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“Seriously?”Huh.So he wasn’t the only one with a secret. Silas pulled out his tape measure and got to work drawing the lines on the other side of the foundation. “What kind of venture?”
Thatch paused his work and glanced toward the house like he wanted to make sure no one else would hear. “I’ve been trying my hand at bronc riding. I’m thinking I can compete at the amateur rodeos around the country.”
Now it was Silas’s turn to be shocked. “Bronc riding.” And Thatch was giving him shit about the dangers ofhispotential new job?
“Yeah. I met up with an old bronc-riding legend in Jackson. He’s giving me some training in exchange for work on his house.”
“So that’s where you’ve been sneaking off to every weekend.” He knew his friend had been busier lately, but he hadn’t gone snooping around to find out what he was up to.
Thatch hauled over a 2x8 and lined it up. “Like you said, we’re not exactly busy here. I figured it’s time to take up a new hobby.”
Silas laughed. “A hobby, sure. But I’ve been to those rodeos. Man, you can get busted up pretty good.” He went over to hold the post in place while his friend used the nail gun to secure it.
Thatch shot him a look. “And you can’t get busted up going back to the Middle East?”
“Good point.” He dragged another 2x8 into place. It seemed they’d be framing the outbuilding without Aiden’s help today.
Thatch nailed the board in place. “I want a new challenge too. But I wasn’t gonna say anything until I can actually stay on the bronc’s back for more than a few seconds at a time.”
Thatch on the back of a bucking bronc? That’d be something to see. “I’ll have to come and watch you sometime.”
“Not for a while, man. Trust me.” He set the nail gun down on their worktable. “I’ve got a ways to go. But I’m with you. We should all be free to keep moving forward with our lives. Especially now that Tess insists on hiring hands to do most of the work around the ranch.”
“My thoughts exactly.” It didn’t matter where they went or what they did, the three of them would stay close. They had a bond. If Aiden would forgive him, that was.
“Aiden’ll come around. Give him some time.” Thatch clapped his shoulder. “We’re great at giving each other shit but not so good at talking about how we really feel.”
“Yeah.” Feelings had never mattered much to him. He’d kept himself too busy to pay much attention to them. But now… well, ignoring them was difficult to do.
Thatch picked up the nail gun again and they got back to work. “Hey, I’d appreciate it if you kept my bronc riding on the down-low for the time being,” his friend said.
“You got it.” Silas held the next board in place.
“And just make sure you’re doing this for the right reasons.” Thatch shot in a few more nails. “You know? Not because you’re running away from something. Make sure this is what you really want.”
Silas nodded, but he already knew. He couldn’t have what he really wanted.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Why am I nervous?”
Tess let out an exasperated sigh and gave Kyra and Lyric a desperate look. “I mean, it’s not like I don’t know everyone in this town.” But for some reason the thought of getting up to speak in front of them all had her stomach tied in knots. She’d thought having a happy hour margarita with her friends before the meeting would settle her nerves, but seeing everyone start to congregate around them made her want to get up and walk out of there.
“You’ll be great.” Lyric popped a nacho into her mouth, smiling as she chewed. “Trust me. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Easy for her to say. Lyric was a natural public speaker. Her friend did everything with an air of both confidence and elegance.
“Just pretend we’re all hanging out for a normal night at the café,” Kyra suggested.
“These are the same people we see every Friday night when we come. You don’t have to impress them. They already think you’re amazing.”
“But some of them don’t think the wild horses are amazing.” That’s what really had her nervous. She wanted to share what had happened to Legacy, to get everyone riled up about the injustice of an innocent animal being shot, but what if no one cared as much as she did?
“The people who are against the wild horses don’t matter.” Lyric sipped from her margarita. “We’ll focus on the people who’ll support you and this cause.”
“Exactly.” Kyra dipped a chip into the salsa. “Stay focused and make sure you include a call to action in your speech.”
A call to action…
