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“I understand,” he said. “Do you want me to drive you home?”
“I think I’ve shocked my family enough for one day.” She paused in the doorway. “Thank you for forgiving me.” Her voice wobbled and she hated that. Everything was hitting her all at once. She had slept with Dylan again. Did that make this a two-night stand?
“Drive safe, Killer.”
“I will,” LeAnn said.
“Text me when you get home.”
She nodded, shivering from the sudden cold she felt. She wished she could spend the night cuddled up to him. But they didn’t have that type of relationship, did they? Maybe they could.
“See you tomorrow,” she said.
Chapter Eleven
Dylan was making LeAnn sweat and groan, only this time, they were spending a few hours in the gym. As a bit of payback for her lying to him about having permission to ride the bull, he let her stew for a few days, only allowing her on mechanical bulls and working on her core in the gym.
The WPRC needed a few more weeks to get the infrastructure settled in, so the events at Fort Worth and San Antonio wouldn’t count toward rankings. But it would give the crowd a hint of things to come.
Fort Worth was going to be their dress rehearsal for the big time, so to speak, and LeAnn would be riding one of the ten bulls he had picked out from Mr. Hickory’s stock. The bulls needed the practice as much as the riders did.
While she was working on her upper body strength training, Dylan got a phone call that he had been waiting on.
“I’ve got to take this,” he said. “Keep doing the rotation. I’ll be right back.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” LeAnn said, blowing out a controlled breath as she pushed up on the weights. “You promised to do the elliptical with me.”
“Looking forward to it,” he said, answering his phone. “Yeah, this is Dylan.”
“Mr. Porter, this is Sarah from Lone Star Loans. I’m afraid I don’t have good news for you.”
Crap.
“You didn’t get the loan financed for the full amount?” he asked, hoping for the best.
“I’m sorry. Your application has been declined.”
“Can you try another bank?” He kicked the wall lightly with the toe of his boot.
“We tried several. They all turned us down.”
“Did they give a reason why?”
“You’re still too new at your job. While it was positive to see that there will be a steady paycheck, the banks need their clients to have a more stable employment history.”
“I’ve been paying my own bills since I was sixteen,” Dylan said. Barely. But he didn’t have any credit card debt. That should have counted for something.
“I know it’s frustrating,” she said. “But I think if you try again next year, you’ll have more success.”
“Yeah, thanks.” He hung up. Lola didn’t have another year in her. It might be time to bite the bullet. Before he could change his mind, he scrolled through to find his father’s number and hit the call button.
Dylan wasn’t surprised when it went to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message. He thought about calling his mother, but she didn’t have any financial authority. And he wasn’t sure what to say to her anyway. The last time he spoke with either of them had been at Christmas. They were heading out for a party and hadn’t wanted to talk for very long. Maybe it was a good thing his father hadn’t answered the phone just now. Dylan didn’t want to be that son who only called when he was obligated to or when he needed money. He thought about calling his uncle and asking for help, but money had always been tight for them.
“What’s the matter?” LeAnn asked when he came back. She was wiping down the machine she had been on.
“Nothing,” he said. “I’m going to hit the heavy bag while you finish up your circuit.”
Pretending he didn’t see her frown of concern, he rummaged through his bag for his boxing gloves. The first couple of punches got out some of the frustration, but then the guilt and shame hit him, and he started to sweat it out in earnest.
