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Did Dalton really believe that she didn’t give a daas became serious? Self-preservation, remember? This isn’t only about your relationship; this is about your livelihood And now he’s fucking with you on both levels Why are you surprised?

Because there was more to it than that And she wanted--she deserved--soht of that before you barged in here spewing accusations

Before she cleared the doorjamb completely, Dalton said in a hoarse voice, "I’ll be out of town for the next two days We can talk about this when I get back"

Rory spun around "What? Why are you just telling me this now?"

Those hurt blue eyes hooked hers "I’d planned to tell you tonight over dinner But now… Anyway, I didn’t want you to think I was running away again"

Then Dalton shut the door in her face

He’d given her no choice but to back off and process everything that’d just happened Dammit She wanted to beat on the door and resolve this now She hated fighting with a lover Hated it

As Rory drove home, the reality of the situation hit her What did it mean that she was more upset about what this ht affect her job perforured his brothers would need a day or two to cool off so he was surprised to see the

"Can we co session or a rational discussion I’ve had enough shit flung at me today that I’m feelin’ like a monkey"

They both looked at him blankly

Guess his sense of humor sucked too "Yeah, come in"

"Nice place," Tell said after they’d trooped into the kitchen

"It’s getting there" He gestured to the table They sat and he rested his back against the countertop "I’d offer you guys a beer but I’?"

"Nah Just wanted to come over and clear the air after the bullshit that happened yesterday You took off pretty damn fast," Brandt said

"Not that we blaht us off guard"

"And you wonder why I didn’t tell you about my plan before I blabbed to the whole family?"

Brandt and Tell looked at each other and nodded

"The reaction from the family yesterday hat I expected" He frowned "With the exception of Gavin’s couys were surprised by it too, so our cousins couldn’t accuse either of you of not tellin’ the that affects the ranch Or could possibly affect it Nothin’ is guaranteed except the State of Wyo cashed my five hundred dollar check for the permit application"

"Gavin was the only one makin’ sense And I hated how fast Cord, Colby and Colt turned on anyone who didn’t agree with theoin’ on a while and we’ve sorta let it slide, but seein’ that Kade and Kane feel the same way, I reckon it’s time to take Uncle Carson’s kids to task"

"About this?"

"Not only this," Tell said "But they oughta know that we’re supporting you no matter what happens"

Dalton tried not to let his shock show

But it must have, because Tell said, "Why in the hell does that surprise you?"

"Maybe because you haven’t always thrown in behind me"

Brandt snorted "If you’re talkin’ about the years you spent getting in bar fights, I’ll remind you that me’n Tell backed you plenty of times"

"Any time we had a problem with you or what you were doin’ or what you weren’t doin’, little bro, we told you And if you really think about it, us getting in your face about shit didn’t happen all that often"

He couldn’t argue with that

"Besides, the last couple years you were here workin’ on the ranch, after Dad got sober and Mom left, we had no idea what you were doin’ with yourself in your off-the-ranch hours You slammed that door in our faces whenever we asked So we stopped askin’"

Dalton couldn’t argue with that either

"Weproble that time But when you told us that you paid cash for the Fox family’s land…well, we couldn’t exactly chew your ass for bein’ a successful card player, now could we?" Tell complained

"So we think it’s bullshit, whatever stick you’ve got up your ass about this About us" Brandt’s jaw tightened "One thing we’ve always been able to count on is the three of us stick together No ed just because you have"

At least they recognized he had changed But he hadn’t found the balls to give thee toward him So he deflected "You’re both on board with my plans?"

"It’s your land, Dalton You can do whatever the hell you ith it You get that perht be a moot point anyway I found out the hard way that not only is the Crook County branch office of the WNRC in charge of processing applications, they also deterranted the permits"

Tell’s eyes widened "Oh shit"