Page 43 of Christmas with the Cowboy
Reed shifted his weight as he watched his dad open his truck door. Daniel was rarely cagey, but he had secretive vibes rolling off him in waves.
“What gives?” Reed called.
“None of your business.”
“Kind of a funny thing for you to say.”
Daniel stopped dead and shot his son a quick look, and Reed pressed his mouth into a hard line to keep from saying more.
“What?”
Reed, having broken his promise to himself, said nothing. Daniel shifted, obviously understanding the reference, glanced at his boots, then said, “You want to come?”
“Yes…?”
“I’m late.”
Reed hesitated, then started for the truck.Whatever.Once he was inside and his seat belt was on, his dad said gruffly, “I didn’t want to shout about where I’m going.”
“Where are you going?”
“Duffy’s place.”
“Why?”
“Because he has a quiet five-year-old mare for sale, and I think she would be perfect for Lex for Christmas.”
Reed got an instant mental image of his daughter’s joyous reaction to getting a horse of her own before practicality reared its ugly head.
“Lex can’t keep a horse in Bozeman.”
Daniel smiled at the windshield. “But she can keep it here. And she may be able to find a place to board in the Bozeman area.”
“True.”
Reed studied on the idea as his dad drove down the long driveway toward the arch. Lex was making do with riding Audrey’s old mare, who’d been put to pasture two years ago, but something younger and more dynamic would be a good fit for her. Lex was a good rider. A natural, as he and his siblings had been.
Reed smiled a little. “She’s going to love it.”
“I thought so.”
“Why the hell did you tell Trenna I wasn’t over her?”
Daniel’s hands jerked on the wheel, but his tone was matter of fact as he said, “Are you?”
“That’s not the point.”
“I didn’t plan to. It just happened,” Daniel replied gruffly. “You two…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, and Reed didn’t encourage him to. He took hold of the oh-shit handle near his head and hung on as if it were a lifeline to sanity.
“We’re fine,” he said. “Surprised to see her. That’s all. We never would have made it back in the day, and we understand that now.”
“Just because the odds were against you then, doesn’t mean they’re against you now.”
Reed stilled, then cut his gaze sideways. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I don’t know.” There was a pleading note in his dad’s voice. “I just…you two…I don’t know.”
