Page 82 of Roping My Rival

“Probably, but I don’t call it fighting. It’s passionately debating.”

Leave it to my dad to positively spin every argument we’ve had.

“I understand how Dane feels alone and abandoned. We connect in the ring together because we connect well out of it. You know what I mean?”

Even when I hated Dane for beating me every time, every year, I was drawn to him in ways that I’m only now understanding. I don’t want to call it fate, but maybe it is something as profound as the universe pushing the right person into my path when I’d all but given up.

“This is more than just sex?” Dad asks.

“Yeah. I think…I think he’s a good man, and I’d be proud to share my life with him.”

Now those words lift a weight. I’ve not even said them out loud to Dane, but just saying them to someone sounds right.

“This might get messy for you and the school. You’ll need to loop your brothers in. Is he worth it?” Dad likes to get everything out front right away. No surprises. His question isn’t one filled with judgment, and I know that. He’s making sure this is what I want.

“Absolutely.”

Dad smiles and claps his hands together like we just ended a conversation about who has to mop the floor, and not me pouring my heart out and admitting I’m about to potentially risk everything he’s built for love.

“Great. Let’s get him over here and see what Pops needs.”

“Wait, Dad. What if the school’s reputation is harmed? Are you ready for that? You left it to us to build and protect, and now…” I trail off because it hurts to say out loud that I’ve let him down.

He stuffs his hands in his pockets, the fondness for me on his face clear.

“I’m ready for whatever my family needs. A business like this can recover if we lose people, but you know what won’t recover?” I shake my head. “Family that thinks we don’t support each other. I’ll always choose you over the school, Warren. Or Jesse or Clarence. That’s what family does.”

My eyes burn, and I swallow the emotion clogging my throat. “Thanks, Dad.”

He motions for me to stand up and hug. “One thing you learn as a parent is that the only thing better than helping your child is helping your child as an adult. Whether it’s giving you your room back while you sort out your life, or something a little more serious like this, it makes me feel needed. You didn’t just grow up and move on. You still need your dad now and then. It also means I did a pretty decent job with you.”

He drops a kiss on my head and ushers me forward.

“Come on. Let’s call your brothers and create a plan before you find Dane.”

Scrubbing a hand down my face, I ask Clarence to repeat it all back to me.

“Okay, the short version is we can make a deal for information that will keep Dane out of jail. What I can’t guarantee is the future in rodeo. He’s about to admit to fixing an event. Even off the pro circuit, they may sanction him.”

“Fuck. So it could end his career.”

I don’t know if he can handle that right now.

“It might. I can find someone with experience with that. Because he was under duress, they might just suspend him. I really can’t predict that one, Warren.”

Jesse rubs my shoulders. “He could still work at the school if the rodeo bans him. I know the background and why he did it.”

“It’s not the same. He needs rodeo money for Darla. What happens to her if he can’t pay?”

“Actually, when you told me about that, I was shocked to hear he’d been paying for her all this time. He’s eligible for help from the province, so he shouldn’t be paying out of pocket as much as he has. Do you know why he did that?” Clarence shuffles some papers around and produces one that he reads from. “I don’t know a lot about care like that, so I did a quick search. It’s usually based on income. If Dane gave his income and said he was a primary caregiver, he shouldn’t pay more than a percentage of his income for her place. Private care is a little different, but still…he should have been getting assistance this entire time.”

My heart cracks for Dane all over again. Stubborn or scared, he made his life harder than it had to be in the past few years.

“So he could have been doing better all this time if they’d just given him the right information!? What the fuck?”

“Maybe? I can make some calls to the home she’s in. If he didn’t give them all the information, they wouldn’t be aware, either. People lie on forms all the time.”

Dane said he just filled in information to get the space. He lied about income, and why would they think otherwise if he presented the money as asked?