Page 78 of Before You Can Blink
Tripp wasn’t gonna be pleased about being ripped away from his mama and put to work, but who knew, maybe there would come a day when he thanked me for it.
Dragging a hand over tired eyes, I slipped out of my bedroom. All these years later, I still struggled with the pre-dawn wakeup that was a requirement on a ranch.
As I shuffled down the hall, I noticed the door to Tripp’s room was cracked open. It had been a week since he’d snuck out, and after my stern lecture, he’d vowed to never leave without asking again.
I was about to find out if my son’s word carried any weight.
Pushing the door open further, I was relieved to find Tripp beneath the covers. But the blonde hair fanned across the pillow had me stifling a groan.
Silently latching the door, I made my way downstairs and went straight for the phone.
There was no concern over waking either of the elder Atkinses, seeing as Wade would be preparing to head out on the range with me, and Caroline was always up early to feed the ranch hands their breakfast.
It rang twice before Wade answered. “Hello?”
“Got something over here that belongs to you.”
I could hear the humor in my best friend’s voice. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“Your daughter.”
Booming laughter filled the line. “Wish I could say I was surprised. But when you put the fear of God into Tripp, should he ever sneak out again, it only stands to reason that Penny would figure your rules don’t apply to her. I swear, if I hadn’t seen that girl come out of her mama, I would almost believe she belonged to Layla instead of Caroline.”
My heavy sigh couldn’t be contained. “What are we going to do with those two?”
“You want my honest opinion?”
“Might as well hit me with it.”
Wade hummed. “Stop trying to keep them apart.”
“Really? That’s your solution?” Annoyance colored my words.
“They’re like magnets. They’re going to keep finding their way back to one another. Best we get out of their way.”
He made it sound so simple, and for the next few years, it might be. But before long, it would border on inappropriate.
“It’s innocent now, a couple of kids sleepin’ in the same bed, but what happens when they get older?”
He chuckled. “Brother, I’m more worried about what’s for breakfast this morning than I am about what we’re gonna do about Tripp and Penny six or seven years down the road. We’ll cross the bridge when we get to it. Who knows, by then, it might not even be an issue.”
“Fine,” I muttered. “But you better keep the barrel of your shotgun pointed away from my son if this goes sideways.”
“You can’t see me right now, but I’m crossing my heart. I can think of a hell of a lot worse things than my family being officially tied to yours.”
“I can’t,” I shot back, a corner of my lips twitching.
“Yeah, yeah. Now, can you let me off the phone before I’m late for work? My boss is a real hardass.”
“Maybe he wouldn’t have to be if his foreman pulled his weight instead of waxing poetic about a couple of kids who may or may not ever fall in love.” I snorted. “Did you hear that shit you spewed about magnets?”
“Hey!” Mock outrage filled his tone. “That’s the kinda stuff you see inside a greeting card.”
“Save the romance for your wife. We’ve got a ranch to run.”
“Yes, sir. See you out there, Mr. Bossman.” Then the line went dead.
Ranching might not be the easiest way to make a living, but at least I was out here doing it with my best friend, who had a way of keeping the mood light. But even though he’d made a promise not to come after my boy if, someday, Tripp got Penny in trouble, I had my doubts about what that might do to our friendship.
