Page 39 of Rough Ride with the Grumpy Cowboy
“Sorry, I can’t help it. I’m on edge, running on fumes and caffeine.”
She does sound tired, and my heart goes out to her. Here I am worrying about me when she’s on the forefront, fighting the battles for me.
“Why don’t you join me here? I’m sure I can talk Hank into sparing another bedroom,” I suggest.
“I’d be honored, but I have lots to do, and not just with the stalker. Someone has to hold down the fort while you get some rest.”
“Lou...”
“Don’t worry about me—I’m okay. I’m just glad you’re not here. I’d be in even worse shape if you were,” she teases with a chuckle.
“Not funny.”
“Sorry, but in all seriousness, I’m okay. This is why you pay me the big bucks,” she declares.
Looks like we’re both lying to each other.
“Okay...” I sigh, realizing that I can’t convince her otherwise.
“If you wanna do something for me, give me some good news. It’s been a month—how is the new album coming along?” she asks, switching the topic.
Now that’s something I’m happy to talk about, so I fill her in on my progress—which is actually pretty good. I also tell her about teaching Daisy’s music class at the rec center. I’m still on the fence about it, but today is the day of my first lesson, so we’ll see how it goes.
Our conversation lasts another ten minutes before she has to go and I have to finish getting ready. I dry my hair, get dressed, and stick around in my room until I’m sure breakfast is over before heading down.
“I was just about to come get you. We’re gonna be late,” Ella exclaims as soon as she sees me.
“Sorry, I was stuck on a call with Lou.”
“Oh, how is she?”
“She’s good. She says hello.”
“Aww, that’s nice. Let me talk to her next time.”
“Will do.”
“Daisy is already waiting in the car. We don’t have time for you to eat breakfast, so I made you a burrito,” she says, taking my hand and slapping it into my palm together with coffee in a travel mug.
I am grateful for the coffee, but the burrito is huge and I’m definitely not going to eat it, so I’ll make sure to find a place to stash it without Ella’s knowledge.
She loops her elbow with mine and drags me outside to her Bronco, where Daisy is already strapped securely in the back. I get in behind the wheel with Ella next to me.
“Good morning, Princess Daisy,” I greet the cheerful six-year-old.
“Good morning, Ava.”
“Are you looking forward to today’s class?”
“Yep, it’s gonna be so much fun,” she cheers.
I hope so.
“It will be,” I reply, refusing to let her see how nervous I am about it.
I start the car and off we go. I’m still reeling from the fact that the Morgans were able to talk me into doing this. But if you really ask me, I blame Zane. He had no business showing up for dinner that night or bullying me into taking on this responsibility. But I already agreed, Daisy is super excited, and I don’t have it in me to disappoint her. At least if I do a terrible job, I’ll know I tried, and they won’t force me to do it again.
When we get to the rec center, Daisy is the first one out, dashing inside to catch up with her friends before class starts. I undo my seatbelt and lean back in the seat, but I hesitate to exit the car.
