Page 51 of Huckleberry Hill
“Remarried to a nice, boring guy. Lives in Florida. I talk to her once a week. We’re good.”
“Sweet.”
“Yeah.” Declan finished off his beer. “Another?”
I shook my head. “I’m still nursing this one.”
He set his bottle down next to the chair but made no move to get up.
“Do you miss it? The rodeo circuit?” I asked.
“Parts of it. The adrenaline, the attention . . . the money. As far as the crap food and constant travel? No, I don’t miss that part.”
I smiled. “Yeah, I can see how that would be exhausting.”
“I’m old now.” He winked. “I need a comfortable bed and a solid eight hours of sleep a night.”
“On that note.” I stood.
“I didn’t mean you had to go,” he protested. “Stay. It’s still early.”
“Thanks, but I’m tired. I’m out of practice working on a ranch.”
He stood up. “I’ll walk you home.”
“That’s not?—”
“Where’s your bear spray?” Declan demanded.
I sighed. “Okay, you can walk me home.”
We ambled side by side in silence. I shoved my cold hands into my coat pockets and pretended I couldn’t see Declan glancing at me every now and again.
When we got to the front porch, we stopped. I turned to him. “Thanks, Declan. For the beer and . . .”
“Sure thing, bro.”
“Have a good night, buddy.”
The warm glow of our conversation enveloped me as I was getting ready for bed. I realized he hadn’t pressured me into talking about my mom, choosing instead to be open and honest about his own childhood.
And that’s why I wanted to tell him about mine.
Chapter Eleven
Town
* * *
The Copper Mule smelled like grease and paprika. It was dim, with lodgepole pine ceilings, a scarred wooden bar, pool tables and an old juke box that didn’t play country music past the year 2000.
“Hadley?”
Grinning, I sauntered up to the bar. “Hey, Wade.”
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
He came out from behind the bar to give me a hug. His dark hair fell over his forehead, giving him a boyish appearance, but he was anything but. He’d played football in high school, and he’d been tall and muscular even back then. Now, he had a few more years of seasoning to him and he looked good.
