Page 28 of Risking it for the Cowboy

“Speak up, cuz. Your silence is petulant.”

T.R. glared daggers. “Look, it ain’t that big a deal. When Grams died,” he bit out, sorted a meaningless tool to keep his hands busy and his eyes averted. “I came to the funeral ’cause I knew the farm was on the line. My folks done kicked me out a couple years before, and they didn’t wanna see me. But I asked to meet with the probate lawyers anyway. Didn’t have a clue what I was doin’ only that I wanted to be here. Up there, on the ridge.” He notched his chin toward the escarpment where he lived overlooking the pastures and trees. “They told me I wasn’t welcome, that Granddad hadn’t left a legal will, and they sure as hell weren’t gonna recommend the lawyers give the property to a troublemaker like me. What could a high school dropout possibly know about a multimillion-dollar operation that was sitting in the financial shitter? Said I’d ruin it even more than Gramp’s had with his old school, milk-crate file system.” He shook his head, chewing his cheek, and sorted more wrenches and pliers that didn’t need sorting. “Told me to go grow up. Fact is, I was eighteen already, with nothin’ to my name and no job ’cause I couldn’t fuckin’ r…” He trailed off. “They made the right call, I suppose.”

“I thought there were no other grandkids to inherit,” Tyler finally replied, dropping his tough guy pose. “Your parents said it was gonna go up for auction if I didn’t take it.”

T.R. snorted and dropped the mindless tools. His parents had been liars. No surprises there. He climbed back up the tractor and pushed in the clutch, pressing the button. They’d rather it got auctioned off to some developer and turned into rows of condos instead of let their only son have at least one good thing.

The engine fired to life.

“Purring like a kitten,” T.R. joked, deflecting. “About time. Sorry it took so long.”

Tyler huffed. “You got a girl on your mind. Like me. They twist us up into some knots, don’t they?”

T.R. flashed his grin and swiveled his trucker cap around to shield his eyes. “After tonight I’ll have worked that out of my system.”

Tyler watched him, dark brown eyes cool and calculating. “Your past will bite you in the ass if you’re not careful, man. What if she’s there tonight? Everyone can see from the videos a couple weeks ago you really liked her. Don’t mess it up. Maybe you just gotta be patient.”

“Laugh’s on me, then. Two weeks of silent treatment ain’t patient?” He put it in gear and rolled out into the descending sun leaving Tyler behind, giving a two-fingered salute off his cap bill as the heat warmed his back. “Can’t mess up somethin’ that don’t exist.” No one ever chooses you.

He had a gig to get to. The first one since her. Since his new song had dropped eight days ago. When he’d still held out hope for that call that wasn’t coming.

Chapter Ten

Later that night

“You ain’t gon-gonna lemme see my little girl?” Jason slurred, stumbling out the door behind Charlie as officers blocked him.

Charlie curled her arm around Daisy, hurrying her little girl toward the stairs at the end of the balcony of the cheap apartment building.

“I’ll take you back to court!” he bellowed behind her. “I swear to God, you know I will, you bi—”

“Enough, Mr. Thompson,” the officer who looked more like a club bouncer than a cop said. “That’s no way to talk around your little girl. You need to sober up.”

“C’mon, sweet girl.” Charlie shook as she planted a kiss to Daisy’s blond head.

Trembled as she willed Daisy to take the stairs at a jog despite it being the middle of the night, inky black, past neighbors gathering in their doorways to watch and whisper. The landing smelled like piss and the lightbulb over the stairwell blinked like a dying firefly as Jason shouted curses at her back.

“Quiet, Mr. Thompson,” the officer barked.

She buried Daisy’s ear against her ribs with the crook of her elbow to block out her ex’s ugly words as if she could shield Daisy from the ugly truth.

“See? Artex is right there, excited to see you.” She pointed to the shaggy dog.

Artex barked, his jowls slobbering the window as his little human approached.

Daisy had been young when Charlie had made her grand escape from Jason. Charlie’s counselor had suggested that she get her a dog.

The best advice.

Charlie couldn’t finagle a unicorn out of the universe for her daughter, but she could get a dog. The last thing Charlie had wanted was another mouth to feed. But the moment Daisy had wrapped her arms around the creature’s neck, it was clear the dog was here to stay—

Glass smashed behind them.

“Jeezus.” Charlie gasped, dragged Daisy the rest of the way across the parking lot to her Rover.

Neighbors chattered. She glanced back. Cops swarmed Jason, taking him to the floor—

The cruiser’s windshield spiderwebbed with a bottleneck wedged though it like a dart. The amber liquor he’d begun a love affair with about the time he put their brand-new house on the market long ago emptied in glugs onto the car’s console.