Page 48 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

“Farris?”

The woman smiled and nodded. “I’m so happy to get the chance—”

Tim cut her off. “Yeah, about that. My Aunt Katie’s likely to be a handful, butI’mpaying for this so listen to her, but check with me before any permanent decisions are made. She’ll probably pick a Kenmore range when a Viking might be preferred.”

It wasn’t that Tim thought there was anything wrong with a Kenmore. His own mother had always wanted a Viking, and since he couldn’t give it to her, he’d give it to Aunt Katie—that was if the stubborn woman would let him.

Farris nodded at him, offering a nervous smile. Tim felt better about the undertaking, so the two of them proceeded into the kitchen to confront the she-beast… Kathleen Simmons. Whenhe pushed open the door separating the kitchen from the dining room, Aunt Katie bristled.

“Nope. You’re not going to complain about this, Aunt Katie. I love you so much, and youaregoing to let me do this for you. Uncle Josh is innocent in this one, so if you want to blame someone and be upset, it should be me, okay? This is Farris March. Farris, this is my Aunt Katie, and she’s going to be a pistol, but I want a spectacular kitchen in here, and another one outside. If she gives you trouble, just remind her I’m payingyouby the hour.” Tim pulled the beautiful woman into the room behind him, hauling her books up to the counter.

Farris swallowed before she smiled, so he took her reaction to mean she’d encountered difficult people in her line of work on more than one occasion. He left them to their plans, hoping his aunt would come around.

Tim was certain his uncle had explained the situation to Farris when she’d called to set up the appointment, so Tim kept his fingers crossed that everything would be okay.

The goal was to give Aunt Katie the dream kitchen she’d always wanted but fought against because she refused to justify the expense in her own mind. Those days were over. Tim had it to give, and he was determined to do it.

In his mind, Katie and Josh deserved so much more than a new kitchen for the love and support they’d given him over the years. But—that new kitchen was a damn fine place to start.

Early the next morning, Maisy gave birth to a little filly that Uncle Josh named Daisy. “Not too original,” Tim repliedsarcastically. It was three in the morning, and he was tired, cold, and cranky.

“She’s got a white patch over her eye, so it seems fittin’,” Josh said as the three men left the barn and went up to the house to sleep. Tim sent Matt a text telling him Maisy had a filly before he fell into an exhausted sleep.

Of course, he missed his bull rider, but Tim was too damn exhausted to do anything about it. Instead, he sunk into the couch in the living room with a blanket and slept like the dead.

Later that morning, Tim was in the barn with Hank as the foreman trimmed up Josie’s mane and tail. “You sure this is the best mount for Ryan? I’d say Chief would be better if he wasn’t a stallion, but there’s gotta be somethin’ better than a damn donkey.” Tim chuckled at Hank’s complaining nature. The man hated donkeys.

In this instance, Tim agreed, but it was Matt’s decision regarding what mount would be the best for his son. “What did Ethan think about her?” Tim held the halter of the jenny, not that she was moving an inch. She’d been through the drill before, and she was very well trained.

Hank exhaled loudly as he trimmed a path behind her ears for the headstall. “He said he wished she was a little bigger so he could ride her because she’s a gem. I just can’t warm up to the damn things.” Hank turned off the clippers and stepped back to observe his work.

“Well, you’re not gonna ride her, right?” Tim tied the jenny to a ring outside her stall before he grabbed a broom, shoving it down the hallway to clean up the hair, loose hay, and sawdust.

The roar of a large truck rolling up outside the barn caught their attention. Tim turned to see Matt walk into the barn alley in all his cowboy glory. Ryan wasn’t with him, so Tim was a little concerned.

“Hey.” Tim glanced at Hank, seeing the man chuckling as he continued to clean up Josie’s tail, pretending to ignore the two of them.

“I picked up Ryan’s saddle and stuff this mornin’. You didn’t have to—why didn’t you come home after you finished up with the mare?”

Matt took Tim’s hand to lead him to the back door of the F-250. He opened it to reveal a small, leather saddle with matching bridle, breast collar, and a blue and green saddle pad with Ryan’s initials hand tooled on a piece of matching leather on the side.

It was beautiful, and Tim knew he’d never be able to pick out anything as great for Matt to use with the horse Tim had bought for him. He wanted to do that beautiful beast justice, so it weighed heavy on his mind.

He wanted Matt to have a grand saddle when he rode in the pastures at the ranch. Maybe he could get Aunt Katie to go with him? She had impeccable taste when it came to things of that sort.

“This looks great, Matty. We can hide it in the tack room until Christmas,” Tim offered, seeing the deep furrow of Matthew’s brow.

The man didn’t waste time responding. “That’s fine, but why didn’t you come home this mornin’?” Matt gave him a harsh look as they carried it all to the tack room where Tim hurriedly made room for the gifts. Above all else, he was determined for Ryan to have a great Christmas, just as much as he wanted Matt to have one. It was easier to please the boy than it was to please the man.

“Matt, honey, I was simply too tired to drive to your place last night, so I slept here on the couch. There’s a woman at the house annoying Aunt Katie right now because I bought them a new kitchen for Christmas, and Farris came today to try to set a schedule for the remodel. I’m sure she’ll come stomping out ofthe house any minute now because Aunt Katie pissed her off, so if you want to go back to the ranch to discuss whyyouwent toEl Paso, I’m fine with leaving.” Tim gave the man a stern look of his own.

Matt froze for a moment before he turned and grinned. “Well, I guess it’s time to finally hash it all out. I’ll meet ya at home, Timmy.” The bull rider left the barn and climbed into the large truck to leave.

Tim walked up to the back porch of the house, listening to the two women in the kitchen. When he didn’t hear any yelling, he walked down to the F-150 and hopped in. He took the road to the ranch and when he pulled up next to the F-250, he hoped the two of them wouldn’t be pissed at each other at the end of the conversation.

Ninety minutes later, Tim continued to listen intently as Matt explained the total clusterfuck he’d been keeping to himself. He couldn’t believe the shit Mona and Bertie were trying to pull.

Matt explained why he went to El Paso, and he told Tim everything about meeting the family and how surprised he was by the Colonel, Savannah, and her girlfriend.

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