26. Jackson
twenty-six
Jackson
Six Weeks Later
I can’t believe I’m at the National Finals. After wrestling steers for almost twenty years, I’ve never made it before. I’ve been close many times and made a respectable living doing it, but I’ve never been to the pinnacle event of my sport.
Hunter sits on his horse, cool as a cucumber, while I’m almost vibrating out of my saddle.
“We’re going to win, Jack. Relax.”
“You sound pretty confident about that.”
“Of course I am. If we aren’t confident in our skills, we won’t go anywhere. You’re the best at what you do, Jack, and so am I. We wouldn’t be here otherwise.” His hardened gaze meets mine. “We’re gonna win.”
“You’re right. We are.”
Hunter returns to his hyper-watch state, and I suck in some deep breaths to settle my mind. It’s something I’ve practiced since I started this sport and found to be helpful in many areas of life outside the ring.
My parents came up from Arizona to watch me and sit somewhere in the stands with Riley. Riley, who in the last month has accepted help with an assistant and was here for me while he let her handle his business.
After his aunt was released from the hospital, he helped settle her in. When he came home that night, he held me so tight I thought he wanted to become part of me. He later confessed that he wanted to be more flexible so he could watch me in the rodeo more and spend more time with his aunt. She may have only broken her hip, but Riley realized he’d missed so much. First by staying away when he moved out of town, and second by throwing himself into his new business.
I’m lucky he supports me so much, but I haven’t missed how much fun he’s having either. Two days ago, we had to qualify to make it to today’s final round of twelve and he won’t admit it, but I’m positive he tried to start the wave when the steer wrestlers were announced.
His assistant made him a T-shirt to wear that says, ‘ A steer wrestler stole my heart and his name is Jackson Sutherland’ . My mom found that entirely too precious, and frankly, so did I.
The man running the event behind-the-scenes motions for us to line up behind the chutes. Hunter and I are only two more riders out. Since the event is seeded 12th to first in order of riding, we’re the last to compete after qualifying a mere one one-hundredth faster than second place. It seems like a long time for us to wait, but when it’s the fastest event in rodeo it passes pretty quickly, even when they have issues setting the rope barriers.
In a blink, it’s already our turn, and together, we fall into our mental zones. Hunter nods that he’s ready, and I take a moment longer to visualize my run. Lady stops fidgeting and her muscles coil underneath me. The crowd noise melts away .
“Yep!”
The steer bursts out of the gate with Hunter on him keeping close, and me right alongside him sliding off my horse, barely two strides out of the gate. With everything I have, I plant my feet and twist the steer onto its side. It happens so fast that I don’t even know if I took a breath. My entire body quakes with adrenaline as Hunter circles back with Lady and we wait for our time.
Time passes far too slowly and then the bright numbers flash on the board.
2.8 seconds. We’ve never broken three seconds. Ever .
Hunter’s arms are around me, and he’s crushing the air from my lungs.
“We did it, Jack! Fuck, I knew you would! Holy shit!”
I’ve won a lot of rodeos in my days, and they’ve all been amazing. But this one sits differently. After taking the reins for Lady, I remount and listen to the woman as she points us over to grab the rodeo flag for our victory lap. Hunter normally passes it to me, but this time I give it to him.
“I wouldn’t be as good as I am without you. Take the flag, Hunter, and you go first. Don’t argue.”
If I’m not mistaken, his eyes get a little wet as he nods and takes the champion flag.
“Thanks.” His face splits into a giant grin. “We fucking won!”
“I love this sport!” I howl, and together, we ride like demons out into the ring for our victory lap, and then I see him. Riley with my parents in his newly purchased cowboy hat we had specially fit for him here and a smile so wide I could see it from space.
Instead of following Hunter around the ring to meet him at the platform to receive our oversized paper cheque, I stop in front of the area with Riley and my parents. Hopping off Lady, I run to the barrier and climb to the top.
“Get down here!” I shout and point at Riley.
My mom shoves Riley towards the stairs and the crowd parts to let him down. When he finally reaches the fence I’m perched on top of, his laugh is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. Someone helps him climb the few steps on the fence to reach me and he grabs a hold of the top. Joy and a tinge of fear spark in his eyes and I cup his face in my hands.
“No cowboy will ever love you like I do, Riley.” I press my lips to his and kiss him with a fierceness that takes me by surprise. The crowd roars its approval, and I pull away to let Riley breathe. Resting my forehead against his, I whisper, “When we get home, move in with me. I want to see you first thing in the morning and last thing at night, Rye.”
“Jackson…” One hand releases the fence and slides against my cheek. “You climbed a fence for me in front of thousands of people to ask me to move in with you? You need to collect your prize.”
“It couldn’t wait. I had to ask you right now and there’s no bigger prize in this arena than you, Riley Benton.”
He exhales a shaky breath, but his smile never fades.
“Everyone is staring at my ass up here.”
“Let ’em look and see what they’re missing. So, what do you say, baby?”
Riley’s fingers slide down and clutch the edge of my shirt.
“On one condition.”
“I’ll give you anything.”
“I get to name our dog.”
I laugh against his lips, happier than I’ve ever been .
“It’s a deal.”
“Now, how do I get down in one piece so I can help pack boxes?”
Looking to the side, I see one of the security guys and motion for him to spot Riley as he climbs down. Once his feet are firmly on the ground, I make my way back to Lady and swing myself up to gallop over to where Hunter waits with the event coordinators.
“That couldn’t wait?” Hunter says, but his smile is genuine.
“Nope. He said yes, though.”
His jaw drops. “You asked him to marry you!?”
“Oh, no. To move in with me, but I’ll ask him that too one day.”
“Gentlemen, let’s take photos, please. Mr. Sutherland has us running behind schedule.”
We smile and hold the giant cheque for one million dollars and accept our fancy belt buckles before getting swept away for interviews. Both of us answer questions for various reporters for what feels like hours and finally we leave the media area to find my parents and Riley.
After we celebrate with some drinks and a late supper, my parents head to their hotel room with a promise of breakfast in the morning and for us to celebrate like we don’t have to work tomorrow.
Hunter even fucks off to leave us alone, saying he’s tired, which is not like him at all. But I have a full day of driving back home with him while we haul the horses. I’ll get him to talk.
“So, how do you want to celebrate, Jack? Fancy champagne? It’s pretty late. I don’t know what’s open other than bars.”
“Honestly?”
“Of course. I only ever want you to be honest. ”
“Okay.” I pull him into my arms and kiss his nose. “I want us to soak in the giant tub in our hotel room and use the bubble bath. Then I want to fuck you in front of the mirrors because I’ve always wanted to do that.” Riley’s breath hitches and I kiss him slowly. “Then I want to research puppies while we eat dill pickle chips and overpriced snacks from our mini bar.”
“That’s really what you want to do?”
“It really is.”
Riley pretends to think about it before shaking his head with a smile.
“I love your randomness. Don’t ever change.”
“So, you’re down with my plan?”
“Can the plan include me going down on you?” He wiggles his eyebrows, and I groan when he licks his lips with a seductive smile.
“I told you, Rye, whatever you want. I’ll always give it to you.”
His face softens, and he presses a soft kiss on my cheek.
“I know, cowboy. But having you is all I need.”
We leave the restaurant hand in hand and walk the block back to our hotel. The city life still bustles around us, but we’re about to cocoon away in a hotel on the biggest night of my career. People wearing brand-new boots and colourful hats still roam the street, the party atmosphere in full swing in this rodeo city.
But that life still doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve always been an introvert of sorts and fully expected to remain alone because of my awkward tendencies. Until one day, who knew my life would change over a plate of hummus and stories of baby carrots?
Riley peers over at me.
“Whatcha thinking so hard about?”
You, me, a dog, and a million sunrises together.
“Nothing. Just thinking about carrots.”
“Okay.” We walk along in silence for a beat until Riley breaks it. “Jack?”
“Yeah?”
“I really love carrots.”