A Bull Rider To Depend On. Jeannie Watt

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СКАЧАТЬ offer stands.” The way he spoke made her wonder why.

      “I’ll keep it in mind.”

      And she’d file it under Fat Chance. She was not asking for help from the man who was in a large way responsible for the situation she was now in. The very fact that he offered...

      “I need to go, Ty.” Before I tell you what I’m really thinking.

      He studied her, as if debating whether or not to prolong the conversation, and she in return studied him, her gaze unwavering. He was handsome. Dark and lean and dangerous looking. Ty had always kind of intimidated her. He was so different from his easygoing twin, who’d been one of her best buddies growing up. Funny how those things went.

      His mouth tightened a little as they silently regarded one another, the atmosphere growing more charged by the second, and for some reason the movement of his lips caused a tiny ripple in her midsection.

      Yes. Dangerous.

      Skye tore her gaze away and opened the car door. When she closed it, a wave of relief washed over her.

      Safe.

      * * *

      OH YEAH. That had gone well.

      Ty forced his tight jaw muscles to relax as he walked back to his truck while Skye all but laid rubber in her hurry to get away from him. It was obviously easier for her to blame him rather than Mason for the trouble she was in. He understood, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

      Nope. He pretty much hated it. But what could he do? Chase her down and tell her the truth about her husband? He might be angry, but he wasn’t that angry. He needed to let this go, focus on the here and now, on the things he could control, like where he lived.

      Instead of getting into his truck, he reversed course and walked into the café.

      “Hey, Ty.”

      Angie Salinas greeted him with a wide smile. See, Skye... Angie likes me. And Angie probably had more of a reason to dislike him, because they’d dated in junior high for almost a week, before he broke up with her on Valentine’s Day. He was a smooth operator back then.

      “Angie.” He smiled up at her as she waved him to a booth. “I don’t need a menu.”

      “Know what you want, eh?”

      “Grilled chicken.”

      “Sandwich?”

      “Just the chicken, but go ahead and charge me for a sandwich.” He ate all the protein he could to keep his muscles in shape, stayed away from useless carbs. As he’d gotten older, he’d started paying more attention to things like diet and exercise. Funny how a body could get beat around for only so long before it started requiring extra attention.

      “Salad or something?”

      “A salad would be good. Dressing on the side.”

      “You got it.” She jotted a few words on her pad and headed off to the counter.

      Ty drank some water, did his best to tamp down the irritation still lingering after his encounter with Skye, then pulled out his phone and went to the real estate listings. He and Jess might have been womb-mates who could practically read each other’s minds, but if they had to share that tiny trailer space for much longer...well...he saw no good coming of that. It was time to move out.

      A house would be nice, but he had nothing against buying a used trailer, as Jess had done. In the beginning anyway. The important thing was that he wanted to buy whatever he decided on and own it free and clear while he had the bucks to do so. Traveling the circuit was expensive. Keeping his bare-bones insurance policy was expensive.

      When Angie brought his food, he put his phone aside. “I’m looking to buy some land,” he said. “Know of anything?”

      Because if anyone was going to know anything, it was Angie. She had six siblings and she worked in a café.

      She cocked a hip, frowning a little as she thought. “Nothing springs to mind, but if I hear of anything I’ll let you know. If you’re around.” One corner of her mouth quirked up. “Will you be around?”

      “I’m not retiring, if that’s what you mean. I’m just planning for the future.”

      “That is so out of character, Ty.”

      He grinned at her and she smiled back before heading to another table. It really wasn’t out of character, but Jess was so responsible that by contrast he appeared to be reckless. He had his moments, but deep down, he wasn’t all that different from his brother.

      Try telling Skye that.

      He wasn’t going to tell Skye anything. Why beat his head on a wall?

       Chapter Three

      As soon as she got home, Skye took off her uniform and put it directly into the washer before pulling on worn jeans and a crewneck sweatshirt, dressing in quick jerky movements. She wanted to stop thinking—to turn off her brain and just...be.

      As if.

      It was going to be another sleepless night. She was certain of that, just as she was certain that Tyler was to blame...although it wasn’t in the way that she usually blamed him. He’d simply uttered a truth that she hadn’t wanted to hear. A truth that had echoed through her brain for the entire trip home.

      Mason was a grown man. Mason had made his own choices.

      She knew that. But he’d also had an addiction that his friends could have helped him manage. They didn’t. End of story.

      She gathered her hair into a ponytail, slapped on a ball cap and headed out the door to take care of her menagerie.

      Skye loved animals, as had Mason, which was why she now had so many mouths to feed in addition to the cattle. Cattle she wouldn’t have for much longer if she couldn’t secure a loan to buy the hay she needed to feed them. If she had to sell the cattle at a loss, see all of her hard work go by the wayside, it was going to kill her. She could catch up on the truck payment if she sold, but without that cow money being there when she needed it, she couldn’t afford the ranch. And if she couldn’t afford the ranch, then she was going to have to give up her livestock.

      Her animals had been the one thing that had seen her through after Mason had died. How could she even think about giving them up?

      Simple. She couldn’t. And she wouldn’t.

      Her mini-donkey, Chester, came trotting across the pasture with the old mule, Babe, not too far behind as Skye walked the short distance down the driveway to the barn. Chester ducked under the bottom wire of the fence as if it wasn’t there and continued on to Skye, stopping directly in front of her. Skye reached out to rub his wiry forelock, shaking her head as Babe gave a loud protest from the pasture.

      “You know it upsets him when you do this,” Skye chided the little donkey, who rubbed his head on her hip, almost knocking her over. Babe called to his buddy СКАЧАТЬ