Page 23 of A Gift for the Hopeful Cowboy

“Oh.” It was all she could think of to say.

“I wanted to learn about agricultural technology because you got me interested in it. I thought if I could bring back something of substance, then I would be worthy—” He cut himself off and cleared his throat. “Regardless, I didn’t get my degree. I’ve always been a cowboy. I’ll always be a cowboy. I wasn’t mad about any of those decisions.”

Pippa could sense a “but” dangling on the end of his statement. Clearly, there were some unresolved issues when it came to his college experience and working with his dad.

She placed a hand on his arm. “You know you’re never locked into anything. People change. Our futures can turn on a dime. If you really wanted it, you could finish your degree.”

He shot her a sharp look, but just as quickly, his irritation disappeared. It was replaced by a faint hint of sadness. Rob tore his gaze away from her. “You got a degree.”

She snorted. “Yeah. I got a degree I don’t need for what I decided to do.”

“But you still got one,” he insisted. “It’s there and if you ever want to use it, you can.”

Pippa shook her head. “It’s not as easy as you think.”

“Both of your brothers have degrees, and they use them.”

What was his hangup? Pippa stared at him hard, but he didn’t lift his gaze. “I get the feeling this is about more than my piece of paper from college.”

Rob still didn’t respond.

She squeezed his forearm and offered a smile. “You’re smart. You’re a clear leader. My cousins wouldn’t let you work their ranch if you weren’t.”

“My dad got me that job and you know it,” Rob said.

“But no one would keep you if you didn’t have a certain set of skills. Honestly, a degree is great, but the only thing it would do is help you achieve your goals a little bit faster. It’s not as necessary as you think it is.”

The lines in his face deepened, his mood growing darker.

She wasn’t expressing herself well. He probably thought she was flip-flopping. One second, she was telling him he could finish his degree, or that he should. Then, in the next, she was telling him it didn’t matter and he could get any job he wanted.

Pippa had no choice but to backpedal. “That being said, if it’s really important to you, then do something about it. A degree can open all kinds of doors and your interest in ag tech is going to be far more impressive than you realize.”

He shook his head and stood, pulling away from Pippa’s touch as he did. “It’s like you said. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need a degree to be a cowboy. I probably don’t have the money for something like that anyway. Between cutting my work hours and the cost of school credits, I’d have to drag out my graduation plan to five, maybe six years. I have zero desire to be a graduate when I’m getting closer to forty.”

He’d been thinking about how to manage it. She hadn’t realized it was that serious. There were ways for him to be able to afford it, though based on what he was saying, he might have looked into that already.

Before she could bring it up, he finished drinking his hot chocolate and gazed at her like he didn’t realize she was still there. He blinked a few times, then smiled.

The smile wasn’t one she was familiar with. There was more hiding beneath the surface.

“You know,” she said, “I’m sure we could come up with a plan to help you with your interest in returning to college?—”

Rob shook his head. “I might have regrets about it, but it’s not feasible. I’ve gone over every possibility. I need to move forward with what I have.”

His gaze grew serious and her heart skipped a beat. Was it possible that he was talking about her? He wanted to spend his life with her?

She shook off the thought with a shiver.

“I want to ask you something,” Rob said.

Pippa couldn’t contain herself. This could be it. He might finally be telling her that he wanted more. Her breath caught in her chest, and she felt dizzy. This was what she’d been wanting from the beginning.

“Can we… just not… bring up college anymore?”

And just like that, the winds left her sails. She exhaled with disappointment. “You don’t want to talk about college,” she said flatly.

He nodded. “I think I know you pretty well. With things like this, you tend to get it in your head you need to solve the problem.”

---