54
L awless and I are flying.
Just like those wild horses.
My hands steady on the reins. We take the first barrel. A sharp curve that has my mind sharpening to grim focus.
Don’t need the bull anymore.
For so long, it was a way to harden my heart, to hurt myself.
Now, I am fluid as water. As calm as the eye of a hurricane.
I’m alive, with so much light in my life. My sister. Friends. Nieces. Nephews. Wyatt.
I can either let that shadow grow bigger or smaller. Let that darkness cloud over me or let in the light.
Cowards quit. And I’m not ready to be a coward.
I’m a cowgirl, and I’m ready to live.
I lean my body. My hip screams as I take the second barrel.
Winning means nothing.
What means everything is who I love in this life. And all the good things to look forward to. All the happy only I can make.
My heart is here on this horse. But it’s also with Wyatt. Dakota. My father. Ruby and Reese and Charlie and Ford and Davis.
The third barrel.
Victory electrifies my body. I collapse on top of my horse. I race for the exit, race home, but then at the last second, I halt Lawless.
Not done. Not without him.
Chest heaving, I turn to the stands. I drink it all in. Screams and shouts and hoots and hollers. Two thousand people on their feet, chanting my name.
I scan the crowd. My leg screams. My heart sings.
And then I see Wyatt. Screaming my name, he cuts a beeline through the stands.
It’s not my first rodeo, but with Wyatt’s eyes on me, it feels like it is.
Cheeks flushed with joy, I snap the reins and race. For him.
I’m wired for the ride. Wired for this man who has never failed me.
Cameras flash. The stadium screams.
I meet Wyatt at the barrier, and amid the roar of the arena, right there, in front of everyone, he sweeps me up in his arms and over the divider to pull me in for a heart-stopping kiss that only a cowboy could pull off.
My heart hammers in my ears. I don’t hear my score. Whether I won or not. It doesn’t matter.
What matters is that I have him.