Page 49 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

He mentioned how kind they’d been to him, and how much he’d misjudged Colonel Stanford, based on what Bertie had told him. Tim was glad to hear Matt was learning how to reserve judgment. People surprised you at every turn, so it was best to go into things with an open mind.

The couple was sitting at the kitchen table in Matt’s house. Tim had so many things he wanted to say about the situation, but one thing came to mind immediately. He had it in his powerto make something great happen, so it wasn’t a hard decision. “Okay, it seems the best idea is to just give them the money, so they go away.”

When Matt squirmed in his chair, Tim knew he had to put the man’s mind at ease. “It’s okay, Matty. We have a lot more money they don’t know about. Just get… I’ll get Ronni to find us a good lawyer if you don’t trust Jonathon Wells to handle something like this. We can beat them, I swear.” Tim prayed to heaven he was right.

Matt smiled. “I appreciate how much you love us, Timmy, but I gotta do some things for myself. All I need from you is to be by my side, supportin’ me in my decisions. We’ll get through this, okay, but we ain’t gonna pay ‘em off. They’ll only come back for more.” Matt’s tone was reassuring, and his decision was made. Tim respected him, so he didn’t offer any more suggestions or arguments. The less he said, the less chance he had of pissing off Matt.

Chapter Twenty-one

Later that afternoon, Tim and Matt were in the carpool lane just as the school bell rang loudly. They were watching for Ryan to come bursting out the door so they could take him shopping for Christmas decorations because the boy was chomping at the bit to decorate the house. He’d only asked about it a hundred times since Black Friday.

Tim had found a tree lot near a big discount store by the highway. He and Matt had decided that after they picked up the decorations and got everything home, they were going to put up the tree. He’d put chili in the slow cooker that morning, just as Aunt Katie had instructed when he’d called her, so they’d have a nice dinner waiting for them when they were ready to eat that evening.

They were scheduled to make the drive to Richmond to finish their Christmas shopping for friends and family after Matt met with his lawyer on Friday afternoon to discuss the custody case Mona had filed against him. Tim was damn worried about the outcome, but after the meeting with Jon Wells, he was hoping they could put all the nastiness and negativity out of their minds until after the New Year.

“There he is,” Matt pointed as Ryan walked out of school with a boy who was about six inches taller than him with rich brown skin. Both boys were smiling as they headed toward the school buses, so Matt honked the horn.

Upon hearing the familiar sound, Ryan turned in their direction, so Tim rolled down the window to wave. It was still unseasonably warm in southern Virginia, and they counted every day in light jackets as a blessing.

“Who’s the boy he’s talkin’ to?”

Tim smiled. “Based on the coat, I think it’s Rocky Whipple. Ryan’s really a remarkable boy, Matty. He’s trying to be a good friend to Rocky. For a boy that age, it’s really an incredible undertaking.”

Just then, a boy bigger than Rocky walked up to the two of them and jerked Rocky back by the hood on the coat he was wearing—the coat Tim and Ryan had purchased for him and left anonymously on the front porch of his home.

They watched as Ryan dropped his backpack and lunch box, turning to the bigger kid and yelling at him. Ryan planted his feet, obviously readying himself for the altercation.

When the bigger boy face-palmed Ryan and shoved him to the ground, Tim rushed to get out of the truck and break it up. He wasn’t about to allow his partner in crime to be bullied when he was right there to stop it. Matt grabbed him by the arm, taking him by surprise. “Just wait one second.”

Tim looked at Matt like he’d lost his damn mind, struggling to get away. “You can’t seriously tell me we’re going to sit here and watch Ryan get the shit beat out of him?”

Without turning to look at Tim, Matt pointed. “No, we’re not, but this right here is when you decide if you’re gonna let a bully run ya. Look at him. Ryan’s diggin’ in, and he ain’t gonna let that bigger boy mess with him or his friend. If we go rushin’ up there, we’ll embarrass him and set him up to be a target for every bully at this school, Timmy.”

Tim turned to see Ryan take off his jacket and push the bigger kid back, knocking him on his ass. Just as the bully was about to charge Ryan, Rocky Whipple took off his coat, tossing it on the sidewalk before he laid into the bigger boy, who was no match for Rocky.

Tim could sense Matt was holding back throwing ghost punches in support, and although he didn’t believe in solving any problem with violence, he had to resist the urge to move his arms in support of Rocky Whipple, too.

The two men watched as an adult came to break it up, but before Tim knew what was happening, Matt hopped out of the truck and trotted over to the crowd that had gathered. Tim quickly scrambled to follow.

When Tim ran up to the scene, he heard, “Rocky, I’m going to have to call your mother and make her come to school. This is unacceptable behavior, young man, and if you don’t know better,we have a problem.” Tim didn’t like the way the older woman was speaking to the boy, and that finger she had in Rocky’s face was the last straw.

“Mrs. Danbury, it wasn’t Rocky’s fault. Jerry came up to him and tried to steal his warm coat. Rocky just got it, and we weren’t gonna let Jerry take it. He started it, ma’am.” Ryan was talking fast as he pointed to the boy with the dirty-blond hair who appeared to be at least three years older than Ryan or Rocky.

“Ryan Collins, you head right to that principal’s office as well. Jerry Kelly didn’t do anything to start this fight, and you know it. You’re an instigator, that’s what you are.” The snarl on the woman’s face had Tim’s blood boiling.

Just then, Matt walked up to the little group and gave his best lazy grin. “Hello, Mrs. Danbury. I s’pose you remember me.” Matt’s friendly greeting was surprising, especially since Tim could see the bull rider’s hands were shaking in anger.

The silver-haired woman looked at him for a moment, her confusion quickly morphing into an ugly scowl. “I shoulda put it together, Matthew. It figures your son would be as much of a bully as you used to be.” There was a superior tone in her harsh voice.

Tim stepped forward. “Excuse me, but Ryan and Rocky were merely walking toward the bus when this boy came up behind them and jerked on Rocky’s coat. Ryan was standing up for his friend, not being a bully, ma’am. You’ve got it all wrong. We were right over there, watching the whole thing.” Tim pointed toward the F-250.

Tim watched as she gave him an up-and-down, scoffing at him. “Who might you be? I don’t remember you from school.”

Tim had dealt with his fair share of bullies over the years, all of them thinking they were better than him. The woman’s attitude didn’t put a chink in his armor. He even laughed a little at her, judging her to be a bigger bully than the dirty-blond boy.

“That’s because I had the fortune of going to a school where teachers didn’t side with bullies. Ryan was defending his friend who, after Ryan got shoved down by this kid, tried to defend him in return.” He pointed to the boy who was smirking at the whole thing. “Rocky stepped up to stop it.” Tim stepped toward her so she knew he meant business.

The boy, Jerry, moved in front of the woman and turned to face her. “Gram…Mrs. Danbury, I didn’t do nothin’. Ryan and Rocky always pick on me.” The big kid actually produced a pout.

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