Chapter 24
“Y a did what? ” Garrett is pissed as hell, and Cole looks amused when I explain to my brothers over the breakfast table what's happening later.
“I wasn’t gonna have him talk to me like that, and I wasn’t gonna beat his ass in front of Leia either. So, I did what I had to.” I shrug. It’s been a while, maybe I’m a little rusty, but I’m still pretty certain I can beat Leonard Mason’s ass on the back of a Bronc.
“It’s a terrible idea.” Garrett stands up from the table and puts on his hat before heading out.
“See ya there at noon,” Cole calls after him, sniggering across the table at me as he gets up himself.
“Kid, you better kick his ass.” He huffs a laugh at me before following our brother out, leaving me to sit alone at the table and think about all the stupid things I did last night.
Challenging Leonard fuckin’ Mason wasn’t the worst of ‘em.
I was reckless in that closet with Leia, I didn’t even pull out, and as much as the thought of a lifelong commitment to the girl I love doesn’t exactly suck, even I know now’s not the time to be taking those kinda risks.
Something predatory came over me, it was a careless, spontaneous decision that I seemed to have no control over and I really hope she ain’t hating me for it now.
I pull out my cell and scroll to her number as I down the last of my coffee and it only rings twice before she answers.
“I hate you Wade Carson!” she whisper-yells down the phone at me.
“Mornin’ to you too, darlin’.” I smile when I picture her all agitated, she looks fuckin’ hot when she’s mad.
“Seriously, I’ve just driven fifty miles out of town so I can get a plan B,” she snaps.
“You know there’s a pharmacy in Fork River, right?”
“Yeah, Wade. I’m fully aware of that. Thanks. But I think the mayor’s daughter going in to get the morning-after pill four weeks before her wedding, after her fiancé’s practically told the whole damn town about the virgin bride, would be Dolores’’s idea of a blue-fuckin’-moon at Christmas!”
“I’m sorry,” I tell her, hoping she knows I mean it. “It was stupid and selfish of me and I—”
“I liked it,” she blurts out, knocking me off guard.
“Ya did, huh?” I rest back in the chair and kick my legs up at the table with a shit-eating grin on my face.
“All night I felt like I belonged to you instead of him, and yeah, it was a stupid thing to do, but I’ve fixed it.
I made an appointment with Planned Parenthood while I was out here and got the contraceptive pill.
” She sounds real proud of herself, and I can’t help liking the idea of being able to come inside her, whenever I want, a whole lot.
“That’s good to hear,” I tell her. “You coming to see the show later?” I ask, wondering who she’s gonna be cheering for.
“I’ll be there, along with half the damn town. You better win,” she taunts.
“Then ya better not distract me,” I warn, picking up my hat and heading out to get some work done before I show her, and the rest of the town, that Wade Carson hasn’t lost his touch.
* * *
Leia’s prediction wasn’t wrong, the Mason ranch is packed when we arrive, and since Maisie absolutely insisted that she wasn’t gonna miss this, Garrett helps her outta the truck while me and Cole head over to the center of the training ring, where Leonard and a few of his pals are waiting.
“Thought ya weren’t gonna show,” he sniggers, and when I take a look around I have to admit I’m impressed with the set-up he’s got here, there's even a chute.
“You got the Broncs?” I check.
“Oh, I got the Broncs.” He looks between his buddies with a cocky grin on his face.
“Good. Who’s goin’ first?” I ask, waiting to see what the son of a bitch got.
“I ain’t afraid to go first.” He smiles. “I’m just waitin’ to hear what we’re putting on this. How big are we goin’? ‘Cause I’m prepared to put every dime I earned winning the state championship, on me beatin’ your ass.”
“I told ya, I decide the stake, and it ain’t money we’re ridin’ for today.”
Leonard looks confused as I lean in close enough for only him to hear me.
“I win this, you tell me what your old man’s got on the mayor, that's got him prepared to give his daughter to your brother.” Leonard flicks his eyes between me and his dad, who’s resting with his arms over the metal railings, waiting for the show to get started, with Joe and Caleb.
“I…I…” I can see he’s struggling, if he backs outta this now he’s gonna look all kindsa stupid.
“And what about you? What you got that I could possibly want, that ain’t money.
” Leonard sniggers at me, and I swallow the lump in my throat and look across to where Leia is talking to Maisie, then I nod my head at Cole.
He shakes his head to remind me that he thinks I’m crazy, as he opens the back of the trailer and leads out Hooter.
I watch Leia's face turn to shock when she realizes what's happening. She knows how much that horse means to me, so does Leonard, which is exactly how I know he’ll take the bait. Leia shakes her head across at me and as her pretty eyes fill up with tears, I have to quickly look away and focus back on what’s important.
Leonard smiles as he steps over and examines him, pretending like he don’t already know how good he is. He’s seen me enter roping events with him enough times to know his worth. He also knows that me losing him, will hurt like hell, which is exactly why he holds out his hand for me to shake.
“I called in a favor, got one of the judges from the NRA to do the scoring,” he informs me.
“No need. We already know I got you beat on style, Leonard.” Now it’s my turn to look smug.
“No scoring? How we gonna know who wins?” He looks back at me blankly.
“It’ll be whoever stays on the longest,” I explain, watching his face drop.
Back when I was training that’s how we did it, those eight seconds seem a helluva lot easier when you've gotten used to being thrown around for twelve.
Leonard looks spooked, but again, he can't back down, not when he’s been the one running his mouth.
“Okay, Carson.” He nods his head, climbing over the barrier, and mounting the Bronc that's already waiting in the chute.
I back up and rest my ass on the railings where my brothers and Maisie are standing ready to watch, noticing that Leia has moved over to the other side of the ring to join the Masons.
“You can beat him, right?” Maisie has a doubtful look on her face.
“Yeah, I can beat him,” I assure her.
“And what's he putting on the line for this? You love that horse,” she says sadly.
“I love her a damn sight more.” I keep my eyes focused on Leia, and the way Caleb is holding her hand in his.
He looks like a jumped-up prick in his white, crisp shirt and expensive sunglasses, and when Leia’s eyes meet with mine, she smiles, and I nod my head back at her discreetly.
“I win this, and Leonard has to tell me what his dad is holdin’over Walker,” I explain, just as the chute opens and Leonard bursts out of it.
I watch the Bronc kick up dust, counting down the seconds in my head.
Leonard looks pretty solid, as you’d expect from a state champion, but as soon as those eight seconds pass, he starts to unravel.
He holds on for his life, but for him, pride’s all that’s really at stake here.
As much as I don’t wanna lose to him in front of all these people, it ain’t pride that's gonna keep me on that Bronc’s back.
“12.2.” The judge, Leonard had show up, stops his timer when Leonard gets thrown. And Mitch puts up his thumb in agreement, as does Joe Mason.
“You're up,” Garrett tells me, slapping my back as I slide on my glove. I wonder if he ever misses it. Garrett was a good rider, he even has the buckles to prove it. Dad put too much pressure on him around the ranch. It denied him going as far as he should’ve.
‘You got this,” Maisie tells me reassuringly, while Cole just nods his head and hangs his arms over the railings ready to watch.
Dexter loads my Bronc into the chute, and I climb over the barrier and settle myself on his back.
“We gonna get wild, buddy?” I pat his neck, and when he flinches, I get my answer.
I get into position and wedge my gloved hand into the rigging, getting a good, firm grip.
Then I breathe steady as the Bronc shifts beneath me, desperate to get out of its confines so it can thrash me off.
It’s been a while, maybe too long, but now ain’t the time to be doubting myself. Not when so much is at stake.
“You ready?” The guy, releasing the chute, checks and when I lay back, and straighten out my spine, I nod my head and take one last breath before the chute opens and the mayhem begins.
There ain’t nothing like the thrill of those first few moments.
Your head spins, your heart thuds and there ain’t nothing in the world that matters, except holding on.
Only today, what matters is her . Her face flashes in front of me every time I close my eyes, and I keep my left hand outstretched and my right hand clutching as I count the seconds in my head and hold on.
My bones crack, my muscles stretch as I get tossed around, and I blank out all the cheering, focusing on what's at stake. My knuckles shake from the tension of gripping, and when I feel my ass slam hard against the Bronc’s bareback and a pain crack up my spine, I almost stumble, but I don’t let go.
I take as much as I can and when the fucker’s finally got me beat, I release and roll off, looking straight to my brothers for a reaction. I counted thirteen, but I can’t rely on that, not when my brain was being rattled in my skull.
“14.02.” The judge calls out, and when I see Mitch smile and nod proudly back at me, I pick my hat up off the ground and toss it in the air so high, I wonder if it’ll ever come back down.
Joe Mason raises a thumb in agreement, much to his father and brothers dismay.
I look over at Leia and see the secret smile she’s wearing, and it takes everything inside me not to dash on over, pull her over the railings and kiss the fuck outta her lips.
My adrenaline is still pumping when my brothers race over, and I lift Cole off his feet, trying to remember a time since Aubrey’s been gone when he’s looked this happy.
“Put me down, ya fool,” he growls, but I don’t care, the rush of being back on a Bronc has taken over, and now, I’m about to get my reward.
Leonard steps over, holding out his hand.
“Good job, maybe one day soon, you’ll be man enough to get back in the arena and beat me fairly.”
I don’t let his words get me down. I smile at him as I shake his hand and pull him in close.
“You got somethin’ to tell me. I understand it’s probably sensitive, so I’ll meet ya tonight on the Eastlington road. We can talk there,” I tell him under my breath, and when the fucker pulls back and laughs at me the smile drops from my face.
“You can meet me there if ya want, but I don’t got jack shit to tell ya.” His words turn all that adrenaline, that's flushing through my blood, to rage.
“What d’ya mean?” I give him one last chance to tell me that I’m hearing him wrong.
“I’m sayin’, I don’t know shit. I know the mayor’s lost a few rounds of hold ‘em to my pa, but I don’t think that's worth the price of her hot, little ass.” He looks across to my girl and licks his lips hungrily, and before my head can tell me to stop, I ball up my fist and railroad it right at his face.