her much time to get home after this last patient, but it also didn’t give her too much time to think. She liked that last part because she was still thinking about Matt. It seemed pretty damned impossible not to.
* * *
MATT DIDN’T GO home immediately because he didn’t want Craig to key into his mood. The kid was remarkably astute and right now, Matt would just as soon keep his frustrations to himself.
What if the experts were right? He’d had three opinions and they all agreed that his career was over.
Could he deal with that?
Not now. He’d always figured he’d choose the time to retire, not have it forced upon him. Damn it, he wasn’t ready to stop competing.
He tossed a rock into the river, watched the ripples. He couldn’t remember a time when rodeo competition wasn’t important to him. It’d been how he and his father had bonded when he’d been very young, and later it had been the only way he could deal with his feelings after discovering his father’s betrayal.
Another rock broke the surface of the water. He quickly threw a third rock, destroying the ripples from the second, and felt an odd satisfaction.
The fish were rising and for a moment he stopped tossing pebbles and watched as the bubbles came closer.
He and the old man had fished, too. They’d done a lot of things, but finding out about Ryan had pretty much ruined everything—his hero worship, his respect. Pretty much everything in his relationship with his dad had gone sideways.
And the old man had no one to blame but himself.
He wondered, as always, if his father knew he knew. Matt didn’t know how his dad would have found out, but he had to wonder.
So let him.
Matt got to his feet and headed for the truck. Craig was probably polishing the silver by now, or he would be if Matt had any.
Maybe he should show the kid how to clean and polish bits, spurs and conchos. Keep Craig busy while keeping his gear nice. Something to think about.
Something else to think about was why Liv had comped his visit. There’d been a healthy vibe humming between them as she’d examined him and there’d even been a point while she’d been running those small hands of hers over his lower thigh when he’d been pretty damned certain that he was going to embarrass himself. And her.
She was still nervous about him taking Beckett back, yet she’d come to warn him off McElroy. Challenged him to come see her. So he’d gone. Out of curiosity, really, and a vague hope that maybe she could help.
Instead, she’d given him her blunt opinion, comped the visit, wished him good luck, sent him on his way. She could just as easily have lied to him and told him she could help him get better. Strung him along, taken his insurance money, more importantly, kept him from seeking help from the doctor whose practices she so deeply disapproved of. But she hadn’t.
Again, why? It didn’t add up.
And why did it matter to him?
* * *
TIM WAS SITTING on the porch when Matt parked in his usual spot under the elm tree. Amazing that he’d been here so often that he had a usual spot.
Tim stood as soon as Matt started toward him, moving carefully since he wasn’t wearing his brace. “Liv’s not here. And neither is her horse.” Tim wiped his hands on the sides of his pants, as if preparing to settle a score. Next thing he’d be spitting on his fists and getting ready to fight.
“That’s why I’m here.”
That got the older man’s attention—and maybe not in a good way, judging from the scowl on his face. But then Tim had never been a big smiler.
Matt shoved his hands into his back pockets and looked around, assessing the damage, before focusing once again on Tim. It was pretty obvious from the way Tim’s scowl deepened that he was aware of Matt’s train of thought, so Matt didn’t waste any time outlining the situation. Instead, he simply said, “I can help.”
“Help with what?”
“Help you get this place back into shape.” If anything, Tim’s expression darkened even more. “I don’t know what happened,” Matt continued, “and it isn’t my business. But if you need a hand getting things set right again, I have some time I can give you.”
“Must be nice.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s swell,” Matt said in a voice edged in bitter irony. “But a guy can only rope a dummy for