"I never got it, no. But I get it now. All I ever known was that old life, but I'm gettin' to know better now. And she was helpin'. So are you, so's Brandon Stone. All you folks was involved in the law, and I got so much respect for y'all... Changes the way I always looked at it. Wish I'd understood all those consequences sooner, is all," Rodeo said. He didn't feel quite the same loathing for the law that he had years ago, though the wariness was still there. It stemmed from the fact that even when he wasn't guilty, there was always a cop thinking he was-- but they had good reason to believe it, he realized now. He had to accept that.
"It's different," Rodeo said darkly, shaking his head. "I don't change, once I care for someone. I ain't gonna turn around and hurt no one. What scares me is that I might hurt someone else for y'all. Look, I'm just bein' honest. I wanna do better. I wanna change, start listenin' to myself and doin' what's right. But this is the way I taught myself to live, this is how I always hadda be. It's a process, and sometimes I get real down and I wonder if it's possible, yeah. That's just the honest truth. Scared I'm like my daddy sometimes. Reckon there wasn't a stitch o' good in him."
"I know what I done to her," Rodeo ground out, and at those words he had to look away from O'Brien. No matter how bad he felt about having threatened O'Brien's family, having hurt Charlie definitely seemed far worse to him. "I wanted real bad to be good to her, make her happy. And look what I done." Rodeo had to stop and laugh hoarsely when O'Brien brought up his looks, though. His eyes flicked back to the other man's face, a weak grin pulling at his lips. "Ladies don't mind it," he said, before he sobered up again. "But it don't matter, Chief. Even if she'd have me back, I don't even reckon she should. Not right now, if ever. Need time to figure my shit out. I ain't gonna jump in with her when I ain't sure I can change. Gotta work on that shit first. See if I can listen to myself. I don't wanna hurt her again, or let you down, after you gave me this last shot."
Rodeo nodded as O'Brien turned away, lifting a hand to drag his hair back from his face. "Thanks for meetin' me, Chief," was all he said as a goodbye.