He was adorable when he was worried.
She shook her head, mumbling something.
“Iris, please. Atlas said you needed to take this,” Nash said.
Iris leaned against Nash. “Damn, you’re so warm. My back hurts, and this feels good.”
“If you want him to stay, drink the broth and take the medicine,” I said, not afraid to play dirty.
Iris glared at me or at least I thought it was a glare. It looked more like a squint, but I got the gist. Nash took the cup from me with the straw, holding it up to her mouth. She took a few sips before I gave her the Tylenol, then more broth before she finally took the flu medicine.
“See, that wasn’t too hard,” I said, picking up trash, looking up at Iris and Nash.
Iris snuggled up against him as he looked down at her with what looked like, what, affection? I felt like an interloper watching this tender moment. Had something happened since I last saw Iris? I walked away before jealousy made me do something irrational. She wasn’t mine and what we had done was just between friends. I told her it didn’t have to mean anything and I meant that.
“Here,” I said, handing Nash a bag with a sandwich, chips and a drink when I walked back into the living room.
“Fuck, Beau. You’re a lifesaver,” he said, tearing into the wrapping.
“Did you come from work?” I asked, opening my bag.
“Yeah, we moved the herd today and one mama had her baby. Forest and I stayed with her for a bit to make sure she delivered her well, and didn’t reject the calf,” he said, biting into his sandwich. “It's wild how the calf comes out walking and all these instincts come into play.”
“I don’t know if I could watch that,” I shuddered.
“Eh, you get used to it and when you're on a farm or ranch it's part of the workday,” he said in between bites.
“Have you always worked on either?” I was curious for more information on Nash.
“My father owns a dairy farm and a ranch in west Texas,” he said, with a tone that sounded like anger or bitterness.
“So, this has been your life since you were little?” I opened my bag of chips.
“Yup, been working like this my whole life,” he said, opening his Coke.
“Then why are you still doing it? Aren’t you tired of it?” I asked.
“Yes and no,” he sighed, crumpling the wrapping from the sandwich. “The work is comforting. I love working with horses the most but I do love the other animal, but I only do it for a few months out of the year just to get my fill.”
“Why don’t you just work with horses?” I asked.
“Equine Estate’s want full-time workers and smaller stables are harder to come by and are less likely to hire someone for a few months,” he said, opening his chips. “If I had my way, I would buy a piece of land, open my own place and have it run by someone else while I did the rodeo, come back and work it during the off season. There’s a place out in northern Virginia I visited years ago and I think about it constantly. The Wilder Estate was gorgeous. It gave me a vision for the future.”
Nash looked dreamy as he spoke. For the first time, he wasn’t intimidating, he was just a man with a dream. He was soft and I liked this side of him.
“You don’t want to be like your dad?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Nash scowled. “I know you think I’m an asshole for doing his bidding. I know it might not seem like it, but my father holds my future in his hands and this is how he controls me at least for now.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father funds my bronc riding, and if I don’t do what he needs, then he threatens to pull my funding,” he said, exasperated. “I married Iris because he bullied me and reminding me I wouldn’t be able to ride anymore unless I did this.”
“Jesus Christ, Nash,” I said, putting my trash and drink on the coffee table. “Why don’t you just quit?”
“I’ve invested too much time in this to just give up,” he said. “I was almost out a few years ago. I had endorsements, I was at the top of my game, winning rodeos with big purses. I went to one party, one fucking party, had three beers. After I left, a cop pulled me over, saying I was swerving.”
I scowled, remembering him having three beers at the bar and feeling fine.
