Trevor laughed bitterly. “Don’t you mean I ain’t never had a problem talkin’ back to you? And if I recall, my face met the back of your hand every goddamn time I was stupid enough to speak my mind.”
“Didn’t do no good. You’ve still got that same smart mouth.”
“I piss you off, you piss me off, old news. If you called me here because you needed someone new to fight with, I’ll be hittin’ the road. I’ve got lots of stuff goin’ on at home that I’d rather be doin’.”
225
Rough, Raw, and Ready
His father considered him in silence.
“Good luck.” Trevor stood.
“Sit your ass back down. Now.”
Trevor sat.
“Fine. You’re right. I ain’t ready to lay down and die. But this little spell has shown that I’ve been short-sighted in decidin’ the future for the Glanzer Ranch.”
“Again, I ain’t a lawyer. What does this have to do with me?”
“Simple. I’m askin’ you to move back here and take over. For real. No bullshit. No head games. I’d put you in charge one hundred percent.”
“In writin’?”
His dad squirmed, but he nodded. “In writing.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the only one with guts. Brent has no initiative. He’s no better’n a trained monkey; he’ll do whatever your mother or I tell him to do. Same with Lianna, though she’d like to tell us off, she don’t have the balls. And Molly and her husband are both dumb as damn posts so they ain’t any help.”
“What about Tanner? I thought he raced back here to prove his loyalty, abidin’ love and concern for you.” Trevor couldn’t stop the sarcasm.
“That’s what he’d like everyone—includin’ me—to think. Truth is, he sucks in the arena, he’s pissed away any chance to compete in nationals yet again, and he thinks I’m so damn dumb I don’t know it.”
“Which tells me why you didn’t pick Tanner, but it don’t tell me why after I’ve been considered a fuck-up my whole life, that all of a sudden you’re offerin’ this to me.”
“Because you grew up, boy. No more whorin’, drinkin’, chasin’ the rodeo dream.
You’ve shown you can be responsible. By makin’ your own way you’ve shown I can trust you.”
“So by me leavin’ here…now you’re offerin’ me everything I ever wanted?” Why did that scenario seem familiar? Because his situation with Edgard had gone along those same lines?
226
Lorelei James
“Yep.”
“What’s the catch?”
“No catch. I’m serious. As a heart attack.”
Trevor didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He stood and paced. “Who else knows about your change of heart attack?”
His dad’s rusty chuckle pieced the air. “I ain’t told no one, not even your ma. But I’m sure Lianna and Brent suspect. Tanner thinks by suckin’ up, I’ll be swayed by his so-called charms.” Tater harrumphed. “Goddamn idiot. He knocked up another chick in Oklahoma right before Thanksgiving.”
“Another?” Trevor scowled. “How many is that now?”
“Four. Three bastard grandbabies spread from California to Florida. Tanner ain’t got a pot to piss in after he gets done payin’ child support every month. And he could give a shit about any of them kids. The mothers don’t want nothin’ to do with him so the closest me’n Starla come to seein’ them is in pictures.”
And yet Trevor didn’t feel sorry for Tater. He’d paid no attention to his own kids unless he was whipping them, so Trevor didn’t know how Tanner was supposed to have turned out any differently as a father with Tater as a role model.
“So I’m also hopin’ when you and Cassie start havin’ babies you’ll be close by so we can get to know ’em.”
“My wife’s name is Chassie, not Cassie, Pa,” Trevor said tersely.
Tater waved him off. “Don’t matter just as long as them kids have the Glanzer last name.”
His father started to cough. He kept coughing. Trevor handed him a glass of water and his dad choked on it. Just as he was starting to panic, the door flew open and Lianna raced in. She yelled, “Move,” and Trevor did.
Lianna rolled their dad to his side and slipped an oxygen mask over his face.
Immediately, Tater calmed down and closed his eyes. “Slow and deep, Daddy. I’ll be right back.” She jerked her head toward the door as a sign for Trevor to leave.
227