“Break’s over. Back to business.” She turned away from him and was almost up the porch steps when he caught up to her again.
“You got somethin’ against kids?”
She felt the heat rise in her cheeks. “Kids? As in your two children? Or as in you, Bullet? I have no problem with the former; it’s the latter that makes me shake my head.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Never mind. None of my business. See you later.” Tristan closed the front door behind her, leaving him standing on the porch.
Bullet kicked at the dirt. “Shit.” Between last night and just now, he’d felt Tristan easing up on him. When he took her hand, she’d come along willingly. She was smiling when they lay in the grass. And when he rested his hand close enough that his pinky touched hers, she hadn’t moved it away. Even when Grey barreled on top of him, she hadn’t tensed up. It wasn’t until his phone call that she moved away from him.
It hadn’t occurred to him that she didn’t know he had a daughter too. Was it really so bad that he did?
“Damn judgmental woman,” he mumbled.
“Damn, damn, damn,” Grey sang as he ran around Bullet’s legs.
“If I said a hundred words, you’d pick out the only curse word and make that your song, wouldn’t you, Grey?”
His little boy smiled when Bullet picked him up. “Voom, voom?”
“Yep, that sounds good. Time for you and me to go for a ride.”
Bullet strapped Grey into the buddy seat. “I gotta get away from here for a bit.”
“Where’s he goin’?” Lyric asked Tristan.
“No idea. He got a phone call about meeting someone. Something about picking up his daughter.”
“Finally. I called Pearl’s mother this morning and gave her a piece of my mind. He hasn’t seen his daughter in almost two months. That wasn’t the agreement. Not even close. But that isn’t where he’s headed now. She lives in Texas. It’ll take a bit more plannin’ for that meetup.”
Tristan shook her head. She didn’t care. She’d given too much thought to Bullet as it was. She didn’t want to know any other details about his life. Her first impression had been spot on. What you saw with Bullet was what you got. Twenty new riders were plenty for her to sponsor this year. Adding one more wouldn’t be happening.
“Course callin’ her Pearl only made her mad. But I don’t care. She can’t keep his little girl from him.”
Tristan wanted to put her hands over her ears. She didn’t want to be curious about Bullet, or his kids. “Why did calling her Pearl make her mother mad?” Dammit. Why had she asked?
“Her name is Hannah.”
“Then why does he call her Pearl?” Tristan shook her head again. She was getting further into his business rather than out of it. What was wrong with her?
“He wanted to name the baby Pearl. Her mother didn’t agree. That was after he knew for sure the baby was his. I doubt he gave much thought to it before the DNA test.”
He needed a DNA test to know the baby was his? Jeez. It was even worse than she thought. She often wondered if the bull rider who broke her heart had any kids. Probably. He and Bullet were so much alike. Hadn’t she learned her lesson the first time?
“I can’t do this,” she said more to herself than to Lyric. “We’ve got a meeting.” Tristan huffed off in the direction of the lower level of the house, where the meetings were taking place.
Two hours later, the contracts were signed. Liv helped her record the measurements of the barrel racers while Lyric helped Jace record the bronc and bull riders’ sizes.
“Have you shown Lyric your new designs?” Liv asked quietly.
“No, just you so far. I don’t know…” She’d pulled her sketchbook out a half-dozen times to show Lyric, as well as some of the barrel racers, and then put it away moments later. Were her designs as good as Liv said they were, or was her friend being polite?
“Show Lyric, at least.”
“Maybe later.”
“No, now.” Liv walked over to Lyric before Tristan could stop her. “Ask Tristan to show you the new women’s line; the designs are fabulous.” Liv smiled in Tristan’s direction.