Page 5 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

“I told Matt he could leave Ryan in the office under your care to keep him out of the way while Matt’s working. You don’t mind watchin’ him, do ya?” Tim could have sworn she had an evil glint in her eye.

Tim pushed back from the desk and took in her demeanor. She was up to something. “What’s going on with you? I didn’t think Mr. Collins shod horses full-time. Doesn’t he run a cattle ranch or something?”

Aunt Katie flashed a bright smile. “He does, but he still takes care of the horses here at Katydid when necessary. Joshua and I are good friends with Jeri and Marty Collins, and we allowed Matt to practice on our horses when he was learning the trade. He promised he’d always help our boarders, and us, when we needed him.

“He’s still tryin’ to do everything for Ryan by himself, so he takes that boy with him everywhere. I thought maybe since you already met Ryan, you might keep him occupied. Joshua wants to have Matt look at that jenny rescue, Josie. She was foundered when those women dropped her off, but Hank’s been trimmin’ her hooves every week. Josh thinks she’s gentle, and he wants to put shoes on her,” she explained with a roll of her eyes that brought a chuckle from Tim.

A little while later, Tim saw a small cowboy hat through the glass panes on the office door, reminding him about his babysitting appointment with Ryan Collins. Aunt Katie had been reading the paper on her phone when the boy knocked on the door, and before Tim could say a word, Aunt Katie jerked it open and knelt in front of him, opening her arms for a hug which the boy gave freely. “Hello there, Ryan Collins. How are ya, sweetie?”

After the two separated from their hug, the boy reached up and took off the little straw cowboy hat, holding it by the brim in his small hands. “Hi, Miss Katie. Gramma Jeri says hi. She’s havin’a barbecue and a swimmin’ party on the holiday, and she wanted me to ask you if you and Mr. Josh would come. She wants Mr. Tim to come, too, ‘cause she wants to meet him.”

Ryan walked over to the desk and stuck out his hand. “How you been? Mr. Josh said maybe you could lead me around on Betsy? Daddy won’t let me ride her by myself yet, but when I turn seven, I’m gonna get my own horse. Papa Marty promised me.” Ryan leaned against the desk as he spoke, reminding Tim of a little grown-up.

Ryan was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with the logo for the Circle C on the front. Tim didn’t know what the Circle C was, but the boy looked cute. Just a mini version of Matt, right down to those sparkling blue eyes.

He chuckled. “Sure, Ryan. Aunt Katie brought down some muffins and chocolate milk. You hungry?” Tim picked up the boy and put him in the large desk chair. Ryan scurried up to his knees and leaned his elbows against the desk, looking at the computer screen with interest.

Tim opened the thermos and poured Ryan a cup of chocolate milk before he refilled his own coffee cup. He got them a muffin and small paper plates Aunt Kate had included in the basket, along with napkins. Tim heard the office door shut behind them, turning to see the back of his sainted aunt as she walked out of the office and turned toward the house. He was on his own with the kid, and she was likely enjoying Tim’s lack of confidence in the situation.

Tim pulled up the wooden side chair and sat down next to Ryan. “You ready for school?”

The two of them dug into the muffins, and there wasn’t much conversation between bites for a minute. “You miss breakfast?” Tim thought Ryan seemed awfully hungry so early in the day.

The boy took a sip of his milk and wiped his mouth with the napkin before sheepishly looking at the desktop. “Nope, we hadit. See, Daddy can’t cook so good. He tries, but he’s not good as Gramma. This mornin’ he made eggs, and they was burned, so I pretended to eat ‘em till the phone rang and he went to answer it. I shoved ‘em in the trash under my napkin and pretended I ate ‘em while he was gone.

“I don’t wanna hurt his feelin’s. He’s tryin’ hard to take care of me, and I know how much he missed me when I was gone, so I just eat around the burnt. It makes Daddy happy when I have a clean plate. Can you cook like Miss Katie?” the boy asked.

Tim was terribly concerned about the kid. Ryan was small, and if he wasn’t eating well, then Tim decided he needed to talk to Aunt Katie. “I thought your grandmother brought over food?”

“She just brings over supper. Daddy told her he could feed me durin’ the day, and we do okay, just us bachelors. He says Gramma Jeri has enough to do without feedin’ us. She works for the school in the office. She just went back to work, so she doesn’t have as much time as she did during the summer. When I get taller, she said she’d teach me to cook, so Daddy don’t kill us before I get to high school.” Ryan released a little giggle before he shoved the last piece of muffin in his mouth.

Ryan had given Tim a lot of information to chew on… as he munched on a muffin of his own. He watched as the little cowboy finished his milk and wiped his mouth again. The mini-Matt was the cutest little guy Tim had ever met.

“You want another? You can take it with you while we go fetch Betsy. I think Hank let her out in the pasture this morning while the boys were cleaning stalls. Uncle Josh has apples in a bucket in the hallway, and I bet if we took one with us, we could catch her easy.”

Ryan hopped down from the chair with a glowing smile. “That’s a good idea. Can we take a muffin to Daddy? I don’t think he ate his eggs neither,” the boy asked. Tim could only smile.Ryan Earl Collins was a special little boy, and clearly, he loved his dad.

Tim grabbed the basket of muffins and a clean cup, filling it with coffee. He’d have to apologize to Matt for the taste of the black sludge, but Uncle Josh and the farmhands liked it that way, and Tim wasn’t going to make waves on the farm. “Let’s go,” he told Ryan. The boy opened the office door and let Tim out, closing it behind them.

Uncle Josh’s laughter was heard from the barn hallway, so Tim turned to see him talking to the handsome cowboy who had been the star of too many of Tim’s dreams for the last ten weeks since they’d first met. Tim knew the night he went to Matt’s place to fix his computer—the night the man had kissed him—it had freaked out Matt Collins. Tim damn sure wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. Hell, it was a meaningless kiss…just like every kiss he’d shared with the few girls he’d dated in high school while trying to figure out his shit. Those kisses didn’t mean anything, and the kiss from Matt Collins didn’t either.

Ryan slowly walked down the hallway in front of Tim, obviously having been coached about running up on a horse. Even though the mare was staked tightly, Matt was in a vulnerable position with his back to the mare’s head as he worked on the right, front hoof. Her hind leg could easily come up and strike him on the head. Thankfully, Princess was a gentle mare used to a pedicure, so Tim doubted she’d startle easily while Matt was working on her.

Tim could see the large F-250 King Cab truck parked outside the entrance of the barn with a small trailer hitched to it. The firebox on the trailer was glowing red-hot from the blazing fire inside. There were metal cabinets on one side, and tools attached to the other side. It looked custom-made and very old. Tim was instantly intrigued.

They walked to where Uncle Josh was sitting on a bale of hay in the hallway, watching Matt work. “Hi, Mr. Josh. Tim said he’d lead me around on ol’ Betsy. Where’s them apples?”

Matt glanced at them and smiled until his eyes met Tim’s. Matt’s face turned red, and he lowered his baseball-cap-covered head to continue his work without comment. “If it’s okay with you, Mr. Collins, I don’t mind catching Betsy and leading Ryan around the round pen for a while. Would that be okay?”

Tim really hated himself for putting the bull rider on the spot since he seemed to be trying to avoid Tim in the first place, but hell, the man had kissed Tim first. He just kissed Matt back.

In Tim’s mind, he wasn’t pining after Matt—not much, anyway. Tim damn well wasn’t stalking Matt, but they were going to have to be able to speak to each other because it seemed the families were good friends, and the two men were bound to run into each other from time to time.

If they reacted strangely when they saw one another, people would begin to ask why. Tim didn’t want either of them to feel they had to offer an explanation or a lie.

Matt gently lowered Princess’ hoof to the sawdust-covered floor of the barn and turned to look at Tim as he gently brushed his hand over the mare’s side. “Please, call me Matt. It’s good to see you again. My laptop’s workin’ fine since you fixed my problem. Thanks again.” The sincerity in his voice was easy to recognize.

Tim smiled at the man. “No trouble at all. That’s what we do for our neighbors. Is it okay if I take Ryan for a ride on Betsy?” Tim asked the question again as the boy handed Matt a muffin from the basket.

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