Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Tyler
“Shit, I gotta get going,” I mutter, checking the time on my watch.
“What’s going on?” Maddox asks from the saddle next to me.
We’d just finished bringing a herd of bison to their new pasture for the time being. Tomorrow we’ll be doing their vaccines and checking them over. Like today, it’ll be an all-day job with all of us working to see that the bison are healthy.
“Gotta take Dash to meet his teacher.”
“That's right.” Maddox hums, readjusting his Stetson. “He ready?”
“More than ready.” I wasn’t. I didn’t want to think about my son growing up on me. I hated it. Time needed to slow down a bit.
“It'll be good for him to be around other kids his age.”
Can't argue that.
Dash has grown up on this ranch. He's seen firsthand what hard work truly is and as little as he is, he's already made up his mind that he wants to be just like me.
The only thing to ever mark him negatively is when I found Maddox and Della’s granddaddy, William, dead. My kiddo had wanted to see the horses before bed, so he was with me that fateful night.
Sure, he’d been around animals who had passed away, but never a person. He didn’t understand it. Still doesn’t to be honest, though the nightmares have stopped.
Plus, Lexy’s living with us now instead of just helping out when we need her to, making things easier.
I tug on Onyx’s reins, getting him to come to a halt near the barn. I hop off the back and pat his neck. “You mind handling him for me. If I don’t get moving, I’ll be late.”
“I’ll get on it. Are you coming back after?” Maddox asks, taking Onyx’s reins.
“Yeah, still got a lot to do before the days out.” I had a mental list a mile long of things I’ve got to get done.
“While I’m in town, I’ll swing by the feed store and pick up our order for the horses,” I tell Maddox and jump over the railing. “Need me to pick up anything else?”
“I can't think of anything, but I’ll text you if I do.” He pauses for a beat, his gaze drifting in the direction of the main house. “Do you mind if I give Dylan his lesson on Onyx? I promised I'd take him this afternoon.”
I glance up at the house to see Dylan, running in our direction. Amelia’s teenage son is adapting since he and his mom moved into the main house with Maddox. He’s learning all the ins and outs of the ranch, and loves the land just as much as his future stepdad.
Onyx is my horse. I bought him at auction when he was just a foal. I was pissed they had a wild mustang up for auction and wasn’t about to let anyone else get him. He already looked beaten down and needed a caring hand. I’d given that to him, and he’d given me his trust.
“Not a problem,” I tell him.
Dylan reaches us, and Maddox smiles at him. “You ready for your ride, kid?”
“Hell, yeah.”
Maddox chuckles. “Spoken like a true cowboy. Tyler is letting us use Onyx for today’s lesson.”
Dylan glances at me, flashing me a grin. “Thanks, Tyler.”
I tip my hat to the boy and leave them to it.
I had to get home, pick up Dash, and get him to the open house to meet his teacher for the year.
The ride home is done thinking about all the shit that needs to get done.
With all the new additions happening around the ranch due to the merger with the Fallen Demons, it’s a big change, especially with taking on the bison.
The workload has doubled ‘cause those animals can cause a riot when in a mood. Already, they’ve broken through some fence line, but we’ve been able to manage it all so far.
It’s just a matter of learning to stay ahead of the game when it comes to them.
That and keeping them away from the cattle.
We don’t need dead cows, and mixing the two could be dangerous.
I know it’s the right move, going the route Maddox took in getting with the club, they’re helping us expand and become profitable again. Still, eventually we’re gonna have to hire a few more hands around the ranch to keep everything running smoothly.
Since Maddox and Della worked things out along with partnering with the Fallen Demons, things have been going at a brisk pace around here.
The dude ranch Della will be managing is coming along with the building process.
With her pregnant now, Shadow isn’t letting her on the job site without him, and it’s been comical to watch as they get into it.
He’s even had her wear a hard hat on location.
Hopefully, within the next couple of months, the dude ranch and restaurant that will be in the same vicinity will be ready to roll.
Della’s vision for it is pretty awesome.
All the buildings were being constructed using the trees that were cut down for the structures.
It’s been more time-consuming, but it’s helped with materials.
The scrap pieces have gone to the clubhouse, where Della asked Tormentor if he’d use them to create furniture or something of the sort.
She’s truly giving the place a real homestead feel.
I barely park in front of my place when Dash comes out the door, Lexy right behind him, a huge grin on his face.
Leaving my truck running, I hop out, and my son beelines it straight to me.
“Daddy, we going to meet my teacher today?” he asks, jumping up and down.
I scoop him up into my arms and answer, “Yeah, kiddo, we’re gonna go meet your teacher now. How’s that sound?”
“Do you think she’ll like me? Think she likes cows and bison? What about dinosaurs and baseball?”
I love this boy and his excitement. “She’s gonna love you, kiddo, and who doesn’t like all the animals around here or dinos and baseball.”
“Aunt Lexy and I were reading a baseball book before you got here. It’s about all the great players in the Hall of Fame. Nolan Ryan is my favorite.”
“Why’s that?” I ask, turning to put him in the backseat of my truck. If I didn’t get a move on, we were gonna be later than we already are.
“Because he was cool. They nicknamed him ‘The Ryan Express’ and he had the record for no-hitters and strikeouts in his career. He played for the Texas Rangers and was just cool.”
The Rangers were my son’s favorite team in the MLB and mine.
I try to watch every game I can with him when we have time.
On his birthday, I took him to the Rangers stadium for his first game.
I get he’s only a little kid and most want toys as gifts, but taking him to a game was way better than buying something I’d end up throwing out when he broke it or grew out of playing with.
“That’s cool, kiddo, you can tell me everything you read about him on the way to school,” I tell him while strapping him in his booster seat. Before long, I know he’s gonna be too big for this thing and need just one of those regular ones that have no backing to it.
I close his door and nod to my sister, still on the porch. “See you in a bit, Lexy.”
“I’ve got a shift this afternoon at the hospital, so you’ll have to take Dash with you while you work.”
Shit. I forgot she had to work this afternoon. Typically, I look at the calendar daily, but I don’t think I remembered to do it this morning with rushing out of the house to meet Maddox to move the bison.
“I’ve got him,” I tell her, and round the hood of my truck. It’s not the first time I’ve taken Dash along with me while working, and it won’t be the last. He loves it, so it’s no hardship.
Hopping back in my truck, I put my seatbelt on and shift my truck into reverse to turn around.
Dash starts up again about Nolan Ryan and what he and Lexy read in the book about the man so far.
The kid is smart and loves to read anything and everything.
He could do the lower-level books by himself and loves having Lexy, or me, read him harder books he’s not ready for yet.
By the time we made it to the school, Dash had talked until he’d fallen asleep.
I grin into the review mirror and stare at him as I shift the gear into park.
I twist the key, turn the engine off, and hop out.
This quick little power nap could go two ways.
One, he’ll have a burst of energy, or two, he could be cranky as hell.
I get out and round the truck to pull him out. “Come on, kiddo, it’s time to meet your teacher.” Dash mumbles something incoherent and yawns, eyes blinking. I unhook the straps for him and lift him into my arms. “You ready?”
Dash nods and leans his head against me. Still not fully awake yet. Maybe I should have waited a few more minutes, but I don’t want him to miss open house.
Once inside, I see the school still has a lot of parents walking around. I hadn’t even paid attention to the parking lot outside to gauge what I’m walking into.
Dash wiggles to get down, and I let him, taking his hand in mine.
We find where we’re supposed to go and make our way to the kindergarten hallway.
The moment we step into one of the classrooms, my feet halt all movement at the sight of the woman talking to another parent, a bright smile on her face.
With everything going on with the ranch, I completely forgot she mentioned she is a kindergarten teacher.
“Daddy, is that my teacher?” he asks, looking up at me.
“Yeah,” I answer, though I’m not sure how the word forms on my tongue as I take in the sight of her.
Delaney.
No. Miss Knox.
Delaney Knox.
Fuck.
She’s my son’s teacher, and I screwed her over. I haven’t seen her in a month. Not since that night I fucked her and the damn condom broke.
Delaney glances in our direction, her smile staying in place, but her eyes share the surprise of finding me standing there.
Her eyes dip down to Dash, then back to me.
For a brief second, I thought she might do something to piss me off, but she doesn’t.
Her eyes go back to Dash, and she moves to him, squatting down to his height.
“You must be Dash, I’m Miss Delaney Knox, but you can call me Miss Laney as I’ve told all your classmates they could,” she says, stretching out her hand to him.
“Do you like baseball?” he asks.
Delaney doesn’t falter at his question, surprising me. “I love baseball. My favorite team is the Braves, but I’m a sucker for college baseball.”
“I don’t know if we can be friends then. I’m a Rangers fan,” Dash tells her, shaking his head, looking serious.
Delaney giggles and cocks her head. “That’s okay that you like a different team, just means we have more to talk about. Compare notes.”
Well, shit.
How the fuck am I supposed to not like her for that answer? Why couldn’t she do something to make me dislike her? I’ve worked hard over the past weeks to get her out of my head, to not think about the way I treated her. It’s worked mostly, except for at night, where she’s haunted my dreams.
Now, she’s going to be my son’s teacher, and I’m not sure what to do with all of this.