Chapter 36
LUCY
“They’re here,” I yell, watching as mom and brother pull down the driveway of The Last Lasso later that week.
“Okay, perfect. I just checked on the steaks and they’re almost finished,” Colton says, coming in from the back porch and following me out the front door.
In the front yard, Denise, Daryl, and Carla run to meet my mom as she gets out of the car.
“Oh, my sweet babies. I’ve missed y'all this week! I still can’t believe I let Lucy talk me into letting you three move over here.”
Hayes rolls his eyes at my mom, walking up the walkway to join us on the porch. “Well, I guess it’s safe to say this place looks a lot different than it did when I left.”
Colton laughs and grabs my hand, leading us inside to show off the house. My mom stands, following us inside with the pigs right on her heels. Hayes gives us a look of disbelief as the pigs run into the house, collapsing on the small dog beds I bought them in the corner of the room.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” he groans, shaking his head at the sight. Knox runs out from where he was napping in our bedroom, jumping up on his hind legs, almost knocking my brother over in the process. “How the hell do y’all deal with this shit?”
“It’s getting cold, and they love being inside,” I say defensively. “And Colton built Carla a little matching house outside since she’s getting too big for the house.”
My brother throws his hands up in surrender, focusing back on the house. “Anyway, everything looks good, man. This place really came together better than I thought it would. But wait, did Andy ever come take care of the squirrels for you?”
“Not quite,” I mutter, watching as Lucy leads her brother out back.
“What the fuck?” he yells, and Miss Phillips and I share a look, both of us laughing as we walk outside, where Lucy is holding the bag of sunflower seeds.
“Dinner time,” she sings, and the squirrels pile out of the pink playhouse, crowding around her and waiting for her to drop the seeds for them.
“This can’t be real,” Hayes mutters under his breath.
“Yeah, welcome to the chaos,” I sigh, smiling as my girl feeds the animals at her feet. “I’ve gotta say, they’ve kind of grown on me.”
“Unbelievable,” Hayes groans. “I can’t watch this anymore. Is dinner ready?”
“Yeah, just let me take the steaks off,” I tell him, walking up the stairs and piling the steaks on the platter I grabbed for inside. “Let’s eat!”
Lucy and her mom follow us inside, the pigs and Knox never letting the women out of their sight as my girl grabs the silverware to set the table.
Hayes walks over to where I’m standing and mutters, “You’re really happy here, aren’t you?”
“Happiest I’ve ever been,” I admit truthfully.
Hayes nods. “Then I’m happy for you, man. I know I probably should have reacted to the whole thing better than I did, but if anyone deserves everything they wanted, it’s you.”
I nod, clapping him on the back. “Aww Hayesie, are you going soft on me?”
Hayes flips me off as my phone rings. Looking down, I see Sam’s name flash across my screen, and I hit the button to accept the call.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” I say, making sure everything is ready for dinner.
“Hey, Colton. I need to talk to you about something, and I want you to let me finish before you tell me no,” he says, and I laugh.
“Wow, you’re really selling this already, aren’t you?”
“I guess. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about it, and I think I’m ready to retire. I’m pushing fifty, and honestly, staying on the road for a few months out of the year isn’t as fun as it used to be. But, that means the Bama Bulls will be looking for a new coach.”
My heart rate picks up at his words, and I wait to hear what else he’s going to say.
“Do you think you’d be interested? Obviously, it would have to go through the owners, so this isn’t anything official, but I think you’d be a pretty perfect candidate if you’re interested.
I’m meeting with them tomorrow, and I didn’t know if you wanted me to mention your name? ”
I pause, trying to decide how I feel about it. After the accident, I thought my days with the rodeo were over. But maybe there’s a way to still have a part of the life I spent the last fifteen years building.
“Um, let me talk to Lucy about it tonight and I’ll let you know.”
“Lucy, huh? Sounds like we have a lot to catch up on,” Sam says with a laugh. “But that’s fine. Just let me know before noon tomorrow.”
“Will do,” I say, hanging up and turning to Hayes.
“What was that all about?” he asks, just as Lucy and her mom join us at the counter.
“What’s going on?” Lucy asks, slipping her arms around.
“Sam just called. He wanted to know if I was interested in coaching the Bama Bulls next season.”
The three of them stare at me in shock until Lucy asks, “Well, what did you tell him?”
“I said I’d have to let him know tomorrow after I talked to you. I’m not making any decisions without you, Darlin’.”
She smiles at me, pulling me down so she can press a kiss to my lips.
“I’m up for whatever you want. If this is something you want to do, we do it.
Amelia and I have already been talking about bringing in help around the farm, and I’ll travel with you wherever you go, at least through the summer season.
But if you don’t want to go back to that world, then that’s okay too. However, I think you’d be great at it.”
“Nothing is guaranteed yet. Sam’s going to talk to the owners and wanted to know if he could bring my name up.”
“What do you want?” Lucy asks.
“You,” I say simply, and she laughs.
“Well, you got me, Colton. And you aren’t getting rid of me anytime soon. So, is this something you want to do?”
I hesitate, thinking about it for a minute, before I nod.
“Yeah, I think it is. You know, everything ended so suddenly for me, and while I don’t have any complaints about the way everything worked out in the end, I think it would be nice to say goodbye to that part of my life on my own terms. Is that stupid? ”
“Not at all,” Lucy reassures me. “I think it sounds like fun.”
“Yeah, I think it could be a good time,” I agree. “And I’d get to go back to telling old Hayesie here how to ride.”
“Great,” Hayes says sarcastically, causing the rest of us to laugh.
“All right, now that that’s settled, y’all fix your plates,” I say, gesturing to the food in front of us.
After everyone has their food, we settle around the table. As soon as we sit down, Knox, Denise, and Daryl stand from their beds and make their way over to stretch out under the table, looking up at us expectantly.
While Hayes and his mom start to eat, Lucy leans over and rests her head on my shoulder. “Did you know that I love you, Cowboy?”
I drop a kiss onto her forehead and smile. “Not as much as I love you, Darlin’.”