Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“Don’t think so,” Clutch answered. “I think it’s just Dusty.”
Dallas was Skidrow’s ol’ lady. He was before my time, but I’d heard the stories. He was murdered well before his time, and his death had just about broken his family, especially Dallas. They’d been together for years, and from the way the brothers talked, they all knew they had something special. Skid was crazy about his ol’ lady and spent his life showing her what she meant to him.
They had two kids—one of them being Dusty. He was born with Down Syndrome, but that never slowed him down. He was a happy-go-lucky kid who had a big heart and an even bigger smile. The kid didn’t have a bad thing to say about anything, which made it impossible not to love him. He’s a great kid, and he held a special place in all our hearts.
None of us had seen him or Dallas since she got remarried and moved to Oregon, and until today, I wasn’t sure when we would see them again. “I didn’t know they were coming.”
“Yeah, well...” Clutch motioned his head over to Maverick as he said, “I think she wanted to keep it a surprise.”
The doors opened, and I almost didn’t recognize Dusty as they each got out of the car. Dallas seemed a little unnerved as they started toward us. I couldn’t really blame her. It had been a while since she’d been around the crew, so it was only natural that she’d be a little hesitant.
Dusty, on the other hand, wasn’t hesitant at all.
He looked like he was about to bust with excitement, especially when he spotted Maverick. He opened his arms wide and started rushing in his direction as he shouted, “Mav-wrick!”
Dusty was in his mid-thirties and was over five-eight and thick around the middle, so Maverick did his best to brace himself when he spotted Dusty racing toward him. Unfortunately, it did little good. Hell, Maverick almost fell backward when Dusty slammed into his chest and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Hey, Mav-wrick.”
“Hey there, little brother.” Once he’d regained his footing, Maverick gave Dusty a bear hug and said, “Long time no see.”
“We’ve been in Oregon.”
“I know.” Maverick gave him another squeeze, then patted him on the back. “We’ve missed having you around.”
“Missed you, too.” Dusty looked up at him, and his brows furrowed as he studied Maverick’s salt and pepper hair. He seemed both surprised and bothered to find that his old friend had aged. “You’ve gotten so old.”
“Hey, now. I’m not that old.” Maverick looked out at the rest of us as he said, “Besides, we’ve all gotten older. Even you.”
“Um-mh.” Dusty looked us all over, then shook his head and said, “Not Wyatt.”
He released Maverick, then rushed over to Bones and gave him a hug. Bones returned his embrace, then patted him on the back as he said, “Hey, Dusty. It’s good to see ya.”
“You’ve got-ten really tall.”
“Yeah, I have.” Bones smiled as he motioned his hand over to Wrath. “Your buddy Charlie has, too.”
Dusty stepped back and looked over to Wrath as he said, “Hey, Charlie.”
“Hey there, Dusty. Good to see ya, brother.”
We all took a moment to say our hellos to Dusty and Dallas, and we were all pleased to see that he and his mother were doing so well. Apparently, the new husband had been treating them both very well, and they were both happy. Dallas also filled us in on Katie, Dusty’s older sister. She was also doing well and was living close by with her new boyfriend. They were expecting their first kid and were making plans to get married over the holidays.
Cotton gave Dallas a hug as he told her, “I’m glad to see you all are doing so well.”
“Thanks, Cotton. I really appreciate it.” A bright smile crossed her face as she told him, “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I don’t know. Something tells me you would’ve made it just fine either way.” He motioned his hand over to the barn as he told her, “Cass and the rest of the girls are in the barn getting things ready.”
“Great. I’ll go give them a hand.”
When she started to collect Dusty, Maverick stopped her by saying, “He can hang with me.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I could use a hand with these baskets.”
“Okay. Great.” Dallas turned to Dusty as she ordered, “You be good and listen to Maverick. You got me?”
Dusty nodded with excitement. “I got ya.”
“Good.”
Dallas gave him a warm smile, then turned to join the others in the barn. Once she was gone, the brothers and I got back to work, and it wasn’t long before we’d completed everything that needed to be done. The place looked great with all the extra lights and fall decor, but the workers’ costumes took the whole ‘pioneer thing’ to the next level. They all looked incredible, especially the cute blonde I’d tried talking to a few hours earlier.