Page 22 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

Tim had to give it to the man—he was a slick talker. That was a cowboy trait Aunt Katie had always said to watch out for. That was how Uncle Josh won her heart.

“So, you’re trying to kidnap my horse so I have to come to your house to take a ride, and you talked to my uncle about mehelping you set up a ranch management system so I couldn’t use my work at the farm as an excuse to say no? Matthew Collins, you could have asked me to go to McDonald’s for a burger, and I’d have said yes. No need for covert operations with me, but now I’m definitely going to keep my eye on you. You’re a schemer, I think, and you’re teaching that great little boy the same thing.” Tim winked to soften the blow from his accusatory term.

Matt laughed along. “Well, I guess I’m not a good one ‘cause you figured me out. I’m only askin’ for a chance.” The whisper in Matt’s voice plucked a chord deep inside.

Only one thought came to mind.Who am I to say no? After all, I’m in love with the man.

Chapter Nine

Tim was sitting in the office at the Katydid, working on entering invoices into Uncle Josh’s management system. He was a little behind because of the work he’d been doing at the Circle C when he had free time, especially since Terri, the part-time office manager Matt had working for him, was getting ready to go on maternity leave.

Matt hadn’t been able to find anyone who was willing to take over the job temporarily, so Tim stepped in to help out as often as he could. He wasn’t, however, willing to leave Aunt Katie and Uncle Josh in the lurch, either. They were the people who loved him the most, and he refused to let them down.

The office door opened, and that little straw cowboy hat Tim recognized was pushed up to reveal those beautiful blue eyes the boy shared with the man who had Tim wrapped around his finger. Matt was planning to come over to fix a shoe on Pally, one of the farm’s working horses, so he wasn’t surprised to find Ryan in the office.

His mind wandered back to the first date with the handsome bull rider and his son. It was at Tio’s,a little Mexican place in town the previous weekend, and it had been on a loop through Tim’s mind for two weeks.

They’d let Ryan pick the place for the date, and they’d all had a great time. There had been plenty of conversation about the inner workings at the ranch and stories about Ryan making new friends at school, including a girl named Gracie who wouldn’t leave the boy alone.

In return, Tim had told them about growing up in Pittsburgh. He’d given them a few stories from his childhood before his father had turned all the hatred in his soul toward Tim. He’d been pretty sure Matt could tell he was glossing over some things, but the man had been kind enough not to mention it or push for more. Tim had appreciated the man’s kindness greatly.

Later that night when the Collins’ men dropped Tim off at the farm, Matt had walked him up to the front door. The house had been dark, and Ryan had fallen asleep in the back seat of the truck, so Matt had kissed Tim good night—very, very well.

Tim believed the man had to use some sort of lip treatment because he’d never kissed lips so soft in his life and being held in the man’s arms was like nothing Tim had ever imagined. WhenMatt had finally released his hold, Tim had floated into the house and dreamed about the tall brunet all night.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Collins?” Tim noticed Ryan had grown a bit taller than the last time he’d seen him in the office at the farm.

It was a Saturday in early November. Tim was still trying to create the perfect ranch management system for the Circle C Ranch. It wasn’t an easy operation to understand at first blush because Matt needed to be able to track so many components related to his breeding operation, and then the follow-up information about who bought the bulls and steers and what they did with them. Keeping such detailed records was important to his business model.

A rodeo company Matt knew from his bull riding days had contacted him about acquiring bulls. As he told Tim, for the Circle C to be considered as a stock provider, the ranch had to be able to show proof of animal health and fitness and the progress of the bloodlines.

Matt had breeding cows, but he purchased the semen of prize bulls for insemination to ensure top-notch stock. He’d established a remarkable breeding history in a damn short time, and the fact the bull rider had primitively tracked everything in a notebook and was able to keep it all straight definitely impressed Tim.

“I was hopin’ you’d take me for a ride, but it’s awful busy out there.” Ryan hitched his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the hallway of the barn.

Tim got up to see Uncle Josh had people in to inspect the barn, as well as observing Matt while he replaced Pally’s left front shoe. Two of the boarders had moved from the area and taken their horses, so there were open stalls for new boarders.

Not surprisingly, the reputation of the farm was fantastic and had traveled primarily by word of mouth, so there was a waitinglist for new boarders. Tim knew Uncle Josh was sizing up the potential boarders to see if they would fit in with the way he ran things at the Katydid. He would leave Uncle Josh alone to do it. Besides, he had a little boy who wanted to go for a horseback ride, and Josie still had her own personal stall in the barn.

“How about we try something new today? You’ve seen that jenny in the barn, right? Josie?” She was an adorable little roan donkey, and Ryan had helped Tim feed her a time or two. He’d pet the small animal, and she, in turn, would nuzzle his head, bringing a happy giggle from the boy. Tim was glad she was so damn gentle.

“Yeah. She’s a cuddler.” Ryan had a happy grin on his face when speaking of the donkey.

“How about we saddle her and Chester, and you and I take a ride down to the back of the pasture to ride the fences? You’ve done it a time or two, right?” The two of them had gone, riding double on Chester. It would be the first time they’d done it with Ryan on the jenny.

The boy’s excited giggle made Tim’s heart soar. “You think we can get away with it?” Ryan started out of the office to the hallway, holding the door open for Tim.

“You and me? We’re partners in crime. Let’s get to it.” Tim’s mood lifted considerably just being around the boy.

After Chester was saddled, Tim went to the tack room and picked up the kid saddle Uncle Josh had on hand. It had been Shane’s, and he knew Uncle Josh must have thought a lot of Ryan to bring it out from its place of honor in the office.

Josh had asked Ethan to clean it up and put it in the tack room for Ryan to use when he came over to the farm. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out.

Tim knew Matt was having a saddle made for the boy for Christmas to fit Josie, though it wasn’t quite ready. He also knew Uncle Josh loved to see Ryan sitting on the old one while Tim ledthe boy around the pasture. It likely reminded Josh of leading Shane atop his horse when he was a boy. Tim was glad the memories were happy.

Once Josie was settled after being tacked up, Tim helped Ryan get into the saddle and stood next to them. “I’m gonna lead her for a bit to see if she’s gonna act up. If she doesn’t, I’ll take off the lead, okay?” Tim handed over the reins as he snapped the red lead rope to the halter.

Matt had brought Ryan over to the farm a few times for Uncle Josh to give him riding lessons, with Ethan Sachs there to offer advice. They’d been the ones to introduce the little cowboy to the jenny while Tim was working at the Circle C, and Tim wished he’d been there to see it in person.

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