Page 1 of My Secret Santa Dallas

Chapter One

Dallas

Standing there, waiting for my brother to reply, tempted me to turn away, jump into my Jeep, and drive somewhere else— anywhere else.

The problem— I did not have anywhere else to go.

After my life imploded in San Francisco, I had only one way to turn to— my old home in Montana. A home I was not sure would accept me anymore.

Warrick, my brother, stepped closer, and I heard the spurs on his boots jingle, jarring me to the realization that he was no longer the renowned bullrider he’d once been— he was now a cowboy.

He stared at me as if I were a ghost, or possibly a figment of his imagination, but as he came closer, I noticed the slight limp in his left leg.

The accident. The one that had torn his life apart, and I had not been there for him during that time. I braced for his fist to sock me one— or two.

He was owed much morethan that.

Warrick stood a foot away from me and stared at me, his eyes flitting from one of my eyes to the other. His hands lifted and came down on my shoulders, his voice cracking. “You’re back? Dallas? You’re back?”

My fear got tighter. “For a while, yes.”

The brother I had not seen for over two decades hugged me tight, and I felt even more like an asshole. I didn’t deserve this welcome. Frankly, I’d have preferred it if he’d punched me.

“I never thought I’d see you again.”

What did I say about that? How could I tell him that I never imagined I’d see this old town again, which would imply that I never wanted to see him again, even while I was on his doorstep?

Looking back, I now realize that sixteen-year-old me was a really desperate, heartless, rootless son-of-a-bitch.

“The town has changed, yet still remains the same,” I murmured.

He snorted. “It’s Silver Springs. No matter how much it changes, it is the same.”

My chest was in knots. If there was one thing I can recall from my time on a ranch, it was that you didn’t get anywhere just by avoiding the issue. You have to grab that sucker by the horns. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m back here… after all this time?”

“No,” Warrick replied.

My head snapped up. “It’s been over fifteen years, Warrick.”

“And not a day too soon,” he replied. “Come on in, Dallas. The questions can wait until tomorrow.”

As he spoke, three people came to the porch, clearly checking on what was keeping my brother. I knew Marie, but the other two, a girl and a guy, I had never seen before.

Warrick turned to the porch and smiled— I knew that smile; I’d seen it on people deeply in love. The girl came forward, her eyes flitting to me and back to him. “Warrick?”

He wrapped an arm around her. “Zoe, Frankie, I want you all to meet my brother, Dallas.”

Her mouth dropped, and I could see she knew about me but didn’t think she’d ever see me in person. “You’re that Dallas?”

“In the flesh,” I replied. “I’m sorry. You are?”

“My girlfriend, Zoe Harrington,” Warrick replied. “But that is enough for tonight. Where did you drive from?”

“San Francisco,” I said. “Straight.”

“What?” Warrick exclaimed. “That’s a twenty-hour drive. You must be exhausted.”

“Sixteen and change,” I said to him while rolling my stiff neck. “But you’re right, I’m bushed. I need a bed, a bottle of Jack, and a bath.”

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