Chapter TwelveBroken Trust
My life had been going pretty damn good lately, especially at the Parker County events.
I rode both a bronc and a bull to my best times ever.
Jo had similar experiences, and I couldn't be prouder of her for nailing all her events.
Brock and Maddie might've tried to ruin us both, but their efforts went down in flames.
Today, I'm on my way to another arena---in Pretty Prairie, Kansas---but it won't involve me or any other men.
The ladies will have their turn in a women's only rodeo.
Naturally, I'll be there to cheer on my "fake" fiancée. Our relationship doesn't feel phony to me.
I'm halfway to my destination when my phone bleeps, indicating a new message. I pull over onto the shoulder to open up the text---and everything inside me freezes. The photo on my phone screen might as well be a death sentence.
"Clay McKendrick and Jo Callahan's Fake Romance EXPOSED!
" screams the headline splashed across the social media feed of Rodeo Dish Magazine, an outlet I've never heard of.
Below that is a grainy image that seems to show me handing Jo money outside that honky-tonk in Durango a few months ago.
The caption reads: "Sources confirm McKendrick paid Callahan for publicity stunt engagement. Audio recording reveals their scheme."
My blood turns to ice water as I scroll through the comments that are flooding in faster than I can read them. The rodeo community is tearing us apart like vultures pouncing on roadkill.
"Always knew something was fishy about those two."
"Poor Clay, getting used by that conniving bitch."
"Fake engagement for fake champions."
"What's next, fake babies?"
Every comment slams into me like a physical blow, but it's the damage already done to our reputations that has me gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles turn white. The PRCA campaign selection is in three days. This attempt to smear us both couldn't have come at a worse time.
My phone rings, making me jerk. Jo's name flashes on the screen. I answer before the first ring finishes. "I saw it. Feel like hunting down the prick who wrote that slanderous article so I can wallop him until he's bloody."
"Clay, please don't do anything rash, at least until we figure out what's really going on.
But I've heard the WPRA might investigate and possibly.
.." Jo's voice broke near the end, and that single syllable carried more pain than I've ever heard from her.
"They might bar me from competing in the Pretty Prairie event or any future events. "
"What?" I snarl, glaring at the article that I still have displayed on my phone. "Nobody will stop you from competing. I'll make sure of that. Whatever it takes."
"There are two different versions of the Rodeo Dish article that are circulating." Her breathing is uneven, like she's been running. Or crying. "Someone's determined to turn us against each other. Clay, I swear to God, I didn't do this. I would never---"
"I know, I know." The words come out rougher than I intended, though gentler than my snarling a minute ago. Whatever complications we've had between us, Jo is not the type to stab someone in the back. "This has Brock and Maddie's fingerprints all over it."
"There's allegedly a recording." Jo sniffles, her voice tight with panic. "They claim to have audio of us discussing the fake engagement. How is that even possible?"
My mind races back to that day at the stables when Jo first announced our engagement to Sterling. Had someone been listening? Recording? These days, with AI and other shit like that, anything is possible. The thought makes my skin crawl.
"Could've been anybody with a phone, Jo." I set my phone on the dashboard so I can have both hands on the wheel as I back out of the gravel lot and onto the road. The women's rodeo suddenly feels a million miles away. "Question is, how do we prove the image is an AI fake?"
"We can't," all but moans. "By the time we find tech experts to analyze it, the damage will be done. The PRCA selection committee will have moved on to other couples."
I slam my palm against the steering wheel, the sharp pain grounding me for a moment. "There's got to be something we can do. This is our shot, Jo. The prize money could change everything for both of us."
"You think I don't know that?" She blows her nose. "I've been working toward something like this my entire career. And now it's all falling apart because of some doctored photos and bogus audio."
The line goes quiet except for the sound of her ragged breathing. I can picture her pacing, probably wearing a hole in whatever floor she's standing on. It's what she does when she's cornered.
I pull over onto the shoulder. "Where are you, Jo?"
"At the arena in Pretty Prairie." I can hear the echo of her boots on concrete in the background. "I came early to warm up, then saw this mess explode on my phone. Everyone's staring at me, Clay. Like I'm some kind of fraud."
"Stay there. I'm fifteen minutes out." I check my mirrors and pull back onto the highway, pressing the gas pedal harder than necessary. "Don't talk to anyone about this until we're together."
"Too late. Maddie's already here, strutting around like she's won the lottery." Jo's voice drops to a whisper. "She just walked by and asked how much I charged you for my 'services.' I nearly decked her."
My jaw clenches so hard I can hear my teeth grinding. "Don't give her the satisfaction. That's exactly what they want---for one of us to lose our cool and make this situation even worse. We need to stay calm and figure this out together."
"But Clay, what if there's nothing to figure out? What if this is just...over?"
Something in her tone makes me swallow hard. She's not just talking about the campaign anymore.
"Nothing's over," I assure her with more conviction than I feel. "I'll be there in ten. Wait for me ."
I end the call and jam the accelerator down to the floorboards.
My truck eats up the miles between us, but it still isn't fast enough.
My mind races through options, each one more desperate than the last. We could deny everything, but without proof, it's our word against doctored evidence.
We could try to prove the photos and audio are fake, but that takes time we don't have. Or we could...
The thought hits me like a lightning bolt.
It's crazy enough that it might actually work.
What if we stop running from this mess and lean into it instead?
What if we tell the truth? That yes, our engagement started as a publicity stunt, but somewhere along the way it became real.
For me, it's always been real because I'm in love with Jolene Callahan.
Right now, I need to get to Jo.
I pull into the arena parking lot with gravel spraying behind my tires. The place is buzzing with activity despite the early hour---trailers being unloaded, horses being exercised, competitors preparing for what should be Jo's moment to shine. Instead, she's dealing with a nightmare.
I find her exactly where I expected---behind the stock pens, pacing like a caged wildcat.
Her hat's pulled low, but I can see the tension in every line of her body, the way her shoulders curl forward like she's bracing for a physical blow.
When she spots me, her posture changes. She straightens up as if drawing strength from my presence.
"Clay," she says, blowing out a gusty breath.
I close the distance between us in a few long strides, pulling her into my arms without hesitation. She stiffens for half a second before melting against me, her face mashed into my shirt. I can feel her trembling, and that realization ignites a fierce protective instinct within me.
"We'll fix this, darlin'," I whisper into her hair, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo. "I promise you nobody will wreck your rodeo dreams."
She pulls back just enough to gaze up at me, her green eyes rimmed with red. "How? The selection committee meets tomorrow. By the time we get lawyers involved or tech experts to prove the photos are doctored, they'll have already chosen someone else."
"Then we don't try to prove they're fake." A plan is crystallizing in my mind even as I speak. "We get ahead of this thing instead of chasing behind it."
Jo frowns, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "What do you mean?"
"We tell our story first. The real story." I cup her face in my hands, forcing her to meet my gaze. "We admit that yeah, our engagement started as a business arrangement. But we tell them what happened after---how it became something neither of us expected."
For the first time since I've known her, Jolene Callahan seems uncertain and vulnerable.
I take a deep breath, knowing whatever I say next will change everything between us.
"Jo, I'm in love with you. And I'm pretty sure you feel the same way, though I get why you don't want to admit it.
But I would never ditch you the way your ex-husband did.
When it comes to love, I'm a lifetime kind of guy. "
A single tear slides down her cheek, and I catch it with my thumb. "I won't lie to you, Clay. You mean a lot to me, but I'm not ready for a serious relationship, not yet."
"I know that, baby. And it's okay. I can wait as long as you need---even forever." I wiggle my eyebrows and grin. "It might be fun keep pretending to pretend we have a fake relationship. Just imagine what a field day Rodeo Dish Magazine will have with that."
A laugh bursts out of her, sloppy but real, and it's the most beautiful sound I've heard all day. And suddenly, I know we'll find a way out of this mess. But I'll need to convince Jo that the plan I just came up with can save our skins.