Dad slowly turned in his seat, like he was scared to look at me. I was pissed. I hated when he kept things from me because he didn’t want me to worry, and heknewbetter.
“I even asked you on the phone the other day for an update on the ranch, and you very conveniently left out that little tidbit.”
He gave me a sheepish look. “The last thing you need to be worried about is what’s going on at the ranch. You have to focus on the circuit. And now, knowing what this asshole is willing to pull … you need to just worry about keeping your guard up.”
Reed bowed his head, hiding his face from me beneath his cowboy hat. That only confirmed what I already suspected from him. Of course Dad, and probably Jude, too, were keeping him apprised as to what was going on at the ranch––and with his daughter, Penn.
I shook my head. “You keeping things from me, too, Reed? Aboutmyfamily ranch?”
“Now that’s not fair, Lina,” Dad chided, fully turning around in his seat to face me. “Don’t put this on him.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t put this on him. He’s too damned chickenshit to say anything he really means.” Reed’s head shot up, his brown eyes nearly black. In the dimly lit bar, they felt as though they were burning right into me. I didn’t really mean it. Reed was a man of few words, but he never once gaslit me or sugarcoated the truth. More than once, I could tell he stopped himself from saying what he really wanted to say, though, and I liked challenging him. I tapped my toe to keep the rest of my body from fidgeting. “Let alone, tell me something thatyouwere keeping from me. At least he’s smart. He knew it should be coming from you, not him.”
“Lina––” Reed tried to interrupt.
I flipped him off to silence him.
“I’m not some delicate flower, Dad. You know that. Don’t think all of a sudden that you need to protect me from the truth. You and the ranch are far more important to me than winning the finals. If I need to drop out––”
“Don’t you dare finish that statement.” Dad gave me a stern look, like I was about to be sent to my room. “For one, you’ve committed to this, so you’re going to finish it. Larsens don’t bow out. And second, I’m your father and I love you, but sometimes you don’t need to know everything. I’m a grown-ass man who raised you and Jude to be great adults, so don’t question my decisions.”
“Fine. Then don’t fucking keep things from me.”
Dad’s throat bobbed as if he were swallowing down more secrets. I narrowed my eyes on him.
“If I come home and find out you’re keeping more shit from me, I swear to God, Dad, I’m going to flip the fuck out.”
With that, I chugged a few gulps of my beer, hoping to cool my insides, and turned away from their table, heading to the jukebox. Looping my arm through Sage’s, I charged to the other side of the bar. As far away from Dad and Reed as I could get.
“What was that all about?” Sage asked, once we settled into our seats at a two-topper.
“Nothing,” I glowered, watching Christian join Dad while Reed headed to the bar for another drink.
Sage and I chatted and nursed our beers. After last weekend, I wasn’t quite ready to load myself up with liquor while the bar started to fill up for the night, getting louder and more rambunctious. Brooks and Dunn reverberated through the terrible stereo system.
Dad and Christian were now in some sort of heated debate across the room. I could tell it was heated because Christian was using his hands a lot, and Dad was pinching the bridge of his nose like he was getting a headache. Knowing both of them, it probably had to do with the rodeo or training. In the last year, Christian had taken on training all the rookie bull riders, while Dad continued to train the junior broncs who came to Thornbrush for lessons.
I was still angry with Dad, and I didn’t think all the beer in the room could cool my insides right now. My blood was nearing its boiling point. I didn’t typically get this mad at him, but I was feeling so raw after the last few days. Everything felt like it was just too much.
Plus, I couldn’t help my eyes continually being drawn to Reed.
An attractive woman sidled up to the bar, squeezing between him and another patron. She touched his arm and gave him a bright, flirtatious smile. Reed gave a small smile in return and shook her hand. It shouldn’t bother me that a woman was hanging on his arm right now where he leaned against the bar, but it did.
She had copper hair, and I wondered if he had a thing for redheads. From what I remembered, his ex-wife had red hair. Each time he said something to her, she leaned closer to him, herhand still resting on his muscular forearm. My eyes narrowed. Pretty sure her full tits were brushing against his biceps, too.
A sharp pain shot through me like a lightning bolt.
“Want a different drink?” Sage asked.
I turned to her and cleared my throat, hoping that would also clear the spike that felt lodged in my chest.
Her head was tilted, as if considering something.
Shit.Did she see me staring at Reed? Had she been talking to me while I was in my head?
I noticed then that her bottle was empty and mine was half full. My fingertips stilled, midpick. Apparently, I was also sexually frustrated from the way I was peeling off the label. I downed the rest, hoping it would dislodge this feeling of … jealousy?
“Another beer would be fine.”
