Chapter Twenty-Eight
Vanessa
I knocked on Trethan’s door and waited patiently for him to open it. When he did, he was all smiles as he pulled me into his arms, kissing me sweetly. “I tried to find you when I was at the ranch today, but I didn’t see you,” he said.
I shrugged. “I met up with Julie for brunch, and then that turned into a girls’ day. We went shopping and got our nails done.”
“Sounds fun,” he said, but I could tell from the way he said it that he was distracted by whatever it was that he wanted to say to me.
I laughed, shaking my head. “Well, come on, spit it out,” I said, holding both of his hands in my own. “You sounded so excited on the phone. I can’t even imagine what it is that’s got you this way.”
“I think I’ve found a way for you to fund your gallery,” he blurted out, looking excited at the very prospect.
“Really?” I asked, blinking at him. “But we’ve all been trying to think of some new angle for weeks now, and no one’s been able to come up with anything.”
“I know,” he said. “But get this, I ran into this guy last night at the Roasted Bison who saw me ride the mechanical bull, and he wants me to compete in an amateur bull-riding competition. He’s setting it up so that I’ll be the total underdog, but if I win it, I’ll get ten thousand dollars in prize money, which you could put toward your gallery.”
He stared at me, clearly waiting for some sort of response, but all I could do was gape at him. “He’s setting you up to be the underdog,” I repeated slowly. “And how exactly do you plan to win it, then? Have you even ridden a real bull in your life?”
“No,” he admitted easily. “But it won’t be long now. That’s part of what George was offering. He’s going to have me take lessons with this guy Larry Cobb in the lead-up to the competition. Apparently, Larry’s some big name who used to be part of the pro-riding circuit before he got into an accident.”
“I know who Larry Cobb is,” I said faintly. “And, he didn’t just ‘get into an accident.’ He got tossed from a bull, and things ended pretty badly for him. The doctors didn’t know if he was ever going to wake up again, let alone know if he was going to be able to walk or ride again. He’s one of the luckiest guys in the world.”
“I know there are risks that go along with bull riding,” Trethan said, sounding a little defensive. “But if I get some good teaching, I really think I could do this. You haven’t seen me on the mechanical bull lately, but I’ve been doing an amazing job. I really think that I could be good at this.”
I frowned, biting my lip. “If that’s what you want to do, I don’t want to stop you,” I told him slowly, but I was still not sure about the whole thing.
It wasn’t just Larry Cobb. There had been plenty of guys who had taken bad falls or been trampled or gored by the bulls. I didn’t want Trethan getting tangled up in any of that.
On the other hand, I didn’t know if I had the right to tell him that I didn’t want him to do it. And, there was something so sweet about his enthusiasm, about how excited he was to be able to bring in that much money to put toward the gallery.
“But there must be something that you’d rather put the money toward if you did manage to win it,” I said, shaking my head. “Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money.”
Trethan kissed me again. “You’re worth it,” he said. “I know how much this gallery means to you. I think it’s the perfect thing to put my money toward. Like I said, I want to help out in any way that I can.”
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. “So the gallery could be a reality?”
“It really could,” he said, nodding his head. He wrapped his arms around me. “I told you we’d figure out a way.”
“We’re not there yet,” I reminded him, even though I loved how confident he was. But I also knew that overconfidence was probably the last thing he needed if he was going to become a successful bull rider.
I couldn’t believe he was willing to do this, all for my gallery. All for me.
That wasn’t the kind of thing that you’d do for someone you were just sleeping with, was it? He was going out of his way to learn something, something that would no doubt be painful, something which was incredibly dangerous, all so he could scrape together the money I needed to fund the gallery.
I was falling for him — hard.
But still, I had to make sure he was considering all the options. “There’s a lot you could do with that money, though,” I said again. “You could buy a new car or a TV or-”
“I’m going to cut you off before you even get started with that,” he said, shaking his head. But he was still smiling. “Vanessa, trust me when I say, there is nothing that I could spend that money on that would mean as much to me as being able to help fund your gallery. Anyway, I expect that when the place takes off and becomes a multi-billion dollar venture, you’ll pay me back my measly ten grand. Then, I will be able to do exactly what I want with it.”
“But what if the gallery fails?” I asked, feeling worried. Of course, I needed to pay him back at some point, but the gallery was a risky investment, even though everyone I talked to thought it was a good idea. I couldn’t let Trethan invest in an uncertain idea. “If the bank refuses to let me take out a loan for it, I couldn’t let you risk your own money on it. It’s too much money. I know exactly how much that could mean for you, given the wage that my dad is paying you.”
He groaned. “Will you forget what the bank said for a moment? Those guys are idiots. They wouldn’t know a good idea if it bit them in the ass. That’s why they’re bankers; there isn’t a shred of creativity in any of them.” He paused, putting his hands on my shoulders and staring down into my eyes. “Vanessa, it’s a great idea, and you know it. The whole town is rooting for you, anyway.”
I couldn’t help smiling at him. “Thanks,” I said, leaning up on my toes to kiss him. “I’m glad to have your support.” I bit my lower lip. “But I really am worried about you. Bull riding is a dangerous sport.”
“I know, I know,” Trethan said. “I’ll be careful. I promise.”
“It’s not all about being careful,” I told him grimly. “You also have to be pretty lucky.”
“Oh, do I?” he asked, grinning devilishly at me. “It’s been a few days since I got lucky.”
I laughed and pushed at his shoulder. “Is that all you ever think about?” I asked him.
He shrugged. “When I have a girlfriend as sexy as you, of course that’s all I can think about,” he said, looking as though this were the tragedy of the century. “So, what do you say?”
I sighed. “Unfortunately, I have to get back home,” I told him. “I promised Dad I would have dinner ready by the time he got done with the classes he’s teaching this evening. I had just run out to go to the store and pick up some groceries when I got your text.” I frowned, cocking my head to the side. “But maybe you could come over for dinner, and then afterward, we could have some alone time.”
Trethan grimaced. “I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” he said. “What with your dad being there and all.”
I hated the feeling I got when he said it like that. He meant he didn’t want Dad to find out we were sleeping together. Dad, of course, would assume that we were dating again, and Trethan didn’t want him to get the wrong impression. No big deal.
It hurt, but I tried to play it off, shrugging.
“It’s not like you’ve never come over for dinner with us before,” I said mildly. “Dad even invited you to my welcome home dinner, remember? He won’t think there’s anything strange about seeing you there tonight.”
“Your welcome dinner happened before we were back together,” he said, shrugging and looking sheepishly off to the side. “I don’t know if I could keep my hands to myself.”
I blinked at him and then blushed. “Oh,” I said.
“Oh,” he agreed. He caught my hips and pulled me in close to him, bending down to rest his forehead against mine and trailing his fingertips up over my breasts. I only wore a flimsy bralette, given the summer heat, and it was obvious how turned on I was from his touch. My nipples were already pert nubs beneath the thin material.
Trethan groaned and tore himself away. “If you’re ever going to get back and cook dinner, you should probably leave,” he told me. “Otherwise, I’m going to drag you inside and have my way with you. Again and again and again, for the whole night.”
My breath caught, and I was tempted to call Dad and tell him I was staying at a friend’s house for the night. That I wouldn’t be home for dinner, after all.
But there wasn’t an alibi that I could provide if I did that. It wasn’t like the old days when I could just say that I was over at Julie’s house. I could throw out some other name, but Dad would wonder why he hadn’t heard their name come up before this impromptu sleepover. Anyway, it was a small town, and there was a chance that Dad would go out to eat dinner if I didn’t come home and run into the very person I had used as my alibi.
I sighed and took a step back. “I should leave,” I agreed, nodding my head. But I still lingered there. “Maybe sometime later this week?”
He nodded. “I’m going to be training with Larry for the next few days,” he told me. “So I’m not sure how exhausted I’ll be or what my time will be like. But sometime later this week, for sure.”
I smiled at him and then swooped in for one final, quick peck on the lips. Then, I darted back to my car and reversed down the driveway, carefully not looking back at Trethan because I knew I would never leave if I did.