“That Margo.” He shakes his head. “Always telling Poppy about some new toy she got or how one of the boys likes her and not Poppy.”
“Really?”
He nods. “Oh, yeah.”
“Did you ask Poppy about the boys?” I ask.
“She said boys are gross, so I hope I don’t have to worry about that for another few years.”
Laughter bubbles out of me. “I hated those days. Trying to have the talk with a teenage girl? It was the worst.”
“So, are you going to fill me in now, or are we just going to watch the cows?” Kade asks, diverting the conversation back to why he came out here.
“There’s nothing going on between me and Joey. Nothing that will affect our working relationship.”
“Even though you haven’t been out of the barn for two weeks now?”
“We’ll be fine once we move past this.”
“So what, you’re just going to ignore each other at the big picnics and parties we have?”
“Again, I’m not seeing a flaw in this plan.”
“And if I just let Presley go again, do you think I’d still be here?”
“Your situation is different.”
“I love her and you love Joey. Not that different, Sam. Are you really going to let her dad get in the way?”
He pierces me with a fierce look.
“Sam, I didn’t fight for Presley all those years ago. I was a stubborn-ass twenty-year-old who let his pride get in the way. It’s still one of the biggest regrets of my life. If you love her, if youreallylove her, then you need to decide whether you’re going to fight for her.”
“But what if he makes Joey choose between me and her family? I don’t want her to have to give them up.”
“Isn’t that a decision Joey deserves to be a part of?”
I shake my head. “I know what it’s like to lose family. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Kade clucks at Lollipop and starts moseying his way back to the barn. I follow him.
“You’ll never know though unless you try.”
I mull it over the entire way back to the ranch. If I ever want to be Joey’s knight in shining armor, the kind of man that she wants to build a life with, I’ll have to man up and do something about it.
Maybe it’s time I have a conversation with Greg. As much as I don’t want to do it, Joey is worth all the discomfort that would come along with it.
Or maybe I should just let him get a punch in and then see how things go.
As we get close to the barn, Joey is running toward us. She’s frantic.
Jumping off Storm, I toss his reins to Kade and jog over to her.
“What’s wrong?”
Tears are streaming down her face. “Max’s school called and he fell and they think he broke his arm.”
“What?” Panic floods through my veins.
