A Scary End to the Triangle

Life goes on?!..

Lucas spends his day working on the ranch with Pappy Joe. Working on the ranch is a great distraction for Lucas from his heartbreak but not very effective.

Looking around the house he's reminded of the time when Riley was there.

He looks at the make-shift bay window wistfully.

Pappy Joe is concerned about his grandson but doesn't push him to talk. He truly believed that Lucas would come to him when he was ready to talk.

He hadn't touched the bay window, as the girls had called it, because he knew it had some significance for Lucas as well.

He gives Lucas chores to keep his mind occupied but still prays that Lucas doesn't decide to bottle up his feelings.

Days go by but Lucas doesn't go to his grandfather to talk. The old man keeps waiting but decides to change his tactics.

-----------

Pappy Joe finally decides to take Lucas to town with him because he's been in Texas for almost a week and has yet to go beyond the fence of the ranch.

Lucas does little to protest which concerns the old man but he continues to give the boy his space.

He knows that his grandson came to him because he didn't want to be coddled like he expected he would be after he snapped at them.

He drives around aimlessly, looking for something that Lucas would actually enjoy.

The local rodeo sign caught his eye and he remembers the time when Lucas was younger and enjoyed watching people ride bulls. He turns to Lucas and catches his melancholy expression.

So he makes a turn to take Lucas there in hopes of cheering him up a little. He wishes his attempt to lift his spirits does work because he truly missed the little boy who was always happy and carefree.

They walk around going from tent to tent and enjoying the whole atmosphere. They meet up with some friends who are pleasantly surprised to see Lucas.

Lucas seems to have a fake smile plastered on his face which concerns the old man but he doesn't say anything.

They stay to watch a few people riding the bulls. Lucas has a flashback of when he rode Tombstone.

He remembers everything from Zay trying to be supportive to Maya practically threatening him.

Most of all he remembers Riley supporting him because she didn't want him to be a disgrace to his community. He remembers that as the last time Riley really cared about his feelings.

He remembers this as the last time that they were in-tune with each other's feelings.

Lucas starts realizing that in the past year since riding Tombstone, he has been losing control. That was not a pleasant feeling for him. He had always hated losing control because that would result in something bad.

Lucas wants to get some control back, he needs to get the control back. He decides that his first step should be to participate in the rodeo again.

He brings this up with Pappy Joe who is quite surprised on hearing this simply asks, "Why?"

Lucas quietly answers, "I feel like I'm losing control. I've always feared losing control. You always say that 'You gotta face your fears. You ride them, or they ride you.' So I want to face my fears. Life hits us harder than a bull, remember?"

Pappy Joe looks at him, eyes full of pride and says, "If you think this is what you gotta do then go ahead. You know what's best for you boy so I ain't gonna stop you."

Lucas smiles and goes to register himself.

Pappy Joe is still slightly concerned and hopes that Lucas really does know what he's doing.