Page 32 of Take Me Please, Cowboy
“I’m not sure I like the job then.”
He took a long sip of his iced tea.“My goal was to be done at thirty.”
Ansley frowned, remembering the stats she’d read in yesterday’s program.“I thought you were thirty.”
His smile was crooked.“I am.So, hopefully, in the next couple of years I won’t need to compete.I’m ready to shift gears but can’t afford to leave the circuit yet.But it’s the plan.”
“And then what?Continue with roofing?”
His smile faded.For a long moment he didn’t answer.Rye took another long swallow of the iced tea.“That is the family business.”
But there was no joy in his voice, and it struck Ansley that his light had gone.He didn’t love roofing.She realized he was doing what needed to be done for his family, and whatever his dreams were, whatever his personal ambition had been, had been sacrificed for the greater good.
It made her heart ache.This beautiful, disciplined hardworking man seemed to put everyone else first.
It made her care for him even more.
“Can I please just make you a sack lunch for the road?I’m pretty good with peanut butter and jelly, and I’ve got some really good strawberry jam here.Sophie Wyatt makes it for Uncle Clyde every summer.”
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
For some reason that seemed even worse.Not to worry about him?Not care about him?“I’m not worrying, I’m simply providing a PB and J sandwich for you.”
“You don’t have to fuss over me, babe.I can take care of myself, and I mean that in the nicest sort of way.You’ve got plenty to do without adding me to your list of concerns.”
“What concerns?”
“Um, your uncle?”
“You’re not my uncle, and you make me happy.Maybe I’m crazy, but it feels nice to think about someone… to think about you.”
He looked away, jaw working.“I’m used to doing the providing.I’m used to taking care of others.I don’t know how to let someone take care of me.”
“Not even your mama?”
He looked at her, his gaze slowly moving over her, the top of her head down the length of her body and then back up again.“My mom has been dealt a bad hand in life.It’s my mission to make things easier, as much as I can.”
“Is that why you live at home?”
“I have my own space on our property.I don’t live in the main house.But before you go thinking I have a cool pad, it’s a trailer.It’s a pretty rough trailer, but it’s mine, and it gives me a little space and helps let me come and go without disturbing the others.”
“Who all lives at home?”she asked carefully, feeling as if she was maybe overstepping.He’d been so private, she suspected that his family wasn’t something he wanted to discuss.
“Everyone.”His lips curved but it was a grim smile, and it didn’t reach his eyes.“My parents, John and Jennifer, my two sisters, Hannah and Josie, and my younger brother Jasper.”He glanced at his watch and set his iced tea glass down.“Speaking of, I should get on the road.”
Ansley nodded and walked Rye outside, to his truck and rig.
For a moment, neither said anything.They just stood next to his Chevy, taking in the twilight.Ansley really didn’t want him to go.She couldn’t bear to say goodbye.Not yet.Maybe not ever.
She sucked up her courage to ask what had been on her mind almost constantly the past twenty-four hours.“Will you be back this way anytime soon?”
Rye reached out to touch her cheek and then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.“No.My weekends are all in different directions.Oregon next weekend, Idaho, Washington state, Wyoming, South Dakota.”
“That’s just the next five weeks.What then?Won’t the season be wrapping up soon?”
“End of October,” he agreed.“South Dakota is my last for this year.”
“And then?”She’d meant to sound strong, but her voice came out a whisper.
