“Yeah, I think it went a lot better than Timberlynn expected. To be honest, with the way she described him, I figured he might be a snob. But he really hit it off with Dad.”
Brock laughed. “I’d say they hit it off. Mom said they were on the back porch smoking cigars half the night. She fell asleep at one, and dad was still out there with Frank.”
“Really?”
“Yep. How’s Timberlynn? She looked so off-balance last night.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I think she’s trying to figure out this side of her father she’s never seen.”
“Do you think it’s because he’s relaxed? Or around people who don’t really know him?”
“Could be.”
“Well, we all know why he wanted you on this ride.”
I laughed. “So why do you think Dad and Frank went out a bit earlier on their own?”
Brock finished getting Pogo ready and faced me. “My thoughts are they wanted to talk about you and Timberlynn.”
“Yeah, mine too. What about us?”
He shrugged. “Listen, I’m playing devil’s advocate, so don’t think I’m judging. Lincoln and I moved faster than any couple I’ve ever known, but maybe Frank has an issue with how quickly things are going with you two. It’s been what, two months since you became official?”
“About that. And I know we’re moving fast, but I love her, Brock.”
My brother smiled. “I know you do, Tanner. I think you fell in love with her the moment you first saw her. It’s not hard to see how you two feel about each other. It’s written all over your faces.”
A sound from outside caused Brock and me to turn and look.
“Sounds like they’re back. Were your ears burning?” Brock asked while he walked Pogo out of the barn.
I shot him a go-to-hell smirk, and then gave Trigger a quick pat on the neck. “Come on, girl, let’s get some exercise.”
As I walked out of the barn, I watched Brock swing up on Pogo. Dad was sitting on top of his favorite quarter horse, Russ, while Frank rode on a mare named Lucy that my mother had rescued a few years back.
“How’s Lucy treating you?” I asked as I swung up onto Trigger. I could feel her tremble lightly under me. I reached down and rubbed along her neck to calm her down. She was itching to get after some cows. As soon as the snow melted in the corral, I’d have to have Ty rope some with me.
Frank ran a hand over Lucy. “She’s a beautiful horse. Your father told me all about how your mother saved her from the slaughterhouse.”
I nodded. “She’s saved a number of them, and all of them turned out to be damn good horses. I have to say, she’s pretty excited Timberlynn is interested in starting a rescue.”
Frank smiled and nodded his head while his gaze drifted down to Lucy. I knew my father put him up on that horse for a reason.
“Let’s head out,” my father stated as he turned Russ around and headed toward one of the trails. Brock rode up next to my father, so that Frank and I rode side by side. As we walked farther along, I noticed Frank slowed down the pace of his horse, while my father and Brock damn near almost trotted away.
“Your family seems to really love my daughter,” Frank said.
“They’re not the only ones who love her, sir.”
I felt his eyes on me, so I turned to face him. “She loves you too—she told me when she called to invite me here. Sounds like it was a love-at-first-sight sorta thing.”
How in the hell was I supposed to respond to that?
Before I had a chance to say anything, Frank kept going. “That was how it was with Lynn, my wife. I knew the moment I saw her I was going to marry her. I wasn’t even looking for someone to be in a relationship with. There was something so wonderful about her. I see the same thing in Timberlynn, so I’m not surprised you fell like you did.”
“She’s pretty amazing.”
He nodded and stared straight ahead before he spoke again. “She reminds me so much of her mother. Looks just like her. After her mother died, I got so lost in myself. I tried so hard to be there for Timberlynn. I kept her close to me right after the accident. Then one day she was on a swing, and she fell and got hurt. I remember standing there, looking at the blood coming from her knee, and I was transported back to the day her mother died.”
He turned and faced me, a look of sadness etched on his face that made my own chest hurt for him. “Everything changed that day, and by the time I realized I had pushed my own daughter away, it was too late. I didn’t know how to reach out to her.”
“I don’t think it is too late. She loves you, and I know she desperately wants you in her life. I honestly don’t think either one of you know how to have a relationship with each other.”
He cleared his throat and looked at me. “I’m certainly not earning any bonus points lately. Did she tell you I bought the property she wanted and then sold it?”
“Yes, she was pretty angry about it.”
“Don’t blame her,” he said with a sigh. “It was a pretty dick move on my part. I panicked when I found out she had left Atlanta. I haven’t been there for her a whole lot since we lost her mother. I thought by keeping her at a safe distance, I was saving us both from any potential hurt. Then the day after she turned twenty-four, I was in a meeting with some doctors and lawyers from a pharmaceutical company, and I glanced down at the date. I’d forgotten my only daughter’s birthday. Forgotten it. Then I got the notice she’d gotten her trust and found out she was buying that property the Covey family had for sale. In a span
