Cowboy Jackpot: Valentine's Day (9 page)

But she needed to be sure. She'd test Dallas, give him one
chance. She didn't want to give up on him based on her gut instinct plus a
drunken cowboy's ramblings.

She laughed humorlessly as she started the shower. How
pathetic. She was so attached to Dallas, she was willing to ignore her own
instinct? As the water warmed, Kira called her attorney and made sure he was in
Vegas, and would be at the eleven o'clock meeting.

An hour later, at ten o'clock, Kira leaned over the back of
the couch looking at Dallas as he slept, sprawled along the length of it. So
handsome, so innocent in his sleep. All she wanted to do was crawl in next to
him and enjoy the little time they had remaining together. But she had to know
the truth.

She hated to do this. Hated that she felt she had to test
him to alleviate her own suspicions. Dressed and packed, she wheeled her
suitcase and banged it against the side table next to the couch.

He didn't wake.

She tried it again, this time with a little shout.

That did it. He hefted in a breath, gave a little cough, and
sat up.

She walked toward the door, quietly, as if sneaking out.

"Hey." He jumped up, buck-naked. Pulling the
blanket around his waist, he stumbled after her. "Where are you
going?"

"I'm just…" She made her voice sound casual, went
for an innocent facial expression. "I was going to say goodbye to
Stormie."

His brows drew together. "With your suitcase?"

She shrugged. "We have to check out soon, don't we? I
thought I'd leave my bag at the valet desk and pick it up later when I have to
head to the airport."

He stepped forward and took her wrist—the one holding the
suitcase—in his hand.

"Stay. I'll call for a late checkout."

She let go of the bag and it stood itself upright.
"Okay. Sure. I'll just go find Stormie."

He didn't release her. "Wait until after I shower.
We'll go together."

She tugged her wrist out of his grip. "Dallas. You're
acting like you don't trust me."

His jaw tightened and his lips thinned. "Is there a
reason I shouldn't trust you?"

"No."

After staring into her eyes for a few seconds, he looked
away. "Will you just wait for me? I'll hurry."

Her heart dropped like a rock off a cliff. He didn’t trust
her. Not only did he not trust her, but he didn't have the emotional depth to
confront her with his suspicions. She needed time to consider this. Needed to
figure out what to do next.

"Of course I'll wait." She set down her purse.
"Take your time showering. I'll call and see where Stormie is."
Halfway to Oklahoma by now, but Dallas didn't have to know that.

He pushed her suitcase aside.

She walked to the windows and dialed Stormie's number.

A few minutes later, the shower started in the bathroom.

"Hi Kira."

Stormie sounded perky, as usual.

"Hi. Where are you?"

As Kira turned to have a seat, she spotted Dallas watching
her from the bedroom. Damn. He really didn't trust her. The knowledge was like
a bullet to the gut.

"We're still crossing Arizona. We'll probably spend the
night in Albuquerque." Strange sounds came through the phone.
"Kira…" Her voice was soft. "About what Jayden said, it could
have been just the beer talking."

"I'm not worried, Stormie. I'll figure it out on my
own." She leaned over and saw Dallas in the shower. "How did it go
with you and Jayden?"

Stormie let out a small squeal. "You won't believe
it." She said something to someone in the car. "I'll call you later
and we can talk."

"Okay. Your parents are listening, right?"

"Oh yes, always." She sounded disgusted.
"Talk to you later!"

"I can't wait." She hung up. What could have
happened to make her cousin so excited? She laughed. What
didn't
make
Stormie excited?

Dallas stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and walked
to the bedroom door.

Checking to see if she was still there? Probably.

"Where's Stormie?"

"She's on her way home. So we have time to grab
something to eat before we meet the manager."

"Time?" He ruffled a towel over his hair, his body
naked and gorgeous. "I thought we could be there any time today?"

She swallowed. Caught in a lie. "I called and arranged
our meeting with him at eleven." She shrugged. "I'm kind of an
organizational freak."

With a nod, he went back into the bedroom and dressed.

Their meal was delicious. He had the Cowpoke's Breakfast, a
platter full of fattening delights. She chose a chef's salad with salmon. They
both picked at each other's plates. As if everything was just fine. As if he
trusted her, and she didn't know he didn't.

When they walked into the casino manager's office, the
junior partner of her family's attorney's office stood.

"Hi Barret. Thanks for coming." She shook his
hand.

"Who's this?" Dallas's face turned red under his
tan.

"Dallas Burns, this is my attorney, Barret Weis.
Barret, this is the man with whom I won the jackpot."

Barret held out his hand.

Dallas glared at Kira. "Why is he here?"

"Uh…" Barret Weis, Kira's family attorney, glanced
at the three others in the casino manager's office then dropped his hand. He
looked directly at Dallas as he answered the cowboy's question. "Ms.
Morrow called our office yesterday and asked me to handle the situation here at
the casino for her."

The casino manager sat. "It's all settled, Ms.
Morrow." He set a stack of papers on the desk. "You just need to sign
here." He pointed with a pen.

Dallas growled. "You're taking the entire
jackpot."

Barret gave a small laugh. "She's
giving
the
entire jackpot. To you."

Dallas jerked as if hit by a lightning bolt. "What was
that again?"

The casino manger stood, probably since no one else had
taken a seat. "We have regulations about releasing funds only to the
rightful winner, but we have, in the past, come to legal agreements, providing
all necessary tax burden questions are addressed, to provide alternative—"

"Hang on." Dallas put up his hand toward the manger,
but looked directly at Kira. "You're saying you want to give me all the
money."

"That's what I'm saying." She picked up the pen
and signed on the line. "There. It's all yours."

The manager sat, and so did her attorney.

"Now, Mr. Burns." The manager set another stack of
papers closer to Dallas. "If you would, please."

Dallas's gaze didn't veer from hers. "Why? Why don't
you want the money?" His face told her he still didn't trust her. He was
expecting a trick.

Barret cleared his throat. "Kira is from one of the
twenty richest families in New York."

She watched Dallas's face turn from red to white.

"So, one day, you'll inherit? You'll be rich?"

She opened her mouth, searching for the right words.

"Kira has already inherited millions of—" Barret
blurted.

"Please." She turned to her attorney.
"Barret, thank you." She glanced at the manager's nametag. "Mr.
Truman?"

"Please, call me Ray."

"Ray. Is there somewhere that Mr. Burns and I can
talk?"

The manager stood. "You're welcome to my office for as
long as you like." He stepped toward the door. "Mr. Weis, would you
care for a cup of coffee?"

Barret looked at Kira. She nodded. He handed her a large
brown envelope. "Here's that other matter you'd asked me to look
into." He frowned at Dallas then glanced back at her. "We had
success."

Relief flowed through her. At least one thing had gone
right.

The moment the door closed, Dallas crossed his arms, a look
of complete irritation on his face. "Another background check on me, I
assume."

"No." Asshole. She bit back the anger. She'd
probably be just as angry if she were in his shoes. Boots. "Oh hell."
She flopped down in a chair. "Let me explain."

Instead of sitting next to her, he leaned back against the
desk. Always on guard. Always cautious.

"Dallas, why don't you trust me?" She didn't mean
to jump right in, but now that she was hip deep… "I mean, I know why. Your
history. Your very recent history, especially." She glanced up into his
suspicious eyes. "But why me in particular. What did I do to make you
distrust me?"

"At the roulette table, you were going on about having
the money direct deposited. You warned me that I had to play by your rules or I
wouldn't get a penny." He braced his hands on the desk on each side of his
thighs and leaned over her. "Then after our meeting here yesterday, you
ran back in for God knows what." He sat back. "Some lie about your
gold pen." He flung a hand toward her purse. "Which is probably real
gold, too."

The accusation in his voice nearly made her heart crumble.

"I told you I would give you half. You couldn't believe
me?"

"I did." His voice rolled low and fierce.
"Until you went back into the manager's office."

She sat back and crossed her arms, letting her temper rise a
bit. "You want the truth?"

"Please." The word cracked like a whip.

"At first, I wanted to push you. To see if you'd snap,
become…violent."

"Fuck." He said it through clenched teeth.

"Then I realized that the court found you not guilty
because you were innocent." She let the feeling of that pivotal moment
wash through her like a calming stream. "Then…" This was going to be
the difficult part. Opening her heart to him. "I didn't tell you about
giving you the entire jackpot because I wanted to keep you close." A wave
of emotion threatened tears. "I wanted to see if you were as amazing as I
remembered you from December."

"Huh." He didn't look or sound quite as angry.

She wouldn't reveal everything, though. She'd keep the
secret that she did find him as amazing—more amazing—than she'd thought him
back then. "I wanted to see where this connection between us led. I wanted
you in bed, Dallas. And I wanted to see the surprise on your face when I told
you I was giving you the whole jackpot." She looked at his wary expression
and her eyes misted. That whole plan sure went to hell.

"Kira."

His cold tone told her everything. She stood and stared at a
spot over his shoulder. "I'm sorry I didn't mention I was filthy rich. It
just didn't come up, and it's not something I wear on a LED lighted T-shirt for
the world to see."

She held the brown envelope in two hands. She wanted to
surprise him with its contents, too, but her surprises today had turned to
disasters.

"I'm just having a hard time taking all this in."
He turned his back to her and stared at the video monitor of the casino.
"Let's take some time to sort this out. Slow things down." He was
protecting his heart.

She didn't blame him, but she'd been too stupid to do the
same for her own heart. "That's okay, Dallas." She made her voice as
chipper as Stormie's. "It's run its course, you and me. We're polar
opposites, and nothing we do will ever change that."

He watched her from over his shoulder.

Kira walked to the door. "I'll be in the suite until I
have to leave for the airport." She tried a smile but it didn't work.
"I'll have a bellman pick up your bag, and you can get it from the valet
desk."

When he didn't speak, she lifted a hand in farewell and
walked out, leaving the door open. She gestured for Ray and Barret to head back
into the office. "Thank you both." She noted their uncertain faces,
but didn't have the energy to reassure them. "I'll be here for three more
hours if you need to call me for anything." She kept walking.

Dallas didn't say another word. Didn't call to her to stop,
didn't charge after her and pick her up in his arms to proclaim his apology.

"So long, cowboy," she whispered.

****

Dallas felt like he was underwater. Had Kira just walked
away from him? Had he fucking just let her go? He wanted to move, wanted to
haul ass after her, but years of playing it safe—on everything but a bucking
bronc's back—kept his boots glued to the floor.

The manager and attorney came back in, closed the door, and
quietly sat in their seats, as if a loud noise or quick movement would trigger
an explosion in Dallas.

He forced his muscles to relax and sat, signed where he was
supposed to, accepted a check for nearly two hundred thousand dollars as if it
were a grocery receipt, and stood to leave.

Barret held out a card. "Call me if you'd like some
help with tax shelters on that money. I understand you're investing in a
business. We can work out the best plan for your bottom line."

"Kira told you about the business?" He didn't know
how to react to that news.

"Yes, she did." The attorney picked up his
briefcase. "I hope you don't mind, but I did some research on similar
businesses, and I have some ideas for you and your partners." He leaned
closer. "All at well discounted rates, since you're a new client, and our
company prides itself in assisting startups like yours."

"I…" He couldn't believe the luck he was having.
"Sure. We'll be in touch." He held out his hand.

Barret shook it. His grip was firm. "And
secretly…" He lifted his brows. "I've always wanted to ride a
bull."

The casino manager laughed. "Haven't we all." He
stood and shook both men's hands. "But some of us have gotten past the age
of actually doing it." He opened the door and escorted them down the
hallway to the casino. "Best of luck to you, Mr. Burns. And Mr. Weis,
don't break any bones at that rodeo school."

Dallas and the attorney said goodbye and Dallas went
straight to the Roundup Bar and ordered a beer in a longneck bottle.

One of only five people in the bar, he could have sat
anywhere, but he took a stool facing the booth where he and Kira and the gang
had celebrated their jackpot win. Was it just yesterday? He burped but the
hollow feeling under his heart didn't go away. Or was it inside his heart?