Get Bucked (The Valentine Boys 4)

He grimaced and then rolled over onto his back.

“I don’t know what happened,” he admitted. “But I do remember that I had a really shitty couple of hours before I started drinking.”

I looked at him worriedly.

“What happened?” I pushed.

He looked at the ceiling for a couple more long seconds before saying, “I think I broke up with my family.”

I tilted my head on the pillow and said, “How does one break up with their family?”

He scrubbed his hands over his face so hard that I worried for the state of the skin on his face.

“I told them that I found a job at the college,” he answered, sounding sick. “And then I told them that I was working for the forestry service as well… and they lost their shit.”

I listened as he explained the previous day’s events, then looked at him with surprise as he finished up.

“I don’t think they meant it to come out that way,” I finally decided on. “They’re happy that you’re out there making a living. And if what you said was true, that they didn’t actually need you at the ranch, then I’m not sure why they’re pissed.”

He nodded resolutely.

“I have to go over there and do my shit that I promised I would keep doing,” he finally said, jack-knifing out of bed. “Then I have to find a place to stay.”

I’m not sure how or why the next words came out of my mouth, but they did.

“Stay here,” I blurted.

He frowned.

“What?”

I got up with him, very aware that I was only in a t-shirt and panties, and made my way over to stand in front of him.

“My dad called last night,” I said softly. “He’s not coming back here.”

He frowned. “Why? He just bought this place to live here.”

I sighed, then shifted on my feet uncomfortably.

“He found a woman to live with,” I muttered. “And he’s pretty sure that he’s going to marry her.”

His mouth fell open.

“Is this the one he was with a couple of weeks ago?” he asked.

I nodded my head.

My dad had met a woman at a rodeo in Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago. She was actually the reason he wasn’t at the house that he just purchased, and the reason that I was here.

I wasn’t aware that Darby knew about the woman, though.

Because if he did know about her, it meant that my father wasn’t hiding her.

Which also meant that it really was serious.

My dad didn’t flaunt his conquests around.

He was a private man since my mother had left him. And for him to be introducing the woman around to the rodeo crowd, it meant that shit really was serious.

“Yes,” I mumbled, raising my hands to my hair and running my fingers through it. “I’m starving. I’ll go with you, and then we can go get breakfast, and we can talk about you staying.” I paused. “I’m going to need help fixing up the place since my dad isn’t here to do it. I’ve been waiting… but there are just things I have no clue how to do. And things that I’m not sure if I need a licensed professional for. And, from past experience, I know that contractors deal with men better than they deal with women.”

He frowned harder.

I turned my back on him, bent over, then picked my pants up from last night.

After slipping them on, I turned back around to see him still staring at me.

“Let’s go, or they’re going to be awake and want to talk to you,” I ordered, snapping my fingers at him.

That got him moving.

After disappearing into the bathroom, he came back out fully clothed and a lot more presentable.

I kind of hated to see his bare chest covered.

In fact, I wasn’t even going to look into the fact of why I was so sad.

I was going to ignore it.

I was going to pretend that it wasn’t as big of a deal as it probably was.

Instead, I walked to the front door and ushered him out of it.

I blinked at the complete darkness.

“It is five in the morning, correct?” I asked, looking at the sky.

Darby walked to his truck, but made a detour to my door and held it open for me.

“It’s supposed to storm like a motherfucker,” he told me. “Do you need to be at the Apache?”

I nodded. “At nine.”

He looked up at the clouds again, then shook his head.

“I doubt that you’ll be going today,” he said. “My guess, you’re going to be getting a call real quick. He’ll hear the storm. He’ll say ‘fuck it.’ Then he’ll text or call saying that you should stay home today.”

I frowned.

“If I stay at home,” I said. “Then I don’t get paid.”

Darby was already shaking his head. “Actually, he’ll probably pay you. Gibson is really good to his people.”

I wanted to know more about Gibson and Darby, but I wasn’t sure if that was too invasive. If it was something that was considered too personal to discuss with a potential roommate.