tonight. I think I’ll do some work on the computer, then call it a night.”
* * *
TWO DAYS AFTER the encounter with his father, Matt ended up with a temporary horse. He had no idea if his dad was involved, if it was some kind of peace offering, but Alvie Maynard, one of Matt’s early roping mentors and an old friend of his father’s, called and offered a mare for lease with an option to buy. Matt jumped on the deal, asking no questions that he didn’t want the answers to.
His new mount, Snigs, was in good shape and fast. Not as fast as Ready or Beckett, but definitely competitive and she had good calf sense. She was also rough as hell on the stops. On the second catch, Matt jumped off early and almost went down. He limped to the calf and threw the animal, pain tearing through his joint.
“You okay?” Craig hollered across the arena.
“Stitch in my side,” Matt yelled back.
Something had to give.
That night he fell asleep while checking standings with an ice bag on his swollen knee. He woke up with a Ziploc bag of water on the floor next to his feet and his laptop about to slide down to join it. Matt caught the computer and dragged it back into position and then reached down to cautiously touch the ruined joint, gritting his teeth at the pain.
He needed stronger anti-inflammatory medication and he needed something for pain. He was tired of piddling around, practicing less intensely than he should.
It was time to do something about it.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“I HAVE GOSSIP,” Etta said.
Liv was not surprised. Etta not only had acute hearing, but she also haunted Facebook and had a huge network of friends. “Is it good gossip?”
Etta shook her head. “Disturbing.”
“Yeah?” Liv had a bad feeling.
“Well, maybe not disturbing, but troubling...”
“Etta?”
“Matt Montoya was calf roping down at the arena with the other ropers.”
“So?” Liv knew he was doing breakaway at home with the help of Craig. She’d learned that from Etta earlier that week.
“He’s throwing calves and tying. And he’s not limping afterward.” Liv stopped going through her files. “Not even a little,” the receptionist added significantly.
“Did you see him?”
“As a matter of fact, I did. Not only that, I asked him if he had any trouble finding Dr. McElroy. He just smiled.”
That didn’t mean he was using McElroy, but Liv didn’t like the sound of it.
“Was he wearing his brace?”
“Yes, but—” Etta pressed her magenta-tinted lips together “—go see for yourself. You practice tomorrow, right? Just wander over to the roping arena and take a look. I bet he’s there and you’ll see what I mean.”
“It’s Matt’s life,” Liv said as she headed for the PT room. Matt’s life, Matt’s leg, and even if she hated the thought of him shooting himself up with painkillers, it was none of her business.
* * *
MATT WAS LOADING the dishwasher. It was his turn since Craig had put the frozen lasagna into the oven and poured dressing over the lettuce.
“I know your mom doesn’t want you going to your friend Benny’s house,” Matt said as he scraped left over lettuce into the trash, “but maybe he could come over here. Do you think she’d be okay with that?” Matt was becoming concerned about the kid spending all his time either with him or alone.
Craig shook his head from where he sat at the computer. “Benny’s off seeing his real dad for six weeks.”
“Where’s his dad?”
“Dakota oil fields. I guess Benny gets to stay in his dad’s trailer and play video games all day. He doesn’t miss his sisters one bit.”
“Or so he says.”
“I guess, but come on...six little sisters? Pfft.”
“Yeah. That does seem like a lot.”
“And since he’s the only boy and the only stepkid in the family, he feels kind of weird sometimes, you know?”
“I can imagine.”
Matt wondered if Craig knew who his father was. Willa hadn’t ever told anyone, but there’d been quite a bit of speculation at the Montoya dinner table whenever Matt had mustered up the strength to go to Sunday dinners.
And that in turn made him wonder if Ryan knew that Charles was his father. Surely he would have rubbed it into Matt’s face by now if he did know.
“I thought practice went pretty good tonight,” Craig said. “And I liked the part where Jed almost fell off his horse when he got the phone call.”
Matt laughed. Looking back it’d been comical, but at the time he’d been concerned. Jed hadn’t wanted