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“Deb deserved it,” Linda said. “Mr. Tank must think we’re all idiots.”

“Nonsense. It’s something, to have a nice big family that all still talk to each other. That’s special.” Tank waved his peeler in the air, emphasizing his point.

“Now, don’t stab anyone, son.” Denver came in, looking proud as a peacock. “All I need is Darius to be home and we’re a full house.”

“Is he coming?” Dalton asked.

“He is. He’s between summer semesters right now.” Linda looked so pleased. “Come on, Tank. You don’t need to be working. The twins can finish up.”

“What am I supposed to be doing?” He handed off his peeler so he could grab his Coke.

“Sitting out in the shade and watching wind blow.”

“I can do that.” He glanced at Dalton, who winked at him. Okay. The guys were almost done anyway, right?

He moved out to the big patio, found a shady spot. This was the life, and his bad leg thanked him right away.

“Sit. You got to be hurting after your drive. I remember that.”

Tank chuckled. “I didn’t realize it until just now. Soaked in the hot tub last night.”

“Ah. That’s good for you.” Denver eased down, sat next to him. “I can’t believe how good the twins are at building things. Seriously.”

“They’re amazing, Denver. Really.” He couldn’t believe it either. The boys were a force of nature.

“I know. I mean, we had Deb’s house built, but the twins wanted to do everything, be involved in every aspect.”

“They’re wicked smart.” He looked for Dalton automatically, but he wasn’t out there.

“They’re stubborn little bastards, and I adore them.”

“I bet you do.” A little kernel of discomfort hit him. This was Dalton’s daddy. Did he approve?

“I know Dalton hunted you. He… he isn’t bothering you now, is he?”

“No, sir. I… well, you ought to know, we’ve decided to throw in together for a bit.” His cheeks heated, but he had to brazen it out.

“Fair enough. How do you think the pace of the rodeo is going now?”

“I think it’s grand.” The Jakoby organization ran a tight ship, and he thought they wasted a lot less time than some of the other shows, letting the riders shine.

“Yeah? Dustin’s tightened things up some, and Dalton is doing a bunch of ads and social media stuff.”

“I haven’t seen the online stuff yet, but I like how the shows are going. The entertainment at the end is good.”

“Between the twins and Deb, I’m fixin’ to retire, I think.”

“Linda wants you home, I hear.” Tank was both tickled and sad to think of Denver leaving life on the road.

“She does. She wants to travel too, once ’Kota goes to college.”

“You gonna take her all the fancy places?”

“She wants to go to Disneyland.”

Tank slapped his leg, laughing right out loud. “I was there for an autograph signing once. It’s grand.”

“We took the babies to Florida when they were younger. The older three went to Padre.”