“Me too,” admitted Bill. “Now, where did you get the idea I was gonna fire you?”
“I left the filly out, for starters.”
“You think that’s firin’ grounds?” Bill shook his head. “You’re mighty hard on yourself, son.”
Bullet hung his head and let out a deep breath. “I’m feelin’ like a screw-up lately. Wouldn’t blame you, is all I was sayin’.”
“Put that foolish notion outta your head. We have work to do, startin’ with loadin’ broncs into trailers. If I was gonna fire you, which I’m not, I’d sure as hell wait until after that job was done.”
“When we goin’ back?” Bullet no longer felt like laughing. Heading back to Black Forest meant he was running out of time to get Tristan into his bed, and out of his head.
“Not until tomorrow mornin’.”
Good. That meant he still had tonight.
“Livvie’s got another shindig planned for tonight. Just partners and crew this time. No new riders.”
Even better. He’d basically have Tristan all to himself.
“You can’t leave until tomorrow. Stay one more night, at least.”
“I don’t know; I really should get back.”
“If you stay until Tuesday, Ben can fly you back.”
Tristan couldn’t stay until Tuesday, and she couldn’t ask Ben to fly her across the country again so soon.
“I appreciate it, but—”
“Go home tomorrow instead.”
“Liv, you’re being silly.”
“There’s a party tonight, just for the partners. Billy and Jace are gonna be mad if you miss it.”
Tristan folded her arms in front of her. “Really?” she smirked. “They’re going to be mad at me?”
“As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I knew you wouldn’t buy it. How about this? I’m begging you to stay.”
“Liv—”
“Wait. I’ve got one better. If you stay, I’ll invest in your new clothing line.”
That got Tristan’s attention. The idea had been in the back of her mind, and was one of the reasons she hadn’t broached the subject with her father yet. She’d been contemplating producing the line on her own. Making it separate from Lost Cowboy.
“Aha! That got you thinking, didn’t it?” Liv reached around and patted herself on the back. “I knew I could get you to stay.”
“Are you serious, or do you just want me to stay?”
The expression on Liv’s face changed. She was no longer joking. “I’m very serious. And I’m not the only one interested.”
“Who else?”
“Lyric, Dottie, Bree, Renie. I’m sure Paige, who’s Bree and Blythe’s mother, would be interested too. She’s the real businesswoman of the bunch.”
“You’re kidding?”
“I’m not.”