“Bucket’s next to the cups.”
“Coke?”
“Nah. Crown’s good.”
Tucker handed him the red solo cup. “Here’s to Blythe,” he said.
“Why’d you have to come back?”
“What’d you expect?”
“Why, Tuck? Why is she affecting us this way? Shit. I thought I was in love with Irene, and she didn’t get under my skin this way.”
“Yeah, she did.”
“She did?”
“She’s all you thought about when you were in Spain.”
“So why Blythe?”
“I don’t have an answer for you, bro. I feel the same way you do.”
“I wanted to rip your face off when I saw you kissin’ her.”
“I know.”
“Best thing would be for both of us to leave her alone.”
“Not happenin’.”
“You’re not gonna give her up?”
“Nope.”
“So it’s up to me?”
“Yeah, it’s up to you.”
“She isn’t gonna want to have anything to do with either one of us.”
“Don’t matter.”
“I think you should come to work for me,” Lyric said after their second shot with a beer chaser.
“What are you talking about?”
“For RodeoChat. It’s growin’ faster than I can keep up with. I need help.”
Blythe laughed. “You want help from a girl who doesn’t know shit about rodeo?”
“You don’t seem to have any trouble attracting cowboys.”
Blythe laughed. “We are having fun, aren’t we?”
“Sure enough. But I’m not kidding. I need help. You can learn. I need someone who can help with interviews, make sure we’re getting the scores as they happen—not only around the country, but also around the world. Most of the job will be research, and it’s somethin’ you’ll have to be on top of, daily.”
“You’re serious?”