Page 7 of Big Obsession

He chuckles again. “Dolly, I know this all seems sudden, but I want to let you know that I’ve felt this way for a while now. I’ve held myself back?—”

“Why?” I croak.

He stutters for a second. “Well, uh, let’s see. There’s a hundred reasons, but the most important is that I knew how important you are to Ace, and I didn’t want to do anything to mess that up.”

I sit down on the couch and put my head in my hand. “Right. That’s right. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my relationship with Ace.” Deciding it’s time I change the subject, I continue, “Good luck this weekend.”

His silence is telling. The only sound is the sway of the porch swing as it squeaks on its hinges. Finally, he starts to talk. “So, uh, Ace has practice this weekend.”

I nod. “I know. He sent me the schedule. I’ll take him. I know you have that event.”

“Are you coming to watch?”

Surprised, I ask, “Watch you?”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I mean, you could come and pick up Ace from the arena.”

I nod. “Sure, sure. I can do that. I can watch Ace while you ride and then I’ll take him to his practice.”

He huffs, and he sounds frustrated. “I’m not asking you to come and watch Ace. He will be with my team; he’ll be fine. I just thought that you would like to come watch me ride, that’s all.”

Surprised doesn’t even begin to cover it. Of course, I’ve seen him ride many times, but this feels different. He’s never asked me to come and watch him. He surprises me even more when he says, “I’d like to know you’re there… for me.”

A heat flushes through my whole body. I still have a thousand questions, but all I can manage to say is “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

CHAPTER 5

TUCKER

The crowd is going wild. When I was asked to ride in this charity event, I said yes without thinking twice about it. It quickly grew, and since the stakes are higher, the competition is stiff and the attendees have grown. What was once a charity event just to raise a few dollars now has become the event of the season.

“Up next, Tucker Yates. He’s the number one bull rider in the state, ladies and gentlemen, and he’s here to help raise money for the local children’s hospital…”

The announcer drones on, and even though I’m the next rider up and should be doing my routine, I’ve been scanning the crowd for Dolly.

“There she is,” Ace hollers, pointing toward the stands.

I follow where he’s pointing, and there’s no stopping the smile from forming on my face. I knew I wanted her here, but I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I saw her. My whole body reacts to seeing her. I don’t even try to be cool about it. I lift my arm and wave at her, and sure enough, she’s already spotted us and waves back with flushed cheeks. I know she’s not used toattention and may not like it, but she’s going to have to get used to it. When people find out she’s the object of my affection, they are going to want to know more about her.

I decided after our phone call last night that I was going to have a discussion with her about this. I know there’s a lot of what ifs, but I also know that I won’t forgive myself if I don’t try with her.

“There she is,” I say to Ace, repeating his words back to him.

I’m smiling like a dope, and Ace points at Dolly again. “Dad, can I go watch with Dolly? I might need to explain things to her or something.”

I laugh at his logic. “I’m sure she would like that.” I look at my friend Rick. “Can you walk Ace over to our, uh, friend?”

Ace gives me a weird look. “Dad, I’m nine years old. I can walk over?—”

“I can walk him,” Rick says.

Ace groans. “This is Big Wood. Nothing exciting happens in Big Wood.”

I resist rolling my eyes. My son is growing up too fast, and I’m not ready for it. “Rick can walk you.”

He groans. “Fine. Good luck, Dad.”

He fist-bumps me, and I look across the arena at Dolly. I motion for her that Ace is coming to her, and she stands up to look for him.

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