Page 10 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

Aunt Katie smiled at him. “Naw. I’ll go. I need to make sure the boy has clothes for tomorrow and a toothbrush. Hey, maybe you wanna get that new stock tank outta the machine shed and drag it up here to the backyard? We can heat some water on the stove and have a little pool if Ryan wants to play in the water since he can’t swim at Jeri’s? I’ll make sure to bring him some trunks.” Aunt Katie’s big smile told Tim she was set on her idea, so he’d do as she requested.

Tim didn’t argue, nor did he show disappointment at Matt’s retraction of the invitation for him to spend time with the two of them. The fact it came by hearsay pissed him off to no end, but he reminded himself he and Matthew Collins were nothing more than acquaintances.

“Sure thing. I’ll get it ready and put pots on the stove. Can I help you with dinner? You need me to put something else out?” Tim asked her, hardening his heart to Matt’s future actions.

The potential for a huge heartbreak was right there in front of him, but he was committed to guard against the temptation of the handsome bull rider. Tim knew he wasn’t good at maskinghis feelings, so the best idea was to stay away from the man as much as possible.

Aunt Katie turned his way, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Maybe put some charcoal in the grill and light a fire? I’ll pick up hamburger meat and hot dogs to grill out since I’ve already made skillet corn and baked beans. Get some of those mosquito torches out of the garage and put them around the back patio. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

With that, she grabbed her purse and headed for the front door before she turned around. “Thank you, Timothy. I appreciate the help.”

Once she was gone, Tim reconsidered not going to the Stallings’ house for the party—or the orgy—but in the end, he put it out of his mind because he didn’t want to let Ryan down. There was also the little voice inside that reminded him how he’d never been to anything of the sort and the thought of it scared the bejeezus out of him.

Instead of dwelling on things he didn’t like, he went upstairs to his room to change into cargo shorts and a T-shirt. He grabbed a pair of flip-flops before he went in search of the oval-shaped water trough delivered to the farm earlier that day. Tim had put two large pots of water on the stove to heat as Aunt Katie had instructed before heading to the machine shed.

As he was dragging the trough back to the house, he saw Uncle Josh laughing at him. “What the hell are ya doin’, boy?”

Tim stopped and turned toward Uncle Josh. “Ryan Collins is coming to spend the night because Matt has a buyer in town, so I’m trying to set up a swimming hole for him. You could help instead of standing there laughing at me, ya know. Maybe start the grill?”

Josh continued to laugh, but he picked up the galvanized tub and carried it up to the patio by himself, surprising Tim with hisstrength. For as long as Tim could remember, the man had been solid as a rock.

Comparing himself to Uncle Josh, Tim determined he was a bit of a runt, really. He didn’t work out because he didn’t gain weight, nor did he develop much muscle, though since he’d moved to the farm, he had a little better definition. Of course, as he thought about it, he knew he was starting to lose what he’d developed because he was working in the office all the time.

Tim knew for a fact he wasn’t as hot as the guys he saw in men’s fashion magazines, but he had seen a few guys looking his way from time to time during college. He was thin and likely unattractive to someone as buff and masculine as Matt Collins—not that it really mattered what the bull rider thought of him. He was pretty sure the man didn’t think of him at all.

After Josh and Tim settled the tub on the patio, his uncle turned on the garden hose and placed it in the large tub. “You got water on in the kitchen?” Josh asked.

Tim laughed. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Kathleen used to do this for Shane when he was a boy. I offered to dig a pool a couple of times, but she was insistent we wouldn’t use it much. In the end, she was right, I guess. We’d make a little pool for him when he was a kid, and he’d splash around for a few days, then he was done with it. I guess I’m glad we didn’t dig up the back yard after all.”

Josh’s gaze wandered off toward the pasture where the horses were grazing, lost in his own memories of his deceased son. Tim was sure the pain was still as fresh as when they were told Shane had been killed.

There was something Tim wanted to say, so he cleared his throat. “Uncle Josh, with what you pay me, I can afford to buy my own clothes, so I don’t keep wearing Shane’s. I know it upsets Aunt Katie when she sees me in certain things, and I don’t mean to remind her of the pain of losing a son.”

Josh chuckled and moved the hose deeper into the tub before he headed for the kitchen. “Come help me get these pots so we can put on more.”

Tim followed along without question. It seemed as though the subject was officially dropped.

After they’d dumped the hot water into the makeshift pool, they put on two more pots. Josh grabbed a couple of beers, handing one to Tim. “When we found out Shane had been killed, I was afraid I was gonna lose Katie too.”

That wasn’t anything Tim knew. The fact Uncle Josh was opening up to him was surprising.

“When your cousin was born, your aunt had complications durin’ the delivery that led to us findin’ out Shane would be our only. We cherished every minute we had with him as he was growin’ up, and when he graduated high school and decided to enlist, your aunt’s heart broke. She wasn’t gonna get to see him every day, and there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

“Don’t get me wrong, we were proud of him for choosing to serve his country, but she wanted him to stay home and start a family. He wanted to see the world, so in the end, after a lot of arguin’ and prayin’, we supported him.”

Tim scrunched up his face, searching his memories for anything about that time. “I don’t remember momma ever saying anything about it being hard for you and Aunt Katie.”

“Well, at the time, your mother had married that son of a bitch, and you were just a boy. We weren’t allowed to visit because Harold said welordedour richesover him, the stupid mother… He was an asshole to everyone, but your momma loved him, and she and I spoke on the phone when he was workin’. It wasn’t ideal, but it was what she wanted so I didn’t push things with her much.”

Tim nodded. He vaguely remembered his mother taking calls in the afternoon and sending him out to play, probably so he didn’t accidentally spill the beans.

“Fast forward, and here we are. I’m glad you’re here because Kathleen was ready to cash in her chips until Sherry started tellin’ me about what was goin’ on in Pittsburgh. I would have beat your fa… donor… to death, but your momma begged me not to because she said the day might come when you’d need me, and she didn’t want me in jail. So, in honor of her wishes, I didn’t. In retrospect, I shoulda done it, but here you are, and the way I see it, we’ve all saved each other.

“The heavens brought us together to help get each other through bad times, and now we have you back home where we need you to be. Now, we’d better start the grill or Katie will have both our asses,” Josh joked. Tim grinned at his uncle before the two got busy creating a fun-filled night for Ryan Collins.

The two men poured in pots of hot water as the cold well water continued to fill their makeshift pool. Tim put charcoal in the kettle grill on the corner of the patio, so the coals were ready when Aunt Katie returned with the meat and their guest.

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