Dallas ladled stew onto his plate. “I have to ride sometime, the sooner the better as far as I’m concerned.” He remembered his last conversation with Ace.
“And risk damaging your hip again?”
His mouth set. “It’s made of metal. I’m told it will last longer than the rest of me.”
“Leaving the ‘rest of you’ vulnerable,” Hadley pointed out. “One wrong move on your part or some bull’s and you’re lying in the dirt again waiting for the ambulance. You really want to throw away your career? You’ve spent enough time laid up to know how long it takes—longer with each injury—to come back.”
“Which is what I need to do,” he insisted. “I’m fine. I’m doing the work here, aren’t I? Call it part of my rehab, if you want.” In fact, he had sessions most days after work at a facility in Barren and was making good progress. “Calvin and I unloaded that entire truck of hay for you today and I’m ready for more. After lunch we’ll ride out to check on that sick cow you mentioned and all the spring calves, see how they’re doing in this heat...”
Without looking, Hadley snatched another bread missile from Luke before the toddler could fire it. “Easy, pal.” Was he only talking to his son? “That’s not the same, Dallas. You know it. If you want to put on some rodeo, maybe that’s not a bad idea. Things do get pretty quiet around here in summer since the county fair moved over to Farrier—which I reminded our former mayor more than once is not the county seat—but for you to actually compete in the event?”
He was still shaking his head when Dallas answered. “You’re getting the cart ahead of the horse. I have to arrange the whole thing first. I’m thinking early August. By then, I’ll be good to go.” Which wasn’t much time. Would six weeks be enough?
He could tell Hadley didn’t quite believe him either. His blue gaze nailed Dallas like a butterfly to a board. “Is this about your folks again?”
“No...it’s not.” Another small lie that Hadley would probably see through. But he needed to ease back into the game. Prepare for his comeback, as his agent called it. “Sure, I’m worried about Mom, but that’s not the only reason. If I don’t do something, Ace is going to cut me from his roster. The rodeo, like my job here, will allow me to be physically active.” And he’d like to give something back to this town that had helped his brother find his place in life. “Maybe, as I heal further, I can even enter some minor events around the state, test my renewed fitness. I won’t get into any more trouble,” he assured Hadley. “You don’t have to worry.”
“Where you’re involved, I always worry. That gung-ho attitude of yours does get you into hot water, little brother. I worried about you even when I hadn’t seen you for years.”
“I’m here now,” Dallas said, “where you can keep an eye on me every day.” He picked up his fork, then hesitated.
Across the table, Clara was eating at the same time as she cut Grace’s meat with her free hand. Calvin was halfway through his first serving of stew.
Dallas said, “I won’t ride anywhere or in Barren unless I know I’m up to it. How’s that?”
Hadley heaved a sigh. “I’ll leave you to the details, and I haven’t ridden a bull since I was eighteen, but you might as well sign me up. Then I’ll be right there to pick you out of the dust.” He reached over to ruffle Dallas’s hair, an annoying habit from the time they were kids. “I figure I won’t have any real competition.”
“YOU MADE MY DAY, ELIZABETH. Goodness, I haven’t seen you in weeks,” Jenna Smith said, coming around her desk at Fantastic Designs for a brief hug. “You missed the last meeting of the Girls’ Night Out group, and we were all wondering why.”
“I was packing the kids’ stuff for Colorado then,” Elizabeth said, though that was only half the truth. Since the divorce proceedings began, she’d missed other get-togethers with her friends, those who had stood by her. “I’ll come next time,” she promised.
By then she might not be in hiding, and maybe she’d have enough energy to stay awake all evening. Elizabeth was having a hard time sleeping, and mornings weren’t her best time either. She stifled a yawn.
While trying to stay awake earlier today, she’d cleaned her already tidy house from top to bottom. Again. She’d even assembled the new bookshelves for Jordan’s room, which had been languishing in a box from Ikea in the mostly empty garage. Harry had taken most of the tools and garden equipment, including the lawn mower, though she didn’t know why since he was living in an apartment. Then she’d tackled Seth’s collection of stuffed animals and packed half of them away in the attic—in case he missed them, she wouldn’t throw them away or donate them to charity. As she dusted, she’d tried to see Stella’s point that her bedroom really should have at least one purple wall.
Now she was at Jenna’s office because she needed a friend, one she could trust.
“I can’t sleep. I miss the kids,” she admitted. “Harry never had time for his own children before, but now he’s got them for the whole summer. Part of me wants their bond to strengthen—”
“And the rest of you would like to kick him off a cliff,” Jenna murmured.
Elizabeth’s quick smile faded. “I worry especially about Seth, who doesn’t seem to be adjusting to the summer with his father, but I don’t know what else to do. He’s in Colorado—I’m in Kansas. Harry’s not the most patient person. He’s always a bear when he doesn’t get enough sleep, and if he’s up all night with Seth...”
“He might be more likely to bring them all home.”
“Which I’d actually prefer. You can’t imagine how quiet the house seems.”
“Yes, I
