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Page 18 of For the Love of the Bull Rider

“I called you,” Ryan whispered as he washed his face after brushing his teeth. Tim noticed Matt’s face turned red, and in his mind, the manshouldbe fucking embarrassed. He hadn’t been available to his son when he was needed. It was time for a change.

“I’m sorry. We were busy fixin’ fence,” Matt answered as if it was an acceptable excuse. It wasn’t in Tim’s mind.

“Your dad’s gonna get a cell phone tomorrow because you should always be able to call when you need him.” Tim’s tone brooked no room for argument. Someone needed to take over the shitshow Matt was currently running because he’d proven he had no clue what to do when it came to raising a child.

“I am?” The cowboy appeared to be completely surprised.

Tim arched an eyebrow. “Grow up, Matthew. Your time to be… Yes, you’re getting a cell phone tomorrow. If I have to go to Roanoke myself to pick it up so you can be here to take care of him, I will. If Ryan’s sick, you should be the first call.”

Tim picked up Ryan and carried him to the living room, pulling a throw from the back of the couch to cover him. Matt was nowhere to be seen.

“Do you think your tummy is able to hold something to eat?” As Tim touched the boy’s forehead to check for a fever, Mattstormed into the living room and flopped onto the couch next to his son, his expression not a happy one.

“I’m sure hungry, Tim, but I don’t wanna puke again,” Ryan answered.

Tim chuckled at the boy’s response, heading to the kitchen to pour a little broth into a coffee cup. He put the liquid in the microwave for thirty seconds to warm it.

When he removed the cup, he found the liquid to be tepid, which was likely best for Ryan’s hypersensitive stomach. Tim grabbed a spoon and headed back to the living room.

“How about you try a couple of spoons of broth? Your gramma made it.” Ryan snuggled in Matt’s arms, clearly worried about trying to eat for fear of losing it again.

Finally, Ryan answered. “Okay, I’ll try a little bit.”

Tim nodded as he sat down on the couch next to where Matt was holding his son, the man’s face finally showing the concern Tim believed worthy of the situation. Tim held the spoon up to the boy’s mouth, waiting to see if it was going to settle. When it did, he got about a third of it into Ryan before the boy began to fall asleep.

“Go put him to bed. I’d suggest you put a towel under him in case… Well, earlier wasn’t good. It’ll save the mattress.” Tim stood and took the cup into the kitchen to clean up the dishes. Once he had the dishwasher loaded, Tim walked back into the living room to see Matt hadn’t moved.

“Wait, you’re not gonna leave, are ya? I can’t… I don’t know how to take care of a sick kid,” Matt whined, his face mimicking that of a child not getting their way.

Tim chuckled. “How’d you… Who took care of Ryan after he was born?”

“Well, Bertie did it while I was on the circuit, but she had help. Momma came over a lot, as did a couple of Bertie’s friends from high school. Bertie’s momma didn’t approve of our marriage, soshe didn’t come around. She moved to Denver after Bertie left me.

“Mona divorced Bertie’s dad a long time ago, and I only met the Colonel one time when I was in El Paso for a rodeo. He seemed like a decent guy, but he didn’t care much for the women in his family.” Matt seemed cautious to admit anything about his ex-wife.

Tim shook his head. “So, you didn’t…? Never mind. Right now, you have a little boy who has the flu. He’s been vomiting, and he has diarrhea. I put his dirty clothes in the washer, so when they finish, put them in the dryer. Maybe your ex-wife was a worthless bitch, but you have the boy now. He’s your responsibility, cowboy. He thinks you hung the moon and the stars, so start trying to live up to all that adoration.” Tim walked toward the hallway to let himself out the front door.

He still had to clean the puke out of the truck, which he wasn’t looking forward to, but a man has to do… a lot of dirty jobs.

Chapter Eight

“You can sit here and feel sorry for yourself, or you can come with us to the Circle C. Matt’s having a party there because there aren’t many places for Ryan to trick-or-treat out near the ranch.” Aunt Katie seemed on a mission that early afternoon as Tim sat at the kitchen table with his laptop working on the books for the Katydid.

He hadn’t seen Ryan since he’d picked him up from school when he was sick, which was also the last time he’d seen the boy’s father. As a result, Tim had been sulking, and Aunt Katie seemed to know it after he begged her to keep tabs on Ryan through Jeri. Now that Matt had apologized to his mother, she was helping out with Ryan again. For Tim, it was a huge relief.

Of course, Aunt Katie could sometimes have a heart of stone with no sympathy for people she thought were behaving like fools, but Tim pushed his agenda yet again. “You know I’m in love with Matt Collins, and he doesn’t even know I’m alive. Why would you want me to go to this party to torture myself by being around him when it will be hard for me?” Tim couldn’t help but whine at her. It wasn’t his finest hour, to be sure.

Instead of snapping back at him, Katie moved forward to hug him. “Timothy, I love you so very much. You were a gift from God for me and Joshua just when we needed you, so don’t make me mad. Matthew Collins needs to figure out some very important things in his life, but he needs help doin’ it. Seems to me, you’re good at remindin’ him of his responsibilities, so you should be there to support him when he’s tryin’ to do the right thing for his son. It’ll give him some positive reinforcement.” Tim knew his eyes grew wide as she spoke.

“Aunt Katie, he only wanted me to help him out because he didn’t know how to take care of a sick kid. Matt Collins has a lot of issues, and I’m not going to become another one of them.” He was trying to make a point, and he felt as if, for once, she was listening.

There was a knock on the front door and since Aunt Katie’s hands were covered in pie dough, Tim walked down the hall to answer. When he opened the door to see Ryan Collins standing there with his hat in his hands—literally—he grinned. “Hey, bud. How are you feeling? What can I do for you?” Tim asked as he sunk to his knees, so he was at the same level as his little friend.

Ryan smiled at him nervously for a second, then he walked closer and touched Tim’s shoulder as he began to speak. “I’m doin’ a lot better, Tim. I was kinda hopin’ maybe you’d come help me pick out a Halloween costume for the party. Daddy said it could be my pick, but I want you to come tell me what you like.

“You and my dad should be friends, Tim. I like both of you, and I think you’ll like each other. Can ya not be mad at him right now and come with us?” The boy’s eyes showed sincerity, which touched Tim’s heart.

Before Tim could answer, Aunt Katie walked over to where they were assembled and bent over to hug Ryan. “Of course, he will. Maybe you wanna come over and help me bake some cookies as we get closer to the holidays?”


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