“Good.” I could imagine him nodding. “If not, then just take it easy tomorrow. Maybe don’t do any tricks. Just ride the barrels or something.”
I laughed. “I don’t think that would make the staff coordinator happy.”
“They have a staff coordinator?” He asked.
“Yes, and I think she could go toe to toe with Madison and maybe hold her own.” I laughed again thinking about Bria and Dallas’s sister squaring off.
“No shit?” He joined me. “There aren’t too many people who can hold their own with Mads other than Sydney, of course.”
Dallas wasn’t wrong. His two middle sisters fought like cats and dogs most times, but if anyone thought they didn’t have each other’s back, then they’d be mistaken. Those two would kick anyone’s ass for each other. They just butted heads about absolutely every freaking thing.
“She also thinks I’m some fucking player or something.” I shared and then filled him in on the conversation I’d had with Bria. It didn’t help that he laughed pretty much through the whole thing.
“This isn’t funny.” I almost growled into the phone.
“You’re right.” He kept laughing. “It’s hilarious.”
“Shut the hell up.” I wondered if I should have called our other cousin, Victor. He was way more serious.
“Sorry, man, but come on. All the shit you’ve given me and Vic, and now look. Karma’s taking a bite out of your ass. How can I not laugh? If the situation were reversed, you’d do the same thing.” He probably wasn’t wrong.
“Well, can you pull yourself together long enough to tell me what I should do?”
“Nothing,” he answered, which didn’t help.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“We both know that you aren’t the kind of guy that she thinks you are. Just be yourself and she’ll see that.”
“Okay, but it isn’t like I have all the time in the world here.” I pointed out. “Two weeks goes quick.”
“You say that like she lives five states over.” Dallas chuckled. “You’re not even a day’s drive away. Long distance sucks, but it’s manageable.”
“I guess.” I’d never really dated anyone that wasn’t close.
“But also you might be getting ahead of yourself,” he said. “Attraction is one thing, but love is another. You just met her.You might want to take these two weeks to get to know her and see if there’s more there. Then you can figure out the rest. It could take time.”
“Says the guy who was whipped within days of meeting his girl.” I reminded him.
There was a pause, and I just knew he was smiling. “Not everyone is Trinity, and I’m well aware that both Vic and I got very lucky.”
“Yeah, you did.” A small part of me wondered if I could get as lucky as they did. Maybe this was all in my head.
“Who knows? This could be your shot.”
“Maybe.” I didn’t want to think about the fact that I’d never really found anyone that inspired the deep emotion I saw in my cousins or my parents.
The few relationships I’d had were few and far between. I even had a hard time calling them relationships. They had more been a few months of dating or months of passionate sex only to find out we had nothing in common. And it wasn’t that I didn’t want more. I just wasn’t sure how to open myself up to something like that. Not with the life that I lived or the family I had. I spent so much time traveling for the ranch or for the rodeo, and then the majority of the time I had left was either taken up caring for the horses or the ranch. It didn’t leave time for romantic dinners or much else. Especially when it felt like I’d been spending more time in the stables since Dallas and Victor found their girls so they could have the time they needed.
“Hey, you still there?” Dallas asked.
“Yep.” I took a breath. “But I probably should get settled and get some shut eye.” I still needed to go get my car.
“Okay.” He agreed. “Let me know if you need anymore help. We can get a conference call going with Vic and Jayson.” He chuckled. “I’m sure they’d be willing to do a video call if necessary.”
“Leave my brother and Victor out of this.”
“Not a chance in hell.” He laughed again. “This is prime gossip.”
