Chapter Six
O ne of the necessities of Jason’s job was staying in top physical shape.
Shaun and Cooper sometimes went for a miles-long run in the mornings, but Jason’s knees protested.
Instead, he had a routine he did every morning that only required a couple of handheld weights and a resistance band that were easy to store in the trailer and didn’t take up much space.
He put in his earbuds, tapped what he thought was his normal playlist on his phone, and got busy stretching.
It only took a few bars of the first song for him to realize someone had loaded a playlist on his phone without his knowledge. Likely, his son was the culprit.
He listened to Huey Lewis singing about the power of love.
If he hadn’t liked the tune, he would have turned it off completely.
It appeared Shaun had pulled together some of Jason’s favorite songs from his younger years and thrown in a few modern ballads he liked, but the theme of them all was love, with a clear and distinct focus on falling in love.
When an old Exile song about waking up in love started to play, it hit Jason like someone had nailed him with a baseball bat right between the eyes.
He was in love with Lainey.
Not just smitten, though he was definitely that. He was completely and deeply in love with the woman.
Like it said in the song, he woke up in love with her, a little more so each day.
The problem was that he’d never intended to fall in love again. Judy had been his soulmate, best friend, and everything he’d wanted in a wife and partner for life.
Despite the fact that she’d been gone for more than twenty years, hardly a day went by that she wasn’t in his thoughts.
He knew it was ridiculous, but part of him still felt like he’d be betraying her if he let himself love someone else.
Yet, Judy wouldn’t have wanted him to be alone all these years.
She wouldn’t have wanted him to mourn her so long and so deeply that he never really moved on.
She would have told him to find love and let his heart fill back up again.
From the first time he met Lainey, he knew there was something special about her.
She was like sunshine that burst through the shroud of gray he’d kept pulled around him like a shield.
Without trying, she’d penetrated the ice-covered wall he’d built around his heart and sent it crumbling before he could even gather his wits to protest.
Jason sighed as he faced the undeniable truth. He loved Lainey.
Really loved her.
The question was what to do about it.
The fact that Shaun had added the playlist to his phone confirmed what Jason already knew—his family supported him in pursuing a relationship with Lainey. They’d all met her and spent time with her, and they thought she was wonderful.
Galen and Pops had made sure he had daily updates during the week she’d stayed at the ranch while Jason and Shaun had been at a rodeo in Washington.
Galen had assured Jason she had fit right in at the ranch, helping with meals, keeping an eye on their father, and even weeding the garden and flowerbeds.
She’d been happy to go riding with Brylee when she’d invited her over to her place for lunch.
According to Pops, Lainey was a fine cook, a sweet woman with a sharp mind, and patient enough to put up with all of them with a smile.
“If you let her get away, you are a big dumb dummy, son,” his father had said yesterday when Jason had spoken with him.
Jason agreed with his dad, but he still wasn’t quite sure if stepping into love was worse or better than just being labeled an idiot for letting Lainey go.
Not that they’d talked about love or their future.
They spent the two days he’d been at the ranch after the rodeo surrounded by his family. They’d gone riding, taken the three grandkids with them on a picnic, and even toured one of the museums in town with Dani and Carter in tow.
Despite his hesitation to confess his feelings to Lainey, he couldn’t help but notice how well she fit in at the ranch, like she’d always been part of it. She also fit him so well, knowing when to keep him talking, or when the silence between them was comfortable and didn’t need interrupting.
After she’d bid him goodbye and driven off for Boise, he’d gone back to the hilltop house.
He could imagine Lainey there, greeting him each evening.
He could envision his kids and grandkids joining them for Christmas celebrations and backyard barbecues.
He could so easily picture walking into his golden years hand in hand with Lainey at a house he’d always loved.
He’d sometimes wished he and Judy had swapped houses with his folks in his younger years just because the hilltop house held so many happy memories for him. Now, he was glad he’d never suggested it. The old farmhouse had good memories, but it held so many sad ones too.
Maybe that was why it was never that hard for Jason to walk out the door when it was time for him to get back on the road to another rodeo. He hated leaving his family behind, but the memories at the farmhouse haunted him.
He had no idea how things would work if he did surrender to his love for Lainey and somehow talked her into spending the rest of her life with him. He didn’t expect her to give up her work, but with him traveling and her nomadic ways, would they ever see each other?
Right now, he had more questions than answers. Rather than try to make sense of any of it, he enjoyed the music he was sure Shaun had handpicked for him and poured himself into a strenuous workout that left him drenched in sweat, dying of thirst, and feeling marginally better.
He went to the trailer, and took a shower and found himself humming the Exile song as he shaved.
The song kept him company the next few days and on their drive back to Twin Falls from Utah. He and Shaun spent a night in Twin Falls before driving to Baker City, where they’d be able to spend a few days at home before heading to Central Oregon for the next rodeo.
Jason had been trying to convince Lainey to go with them. Although she hadn’t said anything, he was ninety-nine percent sure she was going to focus on rodeo as the theme for her next Faces book.
That night, when he called her, he broached the subject of the rodeo again. “I know I’ve asked before, and I won’t push it again, but would you like to come with us to the rodeo this week?”
“I won’t come with you, but I’ll meet you there. I heard back from my publisher, and she loves the idea of a rodeo-themed book in my Faces series. I already picked out a title.”
“You did?” Jason asked, unable to keep the surprise from his voice. “What’s it gonna be?”
“ Dust, Grit, and Grace. I think it will be perfect for what I want to do, and will cover all the aspects I plan to include.”
“That’s awesome, Lainey. Dust, Grit, and Grace. I love it.”
“Thanks. I’m excited to get started,” she said. Her enthusiasm carried across the phone call and made Jason smile.
“If there is anything I can do to help, or people I can introduce you to, just say the word.”
“You know I’ll definitely take you up on that. Now, tell me what time you and Shaun are leaving and remind me where you’ll be.”
They discussed travel details before winding down the call.
“Sweet dreams, Gypsy girl.”
“You as well, Slim.”
Jason grinned as he disconnected the call.
One evening, he and Lainey had started talking about old westerns and movie stars.
He’d mentioned Slim Pickens, and she teased him that it was a perfect nickname for a rodeo pickup man.
Now, she ended their evening talks by calling him Slim.
Jason wasn’t skinny, but he hadn’t exactly let himself get fat and lazy either.
No one would look at him and think “there goes a slim guy,” but when Lainey said it, it made his heart happy.
A few days later, when Jason and Shaun pulled in at the rodeo venue, he immediately spied Lainey’s van already parked among the Rockin’ K crew vehicles. He looked around as Shaun pulled into a parking space and saw Lainey holding Addie Kate while Celia helped Kash with a load of roping steers.
“Looks like your girl beat you here,” Shaun said, giving Jason a knowing grin.
“She’s not my girl,” Jason said, more out of habit than fact. He wasn’t exactly certain what Lainey considered herself to be in terms of their relationship, and the idea of asking her made him feel like a stupid, clueless kid.
All he knew was that he loved her, and the thought of getting to spend time with her filled him with anticipation and joy.
“Sure, Dad. Whatever you say.”
Jason scowled at Shaun, then glanced in the back seat where Brylee and the kids slept. He shifted his focus back to his son, his voice quiet. “You’d do better to focus your romantic notions on your wife.”
Shaun snorted. “Geez, Dad. Get a grip. The kids won’t stay in their beds in the trailer, and we end up with Carter’s fists and Caitlyn’s feet in our faces, not to mention you snoring like a wounded grizzly. How much romancing do you think can happen in that tin box on wheels?”
“More than I probably want to know about.” Jason smirked at his son, then sobered. “You’re a good kid, Shaun, and a great husband and father. I had my doubts after you broke Brylee’s heart the first time, but I’m glad you made the most of your second chance.”
“Thanks, Dad. That means a lot.” Shaun turned off the ignition and set the parking brake on the pickup.
“Why don’t you grab the second chance dangling in front of you?
If you put even a marginal effort into convincing Lainey there’s a future for the two of you together, I don’t think she’d disagree.
In fact, I think she’d be plumb happy to be stuck with your worn-out old face for the rest of your life. ”
Jason had opened his door, but he shut it again to keep the cool air inside. “What makes you say that?”