Page 170 of Lost Trust

I clamp a hand over my mouth because I absolutely should not laugh.

But I do.

A tiny, strangled sound escapes my throat.

Blaze’s head jerks toward me, and his face turns crimson.

Royce slowly lowers his fist. And the corner of his mouth twitches. “Second-rate bull rider, huh? Looks like you’re the one with shitty balance.”

Royce

I don’t like this.

Not one damn bit.

Blaze is sitting out in Marina’s living room like he has any right to be here, and every instinct I have is screaming at me not to leave her alone with him.

I pull my shirt over my head and reach for my boots.

“I don’t have to go anywhere,” I tell her.

Marina looks at me from where she’s pulling on her jeans. “Royce, it’s fine.”

“It’s not.”

“He’s Ryder’s father. I can’t refuse to let him see him.”

“Sure you can. His ass doesn’t deserve to see him.”

She sighs. “I know. But that’s not how it works. If I don’t let him, he could really cause a problem for us,” she says. “I left the state without notifying him, and even though we never had any kind of legal custody agreement, he could technically fight me. And maybe force me back to Texas. So, for now, until I know what he wants, I need to play nice.”

She walks over and smooths the front of my shirt. “I’m going to get Ryder up and let him see his dad. I already called Shelby. She’s taking my classes today.”

I frown. “You sure?”

“Yes.” She nods. “I’m going to let Blaze and Ryder spend some time together. Then I’ll send him on his way.”

I don’t like that plan either.

“You shouldn’t have to be the one handling him.”

“I’m not handling him alone. Mom’s going to be there the entire time.”

That eases something in my chest. A little.

“Blaze isn’t going to do anything stupid in front of Ginger,” she adds. “He’s always been kind of scared of her. Accuses her of being a witch. Of course, she’s always pretended to put hexes on him.”

I snort. “I do like that woman.”

Apparently, Blaze was in Cheyenne for some event and thought it was a good idea to drive six damn hours in the middle of the night when he couldn’t reach Marina. Her phone had no signal on the mountain. So, instead of waiting until morning and trying again like a normal person, he got angry and drove straight here.

Then, when he finally made it to the academy sometime around four in the morning, he found one of the ranch hands working outside and told him he was Ryder’s father and he was looking for Marina, and that genius pointed him straight to this cabin.

I shake my head. “I’m finding out which ranch hand told him what cabin was yours.”

“You are not.”

“Yes, I am.”