Page 14 of Big and Bold
I cut him off. “I’m not uncomfortable… I just don’t want it to be weird next month when…”
I let my voice trail off because I can’t bring myself to say it again. We both know what I mean, but I don’t want to talk about it right now. I want to live in the moment and have lunch and ice cream as if we’re just a happy couple spending the day together.
As soon as he pulls into the parking lot, I’m jumping out of the truck. He’s frowning now, probably thinking about the time limit on our relationship, and I want to kick myself for even bringing it up. I hold my hand out to him, and his eyebrows lift in surprise, but he puts his hand in mine, threading our fingers together. I lean into him as we walk into the shop. The bell rings above the door, and every eye in the building turns toward us.
It isn’t long before someone walks up to us, congratulating Dustin on his win yesterday. I wait for him to release his hold on me or to get lost in the attention, and I mentally prepare myself for it, but he doesn’t let go. If anything, he holds me tighter.
Whiskey Run is a small town, and I’m sure they all know who I am, but he introduces me over and over as his wife. He gives me a look every time he says it, owning me with his eyes. Eventually, when he’s done greeting everyone, he helps me into a booth and then slides in next to me.
I laugh and point to the empty seat across from us. “Uh, what are you doing over here?”
He turns toward me. “Honey, I’m taking full advantage of the situation, and unless you insist that I move away, I’d like to sit right here, next to you, with your body pressed against my side.”
I squirm in my seat. I’m not going to last. Being this close to him, I’m not going to be able to resist him much longer. “Okay,” I whisper.
We order our food, and the whole time we’re sitting here, I can’t help but wish that we could stay together just like this. The more attentive he is, the more this is going to hurt when it’s over, and I’m not sure how I’m going to survive it.
As we wait for the food, he pulls my hand to his thigh. “We need to talk.”
I barely resist rolling my eyes. I think we’ve talked more in the last twenty-four hours than we did our whole marriage. But I ask him lightly, “Oh yeah? What about?”
“The ranch.”
I lift my eyebrows. “The ranch? What about the ranch?”
“Well, after I ride in the Classic, win or lose, I’m going to take some time off, and we need to have the ranch make a little more money.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to offer money to him, but I know he’s not going to accept. Instead, I ask him, “What are you thinking?”
He blows out a breath. “I’m going to offer boarding. We have plenty of room in the barn. I’ve been approached to do some training and have one client lined up.”
I nod my head, and he continues. “And I thought about leasing out some acres. We can move the fence in and spare around thirty acres.”
I scrunch my nose up. “Dustin…”
He tries to act like he’s okay with it, but I know him well enough to know he’s not happy about this. I could just keep my mouth shut, but I’m not going to. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
He rears back, surprised. “Why not?”
I turn fully to him and put my hand on his arm. “Dustin, this is your land.”
He cups my cheek. “Our land. And I want to find a way to spend more time with you than on the road.”
I tilt my head at him. “Really? I thought you loved rodeoing.”
He smiles softly. “I like bulldogging… but I love you.”
My body trembles. “Well, let’s not lease out the land yet. Let’s look at the numbers and see if boarding and training will be enough.” I pause, and even though a part of me doesn’t want to look past the next month, I also know that I don’t want him to lose any of his land.
He’s shaking his head, and desperation hits me. “Look, Dustin, right now, that is my land too, and I’m not going to let you just sell it off in pieces.” I lift my chin in defiance. “Think about our kids.”
He smiles broadly as he wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Okay. I won’t bring it up again. No leasing out the land… our land.”
He’s smiling through lunch and finds a way to hold my hand the whole time.
CHAPTER 11
DUSTIN
