Always Enough (Meet Me in Montana #2) - Kelly Elliott Page 0,68
his beer down. “Looks like he’s ready for a change.”
I shot a look in his direction, but he chose to ignore it.
“My dad’s going to be fucking heartbroken. I mean, he’ll be happy for Ty. Both Mom and Dad will, of course.”
“Maybe this will be a good thing for him?” Lincoln offered.
Right at that moment, Tanner walked up. “Dude, did you get a text from Ty?”
Brock nodded his head. “Yeah, looks like he’s going to entertain it this time.”
“This time?” Lincoln asked, a confused expression on her face.
“Yeah, CBS approached him before about it, but Ty turned them down,” Brock answered.
A million things raced through my mind. Would this mean Tanner would have to stay and help on the ranch? Surely not. They could hire someone like they had before, when Ty was on the PBR tour. How long would Ty be gone? Days? Weeks?
More importantly, how many women would be throwing themselves at him?
My hand went to my stomach, and I fought to hold down the urge to puke at that last thought.
Then I felt all eyes on me. I swallowed hard and met Dirk’s gaze.
“Excuse me.” I was barely able to get the words out without my voice cracking. I quickly turned and walked as fast as I could in my Louis Vuitton pumps.
The moment I walked out onto the patio, I dragged in a deep breath. Seconds later, I felt someone standing behind me.
“Want to talk about it?” Dirk asked.
I shook my head.
“Okay. Want me to hold you while you cry?”
I turned and walked into his outstretched arms. “It’s all my fault, Dirk. He’s leaving because of me.”
“Shh, that’s not true, Kaylee.”
It was true. The look on his face when I’d mentioned Channing . . . I’d never be able to forget it.
I groaned into Dirk’s tux as he gently swayed in a rocking motion side to side. His attempt to make things better.
“Brock and Tanner are going to hate me. Oh my God, Stella and Ty Senior will never forgive me!”
Dirk pulled back and looked down at me. “Kaylee, listen to me. Ty does what Ty wants to do. He always has, he always will. And as far as his family goes, they have always supported their sons in whatever they’ve wanted to do. Maybe this is a good thing for Ty.”
I looked up at him, stunned into silence.
“Just hear me out on this. Ty’s been fighting some serious demons the last few years, ever since the accident. He’s missed that world—no one can argue that. After the accident, when he was told he would never get on a bull again, something inside him changed. We all saw it. Then the pain replaced the sadness, and he got lost in the pain-pill addiction. Something in him has changed again over this last year.”
I looked down at the ground, only to have Dirk place his finger on my chin and lift my eyes to his. “You are what has changed him, and I know that scares him.”
“Why?” I asked, my voice sounding wobbly. I hated sounding weak.
“You make him feel something he hasn’t ever felt before. The old Ty would have had a beautiful woman on his arm tonight, then would have left early to most likely fuck her and walk away. Brock told me Ty hasn’t been hooking up with anyone, not since you walked into his life.”
“I don’t know what to do, Dirk. I don’t know if my heart can take another heartbreak. When I lost John, I lost a part of myself to a dark pit of sadness, regret, and blame, and I thought I’d never crawl out of it.”
“But you did.”
“With a lot of help from my therapist.”
“Ty is stuck in his own personal hell. He’s already lost the one thing that he thought made him who he was. Bull riding. Now imagine a part of him coming to life again, and you’re the reason. He’s probably scared shitless. And the Shaw brothers are not ones who like feeling scared.”
I smiled and let a soft chuckle free. “How do you know he feels that way toward me?”
Dirk tossed his head back and laughed. “All you have to do is look at the poor bastard when you’re anywhere near him. He can’t keep his eyes off of you, Kaylee. And tonight he looked like he wanted to rip Channing’s head off when you were dancing with him. Hell, I thought I was gonna get punched when he realized you were my date.”