laughed. “Hell no. I’ve got a plethora of women at my disposal. Why would I want to give that up?”
“So no plans to slow down?” I asked.
He looked up at me from where he was sitting on the floor. “Slow down? I just won the world championship. I’m going to give it my all to win it again next year. Hell-to-the-no am I going to slow down. Not for anyone, especially one woman.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, a year ago I thought the same damn thing.”
“No offense, Tanner, but you and I are nothing alike. I like my endless flow of women who are eager to share my bed. I like the no commitment. The thrill of chasing a woman. I like my life exactly how it is. You may have acted like you played the field, but we both know the truth. You’ve most likely been itching to settle down for a while and just didn’t realize it.”
It wasn’t long ago that I thought along the same lines. Not as extreme as Dirk, who gave new meaning to the word manwhore. But a part of what he said was true. I had known something was missing for a while now. Just took me coming back home after a long-ass time on the road to finally figure it out.
I shrugged and gave him a smile. “You don’t see yourself wanting to settle down? Have a family?”
He scoffed. “A family! Bite your damn tongue, son!” He stood, his entire body shivering before he dropped back down on the mat. “Jesus, you’re giving me the heebie-jeebies, dude!”
“Heebie-jeebies?” I repeated as I tossed my head back in laughter. I glanced down at him as I walked by and said, “What are you, in middle school?”
Dirk laughed and then bent his back so much that I nearly gagged at how he was contorting his body.
“Right, I’m going to let you get back to your…yoga. Have fun.”
Dirk drew in a deep breath, then let it out. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on, Tanner.”
Grabbing another feed bucket on my way out of the barn, I called out, “I’ll take your word for it, Dirk.”
As I continued walking away from him, I mumbled under my breath, “What the fuck happened to you, dude?”
We all spent the rest of the day getting everything ready for a major storm that was approaching later in the evening. Needless to say, everyone was running around like the damn world was ending. It was the first major winter storm of the season, and it looked to be a big one.
“Did you get the water trough heaters in?” my father asked as he walked into the small office in the main barn.
Brock sat at the desk as Ty looked over Brock’s shoulder as they read the weather report. I sat in the corner, attempting to rest my body for a few minutes. I’d been going nonstop since daylight.
“Yes, they’re all in,” Ty answered, not looking over at my father.
“What are they looking at?” Dad asked, sitting down next to me.
“The latest weather report. Sounds like it’s going to be worse than they thought. I’m thinking we bring the horses in from the pastures.”
Dad nodded. “There’s plenty of room in the barns; let’s do it.”
I stood. “I’ll take Rosie—she doesn’t mind the wind and she’s already in the barn.”
Brock turned and looked at me. “Rosie isn’t in the barn.”
“What do you mean? I put her in the stall a few hours ago next to the new mare we got in. I figured if anyone could calm that mare, it would be Rosie.”
Ty and Brock exchanged a concerned look. “Tanner, I just checked the water in all the stalls in the main barn, Rosie’s stall was empty. I wasn’t sure if you turned her out again or what. I meant to ask you and got sidetracked.”
A feeling of dread came over me for some reason. Had she gotten out somehow?
A light knock came on the office door, and our mom poked her head in.
She looked directly at me and asked, “Do you know when Timberlynn will be back? She said she was only going on a short ride, since bad weather was coming in later.”
“A ride?” I asked. The dread I had felt only moments ago quickly turned to full-on fear.
“Yes, she said she was going to ask you boys if she could take Rosie out for a ride. About an hour-and-a-half ago. She said she’d be gone an hour, maybe less. I thought maybe