Chapter 5 #2
Sam grabbed his beer once the server put it down. “It will shorten his career some. Hockey’s like bull riding. Young man’s game.”
He took a sip of his beer and nodded. “True, but at least we get more padding and we’re just fighting with each other. How on earth did you get into the wild world of rodeo?”
He couldn’t even begin to start figuring that out. Did they have rodeo class in school here?
“Dad’s a roper. When we caught pregnant, I was working at a pizza joint.
I needed something that didn’t cost money to do—like riding, which has an entry fee—but made money.
I started at the little rodeos and worked my way up.
I got a knack for it, I guess.” Sam didn’t seem too stressed about the conversation, so he pushed on.
“Okay, okay. Still, you must have been scared the first time a bull came at you.”
“Well, my people are ranch people, so I’d had a bull come at me plenty of times.” Sam actually grinned at him, crow’s feet deep, dark eyes glinting with amusement.
It occurred to Evan that this was Sam’s natural expression—not a scowl, not disappointment or anger, but this easy grin. It was a damn good look for him.
“The thing is, it’s the bulls that are coming at you with a purpose that are problematic, but yeah, there have been some scary moments, a couple of bad wrecks.”
“So are you intending to retire at some point?”
There was no way Evan could do even the physical part of Sam’s job without some conditioning, much less the ‘deal with giant cows’ part.
“I’m close to it.”
That was a shock and a half. “What do you do then?”
Sam gave him a shrug. “I’ve got some investments. I’m a shareholder in one of the big rodeo companies. I have an interest in a couple of bucking bulls, and I’m the majority owner in a company that makes protective gear for rodeo people.”
Okay, again Sam had surprised him. Nothing fancy. More—I have this—and—I have that. He had to be doing pretty damn well for himself, and there was a lot to admire there.
“Nice. I had no idea it was such a big business.”
Sam chuckled. “Just like I had no idea hockey was such a big deal back east. I mean, it’s not a game we see out here a lot. Football, sure. And Albuquerque has a baseball team. Soccer is big in some circles.”
“Yeah.” Evan was used to that. There were places that were rabid about hockey in the US. “The Boston area is kind of tops for hockey in the US, though Michigan and Minnesota have their moments, and it’s big in cities like Pittsburgh, too.”
Sam snorted. “Yeah, not big rodeo areas.”
They grinned at each other, and Evan felt his shoulders relax a lot.
“I will point out that Dallas has a hockey team and Austin has a farm team.”
“Hello.” Sam rolled his eyes. “Do I look like I’m from Texas? I’m New Mexican. I don’t even ride the Texas Circus. Come on. You want to impress me, let’s talk about the Colorado Thundersnow and how they kicked ass straight from Quebec.”
Oh. All right. He had to fight his grin. Someone had been doing his research.
Whether it was because of Hillary or not, it was pretty damn cool.
“Yeah. They’re on fire this year.” He loved his sport with a fiery burning passion. He really did.
“Looks like it, no? If I back any team, it will be them.”
“Well, let me know if you ever want to go to a game. I’ll be happy to get you some tickets.” Sam was used to traveling, so the drive up to Denver probably wouldn’t bother him. Or hell, he could hop on a flight and just Uber around for a few days.
“I might could do that after the season’s over. I finish up right before Christmas, and then I’m off until the spring, barring something like the Denver Stock Show or the Fort Worth Stock Show. Sometimes I get called in to do those.”
“Nice, so maybe in January you can come up and see a game.”
“In January, I’ll have a brand-new grandbaby.” Sam stared at him, those eyes damn near haunted. “She’s due in like mid-December.”
Evan blinked. That was just—it was—how could it even— It was June. How could there be a baby at Christmas? That wasn’t long. “Oh, I somehow didn’t figure it was so soon.”
“It’s wild, no?” Sam shook his head. “She’s not showing yet, but it’s coming. She’s three months along.”
“Why did Max wait so long to tell me?”
Sam shrugged. “She didn’t know. I didn’t find out until after graduation. Hell, she went to her prom pregnant, and no one knew.”
“Shit.” That poor baby girl. She had to have been freaking out, knowing she was late, then knowing she was missing periods, then not knowing what to do. “What a mess.”
Evan was suddenly grateful he’d never had to worry about this shit. He’d had a few awkward high school encounters with girls before he’d figured out he was gay all the way, but they had never involved anything that could get a lady pregnant.
“Yeah, I know.” Sam simply shrugged and shook his head.
“What are you gonna do? It’s a baby, and it’s coming whether or not we’re ready, so we better get our shit together.
That’s why I want to deal with this now before he leaves.
” Sam quirked his lips. “I’m not saying he’s a bad kid—I know he’s not.
He came out here, but it’s easy to be a good kid when you’re looking your baby mama in the face.
It’s way harder when you’re in school and on the other side of the country.
So we just get things in place to where she doesn’t have to worry, and he doesn’t have to think about it. ”
Evan nodded. “All right, basics. What do you want?”
“I want health insurance for the baby. I want her to have custody and no summers away until the baby is old enough to go—that means not breastfeeding, able to talk and communicate with his mom. And I think we’re going to have to figure out child support.
I realize he doesn’t have a lot of money right now, and I can accept that.
But he will, and I want my nieto taken care of. ”
“But he’s going to have to be able to see the baby up in Massachusetts.” Evan knew Bobby and his family would want to be there, care for their grandbaby.
Sam shrugged. “That’s non-negotiable. She can’t breastfeed a baby from a thousand miles away. It’ll be at least a year, and then I want the baby to be able to say, ‘I want to come home. I don’t feel safe; I’m scared.’”
Evan arched an eyebrow. Yeah, no. “But if he doesn’t get to know Max and his parents, how’s he ever not going to be scared? I mean, seriously.”
Sam licked an amber drop off his upper lip. “We’ll have to figure out what’s fair. But I guarantee you, the first year, she’ll be breastfeeding. There’s no long-term visitation there.”
Evan sighed. He knew he needed to bend here, but dammit. That meant Max would only get to see the baby during school breaks, and that Bobby would get like one chance at Christmas or maybe at the All-Star break if he wasn’t called to play until the season was over again.
“That’s harsh, man.” He waved his beer bottle in the air. “Maybe she could come for spring break. They ought to be able to travel together by then. Maybe you could come too.”
Sam tilted his head, and Evan tensed for a fight. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m not working so much in March, so okay, I should be able to come up or whatever with her and the little one, and that way she’s not traveling by herself.”
Okay, that was a welcome, reasonable surprise.