Page 28 of Rainbow Rodeo

“Be right there.” He hung up so he could set his phone aside, then washed up. Dick tucked away, pants fastened. Right. He wiped off his phone, then tossed the towel deep under the sink. He grabbed the room keys, making sure his wallet was in his pocket. Good deal.

God, maybe this would be it, his chance to let Dalton know he wanted.

Tank sure as hell hoped so. A man had to take his chances or risk never knowing.

Never knowing wasn’t how Tank lived his life.

Dalton waved to him as he came out, and he hopped into the passenger seat. “I’ll help you bring your stuff.”

“I stopped and got Cokes and snacks and some beer.”

“I like beer.” He liked Cokes too. “I got some chips and a bottle of salsa, and those pizzas are in the fridge.”

“Good deal. It was a pretty drive through the canyon, huh?”

“Hell, yeah. The weather is amazing.” He almost reached out to touch, but stopped himself. His fantasies were not his reality.

“It is.” Dalton parked the trailer, then grabbed a couple of bags from the back seat of his truck. “We just need the cooler.”

“Got it.” He grabbed the cooler and hauled it out so he could lead the way back down to the hotel.

“Thanks, man. For the invite and the carry.”

“Not a problem at all. So you had a good drive over. Did you get your fancy coffee?”

“You know it. After that lunch, I needed something to keep my happy ass awake.”

“I rolled down the windows for a while,” Tank admitted. “Let the wind howl in the cab.”

“There you go. Whatever does it.”

They got to the suite, and he set the cooler on the floor so he could open the door. “Ta-da. I took the bedroom toward the back.”

“Sure. You need to let me know what I owe you for the room.”

“We’ll sort it out once they shove it under the door, huh?” He grinned. “Come see the patio.”

Dalton put his bags down and nodded. “Lead the way, MacDuff.”

He led Dalton through his room, out to the really spacious patio with chairs and a table and a great view.

“Oh man. This is nice. Seriously.” Dalton grabbed a chair and plopped down.

“The breeze is amazing,” Tank agreed, his butt hitting the other chair. “I’m real glad you came.”

“Yeah. Me too. I haven’t been here in forever.”

“Been a while for me too.” He hadn’t had any time off at the big show.

“Yeah. They work y’all hard. You got yourself a fan club and everything, huh?”

“Yeah. A Twitter.” Tank scoffed a little. “Ain’t much like me.”

“It’s the way you make money these days, or so Dustin tells me.”

“I just post what the sponsors tell me to.” He shrugged. All of that crap made him feel like a sellout, kinda.

“Yeah. Lots of the guys have to do that. Thank God I’m just the safety man and the glad-hander.”

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