Chapter 55 Sierra
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
sierra
Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve traveled from all around the world to Las Vegas, Nevada.
You’ve watched as the top fifteen cowboys and cowgirls in the world competed in events from barrel racing to bull riding, and we’ve reached the pinnacle event.
Tonight, we will crown nine new world champions. Are you ready? Let me hear you!”
An uproar from the crowd drowned out the rest of the announcer’s welcome.
With my head dipped down, I leaned against a wall, taking deep breaths in and out.
One more race.
One more night.
It was unlikely I’d be taking home a buckle tonight, but the experience of making it to the NFR outweighed any disappointment I may have had.
Besides, any feelings that rose up in me were just a product of my competitiveness.
Now that I’d made it to the top—to the most important rodeo event of the year—I never wanted to lose the view.
Making it to the NFR had sparked something in me, a drive I knew I always had but was scared to tap into.
I knew my friends were all proud of me, but most importantly, I was proud of me.
From behind the chutes, I watched as Colter and Reid secured their first world championship win. My cheeks ached from smiling as they waved and tipped their hats at Ellison and Isa.
Jake competed well, too, but he was in the same boat as I was. Neither of us would take home a world championship or average championship this year, but we still had the jacket and back number to prove our presence here.
The energy in the arena built in anticipation for the bull riding, but barrel racing came first.
Lucky stomped the ground with his hoof as we waited for our turn to run the cloverleaf pattern. I patted his neck as I tried my best to keep my energy calm and collected.
“We did it, buddy. We made it. Let’s enjoy this last ride, yeah?” I cooed at him, and he huffed in response. I liked to think he agreed. Nothing was on the line here, so we could just relax and do the thing we loved most: race.
The cowgirl who was up before us finished her race and walked her horse out of the alleyway as I mounted Lucky.
“For one final ride in the Thomas & Mack, let’s hear it for Sierra Bayley and Ace’s Lucky Charm!”
“Let’s do this, bud,” I murmured as I took a deep breath and put my trust into my horse.
Lucky burst down the alleyway like a flash of lightning, and I was convinced he ran faster than he had all week. He turned toward the barrel, all of it muscle memory and passion, and I guided him around the barrel, careful not to tip it over.
The smell of dust and livestock surrounded us as we continued on the pattern. Lights flashed all around us, and even though I was locked into the race, I also let myself soak it all in.
Our second barrel was successful, and we raced toward the third and final one. Country music sent us home along with the roar of the crowd as Lucky galloped toward the time barrier.
“Thirteen-point-three-six seconds for Sierra and Lucky! What a way to end her first NFR!”
Happy tears streamed down my face as I untacked Lucky, giving him extra treats and pats for a race well done.
“We did it, Lucky. You’ve been beside me this whole time as I’ve chased this crazy little dream, and we made it. Let’s do it all again next year, yeah?” I pressed my forehead to his nose, laughing as he chuffed happily.
The drive back from Vegas was long, but we made it in a couple days after a long night of celebrating Colter and Reid’s first world championship and Mikey’s average championship win.
We picked up Pancho from Liv’s house when we got back to town, knowing the little devil would be overjoyed to see us.
Hayden and I hadn’t really discussed what was going to happen now with our living arrangement. The most logical answer would be that I’d move out, buy a new trailer with my earnings and continue to travel around.
For once, though, I didn’t want to lean into logic.
“Now that the season’s over, I guess I have to decide what I’m going to do. If I’m going to…” My voice trailed off because saying, Go home, didn’t sound right. “I guess I’ll have to figure out where I’m going next.”
As if he read my mind, Hayden immediately said, “Stay. This is your home, isn’t it?”
My gaze bounced down to the ground. “I don’t know. I’ve never really had a home before.”
“You do, though. And you have.” He hooked his finger under my chin, forcing my watery eyes to look at his. “No matter what, you’ll always have one with me. No matter where we are, no matter how far you go, you can always come home. Let me be your home.”
A loose tear rolled down my cheek, but I nodded because he was right.
I knew it now.
Home wasn’t always four walls. Sometimes home had a heartbeat and blue eyes deep enough to drown in.
Sometimes home remembered your favorite childhood meal and favorite color so they could incorporate those tiny things into their life with you in mind.
Sometimes home would follow you to the ends of the Earth, in every lifetime, even when you tried to push it away, thinking you didn’t deserve it.
I’d spent twenty-six years trying to find a place where I truly belonged, a place I could call home. Little did I know I’d stumbled upon it at fourteen years old on a school bus.
I was confident Hayden Watkins was my soulmate. Regardless of where this life would take us, I knew even when we were dust floating along in the wind one day, my soul would still belong to him. Our lives would always be intertwined, like stars destined to revolve around each other for eternity.
Love was what bound us together after all these years, even when it seemed like the world and all its forces were trying to tear us apart.
Pancho barked happily as he ran around us in circles, his butt wiggling the entire time as though he understood exactly what Hayden was asking.
I laughed, looking down at the dog. “What do you think, Pancho? Should we stay?”
He yipped a high-pitched bark in response.
“Well, I think that settles it.” I grinned at Hayden. “We’ll stay.”
“Let’s go home, Skip.” Hayden scooped me up into his arms, carrying me toward the house, toward our future.
Resting my head in the crook of his neck, I whispered to no one in particular, “I’m already there.”