be mistaken. Lisa was not the flirting type. She was too serious, too straight-laced. As a matter of fact, he thought she was a bit of a snob.
Obviously, she wanted the bed.
“I can handle the floor. I spent many days sleeping under the stars in Montana mostly during round-up. At least there’s a carpet here.”
Lisa seemed surprised by what he’d said. “I knew you were from Montana, but I didn’t know you did real cowboy stuff.”
“Bull riding isn’t real cowboy stuff?”
“I think of it more like a sport,” she said.
He shrugged. “You’re right. Bull riding isn’t something that occurs on a typical day on the ranch. I only got on bulls at the ranch to practice. Now I practice at my buddies’ ranches. Someone always has a spread near the events.”
Suddenly her eyes grew wide. “Wait a minute. You had a ranch?”
“Sure did. The Mountain View Ranch in Elsie, Montana. The best place in the world.” He’d loved the place while he had it. “But I sold it to a buddy. Riding the PBR circuit, I was never there.”
He and Sid Peterson had a handshake agreement. If Sid ever wanted to sell, Sully had first dibs on it, but that would never happen. Not now. Not when he had Rick’s daughter to raise back at the big old Victorian in Salmon Falls, New York.
He sighed. If he ever went back to Montana now, it’d only be to visit.
“Funny, I never pictured you as the ranching type,” Lisa said.
“Which means?” He raised an eyebrow.
“I guess I always had you pictured as tumbling tumbleweed.”
“Just drifting along, huh? Just like you? Isn’t that what our respective parents pointed out?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes. “I so want to prove to them that we can be good guardians to Rose.”
“I know.” But proving to his parents that he could do anything major like raising Rose seemed too much of a long shot. However, his brother Rick had been Gordon and Betsy Sullivan’s pride and joy. A Wall Street millionaire, who didn’t even have to work on Wall Street, he had been a total success. He’d even married the perfect woman. They’d adored Carol, and when Rick had put their first grandchild into their arms, he’d become even more perfect, if that was possible.
Sully could never be jealous of Rick. Rick was a great guy, a stand-up guy, a good-natured guy and a terrific big brother. Rick would have gone to the wall for him, and Sully would have returned the favor.
However, Brett Sullivan, second son, was a big disappointment to the Colonel and Mrs. Sullivan. He chose the cowboy lifestyle instead of a civil service job or the army. He did go to West Point briefly after high school, which got their hopes up, but he wasn’t there long enough to unpack before he hitchhiked to the first PBR event.
He’d be considered by many to be a nomad, a rolling stone, a carefree cowboy who was doing what he wanted and living from go-round to go-round. His relationships with the opposite sex were mutually satisfying and perfectly shallow. That’s the way he wanted it. Then he moved on.
How did that old country song go? Something about never loving a woman enough to stay—instead a cowboy saddles up and rides away.
“Sully?” Lisa said. “A penny for your thoughts?”
“They aren’t worth that much.”
“The day went well. Don’t you think?” Lisa asked.
He knew that she wanted him to say yes.
“Sure. It was a great day. We didn’t fight. Rose laughed a lot and enjoyed the long ride, mostly because you played with her. She loved splashing in the pool. And now she’s sleeping like a three-year-old should.”
“You were the one who made her laugh. I was the one who was making sure she didn’t drown.” Lisa yawned, then stood. “I’m still nervous about us raising her.”
“You have to relax, Lisa. You hover over her too much.”
“And you need to hover more!”
“Look, Lisa, anyone in their right mind would be nervous about raising children. We both love her, so it’ll be easy. I think that confidence will come in time. If not confidence, then at least competence.”
Her eyes grew large with surprise. “You are absolutely right about that!”
Her reaction made something in him wake up after a long sleep. Maybe he was lacking confidence and competence in his personal life. In his bull riding career, he’d always had plenty of both.
However, according to his parents, he had no track record of doing anything right.
So what made him think he could do right by Rose?
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