Page 6 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

“Damn, where are my manners. Would ya like a cup of coffee?” Tim offered Matt the mug from his hand.

The taller man slipped off leather gloves and accepted the coffee and the muffin. “Thanks. We were a little light onbreakfast this mornin’, weren’t we, bud?” The gorgeous grin as Matt stared at his son made Tim’s heart skip a beat.

Ryan giggled. “Sorry, Daddy. I ate some of ‘em.”

Matt let loose with a belly laugh, totally blowing Tim’s mind. There was no such thing as love at first sight, as Tim had learned over the years, but that laugh and the love in Matt’s eyes as he gazed at his son? That might have been the thing to tip Tim over the edge. He was going to be a sad case of a lovestruck fool for a very long time.

“S’okay, bud. We’re still learnin’ together. Anyway, if Mr. Moran doesn’t mind leadin’ Betsy, I don’t mind you ridin’ her. You just listen to Ti… him.” Matt gestured toward Tim.

Tim nodded and left the basket of muffins with his uncle and the handsome cowboy. He took Ryan’s hand and led him down the hall to the tack room where he grabbed a blanket, a bridle, and a lead rope.

He pointed to the bucket of apples, and Ryan grabbed three. “We don’t want the other horses to think we don’t like ‘em, too.” When the little cowboy’s hands were full, Tim laughed and grabbed three more.

The pair walked down to the pasture where the horses were grazing on the late summer grass. Uncle Josh had two cuttings of premium hay from it earlier in the summer, so he was leaving the third cutting for the horses to clean up. The baled hay was in a barn the size of a gymnasium across the road on the other parcel of land Uncle Josh owned, ready for winter feeding.

The Katydid had put up nearly five thousand bales of hay, which was more than enough to get the farm and its inhabitants through the winter. Uncle Josh’s view on it was if any of the neighbors needed hay, he was more than happy to load up a trailer and deliver it himself. He lived the Golden Rule every day and set a good example for Tim.

Ryan climbed up the plank fence and latched onto Tim’s shoulder as they looked out at the pasture, taking in the sights. Tim never thought he’d be one to fall in love with the country life, but he had. Watching the horses lazily grazing or galloping through the fields brought a peace to his soul. Looking out at the grand vista reminded Tim of a postcard. How could anyone be unhappy with that view?

“Betseyyyy!”Ryan didn’t waste any time hollering for the mare.

Tim turned to see the old mare under a large oak tree near the creek. She looked up, and when she saw Ryan waving his little hand in the air with an apple, she leisurely strolled up the hill to where they waited at the fence. Tim was glad they didn’t have to walk down that hill to get her.

A few of the other horses started following her, and Ryan giggled. “Glad we brought extras.” He climbed down and picked up another apple.

Tim tossed the saddle pad over the fence and hooked the bridle on top of a post, taking the lead rope with him to the gate. “You stay on this side while I get her. Some of these horses are new boarders, and I don’t want you getting hurt, okay?”

“Okay, Mr. Tim,” the boy answered.

“Just call me Tim, Ryan. We’re friends now, so you can drop the mister.” Tim stepped through the gate.

“Sure thing, Tim,” the boy answered as Tim walked a few feet to meet Betsy.

The mare stopped in front of the gate and waited while Tim clasped the lead to her halter. He led her over to the gate and let the two of them through it while ensuring the other horses didn’t follow.

Tim looped her halter around the gate and walked to where Ryan was standing as the other horses walked up to investigate their visitor. The little cowboy held an apple on his flat palmthrough the fence to a new gelding Josh had just taken in for boarding. The horse was gentle, or so Tim had been told, but he didn’t feel too comfortable with Ryan feeding the horse without assistance.

“Here, Ryan, let’s get you up here where I can keep an eye on the horses,” Tim told the boy as he lifted the little cowboy to rest on his hip. He took the apple and put it on his flat palm with Ryan’s hand beneath to guide it to the horse, for the sake of safety. When the horse took it, Ryan giggled. The two stood at the fence feeding apples to the horses until they ran out while Betsy waited patiently.

After he placed the saddle pad on the mare’s back, Tim gently swung the boy up before he grabbed the bridle, feeding the bit into her mouth. She chewed it around until it was comfortable, and she whinnied softly, letting the pair know she was ready to go.

Tim handed Ryan the reins. “Hold these with one hand and hold onto her mane with the other. We don’t have a saddle small enough for you, and I don’t want you to fall.”

Ryan reached forward to take a handful of mane and nodded. “I’m ready, Tim.” With that, they were off.

Instead of leading the mare and boy to the covered, round pen, he led them around the upper pasture. Tim and Ryan had a grand talk about the boy’s expectations for first grade. “I thought you’d be going into second grade,” Tim made the mistake of voicing.

“I didn’t go to school last year. We didn’t live anywhere long enough for me to go, so I’m startin’ now. I’m smart enough for second grade because Daddy and Gramma work with me on numbers and letters and stuff, but I don’t wanna skip a grade. I’ll be the oldest boy in my class,” Ryan stated proudly.

Tim smiled and nodded at him. “I get ya. All the other boys will wanna hang with the big kid, ya know? You’re gonna be a goodleader for the littler kids.” Tim hoped he hadn’t made Ryan feel bad about starting school late. He’d have to ask Aunt Katie about it.

“And I’m not gonna be mean about it, either. I went to daycare for a while when Momma was workin’ for a doctor one time, and the big kids who came after school were mean. I didn’t like ‘em.” Ryan was adamant about not being a bully, which Tim was happy to hear.

The computer nerd inside him nodded in understanding. He’d had his share of bullies in life, but it had only been harsh words. Well, except for his father.

Thankfully, nobody knew the real story when Tim showed up in Holloway after he’d graduated high school in New Jersey. Aunt Katie came up with a fabrication about his father being in the military. She said Tim’s parents were in Japan but wanted him to stay in the States for college. That was why Aunt Katie and Uncle Josh took him in, or so they told folks back then when it was all too fresh and too painful for Tim to think about.

“Do you like to ride horses?” The question pulled Tim from the horrible memories rattling around in his head.

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