“Because the bull was naughty and got out of its paddock so Jake is going to put that rope around its neck and take him back where he needs to be.”
“Why?”
“So he can have some lunch.”
“Can I have lunch?”
“We will when we get back to the house.”
“Cheese sandwiches?”
Jake took another step, and I swear my heart stopped. Reaching out, he let the beast sniff his hand before smiling like he knew a secret none of us were privy to. A second later, he draped the rope around the beast's neck and stepped up to his shoulder.
“He did it,” I whispered.
“He did what?” Cassie asked as Jake handed the rope to Nash and strutted back toward the truck.
“Mom!” Cassie whined. “What did he do?”
Jake yanked open the truck door, and his face lit up with a huge smile when he found Cassie standing on his seat. “What did who do?” Jake asked, catching the tail end of our conversation.
“You, silly,” Cassie said with a giggle, and I had to remember that my daughter had a big mouth. Evidently, it wasn’t just the naughty words she was likely to repeat and throw me under the bus for.
“He caught the bull,” I confirmed, and Jake beamed proudly.
“Gladiator,” Cassie tried to say, adorably stumbling over his name. “He’s mean.”
“He’s not that bad,” Jake defended. “Hey, Kel. Would you mind driving my truck back to the house, and I’ll bring him in?”
“You’re going to let me drive your truck?” I asked, bewildered.
“You seem surprised?” he replied, leaning his arms on the top of the door showing off those impressive muscles.
“You never let me drive your truck,” I reminded him.
“I’ve let you drive it before.”
“Once. Once you let me drive your precious truck.”
“You drove it into a ditch!”
“There was a raccoon on the road, and I swerved so I wouldn’t hit it. What was I supposed to do?” I protested, throwing my hands up in the air. This was an argument we’d had before.
“Hit the damn raccoon. Better they’re dead than you,” Jake huffed while behind him Gladiator was getting restless.
“Yeah, yeah. You say that now.”
“Do you want to drive it?”
“Hell yeah! Gimme the keys!” I stuck out my hand.
“They’re in the ignition.”
“You’re really trusting me with your baby?” I clarified, still not sure if I was hearing him right.
“You’ve already got my heart. Might as well take the truck too.”
I almost swooned.
