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Dottie told Bill that their son had been getting on broncs for over six months. He’d been going to practice pens without Bill knowing it.

“Who’s been takin’ him?”

Dottie stood from where she sat at the kitchen table and walked over to where Bill stood near the sink, looking out the window.

“I have. Clancy too.”

Bill was furious. Beyond furious. He couldn’t yell at Dottie, but he sure could yell at Clancy. He walked toward the back door and put his hat on.

“Where are you going?”

“To give Clancy a piece of my mind.”

“Clancy? Did you hear me? I’ve been taking him too.”

Bill opened the door.

“Don’t you walk away from me, Bill Patterson.”

“Dottie, please don’t push this.”

“I’m gonna. You turn right back around and say what’s on your mind. To me. Not to Clancy.”

He couldn’t. Spitting in the face of God was something he couldn’t do, and telling his wife about the deal he’d made was something he couldn’t do either.

“If you walk out that door, I’ll never forgive you for it.”

“Dottie…please.”

“Say whatever you need to say to me.”

He walked over and took her by the shoulders. “Do you know why I quit rodeo? Do you?” he shouted.

“Of course I do.”

“No. You don’t. I quit because I had to. I quit in order to keep you and Billy safe.”

“Yes, Bill, I know.”

“How could you?”

“Do you think you could just tell me one day that you didn’t want to compete anymore without me knowing what was behind it?”

“I told you then; it was because you were pregnant.”

“And then you sold all your gear, threw away anything that came in the mail about rodeo, changed the subject if anyone, including me, brought it up.”

Bill nodded his head, but didn’t answer.

“You quit because you promised God that you would as long as he let me survive the pregnancy and have a healthy baby.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know you.”

“Then why in the dickens have you been letting Billy get on broncs?”

“Because that’s his decision. He hasn’t made any deals with God. And sayin’ you don’t want anything to do with rodeo ever again isn’t the deal you made either.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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