38. Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Eight
Rhett
“Shit . . .” I groaned as I jumped off Buckle, pulling the rope close to me again. For the fifth time in a row, I watched as the calf ran away from me.
“Well!” Abi shouted as she watched me, leaning against the railing. “Sixth time’s the charm?”
“Don’t start, Abi,” I grumbled, slipping my foot in the stirrup and lifting myself back on to Buckle. “Wyatt!” I called down the arena. Wyatt waved behind him and walked after the calf, lassoing her to bring her back to the chute.
I needed the practice runs, but when I couldn’t even catch the calves from my own damn ranch, how the fuck was I supposed to keep my composure when that timer was going ?
“Need me to rile her up more?” Wyatt asked as the calf traveled through the chute.
“No, I can’t catch her as is.”
“We can try Josie,” Abi called, sarcasm rippling through her.
“NO!” I heard my nephew shout from next to his mother. “That’s Aunt Kyla’s cow. If Uncle Lachlan can’t brand her, then Uncle Rhett can’t rope her.”
Abi looked down at her son for a moment, then raised her gaze back up to me. Her eyebrows knitted, she huffed and rolled her eyes.
“Kid’s not wrong. No one touches that damn cow.” I turned Buckle and trotted up to the chute. Wyatt watched me, waiting for the nod, and once my hat tipped, the calf was out. I launched Buckle, the rope flying through the air . . . only to miss again.
“Fuck it.” I forced Buckle to a stop, jumping from the saddle and hunching my shoulders. I left Buckle and the rope in the middle of the arena as I made my way to the gate. Taking off my hat, I wiped the sweat from my brow, making direct eye contact with Abi and pointing at her. “Don’t say a single word.”
She tilted her head. “I wasn’t gonna.”
“Can I ride Buckle?” Stetson called, already halfway out to the arena.
“I don’t give a fuck.”
“That’s a lot of f-bombs in front of my son, cowboy.”
“Don’t call me ‘cowboy,’” I grumbled, the anger still rising. “Wyatt, I’m going to The Steel. You coming?”
“Hell yeah!” Wyatt dashed passed his sister, “Abi—”
“I’ve got the calf and the horse. You guys go get drunk and call me when you’re done. Or maybe I’ll make you walk home.” Abi opened the gate and let me walk through, pushing her way past me to follow her son. “You seriously good with Stetson riding your horse?”
I nodded. “Yeah, and don’t worry about us, I’ll drag Lachlan along.”
A few hours later I sat at the same round table I had been at weeks ago, with the same watered-down beer in front of me—Wyatt to my left and Lachlan to my right. They were talking about god knows what and my eyes traveled to the bar.
Had it really been only been two months since I first saw her there?
I could still see her, clear as day, in my mind. The white tank she was wearing, tan shorts, her brown hair down and laying against her skin. I remembered all the small touches and teases she did when we decided to start playing pool. The first time she ever plopped my hat on her head.
“Hey.” Wyatt’s hand waved in front of my face, forcing me to blink away the vision of my wife. “She’s not over there.”
“Wyatt,” Lachlan grumbled, bringing his glass to his lips.
“What?” Wyatt shrugged his shoulders. “He needs to stop the moping if he plans on getting to the NFR.”
“I’m still leading the boards.” I glared over at my brother. “I’m not worried about the NFR.”
“You couldn’t even catch a calf in our arena. And when Lachlan kept telling you about that asshole, you kept breaking the damn barrier. Face it, Rhett.” Wyatt grabbed his ball cap by the brim and twisted it backwards, his blonde hair poking out of the front. “That girl had you whipped, you couldn’t focus on what was right in front of you. The buckle. The thing you’ve worked towards for years. ”
“I think he wants to get punched.” I looked over at my cousin, who simply raised an eyebrow and took another long drink from his mug.
“I won’t stop you.”
“He’s drunk. He’s always an ass when he’s drunk.”
“I’m not that drunk,” Wyatt bit out and pointed at me. “I’m just speaking the truth. Listen, I liked her too. She was a blast to have around the rodeos and she made you smile, but—”
“Exactly. She made me smile. It wasn’t her that made me break the barriers.”
“Technically it was me,” Lachlan mumbled.
Not taking my eyes off Wyatt, I pointed to Lachlan. “Exactly. I love that woman and I’m trying to figure out how to get her back. Until I do, I’ll be roping calves and finding rodeos to ride.” I dropped my hand, hitting the table with a thud.
“Did I just hear the good news?”
A voice came to my side and without even looking I knew exactly who it was. Why he was still in my town was beyond me. He should have left right after he hit Kyla—right after I hit him—yet here he was, ruining my night. More than it already was.
“Kyla left you. No wonder why I haven’t been able to get a hold of her.”
“She’s been gone for almost a week.” Wyatt glared at David. “You’re just now figuring that out?”
“I had a feeling she would leave after what happened. She never was one to take to”—he tilted his head back and forth, almost as if he was turning the pages to the dictionary in his head—“confrontation very well. It takes her a moment, but she’ ll come around.”
I furrowed my brow and looked up at him. It was the first time seeing him since that afternoon. I hated to see that my punch didn’t even cause a mark—unless he had covered it up somehow. Rolling my eyes, convincing myself he did just that, I took a long drink.
“Well, maybe not here,” David added. “I did, however, have a nice chat with your father today. He declined my offer, so I’ll be heading out tonight.”
“Thank fuck,” I said into my mug. “Arizona will be lucky to have you.”
David gave me a smirk, his eyes narrowing. “Maybe I’ll see you at a rodeo, I know Kyla likes them now. I’d love to take her to see what piqued her interest.” His smirk turned into a fake smile that almost reached his eyes. “Nice meeting you gentleman, sorry things turned out the way they did. We could have been great business partners.”
“What?” I egged him on. “You’re going to show up and threaten to ruin my life and now you’re just . . . leaving?”
David’s eyes narrowed. “I never threatened you. In my memory, you threatened me.”
I raised my mug. “Yeah, I’m not getting into this. You knew exactly what you were doing.”
A tight smile formed on his face. Smug, false victory spread all over him. “I got what I came for. You won’t have to worry, Rhett, your false document is safe with me. I take it she’s filed for divorce?”
“You didn’t win,” I argued back, stopping myself from jumping to my feet to hit him again. He didn’t deserve that kind of attention from me—from anyone really. I locked eyes with Lachlan, who simply gave me a single shake .
“Oh, I think I did. You, on the other hand” —he motioned towards my beer, my ring standing out against the amber liquid—“need to accept defeat. You’re better off roping the cows.” David flicked his eyebrows once, the smug smile never once leaving. “Again, nice meeting you gentleman.”
And with that, he left.
I watched him, a small jump in his step as he walked away, thinking he had won. Cocky asshole. Right before he reached to door, I shouted, “Go fuck yourself!”
He stopped, turned his head to give me that same tight, devilish smile, before straightening his shoulders and leaving the bar. He was gone.
“I really hate that man.” I turned back to my cousin and brother. Wyatt had now completely shifted his focus to the bar. When I followed his gaze, I saw two blondes sitting there with cocktails in front of them, one of them making eyes with my brother.
He gave her a smile and stood. “Well guys, don’t wait up for me tonight.” He patted my back and headed over to the bar, the two girls coming to life once he got closer.
“Who wants to bet he tells them he’s a bull rider?” I watched as he slid his hand over one of the girls shoulders.
“He doesn’t fit the bill,” Lachlan answered. “That kid is proud to be an announcer. Hell, if those girls keep up with the circuit, they’ve heard his voice.”
“Yeah . . .” Slouching my shoulders I leaned my head down, taking in a deep breath, smelling nothing but the watered down beer. Even that made me think of Kyla. Everything made me think of her in some way .
“You really gonna go after her?” Lachlan asked, catching my attention.
Lifting my head I met his gaze for a second before turning back to my brother. He was already in deep conversation with one of the gals, his fingers running through her hair.
“You have no idea how much I want to,” I admitted.
“What’s stopping you?”
“She told me not to.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Pretty sure she told you no when you offered to buy her that first drink, and look what happened.”
I didn’t respond. If I could, I would head to Washington right now, lasso her up, and bring her home where she belonged. But her words “ give me this” kept ringing in my ear. I wanted her. I missed her, but did she miss me? Maybe I was just what she said, her Summer of Cowboys. Maybe she didn’t even bat an eye when I crossed her mind.
But she sure as hell was stuck—engrained—in mine.
No one was ever going to top Kyla Richards.
Before I could stop myself, I leaned over, pulling my phone from my pocket to pull up her text thread. I didn’t look at Lachlan and I didn’t force my thumbs to stop moving. All I did was type.
Me
I miss you, every day. I love you.
Send.
“Give me that.” Lachlan reached forward and grabbed my phone. “I don’t need you checking your stats all night long. ”
“Checking my stats is the least of my worries,” I mumbled under my breath, lifting my mug to my lips, ignoring the fact that I basically just drunk texted my wife.