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“That’s cutting it close.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” Dylan pushed aside his uneasiness about this line of questioning. Mr. Hickory was his boss and was paying him a generous salary to watch over his bulls, not give him gambling tips. “The bulls look good,” he said, hopefully changing the subject.
“That’s good to hear,” Mr. Hickory said. “I need you to be my eyes and ears, though. Not only with the bulls but for everything that’s going on. I stand to make a lot of money placing insider bets. I don’t like to lose.”
“They call it gambling for a reason, Mr. Hickory. Nothing’s guaranteed.” Dylan smiled at LeAnn as she got the car. “And I hate to see you lose your money.”
LeAnn looked over at him quizzically, but he shook his head.
“I’d hate to lose it more,” Mr. Hickory said. “I like that you’re careful, man, but I didn’t get where I am today by not taking risks. I’m paying you to mitigate those risks. I’ll touch base with you in Oklahoma.”
Dylan wanted to remind him that he was paying him to evaluate the bulls, not be a spy. But that wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have with LeAnn in the truck. “See you then.”
“Who was that?” LeAnn asked.
“Mr. Hickory.”
“How’s the job going?”
“It’s a steady paycheck,” Dylan said.
“Fingers crossed that we’ll get another one,” she said. “Dolly seems convinced she can convince Sierra Boots to sponsor us.”
“That would take a lot of financial worry off me,” he said. “I could maybe even bank my salary from Hickory Livestock to save up for the ranch.”
“It really helped that they were watching when we both rode well today. I was even wearing my Sierra Boots. Too bad they pinch like hell.”
“You had a great ride today,” he said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to see it. My parents and uncle came to visit and since I wasn’t going to go out to dinner with them, I was kind of stuck showing them around.”
“No worries. I understand.”
“Maybe next time, we could go out to dinner with them?” he said.
“I’d like that. I won’t subject you to my parents yet. I’ll let you get used to my sisters’ brand of crazy first.”
“They seem okay to me. Dolly is…well…Dolly. Reba, on the other had…” He trailed off. “I think she just needed to get used to me.”
“Yeah,” LeAnn said. “Reba’s had a rough go of it with men. At her old job, she had a nightmare of a boss and it’s made her a little skittish. Around animals, she’s the best. She doesn’t warm up to people right away, though. But I think she likes you. Both my sisters like you.”
“I like them too. I was wondering if they’d blame me for you not winning more.”
LeAnn snorted. “They know better than that. And even if they didn’t, anyone with eyes can see that I’m improving. I finally feel that it’s all coming together. I finally broke that losing streak.”
“Just keep in mind, you need to start small and work your way up. You can’t rush the experience, or you risk backsliding on any progress you make.”
“I know,” she said. “But I also know that even a good ride isn’t a win if you get a lousy bull.” She cocked a glance at him. “I’m hoping that our bulls get stronger and more challenging to ride.”
“They’ll improve when you do,” Dylan said.
“Harsh,” LeAnn said, sticking her tongue out at him.
“But true.”
“All right. I’ll give you that. Just let me enjoy this victory, okay?”
“You’ve earned it. I’ll buy you a beer when we get to Last Stand. There’s a bed-and-breakfast there, if I remember correctly. Do you want to spend our evening there and get started on the road to Tulsa fresh tomorrow morning?”
“About that,” she said. “Dolly and Reba are going to take the Winnebago and Garth’s trailer straight to Oklahoma. It’s just going to be you and me for the next couple days.”
