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Yes, it had everything to do with that. And Bo knew it. But he wasn’t about to give in to his buddy now.
“Just feel well rested,” he said. “Beautiful day.”
“Yeah, it is. Gracie was up at the ass crack of dawn knocking down Cash’s door demanding the horse ride on Sparkles he promised.”
Tripp glanced out the front window. Sure enough, Cash was working with Gracie in a slow circle on the new mare. Gracie got to name all the animals, and though she was white, the mare had been dubbed “Sparkles.”
“So…you thinking of getting serious with Charlotte?”
Tripp frowned. Bo looked serious, and he was never serious about anything.
“I don’t think ‘serious’ is a good word,” he said slowly, “but I am thinking about stuff.”
“Stuff? Oh, like things and stuff?”
“All the things and all the stuff.” Tripp wasn’t ready to dissect this relationship yet. He just wanted to get back to Charlotte and kiss her awake.
“You’re in deep already,” Bo said.
“And you sound like Cash.”
“Hey, I’m happy for you, and it’s about time you had a woman in your life. I just don’t know why you always pick the runners.”
“She’s not Shania,” Tripp said.
“I know she’s not. But
she’s leaving. Has she told you otherwise?”
“No, and that’s fine. We have boundaries.”
“Uh-huh, and those boundaries are around your bedroom?”
“I know she’s leaving, but she always has a reason to stay,” Tripp said, thinking how great it would be if she moved into her grandmother’s house.
“See? That right there. You have a tiny seed of hope in your mind. You want more.”
“Why is that bad?”
“Because you picked the one woman you can’t have.”
Tripp took a deep breath. Bo was right, and he knew it—accepted it—on some level. But what he felt for Charlotte, how she made him feel…he was alive in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. He could get addicted to that feeling.
Fuck me.
“What about Gracie getting attached?” Bo asked.
“They’re friends. That’s it.”
“What about mother material for Gracie? You think Charlotte is capable?”
Tripp frowned. “I’m not… That’s not what I’m thinking about.”
“Like hell it’s not. Everything you do is because of Gracie. And you want a mother for her. You’ve said so.”
One night, two years ago when he was drunk. That hardly counted as baring his soul. But deep down? Yes, he did want a mother for Gracie. And Bo’s question seeped through his brain like molasses.
Was Charlotte mother material?
