“You know I can’t. My contract.”
“How about if I get this one then you ride Shadow?” Hudson suggests. I know Tate’s thinking the same as me. Hudson hasn’t gotten the rope around it yet. Not once.
“Sure, bud.” He says without any real consideration. Tate comes to lean against the fence beside me, his shoulder presses against my knee. The sight of Tate in a cowboy hat and boots is enough to make me weak in the knees.
“You should know, he's a quick study.” He lifts his hat to brush his hair back and places it in his head again.
“We’ll see.”
Before he’s even finished his sentence, Hudson’s thrown it. It lands a little crooked on the fake steer, and is only technically around one horn, but he got it all the same. Tate hangs his head, the brim of his hat hiding his eyes.
“Yall are gonna get me fired.”
“A promise is a promise.” Matty sing songs, smug as ever. He jumps down to fist bump Hudson. “That’s how you do it, Huddy!”
“I’ll go get Scottie to help and get shadow ready.” Levi grins and slaps a hand on Tate’s shoulder.
Three days later Tate is still walking carefully. He held on for a long time, those forearm veins on display as he flexed his hold through every buck and spin. When he finally dismounted, his brothers herded the horse away. Hudson and Matty were hollering in excitement.
It wasn't until Tate jumped over the fence, braced on one hand, and landed wrong on his feet that he twinged his back. He didn't let it stop him from playing hide and seek in the dark with all the kids while I helped Rachel with family dinner preparations. He still took the boys and Rambo fishing off the pier of their family lake. Even got into a playful wrestling match with Levi. He won but needed help getting off the floor once it was over.
The entire trip has been a breath of fresh air. A glimpse into the sort of life I imagined having a family would be like, before life came along and had other plans.
“Mom, I love it here.”
“Me too.” I wrap my arm around Hudson’s shoulders as we follow Matty and Tate into the house. It’s chaos inside, a stark difference from the peace of the trail ride we just came from.
My heart squeezes to see how everyone naturally stands in a wide circle, some simultaneously using their hands to speak, even when Tilly isn’t in the room. Even if it’s to yell about the rules of UNO.
The room erupts when Scotty slaps down a draw four, making his youngest son, James, add to his already large hand of cards and shouting UNO.
I find Rachel in the kitchen stirring a large pot of pasta.
“Hey, dear.” She gives a warm smile and reaches an arm out to hug me. That’s something I love about Tate’s mom. No matter that I saw her this morning, she always reaches for a hug.
“Hey. What can I do to help?” I look around at the sliced bread and the garlic spread. I point at it with a raised brow.
“Sure, if you’d like. I never say no to company in the kitchen.” She adds some seasoning to thesimmering pot. “I’m so glad to have y'all here. You compliment those boys well.”
“I love it here. It’s so... peaceful.” I say just as another boisterous roar of outrage sounds in the other room. Rachel quirks a brow, making me chuckle. “I know, I know. But… it’s happy noises.”
She sets the spoon down to face me fully.
“Yes, it is.” She toys with the hand towel, “We didn’t always have this beautiful ranch, or the big family. There was a time that it was just Me, Scotty, Tate and their dad. It certainly wasn’t always happy noises. I think Scotty still struggles with those memories. Thankfully, Tate was younger. I always carry the guilt with me of not finding the strength to leave sooner, but Owen’s timing… I wouldn’t trade life with him for anything.”
A sad smile forms on her face.
“He was truly a good man. He made my boys into good men, too. I hope that with time, you’ll find it in you to be able to accept that kind of love too. It would be the best thing you do for yourself. And if I’m not overstepping… for your son too.”
Chapter 30 -Allison
The first morning back in the white walled office has me taking a large swig of my coffee to feel motivated. The past week was a dream, now it’s back to reality.
Emalyn waits for me in the front, her eyes glued to her phone. She doesn’t look up as she matches my pace as we walk down the hall towards my office.
“Well, how was your week, Allison? Oh, it was great, how about yours, Emalyn?” I joke, nudging her shoulder. It’s not until she looks up that I notice the dark circle and red rimmed eyes. I stop her with a hand to her shoulder. “Woah, you, okay?”
She sniffles and rubs her mascara free eye with the back of her hand. “Yeah, great. Just a little cold.”
