Tori makes this sound of disbelief. “So you’re totally cool with her dating someone else? Her being ‘corrupted’ by someone else?” The blood drains from Logan’s face, and Tori’s voice softens. “Maybe you should think about that before you dismiss her as someone you could be interested in.”
She’s right. One day Joey is gonna wake up and stop trailing behind my brother.
Tori gives Logan a sympathetic smile. “I don’t mean to hurt your feelings. I think you’re a good guy, but sometimes it’s hard to appreciate something that’s been staring you in the face for so long, and I don’t want you to lose out on a great woman because you’re worried it’s complicated.”
I love that she’s a straight shooter. She’s just expressed everything my family has always wondered about Joey and Logan’s non-relationship relationship.
He doesn’t say anything, which is surprising since he always has something to say about everything. After a few quiet minutes, Tori twists in my lap. “Are you feeling good about court this week?”
Groaning, I rest my head against her shoulder. “Not really, but there’s not much I can do. We’ve already submitted all of the financial docs the judge requested, which is why the office looked like a tornado had blasted through here.” Gave me a heart attack, trying to hunt down the tax returns while my brother pieced together our profit-and-loss statements for the year.
The thought of what might happen on Friday makes a cold sweat break out on my neck. “I’m hoping for the best. For the judge to see we’re maxed out already. For him to accept the verbal agreement I had with Allison before she decided she was out for blood.”
I glare at the giant file folder on the corner of my desk that has copies of everything we gave to our attorney, more than a little resentful I have to drag my family’s private business through court because of my mistakes.
“Can I ask a dumb question?”
I’m learning that Tori never asks dumb questions. “You can always ask me anything.”
“Do you guys ever compete in these?”
She reaches into the trash and, like a magnifying glass straight to my heart, pulls out a flyer for the Triple Crown Futurity, which is the premier cutting horse competition that takes place each year in Fort Worth.
“Nope.” That’s the easy answer. The other answer pains me too much to voice.
Logan stalks off the couch and snatches the flyer out of her hand. “You’d think with the four-million-dollar purse, we’d consider it, right?”
“You know that’s divided up a hundred ways for different events. One person doesn’t win all that.”
“But one person could win a big chunk, bro.”
“Why don’t y’all compete? I’m assuming your horses are at the top of their game, right?” She looks between me and my brother.
I scratch the stubble on my chin. “Yeah, they’re well trained. Some of our riders compete.”
“But… you don’t?” she asks.
Now that she’s redirected her attention from Logan’s dating to my lackluster life goals, I’m not as eager to see where this goes.
I stand, needing some space, and slide her off my lap.
Logan answers in my silence. “He used to. That’s how he’s licensed to train cutters now, and Dad thought Ethan would compete after college. That was the plan, at least.”
“Plans go to shit. Dad died. Allison got pregnant. We couldn’t afford to send you to college.” I don’t mean to bark at him, but I’m tired of revisiting these old wounds.
“Don’t take that on too,” he argues. “I didn’t want to go to college. Not my scene. And to answer your question, Tori, if we want to stay competitive in this business, weshouldbe entering the Futurity.”
A bitter laugh bursts out of me. “Yeah? With what time? I’m already busting my ass from dusk till dawn. Sure, we might win some money, but who’s gonna pay for all that travel? For the number of cattle we need to increase the training? For the new trailer we’d need to haul our asses all the way to Fort Worth? For the entry fees? They’re a goddamn fortune.”
“Why do you need more cattle?” Tori asks, propping herself on my desk like she owns the place, which, despite my irritation, I kinda like.
I rub my face, wishing she hadn’t brought up this topic, which only reminds me of all the ways I’m letting down my father.
Fortunately, Logan answers again. “We use cattle from a neighboring ranch to train our horses, but to compete on a bigger scale, we’d need a larger lot of animals because, after a while, those cows get used to the horses and stop responding the way they will in the arena. They get sour and don’t wanna play.”
She laughs and picks up the flyer again. “It’s funny to think of cows playing.”
“I don’t know if they enjoy it,” I add with a chuckle. “They just wanna get away from the big bossy horse in front of them, but the horses are definitely playing. The good ones, the ones who have cutting in their blood, they’re playing from the minute they enter the pen. You can feel it in the saddle and the way they move. They love it.”
