Hitching the Cowboy (Circle B Ranch 1)

All he does is nod. I wonder if Ma is worried about me getting hurt too. Being married is a change, for damn sure, but one I’m willing to make. All I want is for Zoey to be happy. We deserve each other in a way that I don’t think most people understand. I know that down to the core of my being. Zoey. My wife. I’m completely in-fucking-fatuated with her. Though everything happened so quickly, it’s already impossible to imagine her not being in my life. I’ve never met anyone like her before.

“You know, it only took a few days for me to feel the same way about your mother, yet there was a point in my life when I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again, and it practically destroyed me. It worked out for us, but not everyone is so lucky. I support you and whatever you do. I know you’re smitten, that much is obvious, but marriage isn’t easy once the honeymoon phase wears off. There are ups and downs, and you gotta be able to communicate and work through them. Spend this time really getting to know her. Everything about her. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And she needs to know your quirks too.”

“Thankfully, I don’t have anything to hide. Open book right here.” I shrug.

Dad laughs. “Whatever you say.”

We finish working on the tractor, and he starts it up, then moves it back into the barn. After he hops off, I look at him.

“Mom put you up to talking to me, didn’t she?” I arch a brow at him, suspicious.

The smirk gives him away. “Even though I’m not concerned about you, she is. You’re a Bishop, so I know how this works. It’s hard for women to walk away from us because we’re so damn addicting.” He winks, not at all too proud to admit it.

I shake my head, chuckling. “And that’s exactly how I was born.”

After we’re finished, I check my phone and see I have a text from my mother to come over and pick up some leftovers. I show Dad, and he gives me a pointed look. Groaning, I release a slow breath. “Great.”

“Might as well call it a day. We’re pretty much done anyway. You better not make her wait. She’s on the night shift and will be leaving soon,” he tells me as I walk toward my truck.

I turn and look at him. “Anything else I need to know?”

“Just tell her you’re using protection,” he calls out, and I can see he’s laughing when he turns around.

“I am!” I yell. I hop in the truck and drive across the property to my parents’ house. I walk inside, take off my hat, and see Mom has containers stacked a mile high to the ceiling. Rowan’s digging in the fridge, and Mom is nowhere to be found.

“Oh.” She turns around and screams. “Who the fuck are you?”

I narrow my eyes at her and shake my head at her dramatics. “What’re you talking about?”

“Riley, thank God.” She holds her hand to her heart. “Didn’t recognize you without your shaggy hair. Looks like your wife is changing you already. Gettin’ haircuts and taking showers these days. Damn, ya got hitched and turned into a brand-new man. Who woulda thought?”

“Riley,” my mother calls out from behind me. I turn around and see her dressed in scrubs with her hair in a high ponytail. Mom loves her job at the hospital, taking care of premature babies. She gives Rowan a pointed look, and within a few seconds, Rowan slinks out of the kitchen, and it’s just us.

“Before you even say anything, we’re using protection,” I blurt out.

She tilts her head at me, giving me a confused look. “Good for you…”

I groan, realizing Dad set me up. “That’s not what you wanted to talk to me about?”

Letting out a soft laugh, she grins. “I didn’t want this food to go to waste. But I will admit I’m worried about you falling too hard and too fast, and then things not working out the way you want them to.”

Glancing over at her, I scrub my palms over my face and exhale deeply. “Do you like Zoey?” I ask as she places the containers in reusable bags.

I know I’m putting her on the spot, but I have to know.

She moves closer to me, patting my cheek as she’s done since I was a young boy. “Yes, I do. I think she’s a nice girl.”

“That’s all I need to know. Ma, I already got the speech from Dad today. I know y’all care about me and think this could end badly, but Zoey’s special, and it’s all gonna work out.”

“I don’t think a girl would come all this way for nothing, Riley. It’s obvious she genuinely cares about you. I see the way she looks at you. How she laughs at your jokes. There’s admiration there, and she respects you. But is it enough to keep her here?”