The Bull Rider's Twin Trouble

by Ali Olson

  Cassie knew she should watch her spending more carefully, but now that the hay was being baled and she had a few patients, she couldn’t help but feel more secure, and she was willing to splurge on the adorable mutt. “I think he’ll prefer relaxing in his bed and terrorizing the house over herding cattle. Maybe I’ll need to get another dog someday just for that purpose.”

  Brock smiled at her. “You’re going to have cattle?”

  “A pretty smart cowboy mentioned it to me once, and I think it’s a good idea,” she said, thinking back to the day they’d walked along the fences.

  It had been only a few days before, but so much had happened since then.

  “I think we can get your paddock finished in a day or two if we really put in the time, and then Diamond and Rosalind can come home,” Brock told her, clearly thinking about that walk, too.

  With the rush to finish her office, that had been pushed to the wayside. If they could get it done, though, her ranch would be on its way to matching her dream.

  And they only had seven days before he left, so time was not her friend.

  Brock picked up a container of dog biscuits and tossed it in the heaping cart on their way to the cashier.

  “How about we buckle down on that tomorrow? Amy’s leaving in the morning, but after that, I’ve got the entire day free. We should be able to fix it and paint it, if we’re quick about it, and maybe even pick up the horses the day after,” he said.

  Cassie agreed, then turned to her current objective: becoming a dog owner.

  And that seemed to be a much more expensive task than she’d previously thought, judging by the numbers jumping up on the cash register. She was starting to rethink the dozen top-of-the-line dog bones and the collar with the studs when Brock whipped out his credit card.

  “Got a splinter there, Brock?” she asked, blocking the credit card machine with her hand.

  Brock rolled his eyes at her attempt to keep him from paying. “It was my idea for you to get a dog. You’ll have to clean up his poop every day. I should at least pay for his bedding, even if you decided against the one with the horseshoe pattern.”

  After a brief argument, she relented, secretly happy she didn’t need to put anything back in order to pay for it. Soon, the items were packed into the back of her car and they were off to get Freckles.

  When they parked in front of the shelter, Cassie turned to Brock. “Ready to pick up a dog?” she asked.

  Then she noticed that he was distracted, looking out the window back the way they’d just driven. Before she could ask him what he’d seen, he turned back to her and gave her a kiss that made her toes curl. “You grab Freckles. I’ll meet you back here faster than green grass through a goose.”

  He got out of the car and was gone before she could recover her wits and understand what he’d said enough to find out where he was going.

  All Cassie could do was wonder at his behavior, as well as his choice in idioms, and smile because of the kiss as she greeted Freckles, who seemed even more excited and loving than the day before, if that was possible.

  By the time Freckles was secured in his crate in the back seat of the car, Brock was back, a large box in his arms. “Don’t ask,” he said the moment she opened her mouth.

  Cassie closed her mouth again and got in the car. Brock seemed very happy with himself, so she could only imagine he’d purchased something ridiculous for the dog and wanted it to be a surprise. Probably something cowboy-themed to make up for her vetoing his choice of dog bed.

  They got back to her place and unloaded all the purchases, except for one. Brock left the mystery box in the car, warning her not to touch it.

  As Cassie had feared, by the time Freckles was settled in, it was time to pick up the boys. She started to say goodbye to the dog when Brock shook his head. “How about I go get the boys? That way you can be here waiting for them with Freckles.”

  Cassie loved the idea, so she tossed Brock her keys and settled in to wait, petting the sweet little animal, whom she already considered part of the family. Freckles scrambled into her lap and snuggled close, licking her hand at every opportunity.

  Almost as soon as Brock left, Cassie’s phone rang. A quick glance told her it was Emma.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Hey Cassie, Daniel Forrester needs to come in for a doctor’s appointment.”

  Cassie could hear bickering in the background and Emma say, “Yes, you do, so stop being a baby, Danny.”

  The name sounded familiar. “Danny’s your cousin, right?”

  Emma had told Cassie about her cousin who was currently staying in the tiny apartment above her bakery until he “got settled in town,” in Emma’s words.

  “Yep, my cousin. He has some weird pain in his leg every once in a while, and despite what he says, he should get it checked out,” Emma explained, though it sounded like she was talking more to her cousin than to Cassie.

  “Is it something he should go to the hospital about?” Cassie asked.

  “Listen,” Emma said quietly, “I’ll be lucky if I can get him to go see you. There’s no way he’s going to the hospital unless you tell him it’s life-or-death. Which it could be!” she exclaimed much louder, likely in the direction of Danny.

  Cassie tried not to laugh. “Do you want to bring him in right away, or can it wait until after Mrs. Edelman’s appointment next week?”

  “Next week would be great. He will see you then.” Emma said.

  Cassie laughed as she heard Emma say, “Yes, you will!” to her cousin as she shut off the phone.

  That was going to be an interesting appointment.

  Good. Anything to keep her mind off Brock leaving.

  She had already scheduled three other appointments for the same day as Mrs. Edelman’s. The day after the rodeo.

  It just seemed best to keep herself busy.

  Luckily, she heard the car pull up and was able to get her mind onto Freckles and her children. Better topics, for sure.

  The door opened and Freckles jumped out of her lap, running toward the noise as Zach and Carter ran into the house. They entered the living room with Brock behind them, amazed at the dog that came up to greet them.

  “A puppy!” Zach shouted as he and Carter kneeled down to meet Freckles.

  Cassie was just as surprised as they were. “Where did you get those hats?” she asked.

  The boys were both sporting child-size cowboy hats. They were so enthralled in the dog that they didn’t hear her question, but the answer became obvious when she saw that Brock was holding another hat. He held it out to her. “I thought they should have cowboy hats after their first real horse experience. And you should have one, too, now that you’re a rancher.”

  She no longer had any doubt about what his mysterious box contained. She didn’t know what to say as he placed the hat on her head, and it took everything in her not to pull him into a kiss right then and there.

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice soft as she held back happy tears.

  He just smiled back and tipped his own hat, the grown-up version of Zach and Carter’s, at her. Then he turned to watch the boys play with their new dog. Cassie did after a moment, too.

  “Is he ours forever?” Zach asked, looking at her with wide eyes, his hands low so Freckles could lick them.

  Cassie nodded. “Yep, he’s our dog now. We adopted him. His name’s Freckles.”

  “Freckles is a silly name,” Carter commented.

  Cassie worried there was going to be a whole argument over the pup’s name, but Brock kneeled down next to them and said, “There’s a rodeo bull with the same name. Crazy fella. I’ve been lucky enough that I haven’t ever tried to ride him. He’d chew me up and spit me out.”

  Zach and Carter’s eyes grew wide, “Really?” Zach asked.

  “A bull named Freckles?” Carter a
dded.

  He nodded. “Yep. Freckles.”

  “Cool!” they said in unison, then bent back down to the dog.

  Brock stood again and smiled at Cassie. Once he was close enough that they wouldn’t be overheard, she whispered, “There isn’t really a scary bull named Freckles, right?”

  Brock put a hand over his heart. “God’s honest truth.”

  Cassie laughed.

  The rest of the evening was spent gathered around the new puppy, exclaiming at every wag of his tail, and the boys chattering excitedly about horse camp. Finally, though, she saw that the boys’ eyes were drooping and she looked at the clock. “It’s past your bedtime, guys. Go brush your teeth and I’ll put Freckles away in his crate.”

  Zach and Carter protested, but once they saw that their mother wasn’t going to budge, they got up and did as she said. On their way out of the room, Carter walked up to Brock and craned his head so he could look the grown man in the eyes. “Will you tell us a bedtime story about riding in the rodeo?” Carter asked.

  Cassie was about to cut in, reassuring Brock he didn’t need to and placating Carter with a bedtime story about their father, but before she could say anything, Brock was ruffling Carter’s hair. “Sure, buddy,” he said.

  Carter and Zach ran off to brush their teeth, looking excited.

  Cassie said nothing as she settled Freckles down for the night, but her heart felt twisted tight inside her. She was touched by her boys’ attachment to Brock, but at the same time saddened that in just a few days they would need to say goodbye.

  * * *

  IN ONLY A few short minutes, the two boys lay in their bunks, looking expectantly at Brock. For a moment he felt a kind of stage fright. They were just so attentive. At least he had some good stories.

  “One time a few years back,” he began, “I was all set to ride a bull named Whirlwind. He was the biggest, meanest bull I’d ever had to ride.”

  “Were you scared?” Zach asked in a whisper, his eyes the size of saucers.

  Brock wanted to laugh at how serious the boy was, but he held it in. “Sure I was scared. Wouldn’t you be?”

  Zach nodded solemnly.

  “But I’d prepared and practiced, and I wasn’t about to give up just because I was scared.”

  “Did you get hurt?” Carter asked, leaning forward in his bed.

  “No, but it was a close thing. I thought I was going to get thrown the moment they opened the chute, but I managed to stay on for the whole eight seconds.”

  “Did you win?” Cassie asked.

  Brock looked over to see her leaning against the green wall of the room, listening to the story. He smiled at her. “Yep. Biggest purse I ever got.”

  “I want to ride bulls!” Carter exclaimed.

  “Me, too!” Zach said.

  As much as Brock enjoyed riding on the circuit, the idea of these sweet little boys jumping on the back of a crazy bull was too much for him. “Whoa, pardners,” he said. “My story isn’t over yet.”

  The two settled down as Brock tried to come up with something to add that might keep them from bull riding. His most recent ride came back to him, and he told the boys, “After I jumped off the bull and was waving to the crowd, Whirlwind got free and came after me!”

  “Oh, no!” Zach shouted.

  “Oh, yes,” Brock said as seriously as he could. “He stomped his big scary hoof this close to my head.” He held up his finger and thumb an inch apart. “And I learned that riding bulls can be very very dangerous and should only be done by people who practice a lot.”

  Zach and Carter seemed satisfied with the ending and snuggled down in their beds. Cassie went over and kissed each of them good-night, and then she walked with Brock down the hallway, toward the door. “Whirlwind didn’t really almost kill you, right?” she asked.

  “Nah. I just added that at the end,” he said, feeling a twinge of guilt at the omission that it had happened with another bull just a few days ago.

  Cassie seemed relieved. At the door, Cassie put her hand against his chest and they shared a long, lingering kiss. Brock almost asked to stay, but he knew she would say yes and he wasn’t sure if he could make himself leave in the middle of the night again. Plus, his sister had her flight out of the country early in the morning. He needed to be home.

  Still, he didn’t want to go. If he went home, the next time he saw her, they’d only have six more days left.

  But he said good-night and turned away, pausing for a long moment to wait for the click of the lock that never came, and then he walked slowly back to his parents’ house, his mind whirling between Cassie, her unlocked door and his interactions with the twins.

  He’d always said he didn’t want children, but Zach and Carter made something tug inside him he hadn’t felt before. Was he willing to make children a part of his life, even if it meant leaving them without a father?

  He pictured a bull’s hoof slamming down next to his head, a slip of his hand while rock climbing that nearly dropped him a thousand feet, his motorcycle sliding around cars at breakneck speeds.

  No. He couldn’t do that to kids. He knew that, so why was this suddenly a question for him?

  Brock reached the dark house and closed the door behind him, wishing he could shut out the feelings that had followed him home. He took off his cowboy hat, leaned against the door and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

  “What’s going on, Brock?” Amy asked.

  Brock looked around, surprised. He’d thought he was alone and hadn’t noticed his sister sitting in the corner of the room, working on her laptop, her foot propped high as usual. She closed her computer. “You aren’t really falling in love with her, are you?” she asked, her voice worried.

  He wanted to answer that he wasn’t, but he knew it would sound like a lie. “Maybe,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter. Neither of us is looking for anything long-term.”

  He didn’t want to really examine his feelings for Cassie. “She has kids, which is the main problem,” he said.

  “Oh, yeah, your no-kids rule,” Amy responded.

  “I just don’t want to leave some kids without a father, okay?” he said.

  He knew he was sounding defensive, but it was true.

  He thought it best to change the topic. “Do you do dangerous stuff while you’re out there in the world?” he asked, thinking back to a conversation he’d had with their ma a few days before.

  Amy looked at him thoughtfully. “I don’t hide in my hotel room, if that’s what you mean. But dangerous? Not particularly. I like to travel, but that doesn’t mean I have a death wish or anything. I write about interesting places, not about free-climbing cliffs or jumping out of airplanes.”

  Brock tried to hide his grimace. He’d done both of those things in the last couple of years. Did that mean he had a death wish?

  It wasn’t a question he wanted to know the answer to.

  “Listen, Brock, do you want to have kids?” Amy asked.

  Brock’s answer a few days before was a firm no. Now, though...

  “Do you?” he asked, more to delay answering than anything else.

  “We’re not talking about me here,” she said.

  Brock knew Amy well enough to know when she was holding something back, and this was definitely one of those times. He was about to ask her what it was when she stood up, careful to keep her weight off her sore ankle. “I’m going to bed,” she said, grabbing a crutch that their pop had found somewhere in the attic.

  Brock guessed she’d known what he was going to ask and considered stopping her, but he just said good-night and let her leave the room. If she didn’t want to tell him, that was her choice.

  Brock glanced out the window and saw that Cassie’s bedroom light was still on, and he put his hat back on. Whatever self-control he had left him, and he knew he’d need
to find some way to leave Cassie’s arms before morning.

  What else could he do?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brock felt bleary-eyed and sleepy when he woke up in his bed the next day, which wasn’t surprising since he’d now gone two nights with only a few hours’ sleep. But he needed to get up to say goodbye to Amy, and then he had a paddock to fix.

  He wasn’t sure whether or not to ask Amy about their conversation the night before, but ultimately he decided not to say anything. His sister had always played her cards close to the chest, and he’d learned long ago not to push her to talk about something she wasn’t ready to share.

  Brock knocked lightly on her bedroom door. She opened it, and he could see her backpack and suitcase ready to go behind her. “Want some help?” he asked.

  Normally, she’d punch him on the arm and explain how she managed to haul her belongings across the globe, and she could probably make it down the stairs, too. But hobbling as she was, she just nodded and he grabbed her things.

  Brock went first down the stairs, carrying Amy’s bags, ready to help if she had trouble, but between the crutch and the handrail she was able to maneuver them just fine. Pop was waiting at the bottom of the steps and took her things out to the truck. Amy and Brock went to the dining room, where Ma had laid out quite a feast for breakfast, including waffles and syrup. He wasn’t sure if Ma did that as a treat for his sister, or if it was more of a last-ditch effort to bribe her to stay longer with the promise of sweets.

  Soon, the whole family was gathered around the table. With the twins about to leave for Dallas to work on their business and Amy heading to Morocco, Brock’s parents seemed quieter than usual. He felt for them and vowed to spend more time at home from now on. He could probably come visit every couple of weeks, if he put in the effort.

  He tried to believe this thought had nothing to do with Cassie, but it wasn’t easy to convince himself that he didn’t want more time with her.