“I got that impression myself.”
T.A. clicked her tongue at him, pointing her fingers in the shape of a gun and pointing them at him. “Then you’re right on the money.”
The opening of the door had her turning to see that Lily and Rachel were coming inside. Their expressions had T.A.’s heart sinking; their friend wasn’t doing well. That Dalton had the same impression made the humor they had been sharing dissipate, and she could see the despair within the depths of his eyes.
“Excuse me. I need to make a few calls.”
Dalton had been leaning against the bar but straightened before he gave her a short smile and left her to go toward the door that led to the kitchen.
T.A. took a small step forward, about to go after him, then stopped. If it had been any other man, she would have trailed behind him and made a nuisance of herself like she had every other man until she ended up in another one-sided relationship. She promised herself and her friends that the next time she wouldn’t make the first move.
Giving a regretful sigh, she knew that wasn’t going to happen with Dalton. Why would he settle for bread pudding when he could have crème brûlée? Sometimes a girl had to be smart enough to realize she was always meant to be fast food while the man she wanted was waiting for a table to open at the fine dining restaurant next door.
“Damn, girl, quit putting yourself down,” she muttered to herself. Looking around the room, she saw her friends were still talking to Kaden Cross. Stud, Calder, and Cade were plainly embarrassed at their wives’ behavior but were tolerating it to make them happy.
Buoyed by the knowledge that they had gotten their men by being bitches, she decided to chuck the promise she had made to her friends out the door if she had another opportunity with Dalton. She might not be fine dining, but fuck it, she was no McDonalds either.
8
Sex Piston backed away from the others sitting on the couch as she grew closer. “Train just called. Dr. Price is going to keep Killyama at the hospital tonight.”
“I bet she is spitting nails.”
“I told Train we’d stop by and see her before we head home.”
“I’ll come back over in the morning, too, and give Train a break. By then, he’ll be ready to pull his hair out.”
“If you do that, I’ll come over and spend the afternoon with her.”
“Sounds good.”
T.A. was worried about her friend knowing that half of the reason she had acted that way in front of Dalton was feeling overwhelmed with being pregnant. Killy had bargained with Train that once she was pregnant, she would no longer bounty hunt with Jonas and Hammer. Her job changing from chasing after runners to one behind a desk wasn’t something she was handling without complaints. Killyama would never think to put herself or the baby in danger while she was pregnant, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to complain about it either.
She and Sex Piston started listening to the conversation that was going around them.
“I love it here. I hope it snows before we leave. I want to see the snow on the mountains,” Sawyer was telling Crazy Bitch.
“That’s because you don’t live here. The winding roads get treacherous when it snows. Even when the temperatures drop to freezing, they become slippery, and you can find yourself in a ditch or going down a side of a mountain.”
“I didn’t think of that. What do you do if you want to go out?”
“You don’t.” Crazy Bitch shrugged. “That’s why as soon as snow is forecasted, we run to the store and plan to hole up until the snow passes. You learn real quick not to go out unless it’s an emergency.”
“That must make winters hard. What if you’re single and want to go out on a date? That has to get boring after a few weeks.”
“That’s when you find a hottie for the winter to keep you warm and toasty for the nights you don’t want to go out.” Crazy bitch laughed as she snuggled under her husband’s arm.
T.A. joked, joining in with the laughter in the group. “We call it ‘cuff’ around here.”
Kaden tugged his wife closer to him on the couch. “We call it that where we live too.”
They were still making jokes when Dax came up behind her.
“Have you seen my dad?”
“He was going into the kitchen to make some calls the last time I saw him,” she offered, seeing the worry in his eyes.
Excusing himself, he went toward the kitchen.
“He thinks you kidnapped him in front of everyone?” Sex Piston muttered under her breath.
She agreed that Dax was going overboard at not finding his father in the room but didn’t say anything. It was understandable that Dalton’s son and daughter would be overprotective of their father after losing their mother—if he were much older or in ill health. Dalton was neither of those.