Page 102 of Forever Enough

I grinned and looked at my father, who simply tipped his hat at us as he walked by. I’d told him and Mom earlier that I’d officially told Mackenzie the news. Mom was still flying high and doing a piss-poor job of acting like she wasn’t beyond happy.

Blowing out a breath, I rotated my neck and tried to relax.

“Are you worried?” Mackenzie asked with the sweetest look of concern on her face.

“Not at all. Just a lot of things going on behind the scenes.”

“Can I help in any way?”

I took her hand in mine, brought it up to my mouth, and kissed the back of it. “Just you being here is all I need. Plus, you get to see me ride in a big event. I think you’ll like all the excitement.”

“I’m thrilled to see it all. I watched a few YouTube videos of you riding last year.”

One of my brows shot up. “Did you now? And what did you think?”

With a sheepish grin, she half shrugged. “I closed my eyes more than I actually watched you ride. I hope I don’t do that at the event.”

I kissed her forehead. “If you do, my mother will be doing it right alongside you.”

“What will I be doing?” my mother asked as she set her purse down on the window seat in front of Mackenzie’s.

“Closing your eyes while I ride.”

Rolling her eyes, she nodded. “Yes, I will. It’s something I’ve never gotten used to, and I’m glad to say it’ll be over soon.”

Mom winked at us both, then slipped into the seat.

“I won’t have a whole lot of time to sightsee in New York City, but I’m sure my mom and Avery would love to take a tour or something. Avery’s been to New York for fashion shows, and my mom has visited her when she’s here, so they’re familiar with all the tourist-type stuff.”

Mackenzie waved off my concern. “Don’t worry. I’ve been to New York a few times since Emily moved there. I’ve done the whole tourist thing. I want to stay and see you do your thing.”

Nodding, I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, then whispered against her ear, “The thing on the bull, or the thing in the bedroom?”

I watched as her cheeks turned bright red and she gave me an elbow to my side.

“Stop it!” she whispered, then looked out the window, causing me to let out a soft laugh. After everyone got settled and seated, the pilot came out to give us details on the flight to New York. It would be a smooth four-hour and thirty-minute flight.

Once we were up to altitude, I pulled out my laptop and turned to see Mackenzie had already fallen asleep. I laughed and knew with one look at my sister, I’d find her out as well. I turned to my right—and sure enough, Avery was sound asleep.

My father stood and motioned for me to join him in the back of the plane, where we could sit at a table. I unbuckled, gave Mackenzie a last glance, and followed.

Uncle Ty was already at the table, reading over something on his computer. He had a frown on his face, and I gave my father a questioning look. He shrugged as we both sat, buckled up, and opened our computers.

“What has you frowning like that?” Dad asked Uncle Ty.

He looked up and relaxed his face. “I’m tired of the politics of everything. I don’t know if I have it in me to keep going for another year. Hauling all these bulls from city to city, all the training. I love the animals, but maybe it’s time to move on.”

That caused me to raise my brows. Dad had mentioned Uncle Ty was thinking of getting out, but I was sure he’d probably reconsider, at least until next year. “Dad said you were thinking of leaving after this season. You’ve got two bulls that could take the championship this year.”

With a thoughtful nod, he leaned back in his seat. “I was, and I do have a few bulls that could take the championship. But at some point in your life, you have to take stock of what’s more important. I’m going to see how they do this weekend and then take it from there. I could keep them in the game and just have one of the boys go to the events. They could handle things just as easily as I could.”

My father’s mouth dropped open in utter shock. “You’d trust them like that? You? The guy who never lets anyone do anything to his bulls if he’s not there?”

Uncle Ty shrugged. “Yeah. If it means being home with my family, especially now that Rose is pregnant. I don’t want to miss a single thing. I already missed out on so much when the kids were growing up.”

Dad nodded. “I get that, and I’m behind you, whatever you want to do.”

My father co-owned a number of Uncle Ty’s bulls, so I knew it meant a lot to my uncle to have Dad support him.