Chapter 38
A victory lap
Oliver
There’s something different about driving to a competition with the woman I love holding my hand.
“You know what’s nice?” Sophia’s thumb rubs the back of my knuckle as she stares out the window. “That there’s no pressure. We only have tomorrow and then Missoula next month.” She raises my hand, kissing the tip of my finger before dropping our joined hands onto her lap.
She shifts, fixing those big blue eyes on me. “Did Brent find a new partner?”
“Not yet. I think he’s waiting to see if I change my mind.” I know he has a better chance of hell freezing over.
Every day with Sophia we get closer. Discovering new secrets that make me savor each second we have together.
“Is he the pissy type? Or will he get over it? I mean, I don’t want him to hate me forever.
” Her nose wrinkles over a wide smile. “I don’t want to be the rift between brothers.
” Then her grin falters. “Like my dad and his. I guess they all used to be really close. I remember big family barbeques when my mom was still alive, before Grandma and Grandpa moved east.” A little divot forms between her brows.
“It’s crazy how different that was from now. ”
Her head tips to lean against my shoulder. “I guess now that we’re starting our own family, I’ve been thinking more about how fragile everything is.”
I press a kiss to her temple while I turn the truck and trailer into the massive parking lot of the Missoula fairgrounds.
There’s already a lot of competitors here unloading. This is one of the biggest spring rodeos in Montana, and the buzz is almost palpable when we stop in front of the main barn.
When I open her door, she slips her hand into mine so we can find the stall map.
“The thing about Brent, he just hates change. Once he finds another roper, he’ll be fine. He’s just grumpy that he’s in flux.” I lead her to the center post where the papers are stapled to a bulletin board.
“What the heck? They put me next to you here, too? These guys do alphabetic like Tacoma, but both places—” She whips around, squinting up at me with a mischievous smirk. “Is this your doing?”
I give her an innocent shrug. “I may have told them your new last name will be Brookes and that McCullough is just temporary.”
“Ollie! In Washington too? I didn’t even know it was you then.” Her lower lip juts, then she giggles.
“No, but I did.” I grin, pulling her tight. “Let’s go get the horses unloaded. I brought enough of your fancy feed so you don’t have to rearrange the trough.”
While she leads Misty out, I grab two bales of alfalfa to follow her.
“Well, shit. I might like having you around after all.” Sophia winks at me.
“You just want me for my body. My muscles and my magical dick,” I chuckle, stacking the hay behind her stall.
“What more could a girl ask for?” she laughs, then swats my ass before knitting her fingers with mine on the way back.
“Use me baby.” Once we’re inside the trailer, I wedge my hips against hers, wrapping her throat with my fingers. “I’m at your disposal,” I whisper before crashing my lips against hers.
We breathlessly part to lead my gelding out and the last of the feed.
“I like that I don’t have to sneak into your camper tonight.” Gravel crunches louder under my boots as I carry the two sacks of grain next to her.
She blinks up at me with a sly grin. “But you can still wear the mask.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I lean closer, gripping her waist. “I’m taking what’s mine.”
Pink flushes her cheeks long after she closes the gate. “I think—” Her arms circle me and she tucks her fingers into my back pockets and props her chin on my chest. “That we need to go get that camper set up.”
“Fuck, princess,” I growl, cupping her cheeks in my palms. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
She looks up at me with those sultry eyes. “And you better never stop.”
I sure as hell am going to show her.
Last time I watched her racing the barrels, I held the remote to her toy in my hand.
This time, she holds my heart.
It’s a completely different feeling knowing she’s carrying our baby as she rounds the first turn.
Our kid has rodeo in its veins, pumping the adrenaline of every stride of the mare.
“Come on, Soph,” I murmur to the fence rail, my hands clutching it so tightly I hear the wood creak. She’s the last one tonight. This is her chance.
Barrel number two gives the slightest wobble, brushed by the toe of her boot in the stirrup.
Whew. Cutting it close.
But as she finishes her trip around the third, and spurs her mare to a full gallop, the surge of the crowd makes me glance at the giant digital timer above the stadium floor.
It clicks to a stop when she hits the line.
Three tenths of a second faster than the flashing red number beside it.
She did it!
There’s yelling through the stand over the loudspeakers that makes me sprint to where she’s climbing down.
“Soph! You did it! It’s a new record!” I yell, grabbing her up in my arms to spin her in a circle.
“What?” She looks around, dazed, as Misty side-steps away from us.
“You fucking shattered the arena’s best time.” I let her down slowly, not wanting to let her go. “I’m so damn proud of you.”
“It’s because you folded me like a taco before I came out,” she giggles, squeezing me excitedly. “Made my leg more limber.”
“Always happy to help.” I press my lips to her forehead as I hear her name come over the loudspeaker again.
“They’re calling you out for a victory lap, my racing queen.” My cheeks ache from smiling and my chest feels as if it’s going to explode.
“I guess I better go.” She takes a deep breath and climbs back into her saddle.
As she prances Misty into the cheering crowd, I give a nod to the coordinator and jog after her.
By the time she’s at the far end of the pen, I’m in position.
“Sophia?” I hold the microphone up to my lips.
It’s strange hearing my own voice echoing through the speakers as I step out into the ring.
“I can’t think of a better time to ask everyone here to be sure to join us in three weeks when Sophia and I share our wedding vows.” I kneel in the center of the field, holding up the small black box into the air.
She trots her horse closer and reins to a stop just a few feet from me.
“I know you wanted big.” I grin up to her. “I can’t think of anything more extravagant than four thousand people watching.”
Silence hovers thick in the air.
“Sophia McCullough, will you marry me?”
My words reverberate through the crowd, making them take a collective gasp.
She practically jumps out of her saddle.
“Yes,” she squeaks, then tackles me in a magnificent kiss as the ground rumbles from the cheering and stomping crowd.