Page 43 of Stirring Up Trouble
Blaze stopped eating and held his fork up to point around at everyone. "That's enough talk about murder and such. Let's move on. First breakfast, then we gotta load up and head on out. It's another busy day. We're about at the halfway mark, though."
Leslie did a little happy dance in her seat. "Yes, and then we don't have to worry about it for another year."
At her words, I felt this tug in my chest. I couldn't wait another year to see Blaze. We couldn't just be a rodeo fling.
Griffin had told me he believed in me. That I could have my own practice. He wasn't holding any grudges about me needing to leave. His assessment of me having ties to the community there was accurate as well. I literally had nothing keeping me in that place.
Everything could change. And I had no doubt that Blaze would let me stay here while I got my practice set up.
But would moving in with someone after only knowing them for a week be too much?Yeah, probably so.
Was that gonna stop me from doing it?Probably not.
Sixteen
Blaze
Robin has beendifferent since breakfast. I noticed it the second Leslie mentioned the rodeo wouldn’t be on our plate for another year.
Knowing my boy, he likely thought about what that meant for us, for our future. His mind had to be wondering about the next steps.
While I wanted to pull him aside and reassure him, it seemed like everyone wanted a piece of me. I couldn’t get people to fucking leave me alone long enough to take a breath, much less have a serious discussion with my boy.
And as if my day wasn't busy enough, I heard a voice right before lunch that completely decimated all other plans. I turned around right as Maddox reached me.
The big oaf pulled me into a back slapping hug as he chuckled and said, "Hey, cousin! Surprised to see me?"
I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back as I shook my head. When we pulled apart, I stared him down."What the fuck are you doing here? You didn't say you were coming right now."
He shrugged, then pointed over his shoulder. “My guys had a free couple of days. We squeezed it in instead of taking a vacation of our own, which by the way, means I'm missing out on some alone time, if you know what I mean.” He waggled his brows at me.
I shoved him away. "I don't need to know what you and your men are getting up to, but it is good to see you. I needed a breath of fresh air. Having a surprise visit from family definitely gives me an excuse to tell all these other people to leave me the fuck alone."
Maddox raised his hands as if surrendering. “Easy tiger. I didn't think you’d be so temperamental today.” He dropped his hands, then tilted his head. “Actually that's a lie. You're always somewhat temperamental. But this seems more. Want to tell me what's going on before the other two get over here?”
I opened my mouth to share the truth with him and paused. Could I just blurt it all out to Maddox? Would he be supportive? I mean he was gay and had two boyfriends. The man was pretty open-minded. And he did love me. We were family. He wouldn't shun me or tell me I was an idiot. Maybe he could even help me figure out what the hell to tell Robin to convince him to stay.
Considering he was now in a committed relationship with his former biggest rival and the man who owned the team the two of them play for, he had experience with difficult situations when it came to romance.
Before I could get the words out, there was a loud ring of laughter. Maddox spun around, and I stepped up beside him, following his gaze. There across the space from us was Jake Bellport clapping and bouncing on his toes with glee. Leon stood behind him, arms crossed and a soft smile on his face.
A second later, I realized who he was talking to.
Robin.My Robin.
My boy was holding his clipboard to his chest as he laughed along with Jake.
“Looks like Jake's already made a friend. Anyone you know?” Maddox asked.
I was unable to pull my gaze away as I nodded slowly.
Maddox hummed. “Yeah, I bet you know him all right.”
The way he said it had my gaze turning his way. “What's that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what it means, cousin. I've seen how you look at other people. You want to take a bite out of that man right there. Why haven't you?”
Again I opened my mouth, but the words didn't come out. Thankfully, I was interrupted when Jake came skipping over with Robin and Leon right behind him.
