Page 48 of Roping My Rival

“Oh, yeah. The congestion, you mean? Sometimes I do. I didn’t medicate this morning, and the pollen is bad.”

Fair. Even I noticed the pollen today, and I’m not allergic to a thing. Unless you count making smart life choices. Then I’m deathly allergic.

“That sucks. I think Jesse keeps some antihistamine in the bathroom. He was allergic to something once, so we keep it around. Want me to check?”

He swallows so hard; I hear the click in his throat. “No. I’m fine.”

He’s not, but if he doesn’t want to talk about it, then we move on to why we’re here.

“These are all the dates I can do a team event at. I don’t know your schedule—”

“Let’s do them all,” Dane says, effectively cutting me off.

“You don’t have any family events or appointments or anything to double-check on? We can take a day to check before registering.” I don’t want him to jump and over-commit right away. Take a solid 24 hours to think about it or something.

Dane laughs a dry laugh. “I don’t have a family, Burke. I’m not as fortunate as you and have family dinners and parents supporting them.”

His voice drips with disdain, and I’m beyond pissed off at his assumptions.

“Okay, I was serious when I said this needed to stop, Dane. I don’t need to let you talk down about me, and I sure as fuck don’t like your tone and insinuation that I’m a leech on my parents.”

Dane stands and narrows his eyes. “Tell me you pay rent and I’ll shut up then.” He smirks when I remain silent. “There you go, Burke. Daddy pays for your horse’s keep, a roof over your head, and even gives you a business!” He spreads his arms wide. “This whole place was yours without lifting a finger.”

My body shakes with anger as I step closer to him. “I wasn’t born into this, and I’ve worked hard to get where I am. You know nothing about my life before I joined this family!” My voice rises, and when the anger peaks, I can’t help it. “I couldn’t go to high school because I was bullied so badly. I couldn’t read fast enough to keep up.” My lips sneer at Dane, who has at least dropped his arms and seems somewhat apologetic, but he started it, and this is the last shot, or I’m ending all this now.

“My mom was an alcoholic, and my dad left. Neither of them cared to find me help when I fell behind in school. They placed me in foster care when I was eight. The first family wasn’t great. They let their older son terrorize me to the point I was afraid to speak because it meant I might get kicked in the ribs. The second family allowed me to have a pet rabbit, and that was a step up.” Tears prick behind my eyes, and I can’t stop even if I wanted to. “Until the man sold it at a livestock auction for money he claimed was to replace what he spent on new clothes for me!” I shove Dane’s chest so hard that his knees hit the sofa, and he tumbles down. “He sold my only friend because I needed new pants and made me feel like it was my fault. I ran away from every home they placed me in until one brought me to a 4H meeting, and I met my now-dad. Hunter gave up a lot for me, and if it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be dead.”

Goddammit, why do I do this? He just keeps pushing me, and then I snap like this. I hate being so out of control. If I’m not burning up thinking of kissing him, I’m wishing I could punch his stupid face.

“Warren, I—”

My chest heaves as I turn away from Dane with a clenched fist. “This is the last time, Dane. If you’re gonna keep being a prick, I can’t do this with you. I’ve come too far to let you take me down again. You treat me with respect, or it ends now.”

This wasn’t what I had planned today. Or ever. But if I didn’t clear the air and set him straight, this will never work. How many chances am I supposed to give the guy? On the bright side, my brothers and dads will be thrilled I stood up for myself so well. Shit, I’ve impressed myself even.

“I need this to work.” Dane’s voice is quiet, and I strain to listen. “I don’t have any schedules to check, but I…” I lift my head to find this man looking so uncertain it throws me. He’s always so confident. “I can’t contribute to any expenses until we win something. If that’s okay, then I want us to do this.”

I might be slow with reading and working with numbers, but I’m pretty good at reading people. Comes with the territory, along with a strong case of trusting no one but rabbits. Although they can be sketchy sometimes, too.

Dane is hiding something, and he sure as fuck doesn’t have allergies.

“No more comments, Dane. I mean it. I can’t…your words hurt, and I won’t listen to them anymore. I don’t need toxic trash talk from my partner.”

He hangs his head before meeting my gaze again, and I wish I knew what he kept hidden.

“I’ll do better.”

I nod because it’s all I can do and take his word for it. I shouldn’t trust him, but…I do. Maybe it’s because I know what his lips feel like against mine and how it felt to watch him let his guard down. He clears his throat, and when he looks up, it takes all my power not to hug him because he looks as broken as I feel. “How about we try this again tomorrow?”

“Yeah, that’s probably best. Want to practice? I can arrange for a few steers…or calves if you want to work on tie-down.”

“I think… we should talk more.” He stuffs his hands into his pockets. “I need to see my sister, but I’ll be back tomorrow. Around 9?”

“Sure.”

Dane exhales before turning to the door. He pauses in the doorway. “Despite how I’ve treated you when we were competing, Warren…. you’re the better roper, and I’ve always admired you.”

Then he’s gone. Leaving me staring at the empty doorway and more confused than ever.