Chapter 29

Tucker refused to open his eyes even as the sunlight beyond his closed blinds continued to brighten. He simply couldn't believe he was still waking up in this cabin instead of the trailer he used to share with Tarr.

"I've got to get out of here," he muttered to himself as he rolled over and swung his legs off the side of the bed. He took a moment to stretch his arms above his head, and the unhappiness he experienced here pulled through him strongly as his muscles warmed.

Tuck reached for his phone and tapped to dial his daddy. He'd know what to do, because he always had. Whenever Tucker needed advice, he talked to his father. And at this point, he couldn't talk to Tarr. The man simply was not interested in re-entering the rodeo.

"Morning, Tuck," Daddy said, no wasted syllables with a cowboy drawl. His father had earned and used a law degree for years before he'd retired from the family company to raise his kids on the farm where Tuck now lived.

He'd run the farm, and he'd worn the hat, but Daddy didn't talk with the accent many others living here at the Hammond Family Farm did—Tuck himself included. He'd learned quickly in the rodeo that a cowboy accent got the attention of the prettiest girls, and Tuck had enunciated his as much as possible.

"Hey, Daddy." He lay back down, a sigh pressing out of his mouth.

"What's with you?"

"I'm so unhappy here."

Daddy didn't say anything for a moment. "Nothing's changed?"

"No."

"Come to Coral Canyon for the summer."

Now Tucker let the idea roll through his head. Daddy hadn't suggested such a thing before. He'd advised him to stay and wait to see if anything changed. If Tarr would commit to summer training, and they could enter a few of the smaller rodeos as Tucker staged his comeback. If Bobbie Jo would come out of hiding and talk to Tucker again.

Rather, it was Tuck who'd tucked his tail and hid from the gorgeous strawberry blonde who'd infected his bloodstream from the moment he'd met her.

"Tarr's not going to go back into the rodeo," Tucker said. "So that's changed."

"He told you that?"

"Right to my face."

"And Bobbie Jo?" Daddy spoke in a soft voice now, and Tuck wasn't sure if he should be irritated or grateful. He could talk about women; he'd never had a problem with it before.

"I just don't know how to bridge the gap between us," Tucker said. He stared toward the blinds, wishing he'd opened them to the farm beyond. "I came on way too strong in the beginning. I tried to pull back, but I think I did too much damage. She knew how much I liked her, and she never allowed herself to like me back."

"I know, son."

"And then, when she broke up with Lawson, I became this super-eager puppy. Again." He closed his eyes and frowned. "I was really just trying to be nice by bringing her dinner. I totally didn't expect her to kiss me."

And it hadn't even been a true kiss. It'd been an accident, and Tuck hated that his name was associated with that word in Bobbie Jo's vocabulary at all.

An accident.

A mistake.

Both words she'd used in texts to him since. She'd run down the hall to her bedroom, and only her cabinmate, Hattie, had been allowed in. Tarr had rescued Tucker from rushing after her and making a bigger fool of himself, and nothing had been the same since.

She didn't come eat with him in the shade of the seed shed. She'd gone home to Oklahoma for her birthday in January. Tuck hadn't bought her a gift, because he simply didn't know how to show up on her doorstep and hand it to her.

"It wasn't even a real kiss," he said. "Which I could understand if it was, if it was bad, if she regretted doing it the same day Lawson had broken up with her. Any of that."

"She's embarrassed too," Daddy said.

"We're adults," Tucker said. "Why can't we talk about it?"

"Maybe Hattie's right," he said. "And she's recovering from the relationship with Lawson, and she doesn't want to start something new too soon."

"It's been forever," Tucker complained, feeling very much like a fourteen-year-old instead of the almost-twenty-eight-year-old he was.

Daddy chuckled. "It only feels like it."

Tucker sighed out his frustration, wishing his unrest would go with it. "What would I do in Coral Canyon?"

"Any number of things," Daddy said, which meant he didn't have a specific answer. "Blaze and Jem Young run rodeo camps for kids, and they always need help. You can focus on your charity work for a few months without having to get up at dawn, move cattle and horses, or tend to fields and fences."

"Yeah," Tucker said. He could do any of those things. "I feel bad leaving Tarr here."

"And is Tarr suffering there?" Daddy asked. "Seems to me he's there by choice."

"He's in love with Hattie," Tucker said with another sigh. "They're still dating, even though she's leaving to go back to college in the fall."

"Maybe he'll go with her."

"Maybe."

"We can call Uncle Ames and see if he needs help at the academy. He always seems to. You can work on finding another cowboy to manage in the rodeo. The Walker boys are real into that, and Cole seems to need a new manager every few years. Not sure where he's at right now, but…we can find out."

And by "we," Daddy meant, "you." Tucker could find out. He'd give him all the contact numbers, but Daddy would expect Tucker to put in the legwork. And honestly, he wouldn't mind.

"Anything would be better than staying here," he said.

"Then get your affairs in order, and come up to Coral Canyon. Momma and I would love to have you. The house is plenty big enough, and the bedrooms are always ready."

That was Daddy-Speak for Momma wants you to come home. She'd love to have you—and so would I.

Tuck rolled onto his back. "So I just go talk to Hunter? Tell him I'm leaving?"

"And Matt," Daddy said. "He'll need to know, so he can replace you if necessary."

Tuck smiled softly. "I'm irreplaceable. Isn't that what you and Momma always told me?"

Daddy chuckled, and Tucker missed him so, so much. "That's right, son. You're irreplaceable, but Matt will have to try."

A bout of silence carried between them, until Tucker finally said, "I'm going to have to talk to Bobbie Jo about this, right?"

"You said it earlier," Daddy said. "You're an adult, and you can talk to her like an adult."

"So you wouldn't just sneak away in the night?"

"No, son, I would not."

Tucker wouldn't either, because he didn't want to slam the door completely on the idea of a relationship with Bobbie Jo. Pathetic, maybe. Delusional for sure. But the truth.

"Thanks, Daddy."

"Text or call your mother with when you're coming. She'll stock the house with food."

"I love you. Tell Momma I love her too."

"Will do. Love you, Tuck."

The call ended, and Tuck let the phone fall to the mattress. He was late to work, but he didn't get up. He had a lot on his mind weighing him down, and he needed a few more minutes to get things in order.

Then, he got up, showered, dressed, poured himself a cup of coffee, and stepped out onto the front porch. He could text Matt and Hunter in one go, and he did that as he stirred sugar and cream into his coffee. He took a sip, read over the text, and sent it.

Hey, guys, Tuck here. I have decided to go to Coral Canyon at the beginning of June. I'm sorry that's not much time to find someone to replace me, but it's a couple of weeks, at least.

Matt responded almost instantly. Is Tarr going too?

No, Tuck said. Not that I know of. I haven't talked to him yet, so please don't say anything to anyone. He didn't spell out that he'd like to tell Bobbie Jo himself too, but hopefully he wouldn't have to.

That's great, Tuck, Hunter said. Momma and Daddy will love having you.

Tuck knew that to be true too, and he closed his eyes as a prayer streamed through his mind. Thank you, Lord, for the best parents on the planet.

His momma would love to have him. She'd feed him and care for him and talk to him as much as he wanted. She'd leave him alone if he wanted her to as well, and Tuck suddenly couldn't wait to get to Coral Canyon and step into his mother's hug.

Bless me to have a few crucial conversations, he added to his prayer. Help me not to make a fool of myself in front of Bobbie Jo again. Give her what she needs to be happy too, even if it's not me.

Sadness pulled through him, but Tuck meant his mental prayer. He did want Bobbie Jo to be happy; he simply wanted to be happy too. The fact was, he wasn't happy here, in this current situation, and something had to change.

Either the situation, or him, or where he was, and he'd decided to blow it all up. Now, he just had to tell everyone he cared about of his plans—and hope all the doors in his life stayed open.

A week later, Tarr knew of Tuck's plans to go to Coral Canyon for the summer. Matt and Gloria knew, and they'd started interviewing for another horseman to help with the summer horseback riding lessons.

Everyone knew—except Bobbie Jo. Tuck would be shocked if she hadn't heard it from someone yet, but she hadn't said anything to him if she had. So, after he'd gotten up before his alarm and packed a few more boxes, he sat down at the kitchen table while Tarr scrambled eggs and made coffee, and he finally texted her.

I'd love to sit down with you for a few minutes, he said. Then he deleted it. That sounded so…corporate. He wanted to take her to dinner and lay everything out for her, but it felt like rubbing salt in a gash in his heart.

He sighed and looked over to his best friend. "I don't know what to say to her."

"Ask her to lunch," Tarr said. "Or dinner. Just ask her out."

"I'm leaving in eight days."

"Yeah, so lunch should be easy," he said.

Tuck looked back at his phone. "Ask her to lunch," he muttered. Like it was so easy. If it was, he'd have done it a week ago. Heck, five months ago, when she'd broken up with her boyfriend.

Bobbie Jo, he started. I have something to tell you, and I'd like to do it in person. Can we go to lunch or dinner someday really soon? Like today, tonight, tomorrow?

Without even reading over it again, he sent the text, then practically threw his phone away from him. "Done."

"Good job, Tuck." Tarr set a plate of toast and eggs in front of him. "You're going to miss me feeding you every morning."

Tuck looked up at him and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, those protein shakes you leave out on the counter are going to be really hard for me to get out myself."

Tarr laughed as he sat down kitty-corner to Tuck. "I really will miss you." He scooped up a bite of eggs. "And I have to get a new cabinmate, which I'm not looking forward to."

"You'd like it if it was Hattie." Tuck grinned at him and picked up a piece of toast.

"Yeah, well, me and Hattie…." He trailed off, that contemplative look Tuck had seen several times covering his expression. "We like each other, but the timing feels wrong."

"She's way too young for you, besides," Tuck said.

"Cord and Jane are eleven years apart."

"Yeah, but Jane wasn't twenty-two when they started dating."

"She's sweet, though." Tarr grinned, and Tuck simply shook his head. Across from him, near the wall where his phone had slid, his device vibrated against the blonde wood. "That's her." Tarr reached for the phone and picked it up. "You want me to read it?"

Tuck nodded and shoved half a slice of bread into his mouth.

"Your message was great," Tarr said, and his approval meant a lot to Tucker. "She said she's got a video interview at lunchtime today, but her evening is free tonight." Tarr didn't move his head a single centimeter. Only his eyes came to meet Tuck's.

He nodded, and Tarr returned his gaze to the phone and started typing. Tuck trusted him to say the right things, and when he finished, he set the phone next to Tuck's plate. "Tonight at six-thirty." He gave Tuck a kind smile that said so much. "You got your date with her, man."

"Yeah." Tuck didn't feel happy about it though. "Now I just have to figure out what to say that won't sink me for good."

Tarr nodded. "Maybe it just hasn't been the right time for you guys either. Maybe you'll go to Coral Canyon and find your calling in life, and you'll be ready to take on someone like Bobbie Jo."

"Did she say what her interview was for?"

"No," Tarr said. "So, see? One thing you can talk about tonight that isn't you leaving town." He gave Tuck a great big cowboy-won-the-rodeo smile. The one he reserved for pretty women and huge crowds paying his prize money. "It's going to be fine, Tuck. More than fine. Great. The best conversation you've had with Bobbie Jo yet."

Tuck wasn't in a place where he could agree, so he just said, "If you say so," and hoped Tarr's prediction would make it to God's ears—and that the Lord would make it come true.