And then, God help him, he’d proved he was just like that.

Seventeen and on fire for Trisha and not taking time to use a condom. Her late period had ended up being nothing at all, but it could have been. And it was enough to prove he actually did understand just what his dad was talking about.

A pretty face, a pretty body. And everything else turned to dust.

He’d thought it was love. He truly had. But he’d failed at that first hurdle, and he’d seen exactly what he was made of.

Gabe hated it. He hated understanding it, and it had made him double down on the protective feelings he had for his mom. Because he was determined he wouldn’t be like that.

He would protect the women in his life.

And when it came to relationships, he just wouldn’t make any promises.

And he would keep his control.

There was something easy about the kinds of hookups he’d found in the rodeo. He played the part of cocky cowboy while the woman played the part of insatiable buckle bunny.

And both of them had real lives outside those choreographed encounters, but neither of them shared them.

He’d done it for so many years, being that character was easy.

But he couldn’t be that here. He had to be engaged. He had to take his responsibilities seriously.

Jamie was a responsibility in a lot of ways. Wyatt wasn’t a close friend, but Gabe knew that Wyatt was worried about Jamie, and Gabe had told Wyatt he could trust him. That Gabe didn’t have any designs on her. He’d hired Jamie and assured her of the same.

And that meant going out and dealing with himself.

He toyed with the idea of calling his brothers. But he figured he was better off dealing with it on his own. He took a quick shower, put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Put three condoms in his wallet, because he was feeling optimistic.

And as he got in his truck to head out toward the Gold Valley Saloon, he did his very best not to think of the last woman he touched.

Because he couldn’t think of her that way. He couldn’t think of her while he thought about condoms, or anything else.

And he wouldn’t.

What he wanted to do was go into his dad’s office and throw the condoms down on his desk and say: This is what real men do. We think about our actions and the consequences of them.

But he wasn’t going to do that, because it was a little bit too dramatic for him. And also, as much as Hank Dalton might be comfortable elbowing and winking and implying things about his sex life, Gabe was not.

So instead, he started his truck and tried to convince himself that this particular brand of responsibility would be a pleasure and not a chore.

In the whole ten-minute drive to town, he couldn’t seem to convince himself.