Dustin's Gamble
Description
After leaving for a career in NYC, Shannon Piermont has come home to Bandera, Texas. Her cousin is getting married and her grandmother has died, but all she can think about is Dustin Dumen. The handsome ranch owner had once been able to charm her pants off, but not this time. Just because they'd once shared a passion hotter than the Texas sun, didn't mean she'd settle for barefoot and pregnant in a one-horse town. Dusty knew Shannon couldn't settle down until she'd seen the world and he'd taken a huge chance she'd find her way home. Now that she has, the stakes are higher and he'll do whatever it takes to keep her there. He'd gambled with their love once-he won't do it again. Can Dustin convince Shannon she can have it all-a career and a family-or will he have to settle for one last ride of passion?
Chapter 1
Mar 16, 2024
Shannon Piermont slowed the SUV to a crawl on FM 1077, trepidation filling her heart. Officially she hadn‟t been back in fourteen years—at least not to see anyone other than Gran. It felt like another life. In that old life, the world had been much simpler, Gran was alive and Dustin…
Just a quarter mile to go and she would be on his ranch, walking to the office to check in for her cousin‟s bachelorette weekend.
“I‟m here for Bridgette,” she said out loud, as though hearing the words would erase the niggling doubt that she was really there for Dustin.
And maybe to convince him to forgive her.
She passed the driveway to Gran‟s property on her left, but Shannon couldn‟t bring herself to look in that direction. Too many memories, too many ghosts and regrets. Carolyn—she refused to think of the woman as “mother”—kept bugging her about selling Gran‟s ranch, threatening to take her to court if she didn‟t give in. Money hungry—
She bit back a sigh. No, she wasn‟t going there. She had enough to worry about with seeing Dustin again.
She made the next right onto the gravel road, the entry blocked by a massive beige cobblestone- and-wrought-iron gate. DUMEN RANCH was scripted in iron across the rounded top of the gate. The N in Dumen dangled.
Shannon chuckled. Apparently her generation wasn‟t the only one who snuck out at night to loosen the screws so that the sign to read “Dume.” And she‟d bet she wasn‟t the only one to call it the “Do
Me” ranch. She and Dustin had unscrewed the bolts on the sign almost every weekend, much to his father‟s annoyance.
She punched the code into the key box and waited for the gate to swing open, then drove the SUV along the winding gravel drive.
A small herd of longhorns—probably no more than a dozen—grazed in the pasture to her left, the Double D brand on their flanks. A half mile in, she turned into the parking lot at the bottom of the small hill. A slight breeze rustled the leaves of the giant shade trees. Cutting off the engine, she grabbed her bag and stepped out into the humidity.
The place hadn‟t changed one bit. She closed her eyes and could almost smell fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, made by the loving hand of Mrs. Dumen. Home. Even after all this time, the ranch felt just as much her home as Gran‟s place.
The sidewalk to the two-story stone lodge was on an incline and by the time she reached the front porch, her calves burned—just a small reminder she‟d lapsed on her workouts since coming back from Paris. The temperature inside the building felt cool against her heated skin. The interior was homey. Large wood beams framed the room and supported the roof and added to the rustic feel. It smelled of leather and sunshine. A few people milled around the room.
Offering them a smile, she crossed to the office and poked her head in the door. A thin blonde of twenty-ish, with baby blue eyes, looked up from her computer and leaned forward, pushing her exposed cleavage almost to her chin.
“Can I help you?” she asked with a lilting southern drawl.
“Checking in.” Shannon fished her wallet from her purse and handed over her driver‟s license and credit card.
“Of course, Miss Piermont. You will be in the Bronc Bustin‟ cabin. I am supposed to tell you Bridgette will be in the Twisted Knot with Jessica.”
Bridgette, the bride and reason for this weekend get together, was her older cousin and was marrying her college sweetheart, Adam. Jessica was probably Adam‟s friend, who Bridge had gushed about a few weeks back. Shannon bit back a sigh of relief. As much as she loved her cousin, and as nice as Jessica probably was, after a hellacious fashion month in Paris, missing Gran’s funeral and a first-time homecoming, the last thing she really wanted was to share space with a gaggle of giggling women.
“Shay?” said a deep voice behind her.
She looked over and broke into a grin. “Dillon. Holy hell, you grew up good!” She raked her gaze over his tall, lean frame. Short dark hair gave him a mature look. Piercing blue eyes twinkled. “You‟re smiling. Should we be worried?”
Dillon laughed. “Why would you be worried?” “Come on,” she teased, tapping his flat stomach
with the backs of her fingers. “You can‟t fool me. I know you‟re the crusty, serious brother.” Dillon had always been the serious one, Dane the flirtatious, Deacon the sexy one, and Dustin…Dustin was a good mix of all. At least, in her opinion.
He rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks. Nice to see you home, kid.” He chucked her on the chin and brushed past her into the office. “Ashley, have you seen Dustin?”
The blonde handed Shannon the cabin key. “Not since this morning. But then he said something about going to the house.”
Dillon looked over at her. “Shay, why don‟t you go to the main house and round up Dustin for us? I know he will be thrilled to see you.”
Shannon gaped over her shoulder at him. “Me?” Did he not realize how she‟d left things with Dustin?
“We’ll take your bags to the cabin,” Dillon assured her. “A bunch of cars just pulled up and we‟re about to get swamped. I could really use his help.”
She heaved a sigh. “Fine.” She‟d never been able to turn down a Dumen brother yet…unless one counted the breakup with Dustin fourteen years ago. Going to have to see him sooner or later. Might as well be sooner.
Dustin's Gamble
18 Chapters
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