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Dylan had nothing to offer her. He had no job. No ranch to rescue horses and no future. As much as it hurt like hell, he had to let her go. He would only drag her down.
She opened the truck’s door. “I need to be alone right now. We’ll talk in a month.”
He leaned in and kissed her hard and fast. “Goodbye, LeAnn. Find yourself a cowboy who can take care of you. Not the other way around.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Socorro, New Mexico
LeAnn was surprised it took as long as it did for her parents to come around. A lot had happened in the past few weeks. The WPRCA was struggling to get fans into the arenas, especially for the events that coincided with times that the MPRC were running bull-riding events with women riders.
She had wanted to compete against the men, but Jackson Blevins was adamantly against it. They compromised by pulling from the same bulls, but the women competed against each other. Both organizations were sponsoring a joint rodeo to take place the first weekend of October in Las Vegas. It would be the first rodeo that Dylan could compete in.
She missed him desperately. Almost every night, she stared at her phone and willed him to call, but he never did. Of course, she could have called him. But every time she weakened, she reminded herself that Dylan needed to put the ghost of Johnny Montana to rest. He’d never be happy with her until he did.
But damn, LeAnn wished he would hurry up about it.
She had gone eight seconds on her first bull and got tossed on her ass on her second ride. As she was hurrying to get Garth for the barrel-racing competition, she was surprised to see her mother and father in the barn with Reba.
“Hi,” she said warily. She hadn’t seen her parents in four months.
Her mother rushed in for a hug and LeAnn closed her eyes so they wouldn’t see her tears brimming.
“You look good,” her mother said, holding her at arm’s length. “Tired, but good.”
“Thanks,” she said. “It’s been an adventure. Hi, Dad,” she said.
They awkwardly stared at each other.
“What brings you to New Mexico?” she asked. “Is Loretta here too?”
“Loretta’s home,” her dad said. “We flew out to see you girls.”
“Good because that would have been a long drive,” LeAnn said.
“It’s nothing we hadn’t done before, but you’re right. Your mother and I are getting too old for the long road trips. It’s good to see you.” He closed the distance and hugged her.
This time, she did cry a little, but she saw his eyes misting over too so she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
“You had a good ride today,” he said. “You look stronger than you were at the beginning of the season.”
“I had a good coach and I worked hard to improve,” she said. She missed Dylan’s advice, but she made sure to follow the workouts and the practice schedule that he had created for her before everything spiraled out of control.
“It shows,” he said. “We were looking forward to one last family road trip. We’re coming with you all to Las Vegas.”
Kill me now.
“Vegas is a fun town,” LeAnn said after a long pause. “And I’d love to have you in the audience, but I’m already booked at a hotel.”
“You can still cancel it,” her mother said. “It will save you some money. There’s no sense in you eating out and paying for a room when there’s plenty of space for all of us in the Winnebago.”
Not a chance.
“As much as I miss your chili con carne,” LeAnn said, “I’ve gotten used to being on my own. Garth and I have our own routine.”
“Your sisters were supposed to keep an eye out on you,” her father said.
“LeAnn can take care of herself,” Reba added. “But if she needs me, she knows I’ll be here for her. Same as Dolly.”
