Page 74 of Christmas with the Cowboy
Chapter Fifteen
What are youafraid of? What is your worst-case scenario?
The words circled through Reed’s brain as he drove home, and even though he didn’t try to answer the questions, he couldn’t shake them.
His parents were not yet home when he arrived, but he’d contend with that after the mare was taken care of. He’d been in cell range the entire time he’d been gone, so if there was an emergency, he’d have known. He wheeled the truck and trailer past the house, thankful that the barn blocked Lex’s view of the area where he unloaded the mare. He led the tired horse inside through the side door, then fed and watered her before parking the trailer.
Worst-case scenario.
Failing.
Failing Lex. Failing Trenna. Not being enough.
Trenna had left the first time because he hadn’t been enough.
Reed felt himself go still. That felt like the truth—but was it?
If it was, she certainly seemed to be fighting to stay with a guy who wasn’t enough.
Lex was on the phone with one of her friends when he came in, but she paused her conversation to ask, “Did you find Bruno?”
“He’s with Trenna.”
Lex gave him a thumbs-up before returning to her conversation, and Reed took advantage of the opportunity to retreat to his room and change into dry clothing. It was only 8:30. Too early to be concerned about his parents having issues on the road. It felt closer to midnight.
When he came back into the living room wearing dry jeans, a thermal shirt, and socks, Lex was sitting sideways in the recliner, her phone held loosely in one hand.
“So how’s everything in Bozeman?”
“Good,” she said lightly, obviously having other matters on her mind. Had she noticed that he’d left without a trailer and come back with one? He cleared his throat.
“Any word from Grandma and Grandpa?”
She shook her head, then studied her phone for a moment. “I think you should invite Trenna to Christmas.”
Reed managed to keep his voice even as he asked, “Why?”
“You’re going to make me explain?” Lex scowled at him. “Her family will be gone. She’s alone.” The scowl took on a weary edge, as if she was frustrated that she had to explain the obvious. “And you like her. A lot.”
Reed didn’t move, but he had the distinct feeling that he was now firmly in a corner. “I…we…thought it would be best if…”
“Do you think that you can’t be a dad and have a girlfriend at the same time? If you do, then why? Mom married Gregg and she’s a great mom.”
“You were a toddler when they were dating.”
“Give me some credit, Dad. What do you think will happen to me if you have a girlfriend? Are you afraid I’ll get too attached? That’s what Lissa thinks.”
Reed inwardly groaned at the thought of his relationship being the subject of teenage speculation.
“I think you might be using me as an excusenotto date Trenna because of, you know, what happened before. Avery agrees.”
“Lex…”
“If that’s what you’re doing, it’s okay, but it’s kind of dumb.”
Reed closed his eyes. He was not having this discussion with his fourteen-year-old daughter.
“I’m trying to be a good role model. I’m trying to…keep our lives stable. And maybe I’m not ready to dive into the dating pool.”
