Page 49 of Bucked Hard

They nod at each other.

“What’re you doing here?” I ask as Roger scans the hay field before reaching down to pick a long piece of grass and put it between his teeth.

“Just sayin’ ‘Hi.’” He grins, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Got your note yesterday. Your stuff was gone. I was hurt.” Roger frowns and bats his eyelashes playfully, feigning heartbreak.

“Yeah, well, you were off running your empire. Someone has to do the dirty work.”

Enrique chuckles and gets to his feet. Stretching his hands over his head for a moment before stepping over to lean against the tree to our left.

“Yeah, speaking of empire.” Roger twists his lips.

I figured this wasn’t just a friendly house call when Roger continues with a look in his eye like he wants something from me. “I know you were trying to find a place of your own, but I want you to bring Arabelle out now instead of whenever you get around to it. I want to use her in my clinics if you don’t mind. Have you do some demo with me. Add some new flavor to the clinics. You two have some tricks I can’t even begin to figure out. What’d’ya say? I’ll even pay to have her hauled out here. I’ll use Rusty Thompson; he’s got that rig with the palace of a horse trailer. He’s got a run out that way tomorrow. Could stop by and bring her back with him.”

I shake my head. Roger’s always got hustle going on.

“Yeah?” I stall, I do want her here. Didn’t think I missed that mare as much as I do. Only been a few days and there’s just something missing not seeing her every day. “I’ve promised my help here, I can’t go off and just leave working with you.”

“Yeah. That’s for sure,” Enrique adds with a hearty laugh.

“Naw.” Roger kicks the grass and twists the blade that’s between his teeth. “I’ll bring her out, then you and I see what kind of schedule you got. I have three clinics here at my barn over the next month. Saturdays and Sundays.”

Jessie told me when I started she’d let us figure out our own schedule, and Enrique and I already decided Sunday would be our day of rest, and if we stay organized and on point, I could fall out with Roger on a Saturday as well.

“What do you think, partner? Think I could take the time?” I lean passed Roger to get an eye line on Enrique who’s already smiling.

“Sure. I do most of the work anyway.” He chuckles again. “I’m going to go see a man about a mule, so y’all let me know when you’re ready to go back to work. I’ll be over yonder when I’m done.” He tips his head toward the baler and saunters off toward a patch of scrub bushes.

“Sounds good. I’ll call out to the ranch and let them know Rusty’s coming for her. Just have him tell me what day and time, I’ll give him the new barn manager’s number out there so he’s ready.” I have to admit, I’m a little giddy about Arabelle coming out sooner than I’d expected.

“Yeeeaaaah, buddy.” Roger’s smile spreads wide. “Get you back in the game, my friend.”

“Seems so.” I tip my hat back and forth and watch as Enrique comes out from behind the bushes heading over to the big machine. “I should get back to work. You could have just called, you know.”

“Naw.” Roger shakes his head. “I miss this too. Being out doing field work” He looks around, then up at the sky. “Keeping it simple. It’s got a certain romance don’t it?”

“Yep.” I step forward and Roger takes his own step toward the truck. We know each other that well, it’s time to wrap it up.

“I’ll be in touch. We’ll get you on the program. The infamous Chad Butler’s in the hooooooouse,” he hollers at the sky, tossing the chewed piece of grass on the ground and stomping back to his truck without a goodbye.

I’m not infamous. Roger’s the one with the high profile in the training business. I have a good reputation, and a good business in my own right, but my name isn’t a brand like Roger’s.

Roger mentioning my dad makes me think back to when my parents first found out what had happened with Leander and the girl. How they didn’t believe he could do something like that. They did their best to keep me out of it; I spent nearly a year at my Uncle Jerry’s farm working while the storm passed. By the time I got back, Leander was sentenced, and nothing was ever the same at home and they never talked about it.

Dad’s business faltered and he sold the farm a few weeks before he begged me to leave.

I guess I feel some guilt. Truth is, I ignored it as best I could. I didn’t ask questions and looking back, I could have been more supportive to my Dad. I ignored it all, didn’t look at the newspaper, barely left Uncle Jerry’s farm. Figured out it was best to let the storm blow over and everything would go back to how it used to be. I was wrong.

Dad was never the same after all that and the truth is he died of guilt and shame. Mom was already half in her own world, so at least she didn’t suffer the same way. All in all, it destroyed more than the girl Leander molested. The court kept her name from being made public being she was a minor and at that time Leander was living hours from us, but Dad still felt it stained our family.

My dad was a decent man. A good man.

Leander was a child from the only other woman my father was ever with. One time when he was sixteen.

But it created a life. Growing up, that was another reason I didn’t take to one night stands or dipping my wick just for the sake of getting off. I saw what one mistake can do. I also saw what true love looked like with Mom and Dad.

As I think about it, a sick panic crawls into my gut, a moment of doubt that maybe Rachel isn’t as gone as I am. I have to shake my head to get rid of it. Tell myself that if she has doubts, that’s okay. I know how to rope a calf. She’s mine. If she needs more convincing, I’ve got plenty of rope.

ChapterSixteen

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