“He—yeah, I guess I did. It’s just not great timing right now.”
“Dallas, if you want Holden to talk to him about making you uncomfortable with his advances, he will do it in a heartbeat,” Rosie says.
Holden nods. “I’ll take any excuse to punch my little brother in the face. Say the word, and he?—”
“It’s not that. I mean, yes, he’s way too flirty,” I lie.
If they knew I’d practically mauled him in his truck the other night, then it would be extremely hypocritical of me to claim my cancellation on Duke’s shameless flirting.
“The real reason is, I just need to be saving moneyright now, for the future. I’m also so busy with work. Daycare isn’t cheap, but I need it for the boys while I work, and?—”
Rosie holds up a hand. “I didn’t know you thought we were charging you! No way. You get the friends and family discount, duh. Holden never expected any money for it, and neither does Duke. Plus, his wrist has already healed substantially. I bet he can pick up the lessons in a month or so.”
I look at the remaining scar on Holden’s hand.
“Well, in that case, we should just wait till then.”
Rosie shakes her head. “Duke needs the distraction. Holden will have a talk with him. He’ll be a perfect gentleman, I promise. Honestly, the boys would benefit too. They’d have something to look forward to on the ranch. With everything going on, I think it’s a great idea for them. And if you need to drop them off for lessons and go to work, they could just stay overnight in the guest room.”
I can feel myself giving in. She’s making a lot of sense.
But the undeniable attraction between me and the youngest Redford brother is what’s holding me back. He lights a fire in me that I’m absolutely terrified to face.
“I don’t know, Rosie. I appreciate the offer, truly.”
“Mama! Did you see the cowboys throwing the rope around that cow over there?” Dawson runs up, interrupting our conversation and pointing toward the arena in the field behind the house.
I look over, noticing there are a few ranch hands working cattle in the arena. Dutton and Dawson are mesmerized by the scene. Ever since they were old enough to speak, one of the first words they learned wascowboy, andit wasn’t because of Matt. He hates manual labor. He’s a computer software engineer who works inside all day.
“All right, I guess you’ve convinced me,” I finally relent with a sigh.
Rosie claps. “I insist on watching them while you work on the days they have lessons. I don’t mind them staying over. And you can come by as soon as you get off, so you’ll be here when they wake up. Let me go find you the spare key.”
“That’s only Thursdays. I’m off Tuesdays.”
The moisture behind my eyes threatens to spill over. She’s a good friend, the best.
Holden walks over to where the kids are digging a hole in the sand and starts helping them.
“Let me know if it becomes too much with everything going on here. Oh my gosh, how is Dolly doing with this?”
Rosie shakes her head and sighs. “She was pretty upset last night. It’s an odd thing because … it’s like he’s been sick all along, but there just wasn’t a fatal diagnosis. So, everyone is sad, of course, but there’s also an undercurrent of relief, I guess. They’d tried everything to get him to slow down with the alcohol, to prioritize his health so he could watch his grandkids grow up. He just wouldn’t.
“Duke has really taken on the brunt of caring for him over the last few months. Since he’s single and still living there, he’s been the most dedicated to Pops. It’s not an easy thing. He cooks for him, cleans, does all the laundry. We all pitch in, of course, but Duke …” Her voice trails off.
I sit silently, waiting for her to continue. I have two healthy parents. They live in Florida, but I can’t imagine oneof them suffering from such a severe case of addiction that it takes their life like that.
I had no idea Duke was such a dedicated caregiver to his father. It’s undeniably attractive that he’s clearly very selfless. He has to be to commit to something like that when he’s only twenty-six and he could be out dating and having fun every weekend.
“You know, you want people in your kids’ lives, people who love them. As many people who can show them love and help raise them is ideal; it’s wonderful. But when someone makes choices that makes it impossible for them to have a healthy relationship with your kids, it’s no longer ideal. It has to be cut off, and it sucks. It hurts everyone involved. Their choices hurt themselves and the people in close proximity. I’ve known for a while that their only real grandparent was going to be my mom. And I think I just accepted it—Holden too.”
She sniffles.
Rosie hasn’t had contact with her father in years after he hired someone to kidnap her and her mom and she nearly lost her life. Holden was able to rescue her, but I’ve never gotten the full story of how it all went down.
“I’m sorry, girl. It is a horrible situation overall. Is Dolly going to move up the wedding so he can be there?”
She nods. “Yeah. Actually, if you wanna help me with some prep, I’d be forever grateful. I’m in charge of the grazing table. We’re sending out invites just to a few people in the next week. You can lick envelopes.”
