6. Dolly
DOLLY
I blow out the breath that I’ve been holding. I’ve seen Tucker on a bull a thousand times, but it never gets easier. It’s in these moments when I’m completely focused on him that there’s no hiding my feelings for him. I’ve loved him for a long time, even when I shouldn’t have.
“Go, Dad!” Ace screams next to me as the count gets closer to eight seconds.
As soon as the buzzer dings, the crowd erupts in cheers but not me.
Nope, I’m still holding my breath until I see Tucker jump off the bucking bull and land on his feet.
He takes his hat off and waves it to the crowd.
It feels like he’s looking right at me, and Ace and I are screaming and waving back at him.
The whole thing lasted seconds, but it feels like it was hours.
I take a deep breath, dragging oxygen into my lungs.
Ace grabs my hand and tugs me back into my seat. “Dad will come to us.”
Adrenaline is pumping through my veins, but I sit down next to him.
I look at the time on my phone, and we have a little while before we have to leave for Ace’s baseball practice.
Ace is so excited he can barely sit still, but I can’t say I blame him.
I know exactly what he’s feeling. “My dad was awesome!” he shouts.
I laugh. “He is awesome!”
Ace tilts his head at me. “You like my dad, don’t you, Dolly?”
I tense next to him. I’m sure this is not a conversation I should be having with Ace. He knows what my role has been in his life. He has always thought of me as his honorary aunt or something. “Of course I like your dad. He’s a great guy.” I playfully ruffle his hair. “And you know I love you.”
He would normally laugh or something, but his little face is all pinched up in concentration. “No, I mean, I know you like my dad, but do you like him like him?”
“Uh…” I start. I’ve never lied to Ace, but I’m not so sure I should be telling him everything right now. I mean, how do I tell a kid I love his dad when his dad would probably freak out if he knew it? Nope, I need to keep some things to myself. “Ace, you know your dad and I are not dating, right?”
He rolls his eyes at me. “I know that. He still wouldn’t want Rick flirting with you.”
Worried that Ace thinks there’s more to it than that, I gently nudge him. “Honey, he wouldn’t care. We’re just friends.”
His little eyebrows shoot up. “Dolly, my dad really likes you.”
I lean back in surprise as my mind starts filling with questions.
Has Tucker talked to Ace about this? Has he told him that he likes me?
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask, but then I think better of it.
I’m not going to get Ace in the middle of this.
Instead, I act like his statement didn’t just rock my world.
“That’s good because I really like you two! ”
“There he is!” Ace shouts as he sees his dad walking toward us.
He’s looking at me with a huge smile on his face.
As he draws near, I can feel my heart start to race.
Tucker Yates is the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on, and when he looks at me the way he is right now, my heart skips a beat.
Tucker fist-bumps Ace, and they’re both all smiles.
Then Tucker turns to me and pulls me in for a hug.
His big, thick arms surround me, and I suck in a breath as all my senses go on overload.
Everything about this moment feels right.
It’s everything I’ve dreamed it would be and more.
I put a hand to his chest and give him a little shove, not because I want this to be over but because I need it to be.
If I stay in his embrace much longer, I’m going to do something foolish like kiss him… or think this is more than it is.
“Congratulations,” I tell him with my head leaned back to look up at him. His eyes search mine, and there’s a heat in them that I hadn’t noticed before.
He doesn’t let me go far. His hand finds mine, and he threads our fingers together. “Thanks. You know, you might be my good luck charm.”
Damn, it would be so easy to fall head over heels in love with this man. Shoot, who am I kidding? I’ve been a goner for him for a long time. Afraid he’s going to see how I feel, I look away to Ace. “We probably need to get you to practice.”
Ace is looking between me and his dad with a huge smile on his face, but when he realizes that we really should be leaving, he nods reluctantly. “Yeah, I guess.” He nudges his dad. “Can I go say bye to the team?”
Tucker nods. “Yeah, go ahead. We’re right behind you.”
As Ace walks in front of us, Tucker explains, “We’ll let him say bye to everyone, and then I’ll help you get out the back door that leads straight to the parking lot. It will knock off a few minutes.”
I nod as I fall into step next to him. People are all smiles, praising Tucker’s ride as we walk through the people. When we get toward the back and the crowd has thinned out, I look around us. “Do you think we can talk later?”
He takes his hat off and holds it in his hands. “About what?”
I shrug. I definitely don’t want to talk to him about all of this here.
Heck, I’m not even sure what I need to say to him at this point.
I can’t just drop the bombshell that his son thinks we’re an item.
No, I need to do that when we have some privacy.
My hesitancy has him stopping and pulling me to a stop next to him.
“Are you rethinking taking Ace to practices? I know it’s a lot to ask and?—”
I cut him off. “Of course not.” I look around again. “I just think it’s something we should talk about in private.”
He smiles and then takes his hand and brushes a piece of hair off my face. “Sure. How about I bring dinner when I pick up Ace?”
I nod. “Sounds good, but is it okay if I take Ace to your house after practice? He’s been wanting to show me the new barn cats and… I mean, or you can just pick him up at my house. Whatever you want to do.”
A slow, heated smile forms. “Yeah, Dolly. I’d like that. I’d like for you and Ace to be waiting at the ranch for me when I get home.”
I scrunch my nose up. “Are you sure?”
He leans toward me. “Yeah, honey, I’m sure I want you on my ranch, in my house. The only thing that would make it any better is if you were in my bed.”
I gasp, and he puts an arm around my shoulder. “Close your mouth, honey. I guess whatever it is you’re wanting to talk about later we’re going to include a conversation about what’s happening between us.”
I gulp. I’m freaked out but in the best way possible. “Okay,” I mutter.
He chuckles. “Now come on. You have a kid to get to practice, and I have one more ride to get ready for.”
With his arm around me, he walks us to Ace and then to the back door of the arena. He hugs Ace and me bye with a promise to see us later.
The whole way to the car, Ace is smiling ear to ear, and I can’t help it, so am I.