Page 18 of Faith for the Cowboy
Harper let out a huff. “I talked to them again yesterday. I think it would have been easier if I crashed my car and had pictures of it to show them. It seems practically impossible to convince them that my car is literally gone because it was picked up by a tornado. They want some proof. I guess I should send them a picture of me standing here with no car.”
Lawson chuckled. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not funny.”
“Well, it kind of is. How can I prove that something is gone?” She shook her head. “They want to see my cell phone location records to show I was in the area. I hope that will be enough. I called the sheriff's department in Williamson county to see if they located it in the destruction. But so far, there’s no record of it. So, I wait.”
“Are you supposed to be at any events this week? You know I’m happy to take you.”
She sighed. “I know, but I don’t want to keep you from your work. I know you’re needed here.”
Lawson sighed. “I don’t know about that. They use me, but I think they could get along without me.” He smirked. “I guess I could put in for my vacation time.”
Harper laughed. “I’m sure you get paid time off.”
“I wish.” Lawson removed his cowboy hat and swatted at a fly. “I think I’ve earned a break, though. If you need to go somewhere, I’ll take you. Or at least we can loan you a vehicle. It might be a beat-up ranch truck, but it would get you from here to there.” A knot formed in his stomach at the thought of Harper leaving, even for a few days.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. The event I was supposed to be at last week was rescheduled due to storm damage, and I didn’t have anything this week. I’ll have to see about the rodeo for next weekend.” She bit her lip. “I really need to work that one. It’s one of my higher-paying gigs, and I could use the money to get back on my feet.”
“Consider it done,” Lawson said. “We’ll make it happen.”
Harper furrowed her eyebrows. “Are you planning on competing?”
He nodded. “I can’t do every rodeo in Texas, thanks to that no paid time off thing,” he winked. “But I can find a way to get to the ones that are an hour or two away.”
“That one is in Fredericksburg. It’s probably four hours from here.”
Lawson looked concerned. “Maybe I can get away. If they think it’s for you, my brothers will be more willing to let me go.”
Harper stared at him for a moment. The silence grew between them with only the sound of the horses' hooves on the ground. “When are you going to tell them?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I can’t keep it a secret forever. It’s just easier for them not to know.”
"Is it?" Harper asked. "It seems like a lot of work to figure out reasons to travel. And it must be hard to find time to train without them knowing."
"I guess," Lawson replied, considering her words. His heart pounded heavily against his chest at the thought of his family knowing. “I just don’t want them to try to stop me or to get in on the action. This is my thing. I want to keep it to myself."
Harper nodded. "I can’t really say I understand, but I respect that you’ve thought this through. My brother and I did all the rodeos together for a long time. We trained and traveled and cheered each other on. That is, until he surpassed my skill. I got to a point where I couldn’t compete at a higher level, so I started photographing and watching him. But it was still something we did together. I just think your family would be proud to support you."
"Ha," Lawson said. "You don’t know them very well yet. They would tease me relentlessly. Or they would just say they could do it better than me."
"Then prove them wrong. Let them see you compete. I think if they saw how hard you’ve worked, they would be proud. And if they saw you ride, they would be impressed."
"I don’t know. I’ll find out one day, when I’m ready to tell them. But not yet."
Harper held up a hand. "Okay, that’s fine. It’s your decision."
Lawson was ready to change the subject. He took a deep breath and drew his horse a little closer to hers. "I think there is something I’m ready for," he said.
She turned to look at him. "What’s that?"
"I’m ready to talk about us."
Harper turned and watched the path in front of them. "Us?" she asked, keeping her focus forward.
"I think there is something between us. Something more than being friends who run into each other at rodeos."
Harper didn’t say anything.
Lawson swallowed hard and looked away. Had he read the situation wrong? Did she really just want to be friends? Maybe he had just given her a place to stay, and after she left the ranch, they wouldn’t keep in touch. Is that what she wanted?
