Chapter 16
Wyatt
"What did Jax want?" Jagger asks when I walk into the barn.
"You don't want to know," I mumble, still pissed and contemplating whether I'm going to go through with it or not.
Jagger puts a saddle away and then asks, "Well, go on. Don't keep me waiting."
I grumble, "He claims he's going to coach me again."
Jagger's eyes widen. "Really?"
I nod. "Yeah, except I'm not allowed to join a team. Jax wants to go independent."
Jagger whistles. "That kind of sucks, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it does," I state, my hand curling into a fist. It's been a long time since I competed without the backing of a team. Now, I'm going to have to fight for every penny I make.
"You're going to do it, right?"
I shrug. "I don't know. It's putting your sister in a bad situation too."
Jagger's eyes narrow. "What do you mean?"
"Did you know she owed Jax a favor?" I question, unhappy Willow owes anyone anything, especially him.
Jagger steps closer. "No. What for?"
"Some rider he helped her secure."
"Oh. That sounds like Willow."
"She shouldn't be making those kinds of deals," I seethe.
"What's the big deal? You know how this industry works. She has to fight for her riders just like every other agent."
I cross my arms, insisting, "It's not smart for her to owe men anything."
Jagger chuckles. "She's not doing anything out of the ordinary. You're just upset she owes Jax."
I try to get fresh oxygen into my lungs, but my anger is too stifling. I repeat, "She shouldn't do that."
"Good luck stopping her," Jagger taunts.
I stare at Butterscotch, a beautiful golden Palomino with a white tail. Jacob gave her to Ruby for her birthday a year before I left.
Jagger cautiously asks, "Am I correct to guess that Jax wants Willow to be your agent?"
My gut twists. I bitterly confirm, "Yep. He's calling his favor in."
Jagger pumps his arm in the air. "Yes! I told you she'd do it."
Anger heats my blood. "This isn't anything to celebrate. She only agreed because she owes him and has no other choice."
He scoffs. "That's just semantics. This is great news. Stop being such a downer. You'll be back on top in no time with Willow as your agent and Jax coaching you."
"You aren't listening. She doesn't want to represent me. She's being forced to. And, honestly, I don't think it's a good idea for me to do this anyway. Jax and I are long past the point of anything we can fix."
Jagger crosses his arms. "Don't be stupid, bro."
"How am I being stupid?" I question.
He glances around and then lowers his voice. "I know you better than anyone else. You and I both know you're close to being out of options."
His words hang in the air. I look away, clenching my jaw, knowing he speaks the truth.
"Quit digging your heels in the dirt, and get it done," Jagger prods.
I glance back, restating, "I don't want to put Willow in that situation."
Jagger waves off my concern. "Willow will be fine. She's going to make a ton of money off you, so don't worry about her. And it'll be way more than that $60,000 she had to shell out last night."
The disappointment I felt after Willow had to bail me out of jail returns. I curse myself for starting the fight and destroying the bar so badly. It's the worst damage I've ever caused.
Jagger peers closer and pushes, "Something else wrong?"
I shake it off. "No."
He pats me on the shoulder. "Well, congratulations. You're back. I knew everything would turn out for you."
I point out, "I haven't agreed yet."
He groans. "But you will. So stop being a dramatic sissy. Let's talk about more important things. Where do you want to go to celebrate tonight?"
I arch my eyebrows. "Probably best if I cool it a bit."
He scowls. "Don't let one bad situation ruin our Saturday night."
"I didn't know we had agreed to go out," I say.
"Since when do I have to make plans with you?" he questions.
I stay silent.
"Is there something better you want to do?" he asks.
Willow's face flies into my mind the same way it used to when we were hiding our relationship. I always preferred to be with her, but the guilt about lying went hand in hand with my desire.
Yet things are different now. When we hit the town, we drink too much, women tend to swarm around us, and he gets laid, while I'm trying to fill the void his sister created.
But now she's in front of me again. There's no way I want any woman coming near me unless it's her.
"Be ready by eight o'clock," Jagger orders and then ducks out of the stall.
I spin. "Jagger—"
"There she is, the new representation," Jagger crows when Willow enters the barn.
She glares at him. "You're so annoying."
"I told you, you were going to represent him," he boasts.
"Jagger, shut up," I interject.
He eyes me with disdain. "Don't tell me your soft spot for her is back."
Another round of guilt assails me. As much as Willow and I hid our relationship, he did always allege I took her side too often over his.
He glances between us. "You two are super testy today. I'll see you at eight, Wyatt," he says, then disappears.
Willow steps closer, and my pulse starts to rise.
"Hey," I cautiously offer.
She looks at me, opens her mouth, then snaps it shut.
It's the same look she'd give me whenever I'd go out with Jagger and leave her at home. Back then, I had the best of all worlds. Or so I thought. Today, I'd give anything to make different choices and stay home with her every night, even if it meant the Cartwrights knowing about us.
I force myself not to touch her. "What's wrong?"
She shakes her head, and her expression hardens. "Nothing. Can you go to my dad's office with me? We have to go through contracts."
"Willow, I don't know if we should be doing this."
"Doing what? This is nothing more than a business arrangement," she states, stabbing me in the heart.
I study her.
"Don't look at me like that."
I glance around to make sure nobody's around and step closer, closing the gap between us. I put my hand on her cheek. "Listen, I know—"
She ducks out of my grasp, lecturing, "The only way this is going to work is if we keep it professional. I'm going to settle my debt to Jax, and you're going to make good on your debt to me. That's it. Understand?"
Reality sinks in. I open my mouth to speak, but she cuts me off.
"Please, don't even try. I don't need this to be harder than it is." Her eyes plead with me to follow her wishes.
I cave. "Okay."
"Thank you. Can we go look at the contracts now?" she questions.
My heart sinks. "Sure."
We leave the barn and go back to the house, walking in silence. We pass a couple of her siblings, nieces, and nephews before we get to be alone in the office. She shuts the door and then sits down in her dad's chair.
I sit across from her and jokingly say, "So official." It comes out awkward, and I shift in my seat.
She nods with a sad expression. "Yeah, it is."
A world full of hurt and regrets blooms between us.
Wanting to move past the discomfort, I clear my throat and ask, "Okay, what have you got for me?"
She opens a folder and slides the first set of papers toward me. "This is a contract for you and Jax. Do you want me to go through each point?"
"No. I trust you. No matter how much you hate me, I know you'd never screw me over," I state.
"I don't hate you, Wyatt," she admits.
Hope soars in me. "You don't?"
A tiny curve forms on her lips, but she reminds me, "Don't get all excited. Nothing's changed."
I contain my excitement and pick up a pen. "Where do I sign?"
She puts her hands over the paper, advising, "Wyatt, you should read contracts. My dad always told you that, and there's a reason for it."
"Is there something in this I need to know about?" I question.
She sighs, picks up the paper, goes to page three, and sets it in front of me. She points to the payment clause.
I glance at it, and rage fills me. I exclaim, "That backstabbing crook. First, he refuses to let me join a team, and now this?"
She nods. "Yep. He's going to make sure he gets his money out of you."
"For how long?" I question.
She doesn't say anything. She releases a slow breath, staring at me.
My blood boils hotter. I boom, "Forever? There's no clause to lower it?"
She shakes her head. "Nope. These are his terms."
I stare at the number on the paper, then mutter, "You have to be kidding me, Willow."
She gives me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, but I'm not. You don't have to sign this. I'm sure somebody will pick you up."
"They won't," I say before I can even think about it.
She tenses at the certainty in my tone.
I swallow the lump in my throat. Then I admit, "I think we both know I'm pretty washed up at this point."
"You're not washed up, but you're going to have to make a lot of changes, Wyatt."
I glance at the bookcase and the trophies of horses from different races the Cartwrights' have won. I mumble, "I wish things were simple like they used to be."
Willow asks in the tender voice she used to use with me all the time, "How?"
I lock eyes with her, my pulse racing faster. "You know. Before I screwed everything up?"
She stays silent.
I lean closer and add, "If I could go back to when you and I were sneaking around, and my life was full of promise, I'd do it. I'd return to before I screwed us up and redo it all."
She blinks hard, then looks away.
I reach across the desk and put my hand over hers. "I mean it. I would, Willow. I'd be a better man and do everything differently."
She meets my gaze for a brief moment.
I stroke my thumb over her knuckles.
She pulls her hand back, sighing wearily. "Let's not talk about it, Wyatt. I can't go through this back and forth every day. The past is the past. Let's leave it there and hope that Jax keeps his mouth shut."
I blurt out before I can stop myself, "Well, that's the worst thing I ever heard."
Her eyes widen. "Don't tell me you're going to say something to my family?"
"No, of course not," I assure her.
"Then why would you say that?"