Page 16 of Worth the Fall
“I don’t know what it is about small-town diners, but they’ve got the best muffins I’ve ever had. But don’t tell my wife. She’ll scold me till the cows come home.” He was wearing an Agri-Corp polo and a baseball hat.
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you,” I said honestly. I thought of his shirt from last night. “I noticed Nash was a popular name in the rodeo. You have sons in the rodeo?”
He laughed. “Couldn’t keep them out of the arena if I tried!”
“They were wonderful.”
Dennis was leaning back, letting me know that this wasn’t going to be a short visit. He had all the time in the world and wanted to talk the morning away. “They found their specialties quickly. Jimmy, our big daredevil, would try to ride any animal he could. Broke so many bones he had his own wing at the hospital.” He laughed. “My twins couldn’t do anything without each other, so team roping was obvious. And Colton has never met a horse he didn’t adore.”
I smiled and leaned forward, absently taking a bite of my muffin.
“My wife was spittin’ mad when I signed Jimmy up for mutton bustin’,” he went on. “That’s when-”
“The kids ride the sheep,” I finished his thought and then slapped my mouth closed.
He raised an eyebrow, impressed. “You do your research! Anyway, yeah, she threw a fit, going on about how she didn’t want her babies as broken and bruised as I was. Eventually, she agreed to let Jimmy ride, and after seein’ him win and how bighe smiled with that huge trophy, even she couldn’t stop him.”
The muffin was almost gone. “You were a rodeoer too?”
“Oh, yes, ma’am.” The jersey he had been wearing last night wasn’t just to support all four sons; it was his own legacy. “Steer wrestlin’. Ya know, when you jump off the horse and take the little cow down.”
“Did you enjoy it?” I didn’t think I would have a hard time interviewing Dennis for my presentation.
He slapped the table, making me jump. “Allegra, there’s nothing in life that made me as happy as that rodeo. That was until I met my Jo. My wife is as gorgeous as the day is long, and the only thing that could get me to settle down.”
The muffin was gone. “I would love to meet her sometime.”
“We should go out to dinner before one of the rodeos.” He got out of the booth and stood. “I’ve got the wife, four sons, two daughters-in-law, almost three, and six grandkids. We’re a rodeo all in ourselves.”
I thought of my life as an only child with just my mom. I would love to be a fly on the wall watching the Nash kids grow up. “Sounds exciting.”
He nudged my shoulder. “Don’t work too hard, Allegra. I can’t wait to talk to you more. Travel safe tomorrow!”
“Thank you for the muffin. You were right, best one I’ve ever had.” Also, the only one I’d had in four years.
“Don’t tell Josephine, cowgirl.” He winked as he walked away, his cowboy boots clicking noisily on the tile.
I blinked rapidly and looked out the window.
That name, “Cowgirl,” sprang tears to my eyes instantly.Thousands of memories flooded my mind. The dusty box in my apartment in Chicago. The smell of the horses in the arena.
I couldn’t hide who I was much longer.
Chapter Seven
Unlike the suffocating dry heat of Arizona, Florida was a different kind of hell. It was wet and sticky, and I felt like a melting popsicle.
On a more positive note, my plane ride was filled with silent passengers and a lot of prep work. Though I felt a thousand times more prepared for this rodeo than the Arizona one, I was drained. I didn’t know how the cowboys did this every week.
Rodeo, get on a plane, land in a new city, repeat.
I was exhausted, and I didn’t even have to get thrown off an animal.
Despite being ahead of schedule, work-wise, I was stressed out of my mind. Seconds after Dennis had left my booth in the diner, Mr. Sterling had called.
“Allegra,” his voice was sharp, getting to the point immediately. “I just finished reading your first impressions. It’s perfect. You nailed the problem, now let’s talk solution.”
I beamed, feeling my old self flood my system, shaking my senses back on track. “Thank you, sir, I’m-”
