Page 26 of Hard Rain Coming
Jack was quiet for a few moments as if conflicted. He turned to her, his soft eyes and direct. “I heard from my friend.”
Friend. She frowned, and then it hit like a lightbulb. “The one who…” Her throat tightened, and she had no more words.
Jack nodded. “He found her.”
The air left her lungs. “Oh,” she replied softly.
Oh.
Chapter Eight
With the beef cattle settled and ready for the coming winter, Dallas had spent most of the week fixing fencing issues and a couple of water gap problems. By Friday, his to-do list was a hell of a lot smaller than it had been when he’d returned from the cattle drive, and he decided it was as good a time as any to head to town. He had some errands to run, and his fridge was damn near empty.
The ranch hands were helping Benton get the old barn ready for the annual weekend party and didn’t need him to babysit. By noon, he was on his way to Big Bend, and by 2:30, he only had a couple of things left to do. Benton had asked him to pick up Nora from school to save him a trip to town, and just after three o’clock, he pulled into the elementary school parking lot.
There was a line of folks waiting on their kids. He spied Scarlett and Taz Pullman. He’d always had a soft spot for the youngest Bridgestone daughter. She’d had a rough go losing her mom so young and had gone from a spunky, vibrant kid to a quiet child who preferred to keep to the shadows. She’d found love and happiness with Taz Pullman, and it made him happy to see her settled.
He had nothing against the domestic life. It just wasn’t for him.
“Hey,” Scarlett said with a smile as he walked up to them. Her little guy, Hank, was on Taz’s shoulders and kept tugging on the man’s ear, then giggling hysterically as they waited for his twin girls, Cameron and Ryan. “You here for Nora?”
He nodded and leaned against the fence, his eyes on the kids who’d started to file out of the school.
“Damn.” Taz sighed and glanced their way. “What did I tell her about wearing that dress to school?”
Dallas followed his gaze and tried his best not to laugh, but it was hard to keep a straight face when a little girl who looked like an angel was running toward them in white cowboy boots and a white lace dress that had more frills than was necessary, her entire outfit covered in mud.
“That right there is at least a hundred-dollar dry cleaning bill,” Pullman muttered.
“Yeah?” Dallas looked at him. “Why don’t you just toss it?”
“Because it’s her favorite.”
“Then buy her another one.”
Taz looked at him as if he had two heads. “You really don’t know anything about little girls.”
Apparently not. Dallas stood back as Ryan came barreling through the gate and launched herself at Taz. Scarlett had just enough time to rescue Hank from his shoulders, or surely the little guy would have ended up on his head.
“Daddy! Robbie Martin pushed me into a mud puddle.”
“After you tolded him he was stinky.” That was from her sister, Cameron, who was dressed more sensibly (in Dallas’s opinion), wearing jeans and a pink sweater. Sure, the jeans had sequins and the sweater was covered in glitter, but he gave her some leeway on account of her being so young.
Ryan looked over her father’s shoulder at her twin. “He was stinky.”
“I know, but it wasn’t very nice.”
“I kind of liked jumping in the mud puddle,” Ryan said with a shrug.
“Looks like you liked it a little too much,” Taz replied.
“But then our teacher got mad and yelled at us.”
“She didn’t yell,” Cameron interjected, voice dropping. “She just talks louder sometimes.”
Dallas watched the exchange, amused, and when Scarlett elbowed him, he turned to her. “What was that for?”
“You ever gonna have one of your own?” Her question was asked lightly, more of a tease, so he went with it.