Page 153 of Ride the Sky

“I reckon it’s time.” Stede gives a nod, and I sit.

I’ve chosen a diner twenty minutes outside Resurrection. A sit down. To clear the air. To come clean. I owe it to Stede. But whatever he says, no matter what happens, I have Fallon’s back. She’s my wife. My heart. My future. I will always support her chasing her dream and all her levels of petty.

“How’s the coffee?” I ask.

Stede smirks. “Ain’t the Corner Store’s.”

I take a sip, cough and grimace. “Holy shit, that’s fuckin’ bad.”

“That’s why I got the beer.” Stede bumps the hat up on his head. “Somehow I don’t think we’re here to talk about the coffee.”

“No, sir.”

His hazel eyes pin me. “Fallon know you’re here?”

I grimace. “No.” I flat-out lied to Fallon, telling her I had to go to Billings for an auction and that I’d be back later this evening.

“You know,” Stede says, scanning around the diner, “this place reminds me of the Corner Store. Beat up but still kickin’.” His whiskey-soaked voice holds nostalgia. “That place has been in our family for ages. Fallon worked and supported me all through chemo. She kept that place alive. Spent her whole life trying to make me happy.”

“And now you ain’t?” When there’s silence, I lean in. “You hurt her, sayin’ what you said. Tellin’ her she disappointed you.”

He hangs his head. “Hell, I know it. If I could take it back, I would.”

I sit back in my chair, cross my arms. “If you weren’t her father, I’d kick your ass.”

He runs a hand over his whiskered jaw, chuckling. Then his face sobers.

“I’ll be real with you, son. I was disappointed I didn’t get to give you my blessing. I was disappointed I wasn’t there. She’s my baby. Walking her down the aisle was my right as a father.” Clearing the emotion from his throat, he goes on. “But I knew that was never going to be Fallon’s way. Hell, I never expected her to ever settle down. That girl always had a wildflower heart, she grew where she couldn’t.”

“I understand,” I say lowly. “If it means anything, I would have asked. If it had been a…a normal situation. But…there ain’t nothin’ I can do about it now.”

Stede sips his beer.

I stare at the dark liquid in my cup. “You let Davis marry Dakota.” Bitterness swells up inside me. “I get it if I’m not good enough, but—”

Stede looks taken aback. “Son, where’d you get a fool-headed notion like that?” He shakes his head then says, “It was neverabout you being good enough.” His fingers curl around his glass. “I see too much of me in you. A cowboy ’til the end.”

Understanding dawns. “You think I’ll leave.”

“You’ll leave. Or she will.”

“I won’t leave Fallon.” I shift uncomfortably, clearing my throat. Talking to a man about having sex with his daughter will never not be awkward, but it needs to be said.

“I apologize for, well, uh, goin’ back on my word from all those years ago. But I can promise you, I didn’t touch her until—”

I silence when Stede holds up a hand. “Save your breath, son. If I know any better, I know it was probably my daughter who, uh…” Now Stede looks as uncomfortable as me. “Let’s just say she always gets what she wants. No messin’ with that girl’s made-up mind.”

I grin. “You raised a wild one, that’s for sure.”

“How’s she been doin’?” Regret lines his craggy face.

“I’ve been helpin’ her ride. I want you to know that.”

Stede looks proud but also worried. “She plannin’ to rodeo soon?

“Fuck no.” Over my dead fucking body. Fallon’s not riding without me.

Stede sits up straighter. He knows what this is about. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

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