Page 19 of Cowboy's Melody
Brooks
“Daddy, you’re really making me mad.”
“Too bad, Logan. We’re not going to the cherry festival.” And we’re sure as shit not going to Teddi’s concert. “You were just in the hospital with a concussion. Do you want to end up back there?”
“No,” she says with a pout. “But it’s not fair.”
“Life isn’t fair,” I snap before walking away. I run a hand through my hair and head to the kitchen. I pull a cold beer from the refrigerator and once the cap is popped off, I take a long sip. I don’t drink often but if I am going to get through this weekend, beer was definitely a necessity.
“Daddy, can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah peanut,” I say, turning to face her.
She’s leaning against the countertop of the island, one hand placed over the other and her head cocked to the side. “When I saw you kissing Teddi, were you in love with her?”
I choke on my beer. “What? When did you see Teddi and I kissing?”
“The other day, behind the horse barn.”
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “You need to stop watching the Disney Channel.”
“But do you love Teddi, Daddy?”
“I don’t know,” I tell her and immediately regret it. Why am I talking to my eight-year-old daughter about this?
“Well, I think you do,” she says before she skips away.
Stretching my arms out along the counter, I lean forward and drop my head. Am I in love with Teddi? Fuck, it sure did feel like it but it messed with my head and distracted me.
Logan is my priority. She will always be my priority.
I stomp out of the kitchen and head outside to the barn. I’m sure there is something needing cleaned around here.
Except all of the horse stalls have been cleaned out and the animals have fresh water. It’s like someone did my chores for me.
“Your father and I didn’t raise a fool, Brooks.” I spin and see my mother standing in the doorway of the horse barn. “And if you let that girl go back to Nashville, then you’re more than a fool. You’re an idiot.”
My head drops as I place my hands on my hips. “Mom, it wouldn’t have worked out between us. We live two completely different lives.”
“Bullshit.”
My head snaps up because I’ve never heard my mother use language like that before. “I’m not going to put Logan through the pain of having her heart broken when things don’t work out. She’s already enamored with Teddi.”
“Yeah, and she wants what I want, for you to be happy.”
“I am happy.”
“I didn’t raise you to be a liar either, son.”
I sigh and hold my hands out, palms up. “What do you want me to say, Mom?”
“I just want you to admit how you feel about Teddi.” She turns on her heel and walks away.
Fuck! Things weren’t supposed to get messy this week. This was supposed to be a fling, nothing more than a brief affair but every time I close my eyes, Teddi is the star of every one of my dreams.
What if this is my last shot at love and if I don’t take it, I end up with nothing?
Logan is the most important person in my life but maybe there’s room for one more?
