Page 38 of Crashing the Altar
My left hand twitched. “How much did you tell them?”
“Everything.”
I arched an eyebrow, shooting a pointed look toward the bed. “Everything?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Well, noteverything. But they know about your little groom switch.”
“Okay . . . Did you happen to ask when they expect me to return to the ranch?” I wasn’t ready to go back, but there were responsibilities I couldn’t ignore.
“You’re gonna stay on the road with me and the team.”
Twisting the terry cloth beneath my fingers, I hedged, “But I work for your father.”
“No, Lucky, you don’t. Not anymore.”
My stomach bottomed out. “Oh God, your dad fired me, didn’t he?” Tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them.
“What?” Tripp was on his feet in an instant.
Watery hiccups bubbled up from my chest. “M-maybe if you let me talk to him. I can ex-explain.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Tripp gripped both sides of my face. “Listen to me. He can’t fire you.”
“But you said—”
He cut me off before I could spiral further. “What I said was that you don’t work for my father anymore. Your new last name is twisted in iron over the front gate. You’re not an employee, Penny. You’re a part owner.”
A rush of air escaped when my mouth dropped open, and the truth of his words sank in. I knew marrying Tripp made me a Sullivan, but it all happened so fast, and I’d been so caught up in him—and the wedding night—that I hadn’t realized the full scope of what my name change brought along with it.
My lips twisted into a grin. “I’m my dad’s boss?”
“Don’t be getting any crazy ideas into your head, girl. I said part owner, not the primary owner.”
“But someday, right?” Excitement built with each passing minute.
Tripp dipped his chin. “If that’s what you want.”
“Oh, I want.” I bounced on my toes.
Shaking his head on a laugh, Tripp remarked, “Darlin’, you are Trouble with a capital T.”
“Wrong musical, big guy. We’re fromOklahoma. And you know what that means, don’t you?”
He hung his head. “Oh boy, do I ever.”
I curled my fingers in agimmemotion. “Better hand over your phone now because I’m gonna be singing show tunes all the way to Abbyville.”
“Which I feel the need to point out is notinOklahoma.” He dropped his cell into my waiting palm.
“Doesn’t matter,” I chirped before pecking him on the cheek.
“Didn’t think it would.”
Our playful exchange was exactly what I needed to set my mind at ease.
While I didn’t regret marrying my best friend for one minute, I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t worried about how having sex would impact the relationship we’d spent decades building. Turned out we’d only built on that rock-solid foundation by committing to forever.
Our hasty departure from Rust Canyon left me without a change of clothing, so we made a quick pit stop to acquire a few essentials on our way to Abbyville, where the rodeo team was stationed for the weekend.
