Still, when she’d seen Dallas, at well over six feet, she’d thought he was an anomaly, but here was a ranch full of men the same size as him.
But they all acted normal, so she didn’t know what to say.
Maybe all of the rumors had been just that, rumors. It was true that people in these small towns tended to be a bit superstitious, and a ranch with the name “Dragonclaw” was bound to get a bit of attention.
Still, none of the men compared to Dallas, at least not in her eyes. Reno and Clancy were both charming, and Harrison seemed nice, if a little gruff, but nothing beat the quiet appeal of Dallas.
Nor was any of them nearly as attractive as him, at least in her mind.
Just at that moment, Dallas entered the room and raised his eyebrows at her as if to ask if everything had gone okay.
“The interviews went fine,” Mel said, moving to stand next to him. “As far as I can tell, nothing weird is happening out here.” She sighed, and he gave her a knowing look.
“All right,” she admitted, tapping her toe, “I really thought something was going on out here. I thought I would find something that would help me uncover the story, but nothing.”
He just shrugged.
It really was too bad. She’d thought that this would be the big break she needed to get through the wall she’d run into. No luck apparently.
Oh well, there was always another lead if one looked hard enough, and Mel hadn’t gotten to where she was by giving up easily.
There was a story buried somewhere in this small town, something big waiting to be uncovered, and she would find it.
She looked up at him, enjoying his handsome face for a second, before she sighed again. “I guess we should probably head back.”
“Why?” Marian asked, entering the room. “Stay, have dinner with us. We’ve made plenty of food.”
“Oh, no, I couldn’t,” Mel said, holding up a hand. “I’ve already taken up enough of your time. You seem like really nice folk, so I’ll get out of your way.”
She didn’t want to be an imposition, because to them, she was just some stranger who came into their home and asked a lot of questions.
Still, she couldn’t help but think that she’d like to be more with Dallas, at least after their kiss yesterday. She’d spent most of the day wondering about what it would be like to kiss him again, to maybe even go further.
She even wondered if he felt the same way.
“Nonsense,” Harrison said, putting an arm around Marian. “We don’t get pleasant company often. Stay.”
Mel gulped, feeling conflicted. She couldn’t deny that, secretly, she wanted to stay for dinner. She’d been so entranced by the small Texas town, and now she was on a real-life ranch with kind people.
Plus, spending time in this wonderful, tranquil place wasn’t really an option she was likely to have in the future, not once she went back to the city.
She looked up at Dallas, but he just stared down at her intently. Maybe dinner with them wouldn’t be too bad. After all, it wasn’t like she had any more interviews to do tonight.
“Okay,” Mel said finally, smiling. “Thank you. We’ll stay.”
Marian nodded happily. “Great, everything’s just about ready.”
Dallas and Mel followed them into the kitchen dining room where Clancy and Billie were already sitting at the table, holding hands and chatting with Reno.
Clancy’s eyes lit up when he caught sight of them. “You’re stayin’? That’s wonderful. Now I can tell some great stories about—” But he didn’t get to finish his sentence as Billie elbowed him in the side.
To her surprise, Dallas snorted at that, then pulled a chair out for Mel to sit down.
When they were all seated and a dinner of delicious fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and other southern delicacies was on the table, Mel could hold her curiosity no longer.
“Okay, I’m curious. How do all of you know Dallas?” she asked. “All he would tell me is that you’re friends.”
At that, nearly everyone at the table exchanged confused looks before Harrison spoke up.
“Dallas… does work for us during the summers,” he said coolly. “We often need a ranch hand, and there’s no one better. He’s been coming around for a while. We even have a permanent place for him here.”
Dallas’s eyes were slightly narrowed, but he nodded slowly.
“That makes sense. Also explains why he has such a nice trailer. You go around working on farms?”
He shrugged.
“Okay, so tell me about him.” She continued, putting a hand on his leg. “I can’t get him to tell me anything about himself.”
Clancy laughed. “No surprises there. Never been one for talking, but he always listens and is incredibly kind.”
“Yes,” Marian said fondly. “And a great help around the house, whenever he’s around of course.”
“That does sound like him,” Mel said, eyeing him affectionately. Right now, he seemed adorably confused and flustered by the compliments.
“Still,” Reno said, “doesn’t change that he knows how to use a knife better than just about anyone in the world.”
She nodded. “I’ve noticed he does have quite a few carvings.”
“I’ll say,” Billie said, leaning forward and smiling. “A few weeks ago, we were all in town, and this little girl was skipping down the sidewalk, eating her ice cream. Then she tripped and dropped it.”
Everyone was listening to the story now, the room silent as Billie recalled it.
“What happened then?” Mel asked.
Billie grinned and nodded at him. “Dallas jumped in. He’d been whittling a small horse figurine, and as soon as she started crying, he walked over and kneeled down and held it out to her.”
“I remember this,” Clancy added, laughing. “He didn’t even say a word to her, just showed her the little wooden horse and showed her how it galloped on the sidewalk. Then he gave it to her, and she smiled. Dallas cheered her up quick, and down the sidewalk she went, completely oblivious to her fallen ice
