Even feeling as pissed as he did at himself, he couldn’t let that go. He’d never, ever taken advantage of Callie, and he never would.
“Give me more credit than that, Boone. I know we don’t know each other all that well, but you know that I care about her. Hell, I wouldn’t put myself in this position if I didn’t. It’s for her. It’s not for my benefit. I’m not going to be able to offer anything beyond this. But this is what she wanted. She needed someone to marry her, and I stepped up to do it. And I submitted myself to being at this family Christmas nonsense, when I’d frankly rather stick my dick in an anthill. So, you should know that whatever I do, she’s at the center of it. You can’t actually be a hell of a lot more protective of her than I am.”
“I’m her older brother,” he said. “I assure you I am more protective of her than you’ll ever be. And if my sister cries for any reason at all, I’m going to be there to make sure that whoever caused those tears is punished. Don’t be the object of my punishment, Daniels. Because you won’t like it.”
“Noted. But just so we’re clear, your brand of protection doesn’t seem to be what she wants. At all. In fact, the whole lot of you seem to be protecting her as long as it’s on your terms. You may not like what I’m doing here, but everything I’ve done, she’s asked me to do. Everything I’ve done, she’s wanted.”
Boone frowned. “I mean, good. But I don’t need to know about the intimate details of your time with my sister.”
“No, I don’t suppose. Because then you’d have to acknowledge that she’s a grown woman and a whole person, not any different than you. She should get what she wants, because she’s worked for it. And she should sleep with whoever she wants—God knows why it’s me, but it is. I respect that—you should work on that.”
“It’s not about respect,” Boone said, “whether you believe it or not. I lost a sister that I loved very much. She was sick. No one could keep her safe from that. I can keep Callie safe. So I have. If you fail? Well, I wouldn’t want to be you.”
And just like that, everything was beginning to feel like it might be falling apart. But when he went back in the house and closed the door behind them, Callie was sitting at the dining room table with a cup of coffee, staring straight ahead. And he knew that he couldn’t show any of the negative feelings he was having, because she needed to feel comforted right now. And he was going to have to be the one to do it.
“It’s fine,” he said, sitting at the table across from her.
She looked up at him, her eyes glossy. “Is it?”
“Yes, Callie. It is. Because I’ve got you. I promise. I do.”
She laughed, a watery sound. “You know, I need to talk to my dad. About... The trust fund. I mean, I have to make sure that I get him our marriage license and all of that. And it’s uncomfortable, because I don’t want to draw attention to things, and now Boone knows and—”
“Boone’s not going to make any trouble.” He put his hand out and covered hers. “We got this.”
“Do we?”
“Yes.”
And this, at least, he knew how to do. He knew how to be Callie Carson’s friend. So today, that was what he would be. And he would worry about the rest later.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CALLIE KNEW SHE needed to talk to her dad. But she felt like a jumbled-up mess. And honestly, if Boone hadn’t come busting in this morning, demanding to know what was going on, she would’ve put this conversation off for longer.
Except... This was the point of the whole exercise. To make sure that she got the trust fund money so that she could compete in the saddle bronc event. To make sure that her future could go ahead exactly the way she wanted it to. It wasn’t about this thing happening with Jake, and the fact that sleeping with him had left her raw and uncertain, and that irritated her. Because she couldn’t afford to be distracted, least of all by her escape hatch. That’s what he was. He was a means to an end. He wasn’t the end. He wasn’t the thing.
The rodeo was the thing. Her path to showing them that she was talented and special. That she had drive and determination spare few people out there did. And this was what had always worried her. That if she took her eyes off the prize, that if she let herself feel these other things, then she would forget what she really wanted.
And right now, her clear and present vision that she always had of arena dust and horses was clouded by visions of muscle, memories of pleasure...
She had never fallen asleep in the arms of another person before, and sleeping with him had been... Even pushing the sex part aside, sleeping with him had been something really special. And it was all she could think about now, when what she needed to do was not think about Jake.
She took a deep breath and walked into the den, where she knew she would find her father, seated in his favorite chair. A wingback made out of a cowhide. He had the football game on, unsurprisingly, and was deep in what he called his relaxation mode. Likely, he didn’t want to talk about this with her now. But that only made it better. She needed to claim the advantage. And she needed to focus. Not on Jake, but on this.
“Hi, Dad,” she said.
“What’s up, munchkin?”
“I just... I needed to talk to you.”
“Sure. Sit a spell.”
He muted the TV, and she took a seat on the couch across from him.
“It’s just... I got married.”
“Yes, I know. And quickly.”
He was eyeing her keenly.
“Don’t do that,” she said. “I already told you and Mom that I’m not pregnant. I’m not lying. What would the point of that life be?”
“All right,” he said. “Then go ahead and tell me what’s on your mind.”
“The trust fund. It’s just... I got married, and you know, a certain amount of time into the marriage, my trust fund opens up to me, right?”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Why are you acting like you don’t know exactly when it opens up to you.”
“I’m not acting like anything.”
His lips twitched. “All right.”
“Jake’s got a ranch, Dad,” she said. “And he’s getting it off the ground, and I just want to make sure that I can contribute.”
“You’re BS-ing me, Callie. I’m not a stupid man. And I should have realized. You’re...you’ve been piss, vinegar, hell and high water from the time you were a little girl, and I should have known that would never change.” Her dad’s eyes were hard, assessing. But not without love. “If you want your money, you’ll get your money. At the end of the sixty days.”