of becoming a strong, independent woman, she'd neutered herself. Whatever balls she'd earned growing up on the ranch she'd stuffed into Brandon's purse so the hurt would go away.

  Boy, there wasn't anything quite like holding a mirror up to your face and admitting that all your failures and insecurities that had accumulated throughout the years were because a man had broken your heart. And she still wanted him. Ached for him.

  Damn son of a bitch. And she was no better. She'd hopped right in the back of a Ford with no promise of tomorrow, and when tomorrow hadn't come, she'd screamed foul. Thrown up the he-left-me flag and wallowed in enough self-pity to change the way she lived her life. She’d let everything she’d loved fall by the wayside instead of bucking up and taking control of her life.

  She wasn't a selfish person, but being with Brandon was selfish because it had always been about her. Yes, she'd conformed to some of the things he liked to do, but she'd stayed with him because she knew he'd never leave her—especially if, like Matt had rightly assumed—she was everything he wanted in a woman. She’d wanted Brandon in her life because he'd been the opposite of David in every way. Brandon had been a balm to her bleeding heart, and he told her that she was good enough when she’d felt like garbage.

  But now her heart was pulling her toward the man who had broken it in half, and as frustrating as that was, she couldn’t deny it any longer.

  The sound of a car pulling into the driveway snapped her out of her thoughts. She swiped at her eyes, sat straighter on the couch, and took a deep breath. She was through playing Brandon's girlfriend. Better to end it now than allow the ruse to take them all the way down the aisle. Then they’d be miserable for life.

  When Brandon walked in, he glanced at her duffle bag. “When did you go get your truck?”

  He probably didn't like the rusted piece of Ford in his driveway. “Abby picked me up and took me to the ranch this morning. My dad wanted me to take Mom to Aberdeen to get her mind off things while he and Matt straightened out what they could with the livestock. We bought some clothes for the boys and for us.”

  She hadn’t seen David, but they must have pulled his old truck out of the side of the house, because it had been parked by the side of the barn in the same place it had been for years. That old, memorable truck looked absolutely beat down. Kinda like she felt. She hoped he didn’t take it to the junk yard. She didn’t want to see it destroyed.

  Brandon tossed his keys onto the coffee table and sat on the love seat. “You didn't mention you were going to Aberdeen today. You didn't call or text me all day.”

  She cleared her throat. “I uh… We need to talk.”

  He gestured toward her bag. “You headed to Abby's?”

  He'd picked up on the vibe that she was leaving, but he just hadn't gotten the destination right. She had asked Abby if she could stay with her, but Abby already had three people crashing at her place. Her best friend had told her that she'd make room, but Misty said she had other places she could go. She hadn't wanted to stay with her parents, because once Big Mike got home from the hospital that would be a little crowded.

  No. That wasn’t the truth. She shouldn't lie to herself anymore. She wanted to go to the guesthouse. Wanted to see David. His invitation for her to stay with him had entered her thoughts too many times to count. “I have a couple of rooms at the guesthouse. You and Matt could stay there.”

  “No.” She didn't go into an explanation on where she was staying because she didn't want to fight about it. She didn't want Brandon to tell her that she needed time to think it over or that she was making a mistake. Hell, maybe he'd be right. “Brandon, you wanted me to take a few days to think things over, but time isn't changing my mind about us. You wouldn't let me talk in the car last night and I want to explain myself. This isn't just about David coming home.”

  “The hell it isn't. We were fine until he came around.”

  There he was, reaching for the obvious, just like she’d done for the past few weeks. This went so much deeper. “Yeah, that's it. We were fine. Compatible maybe, but answer me this: Do you get antsy to see me when you haven't seen me for a few days? Does your heart speed up when you see me?”

  Brandon smirked and then laughed as though he were humoring a nine-year-old. “Misty, this isn't a movie. We're not teenagers anymore. I think what we have is mature love. What you’re referring to is an infatuation.”

  She didn't want to hurt him, but she was through with lying—to him and to herself. And if he believed that what they shared was a mature love, then he’d never truly been in love before. “I've felt that before, and I know it's missing between us.”

  The smirk melted right off his face. “You felt that toward David when you were kids. Is that what you're basing your decision off of? Something you felt toward a boy when you were fifteen? Come on, Misty.”

  She tamped down the anger that was beginning to rise. “I still feel it when I see him.”

  Brandon stood and grabbed his keys off the table, his normal calm and cool exterior cracking. “So, let me guess... He invited you to stay with him, and because of those damn butterflies in your stomach, you're running over there to be with him?” He held up a hand. “Never mind. Actually, I don't want to know.”

  He jangled the keys in his hand, looking around the room. Misty grabbed her bag and stood. She didn't know what to say. She'd never broken up with someone. Was there a better way to do it?

  Brandon turned to her. “Do you think you're going to get some romantic happily-ever-after with him? You can't even trust him. Not to mention, you're headed to Rapid shortly. You think you can trust him to keep his dick in his pants because the two of you feel butterflies? Come on, Misty. That's a joke. Be realistic.”

  Well, he certainly knew where to thrust the knife. “I don't know what will happen. But I can't stay here.”

  “You still going to teach in Rapid?”

  “Yes.” She hadn't busted her ass in college for four years just to let go of her dream. She wasn't even sure she and David would ever rekindle whatever it was they’d had. She only figured she'd take a step in his direction, not walk down the aisle.

  “And what if that job falls through?”

  She frowned. “They already hired me. How could it fall through?”

  For a second she thought he was just being an asshole since she was breaking up with him, but something about the way he was looking at her jarred her brain. “Oh. Because your dad knows the superintendent you're going to pull some strings to get me fired before I even start?”

  “I didn't say that.”

  “You didn't have to,” she snapped. She marched by him, and with her hand on the front door, she turned back to face him. “Thanks for making this easier. Glad we could talk about this like adults.”

  He gestured toward the door with his keys. “You walk out that door and it's over. Do you understand?”

  For a moment, she was shocked to her core. He’d never spoken to her in that way. Her anger at his thinly veiled threat goaded her on. “The question isn't if I understand. I didn't want this to go down this way. I know you think this is coming out of left field, but once yo
u sit down and really think about us like I did, you'll come to the same conclusion: We're not right for each other.”

  Brandon slowly shook his head. “You're wrong about that. But you're stuck in the past pining over a guy that left you without a word. And now that he's home, he figures you'll come running back because he flashed you a grin.”

  “You don't know him like I do,” she said quietly. Is there truth to what he’s saying?

  “You're still thinking of the past. The way he was.”

  Brandon was starting to make her doubt everything. She was quickly losing the fight to keep her temper in check. She ground her teeth and said, “He made a mistake. We grew up together. I know him better than anyone.”

  “And when you leave for Rapid you'll grow apart, just like you did four years ago. He's not leaving that ranch, Misty, especially with his dad in the hospital. Just like in the past, you'll put him above everything and everyone, and he'll prove to you that once again you're not worth it.”

  Wishing she had more control over her emotions, but unable to hold her shit together at the words that twisted her heart, she bolted from the house and slammed the door behind her.

  David finally managed to score a shower. He'd never got the catnap he'd wanted earlier in the day. Too much had been going on. He was past the point of exhaustion. Past the point of giving two shits about where Misty was staying or the why behind it. The hot water sliding down his shoulders and back was by far the best thing that had happened to him today, and he was going to enjoy every second of it. Then he was finally going to crash, and he'd bet the ranch he was going to sleep like a baby.

  He'd called Shane earlier that afternoon to see when someone could fix the damage to his parents’ house. Shane said it would be a few days before he could send one of his workers to look at the house and give him an estimate, and even that wouldn’t be a concrete date. With all the structural damage to homes in the area, it seemed as though a few calls had gone through Shane's contracting company before David had called. Now David had to wait in line.

  His father's surgery was scheduled for nine in the morning in Sioux Falls, and his mother had gone with Big Mike. She said she was renting a car, and that he could use Big Mike’s truck until he had his fixed or bought a new one. After surgery, Big Mike would be transferred back to Pierre. The doctors said the transfer would be about a week post-op. Without asking him, his parents expected him to stay and see to the ranch, which he would. He doubted his mom even knew about the fight, and Big Mike was stuck between a rock and a hospital.

  Matt and his parents were at the main house, no doubt talking about what they were going to do now that their house was gone. Matt said he'd be back at the guesthouse within the hour, after he'd spoken with his parents.

  David stopped lathering his arms, thinking he'd heard something, but dismissed it and continued to wash. Not ten seconds after thinking he was through giving a shit where Misty was concerned, she’d popped up in his mind again. He could lie to himself all day long, but at the end of the day it was always the same: He couldn't get her out of his mind.

  Why would Misty tell Brandon they'd kissed? David had thought about it throughout the day, but couldn't come up with a good reason, other than the fact that she wouldn't want to lie to Brandon. That was the type of person she was. Loyal. The truth had probably sat in her gut until she'd blurted it out to him.

  He was rinsing off when the nagging sound he'd heard earlier turned into a pounding. Shit. Someone was at the door.

  He quickly turned off the water, grabbed a towel, and draped it around his hips. Holding the towel with one hand, he jogged to the door. He must have locked Matt out.

  “Just a second,” he called out. The door wasn't locked, but when he wrenched it open, he damn near dropped his towel. The last person he'd expected to see was standing on his doorstep.

  Considering the way Misty's eyes rounded, taking in his state of wet and hardly covered, she hadn't been expecting to see what was currently standing on the other side of the threshold either. He almost smiled at the expression on her face. Instead, he kept his face impassive, which took a hell of a lot of work on his part. “There something I can help you with?”

  That afternoon he’d helped neighbors start their generators and dropped a generator off to a family in town. He’d helped find lost pets and even managed to keep up with the new calf’s feedings throughout the day. But he wasn’t prepared for this. What could possibly bring Misty to his doorstep?

  She tried to snap out of her stupor. “I...”

  He did smile then. Couldn't help it. She'd never seen all of his ink. Half his chest was covered with it. Maybe she was the type to like it. Lord knew he'd caught her staring at his right arm over the past month.

  “Did you forget something? Need something?” He looked over her head, expecting to see Brandon's vehicle, a sensible Honda Civic, but it wasn't there. Misty's truck was parked in the guesthouse driveway, right next to Big Mike’s truck. That made him frown. “Where's Brandon?” He'd rather hoped the prick was watching Misty's reaction to seeing him like this. Made him want to drop his towel.

  “He's at his place.”

  This was getting more interesting by the second. “And...” He was sure he was missing something. “Are you looking for Matt? He's back at my parents’ house.”

  “Are you going to let me in, or are you going to keep asking me questions?”

  Properly schooled, he stepped aside, and she passed by him. “Problems in paradise?” he asked lightly. Praying, hoping, needing. He wasn't prepared for her comeback.

  “Let's just say I've been kicked out of the garden,” she replied, kicking off her shoes and turning to face him. “How's Big Mike doing?”

  The change in subject jarred his brain into a receive-only receptacle. He stared at her in silence, wondering what she was going to drop on him next. Had Brandon broken up with her? David highly doubted it. Not with the possessive vibes the man had been throwing all over Misty, or after that ring he'd supposedly shown her. “He's scheduled for a quadruple bypass at nine tomorrow morning in Sioux Falls. He should be there now.”

  “When will they be back?”

  “About a week, depending on how he recovers after his surgery.”

  “I’d like to visit them.”

  “They'd like that.” He paused, not sure he should speak what was on his mind but unable to stop himself. Misty looked as though she were getting comfortable, having kicked off her shoes. Was she meeting Matt? If that were the case, she'd be over at his parents’ house and not here at the guesthouse. “What are you doing here? Did Brandon break up with you?”

  She shook her head, then she stuttered, “Well, I mean, we're no longer a couple.”

  “You broke up with him?” He had to clarify the specifics before he got too excited. That little ember started to spark again. Blow it out or let it rage...

  She set her duffle bag on the floor and faced him. “Yes, David, I broke up with him.”

  “Was I the reason?” He probably shouldn’t press her this hard after what happened yesterday, but he couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth.

  She didn't seem offended and only shrugged. “You were part of the reason. I guess I should have called and asked before I dropped in on you like this, but is the invitation to stay here still up for grabs?”

  Let it rage. “Absolutely.” He hadn't expected her to match his bluntness. Matt's voice popped in his head. “The old Misty is coming back, little by little.” This new chain of events changed everything.

  But then so did the fake, sultry voice coming from the hallway. “David? Do you have an extra toothbrush? I forgot... Oh, hey Misty.”

  Shit. He'd completely forgotten Caroline was staying here. Now that he remembered, why hadn't she answered the door? She’d probably been primping in the mirror like she'd been doing since this afternoon when she'd barged in with no place else to go. At least that’s what she’d said. The first time he’d spoken
to her after the tornado, she’d said her landlord had things at her apartment complex under control.

  They both looked at Caroline, Misty’s mouth gaping open and his jaw clenched tighter than an old, rusty bolt. Caroline stood in the hallway wearing a pair of gym shorts that barely covered her ass and a tank top that had the word “PINK” on it.

  Misty slowly turned to look at him. No, not look. Glare. “She needed a place to stay,” he said lamely. “Her apartment building got damaged.”

  Misty couldn't actually think he was sleeping with Caroline, could she? He quickly changed his mind when she raked a scowl over his bare chest and the small towel he held at his waist, and then met his gaze once more. Pair that with what she'd always thought...

  Yeah. Yeah, she could. “It's not like that.”

  He'd had no choice. How could he turn Caroline away when she'd let him stay with her when he'd first arrived back in town? Even though he'd known his dad wasn't going to like that Caroline was staying on his property, and very well might tell her to leave, David couldn't turn her away.

  “Where's Matt?” Misty asked, her gaze locked on his.

  Loaded question. She was basically asking if he and Caroline had been alone. “He's at my parents’ place like I said. He should be back any minute.” He emphasized the word “any”, hoping she would catch his meaning.

  She nodded, but she sure as hell didn't look like she believed him. “Well, do they have another room over there?”

  “You're not leaving,” he whispered forcefully so Caroline couldn't hear. Christ, he'd finally been exactly where he'd wanted to be since he'd arrived back in Garner—standing in front of a single Misty who managed to look at him without hate in her eyes. Now here they were again.