Page 20 of Ridin' True
I hesitated a second, that floating sensation stirring inside of me again, making it difficult to breathe. When I felt in control of my lungs, I continued.
“Um, I—I just wanted to say, I’m happy to help you, but family law isn’t the only thing I’m capable of. I’m probably not as qualified as someone else the club might consider, but I am interested in learning more about that opportunity you mentioned earlier.”
He offered me a small smile then dipped his chin in a slow nod.
“Good.”
It was all he said, and then he was gone.
When I was alone again, I sat back in my chair and emptied my lungs. It had been a whirlwind of an hour. There was so much to think about, I didn’t know where to begin. In the end, my mind settled on Rocco.
Unfortunately, he warned me we’d be seeing each other again. I wasn’t looking forward to it. Twice, Jed’s arrival had saved me from an unwelcome audience with Alejo’s low-life acquaintances—but that was luck. I doubted he’d be around to rescue me next time; especially if all went well on Friday.
Then again, maybe I had more of a future with the Stallions than I thought.
The opportunity to step into a general counsel role seemed crazy and maybe a little too good to be true. I wasn’t going to get my hopes up.
In any case, it was still only Monday. I had the whole week ahead of me and plenty of other things to worry about. Recognizing that at present it was my responsibility to represent Williams, Pritchard, and Pratt to the best of my ability, I set aside Jed’s file and got back to my caseload.
Wrangler
Hecarriedtheplateof raw hamburger patties past the dining room table, still littered with Phase Ten cards, and exited through his sliding glass door out onto his covered patio. His Traeger was preheated, so he lifted the lid and placed the four patties inside, one by one.
Wrangler didn’t consider himself a noteworthy cook. He could get by, and his kids didn’t complain. Not much, anyway. But one thing he could do was protein. He used his smoker year-round in a variety of different ways. That night, he planned on doubling up his quarter pound, angus burgers on two sets of buns for his post-workout meal. He was extracting his phone from his gym shorts, in order to set a timer, when it started ringing in his grasp.
Kids’ Houselit up his screen, and he swiped his thumb automatically, answering before bringing the device to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Dad?”
Wrangler’s eyebrows knit together, her tone enough to make him brace.
“Lowe? What’s wrong?”
It was rare to get a call from one of his kids. Occasionally, they’d ring him if they wanted something, and their mother had told them no or that she couldn’t afford it. Once or twice over the years he’d gotten a call in the middle of the night, after one of them was awakened by a bad dream.
Mostly, if they needed him, he was there—one of the benefits of having them under his roof as often as he did.
“Is it true?”
“Is what true, sunshine?”
Marlowe hesitated. “Is mom trying to take us away from you?”
The tremble he heard in her voice made him want to throw the plate he still had in his hand against the wall. He resisted the urge, closed his eyes and asked, “Where’d you hear that?”
“Just now. She was on her phone talking to someone. She said she didn’t expect you to be ready so fast, and that there was no way you were prepared, and that you always act before you think, and that you better enjoy the summer while you have us because things were about to change.”
His scowl deepened as he opened his eyes and glared at the sliding glass door in front of him.
Fuckin’ Nicole,he thought.
“She said all that in front of you?” he asked aloud.
“No. Her phone rang, and she answered it and went down the hall, but I could still hear her.”
“Sunshine—”
