Page 26 of Dallas

“It’s a superstition,” Bennett explains. “We’re not supposed to ask him about any of it, he tells us when he’s ready. It’s also why we weren’t allowed to go to the last event. He makes an exception for championships. Otherwise, he doesn’t want us traveling to go watch.”

“You don’t let your family come see you ride?” I ask, completely shocked by this information.

“It’s not that. But they traveled from out of town one time to see me, and I lost horribly. Not only that, I got pinned up against the wall, and I broke two ribs. So yeah, Idecided that having them show up isn’t the best. Anyway, the girls hate it because it’s so loud.”

“They don’t hate it. We put headphones on them, and they do just fine.”

Dallas sighs. “All right. But it’s still bad luck. Except championships.”

“Why isn’t it bad luck at championships?” I ask.

“Because he never wins them,” says Lucy, who has been standing in the corner in the kitchen this whole time, and apparently has been paying closer attention than she let on.

Kaylee laughs uproariously, and Bennett covers his mouth.

“Well,” Bennett says finally. “She’s not wrong.”

“Thanks, guys.” Dallas grimaces. “You ready to go?” he says to me.

“Sure.”

“Why don’t you both come over for dinner tonight?” Kaylee suggests.

Dallas looks at me, and I nod. “Okay.”

He ushers me out of the house, and I can hear the family talking behind us, even as we step out on the porch and close the door. “So that’s them,” he says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking down the steps.

I follow after him.

“Well. They’re amazing.” I find myself getting choked up again, which is just ridiculous. “I’m so happy for you. I mean, you have your family.”

He laughs, a sort of short, uncomfortable sound. “Thanks. I’m happy for me too.”

We walk slowly back to the cabin. It’s beautiful, the trees are lush and green, there’s more moisture in the air here. Not quite as dry as the high desert climate to the east.

“How far away is Gold Valley from the ocean?”

“A couple of hours,” he says. “Not far. We can go if you want.”

“I’d love that.” I look around. “So, what do you do when you’re back here?”

“Mostly, I do work on my uncle’s ranch. Wyatt has a big spread not far from here. My other uncle, Grant works there too, my Aunt Jamie has a ranch with her husband, Gabe, but they do plenty at the Dodge Ranch. My dad is the weirdo who has another career beyond ranching.”

“So, you’re all cowboys?”

He chuckles. “I guess so. Wyatt used to ride in the rodeo. He’s kind of how I got started, much to my dad’s chagrin.”

“Oh my God, I bet your dad was so mad.”

Dallas laughs at the memory. “You have no idea. Lindy, Wyatt’s wife, her brother was a bull rider too. Anyway they had some animals at the ranch – I can’t even remember why or how, but they encouraged me and Colt to give riding them a try. We were sixteen? And so dumb.”

“No way, did your dad try to murder them?”

“I think he did. He was chasing them with a Burdizzo all around the ranch. Colt and I thought it was hilarious.”

I frown. “What’s…a Burdizzo?”

“I believe the generic term is an emasculatome.”

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