Trust the Cowboy

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"So tell me about your family."

"What about them?" Tatum asks.

"Well since you're dragging me to your sister's wedding I think I should know what to expect. If you don't want to talk about them right now it's okay, I was just curious." I say. Stopping myself because I notice the clench of his hands on the steering wheel.

"No it's okay. My grandparents raised me and my siblings. Mom's out of the picture. My sister, she uh... she was raped and the asshole got her pregnant. Her boyfriend, but fiancé now, had a hard time coping with what happened at first but then grew to love the baby as his own. You'll love her Gem, my niece, she's the cutest little thing. Her name is RaeLynn and she's three.

"Anyways, you'll love Abby too although she can annoy you to no end." I laughed at the way he said it. I could tell he really loved his family.

"Ryder, my younger brother, he's an ass though. He got into drugs and is nothing but a jerk so I'm going to apologize in advance for how he'll most likely act. You'll love my grandparents too. You have nothing to worry about Gem." Tatum says with a chuckle when he saw my worried expression.

He reached for my hand and kissed the back of it. My heart swelled at the gesture. He held onto my hand for the rest of the drive.

"Don't you have another brother?" I ask remembering our previous conversations.

"Yeah, Brick. He's a three time winning grand champion in Bronc riding in high school rodeo. He just finished his senior year and will start pro in a few months. He's a big goof by the way. So you have been warned." He says with a laugh. Hearing that laugh on the receiving end made me love it. But I'm guessing that if I made him laugh like that, I'll love it even more.

"What about your dad?" I ask. His left hand squeezed the wheel and his jaw clenched.

"I don't wanna talk about that." He forces out.

"That's okay. I understand, I'm sorry for prying" I say and try to give him a reassuring smile.

"You're okay." He says, "it's just a delicate subject."

I, of all people completely understand that. My dad's a tough subject for me too. I give him a little squeeze of my hand. I see a hint of a smile from the gesture and I can tell he's trying to hide it.

"So where's the wedding?" I ask after a while of comfortable silence.

"At home, in Oelrichs, South Dakota. So you better get comfy," He says and I chuckle. At some point I fell asleep and woke up with a jolt.

"Sorry, there's a lot of potholes on this road." Tatum's voice comes through my grogginess. I sit back up and look at the clock that reads: 6:45 P.M.

"It's alright, how long have I been asleep?" I haven't really had a good night's rest in a long time.

"A couple hours. You were out cold. When's the last time you slept good?" He asks.

Since I slept next to you.

Whoops. Never thought of that.

"It's been a little while," I said. "Where are we now?" I looked out the window to see what we were by.

"We're almost in Wyoming," He says. I hum in response and continue looking out the window. "I'm thinking we'll stop somewhere to eat and take care of the horses and then get back on the road."

"I can drive too Tatum. You don't have to do all of the driving." I say with a light laugh. Tatum gives me a smile and shakes his head.

We drive a little longer and stop in Evanston, Wyoming at an In-N-Out Burger. As we pull into a vacant neighboring parking lot my stomach growls, loud. Tatum and I both burst out laughing at the impeccable timing.