Dangerous Intentions by Dori Lavelle Read Free Book Online Page A

new, delicate and beautiful.
    Travis and Dustin’s assistance hadn’t been required after all. Once the calf was lying comfortably next to its mother, Dustin took a cloth from the bucket and wiped its nose.
    I bent down next to Dustin and watched the new addition to the world. It was beautiful—brown with a few white spots and big brown eyes.
    Dustin laid a hand on my shoulder and together we watched the new mother feed her baby. Travis, who was beaming from ear to ear, left us to move on to other tasks that required his attention.
    “This is one of the reasons I keep coming back here,” Dustin said. “I can never get enough of seeing things like this.”
    “I can see why.” I, for one, would never forget the miracle I had just witnessed—the miracle that had caused my problems to fade away for a moment.
    Suddenly, the light of the world dimmed as the sky filled with a blanket of clouds and drops began to fall. I inhaled the refreshing smell of rain.
    “We better head back to the house.” Dustin helped me to my feet. “It will start pouring soon.”
    As soon as he said the words, thunder split the silence, and just like that, the sky opened. We ran into the barn.
    “Well,” Dustin said, peering out the door at the downpour. “I take that back. Looks like we might be here for a while. We better make ourselves comfortable.”
    I hugged my arms across my chest as the air cooled.
    Dustin approached me and took my hand. “Come on.” He led me to a far corner of the barn that was packed with several crates and boxes. There were folded blankets on top of them. He reached for one of the blankets, shook it out, and draped it over my shoulders.
    For the next thirty minutes, we both perched on a crate next to some containers filled with oil, and listened to the raindrops hitting the panes of the tiny windows.
    “Have you thought yet about talking to Cole?” Dustin finally asked, shattering the peace I’d just been enjoying.
    “I did.” It was all I’d thought about over the last few days. “I still haven’t decided. Can I tell you my decision by tonight?” For now, I wanted to wrap myself in a cocoon of the peace I’d found, to enjoy the moment a little longer before being forced to face reality. Once I made a decision, a lot of things would have to change. For better or for worse.
    “Take your time.” Dustin laid his hands on his knees and gripped them. “But you have to do something, Haley. You can’t let him get away with what he did to you, what he did to your friend.”
     

Chapter Fourteen
     
    Once the rain subsided, we returned to the ranch house. I still trembled, even with the blanket around my shoulders. The weather wasn’t entirely to blame. It had a lot to do with being in such close proximity to Dustin. The warmth of his closeness mixed with the chill that hovered over my life and made it almost impossible to turn back the clock to what we used to be.
    It was both painful and flattering that Dustin still cared so much about me. I couldn’t help but make comparisons between Jude and Dustin—two men who had changed my life in different ways. Jude had once promised to protect me, to shield me from hurt. But from the moment I’d entered Jude’s life, he had managed mine. He’d ordered me, albeit with the illusion of gentleness at first, to do what he wanted. He’d molded me into the kind of woman that fit into his life. I had offered him my freedom in exchange for security, and then love. Freedom was a high price to pay, but I found that out too late.
    Dustin, on the other hand, reminded me of how it felt to make my own decisions, how to be me. He reminded me how to breathe after holding my breath for so long.
    Still, the question remained: After all this was over, would I be ready to let a man take a piece of my heart again? Either way, now was not the time to worry about past or future relationships. Starting a new relationship before another had ended, before the bruising had gone