Page 78 of Austin
And she likes you.
Therein lay the problem, because how in the hell was she supposed to work her life around his? He couldn’t think of a way without her giving up something significant. Something she would regret giving up later. And there wasn’t a question of him giving up his life—he had nothing to fall back on. No plan. Which was starting to look like it might develop into an issue. It wasn’t like he could be Les Connor’s grunt on the Forty-Six Ranch forever. The guy worked him because he enjoyed working him, not because they were falling behind in upkeep and maintenance. Shelby and Ty kept the place up just fine. They didn’t need help.
If he was in Kelly’s shoes, what in the hell would he do in the long term?
Another tick in the ‘you did the right thing with Kristen’ column.
Allthe ticks were there. Once she cooled off, Kristen would realize that. She was logical. Sensible.
Intuitive, funny, supportive. Sexy.
Stop.
Austin turned onto the road leading to the Forty-Six. He’d grab his gear and take a nice slow drive to Omaha. He’d made plans to stop at a bull-riding practice pen owned by a friend in Rapid City and another in Sioux City. If he could find other pens along the way, he’d stop at them, too.
And maybe he should give thought to his post bull-riding career while he had some time alone on the road—although focusing on the future might just mess with his present. Mess with his focus. He was a bull rider. And when he wasn’t, he wasn’t.
The future would be there no matter what he did now.
One thing was for certain, though—he was going to face that future alone until he had something worthy to share.
*
The call fromReno came ten days after Austin had disappeared from Kristen’s life. Ten hellish days in which she’d weighed pros versus cons, sensible decisions versus impulsive decisions. Reality versus fantasy.
Reality got a foothold when she was told she had the job.
She let out a long breath, overwhelmed by a feeling of sheer relief. Security was only a couple signatures away. She’d be leaving Marietta, picking up her life in Reno. Continuing on her chosen path, wiser in the ways of the corporate world, and no longer naïve enough to believe that hard work guaranteed success.
They needed an answer by Monday, which gave her the weekend. She could say yes right now. Give a verbal, settle the matter.
She wasn’t ready to do that, and the fact that she hesitated gave her pause.Was fantasy winning?
Or did she not want to look too damned desperate?
Kristen didn’t know, and the fact that she hadn’t given an instant verbal told her that she had a lot to think about. “Thank you. I’ll get back to you on Monday. Do I call you personally?”
“Yes. You have my extension, right?”
“Right. I’ll talk to you then.”
After hanging up the phone, Kristen did not do a happy dance. She idly rubbed her upper arms as she paced through the war room. Why hadn’t she jumped immediately?
What was the reason?
Her parents and sister and Marietta came to mind, but the real reason was nearly a thousand miles away, going about his business, riding bulls and putting his life on the line.
Protecting her.
Who was protecting him?
Sometimes we aren’t as tough as we think we are. That’s when we break.
Break, indeed.
*
Kelly Kincaid wouldnever again ride bulls, and he was also on the road to divorce. Double whammy. Austin told himself that it wasn’t his business, but Kelly’s situation ate at him. The guy had been so in love. And Melissa had appeared to love him, too.
