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“Why don’t we all have dinner together after the rodeo?” Lou suggested. “We can catch up and Dylan can tell you all about his plans to open up a ranch for retired rodeo horses.”
His father looked interested, and Dylan wasn’t sure if he wanted to kill or kiss his uncle.
“I’ve got plans, unfortunately,” Dylan said. He wasn’t ready to pitch the ranch to his father yet, even though it was probably a good time to do that.
“With LeAnn?” his uncle asked. “Bring her along.”
Oh hell no. Not yet. That was also too soon. He needed more time to prepare himself. At least a week. Besides, there was Lola to think about. “I can’t. We’ve made plans to take Lola to Last Stand. I need to give her a few months to rest.”
“You need a horse, son?” his father asked.
Dylan’s pride fought with his practicality. He couldn’t ride Lola in any more events this year. But he needed to win as many as he could to keep saving for the ranch and for Lola’s keep.
“Yeah,” Dylan said.
“I think I can rent you one,” Lou said. “For a percentage of your winnings.”
Dylan’s lips twitched in a reluctant smile. “You got it.”
His father held out his hand. “Come and visit the next time you’re in the area. Your mother misses you.”
He shook his father’s hand, and then hugged his mother—being careful to avoid hurting his ribs. “Yeah,” Dylan said, surprising himself. “I will.”
Chapter Sixteen
Dylan was one hurtin’ puppy by the time the rodeo ended. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open.
“If you want, you can sleep in the Winnebago,” LeAnn said.
“No, I’m not going to let you do this long drive all by yourself.” Dylan’s ribs were on fire. They were heavily taped up, but he had been lucky. They weren’t cracked, they were just sore as hell.
“Well, then I’m driving.” LeAnn crossed her arms over her chest, and he was distracted at how it pushed her luscious breasts up. His ribs didn’t hurt that bad, he told himself. But when he moved toward her too quickly, he was rewarded with a stabbing pain.
Shit. Maybe he should take it easy.
“Fine. Have it your way,” he said.
“I think you mean, thank you,” she said pertly.
Yeah, he did. “Thank you, sweetheart.” He kissed her quickly on the mouth.
Luckily Dolly and Reba were there to help them get Lola situated in the trailer. While LeAnn said her goodbyes to her sisters, Dylan pulled himself into the passenger seat of the truck, making himself as comfortable as he could. When his phone rang and he saw that it was Mr. Hitchcock, he answered it. “Hello.”
“LeAnn put on a good show today,” Mr. Hitchcock said.
LeAnn had stayed on for eight seconds. It wasn’t the best time of all the ladies, but it was the first time she had completed a ride during the exhibitions. There hadn’t been time for him to congratulate her yet, but they had the long drive to Last Stand ahead of them to connect again after the craziness of the past few days.
“It’s a good sign of how she’s going to do when it really counts, isn’t it?” Mr. Hitchcock said.
“I hope so,” Dylan said. Starting at the next event in Tulsa, the scores would count to qualify for the finals in Las Vegas in October. She had four months of hard competition ahead of her. Callie and Muriel were the better riders. LeAnn was a solid third place, though. He wasn’t sure how to break that to LeAnn yet. He was afraid that if he mentioned his doubts, LeAnn would go over the top with her training and he’d have another Johnny Montana on his hands. Then again, was he really one to talk about taking risks? Fever Dream had been a big risk on his part.
“You had a hell of a ride, too. Got banged up a bit, didn’t you?”
“I’ll be all right,” Dylan said.
“Do you have any good tips for me for Oklahoma’s events?” Mr. Hickory said eagerly.
“Not yet,” Dylan said. “I’ll know more when we get there.”
