Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
juniper
We’d been back in Silver Creek for about a week after our small stint on the road.
The minute I stepped back into Rudy’s, I was able to pick my position up right where I left off.
The way Liv and Nico looked at me, however, was the biggest indication that things had changed. As were the questions I got from them.
“Do you realize that you’re literally rodeo royalty?” Liv squealed the second she saw me. She pulled me in for a hug, despite my protests, and Nico bounced right into the conversation, sidling up close—shoulder-to-shoulder close—to Liv when we broke apart from our hug.
I’d only been gone a month and a half, but the dynamic between them seemed different. Flirtatious almost.
“You were on the local news like five times, and you’re all over social media. They can’t get enough of you.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure they’re not interested in me. They just want the inside scoop on Mikey’s life.”
“Which you are now a part of,” Liv pointed out.
I sighed. Our agreement was supposed to be over, save for the day or two we’d spend together next month, but there was no way we could end it now with all the media attention we were getting.
Mikey’s status was higher than ever, and it was looking to be just the publicity boost he needed to get people off his back.
I hadn’t seen him in person, or even really talked to him other than the odd text every now and then, since we’d gotten back to Silver Creek.
I wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t have time or didn’t want to see me.
Surprisingly, no questions from Natalie, Ellison, or his other friends had come up, although Ellison did forward me the link to an article that media sources and social media influencers were calling “juicy.” It was all the same thing Mikey’d been dealing with since before I came into the picture, except this time I was also involved.
Is it just another one of Tucker’s flings that will fizzle out before it has the chance to burn? the article had asked.
I rolled my eyes, clenching my jaw just thinking about the salacious article.
I wondered who the “anonymous source” was that gave them my full name.
Not that it was really a secret to the droves of people who had followed me before I made my account private and changed my username.
The source could be anyone, but I was afraid they were closer to me than I thought.
I finally replied, “I suppose I am.”
“I want to know all the details. Where did you sleep? What did you do when Mikey wasn’t competing? Was the rodeo ah-may-zing?” Liv fired off all her questions all at once, and I recoiled a bit.
“Livvy, give the girl some space.” Nico chuckled, nudging her playfully with his elbow.
She rolled her eyes at him, but her cheeks flushed, too.
Before I could make a comment about the two of them, he continued. “Just kidding. I also want to know things. Did you meet any other famous bull riders?”
“I slept in his trailer?” My response to Liv’s question came out more like a question, because how was I supposed to answer that?
It wasn’t like I could say I slept on the pullout couch because the relationship—like the tabloids suspected—was never real.
“We went to the bars a lot, and then Mikey and I went mini golfing one day, which sounds a lot worse than it actually was. The rodeo was actually really fun. I didn’t meet any other famous bull riders.
To be completely honest, I couldn’t tell you the name of a single bull rider other than Mikey. ”
“Aw, that’s sweet! It’s like you’re only focused on him.” Liv swooned so hard I thought she might fall over into Nico’s arms. “What else happened? Anything scary?”
“Actually, the night in Utah it stormed, and it rained so hard I was surprised they didn’t stop the rodeo. Mikey made it to eight seconds, but the bull charged after him, and I don’t think I took a breath until he was out of the arena.”
“Whoa.” Nico’s eyes widened, and Liv threw her hand over her mouth.
I was sure they’d asked me more questions, but the only thing I could think about was cooking dinner in the trailer and everything that happened after. It wasn’t sex, but the small intimate gestures filled my stomach with butterflies.
“Did something else happen?” Liv gaped. “You’re blushing!”
“What? No!” Even though I denied it, Nico and Liv’s faces told me I was caught in the act.
Guilty.
But by the grace of God, before they could interrogate me some more, a customer—a man I’d never seen before—walked through the front doors of the bar.
“I’ll help this gentleman,” I quickly rattled out, despite Liv’s, “June, wait,” before they could double team me and have one of them actually work while the other continued to grill me. “Hello, sir. What can I do for you?”
“Are you Juniper Ray?” he asked, standing a few feet from the bar, not bothering to sit.
“I, uh…” I hesitated, stumbling over my words.
“Is that Juniper Ray over there?” He pointed at Liv.
I tilted my head, confusion rushing through me. This whole interaction was raising red flags for me, especially with the article that just came out.
“I’m not comfortable giving out that information, sir. Is there anything I can get for you?” I politely stated, trying to recover from my speech mishap.
“You sure you’re not Juniper Ray?” The man continued to push as he walked directly up to the bar.
“Sir, this isn’t appropriate, and if this continues, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Even though my words were intended to sound firm, they came out a bit wobbly and unsure.
Instead of leaving like any normal person would, he reached over the bar and grabbed my wrist.
“Hey!” Nico yelled, storming over to my defense. “I don’t know who you are, man, but you need to leave right now.”
The man relented, yelling in Nico’s face, “I’m not leaving until I find out the information I need about Juniper Ray and Mikey Tucker!”
I flinched, jumping back as the few patrons in the bar got up from their seats to help.
All I could do was stand there frozen as it turned into a full-on screaming match, the man, who I now assumed was a reporter of some kind—or a crazed fan—flinging his arms around to avoid the gentlemen who were trying to lead him out of the bar.
In the midst of the chaos, Nico wrapped his arm around Liv, guiding her to the back office out of harm’s way and presumably to call the police.
The disruption must have been loud enough to hear from the street, because the front door flung open and the Silver Creek boys barged through. Where they’d come from, I wasn’t entirely sure, but what I did know was that Mikey’s face was written with murder, anger painting his features.
“Hackett, you need to get out of here right now before I do something I’ll regret.”
I’d seen Mikey get annoyed with reporters and cameramen before, but that was nothing compared to this. His nostrils flared and reddish-pink streaks crept into his cheeks. His strides had an urgency to them, wasting no time getting to me.
“Oh, yeah? I’d like to see you—”
Hackett’s response was cut short by Mikey’s fist connecting with his nose.
“Ow! What the fuck?” Blood ran from Hackett’s nose, and he brought up his sleeve to wipe it away.
The split second he was dazed gave Colter and Reid enough time to grab hold of his arm and lead him out of the bar.
“Mikey!” I gasped. Mikey was shaking out his hand. “What the hell? Why was your first thought to punch him instead of, I don’t know, calling the police?”
“They were already on the way. Liv called.” Nico appeared around the corner at the same time Mikey blurted out, “Juniper, he was harassing you. He wouldn’t shut his mouth, and I warned him.”
I glanced back and forth between the two guys.
“Let me get you some ice for that,” Nico offered, pointing at Mikey’s hand, like this was a normal occurrence.
“Thanks, man.” Mikey nodded in acknowledgment.
My jaw dropped. In what world was this normal? “Can someone explain to me what’s going on? How do you know him?”
A sigh slipped from Mikey’s mouth. “He’s slimy.
Used to work for a newspaper in Billings, but they caught him doing shady practices, so now he’s trying to do whatever he can to get back in good graces.
No one will hire him, so he thinks his best bet is finding the most scandalous story out there to do an exposé on. ”
Understanding hit me. “And you just happen to be the hottest topic in Montana right now.”
“Yep.” Shooting me a reassuring glance, he added, “Don’t worry about him, I’ll take care of it. He won’t bother you again. By the way, Ellison invited us over for dinner tomorrow.”
“Both of us?” My eyes widened.
Nico came back, handing Mikey a small bag of ice, which he quickly grabbed before placing a kiss on my cheek.
“Of course. We’re a package deal, don’t you know?” He winked and followed Colter and Reid to the door, turning around at the last minute to announce, “I’ll pick you up at six!”
Nico and Liv both said they could handle the bar and told me to go home after the scene Hackett made, so I packed up my stuff and drove back to Natalie’s house.
She was waiting for me when I walked through the front door, arms folded across her chest.
“Hi,” I greeted her.
She gave me a blank look in return.
“What’s up?” I asked, acting as cool, calm, and collected as I could.
“Are you sure this whole thing is worth it? I mean, why are you going through all this trouble of being in the public eye just to get back at your shitty ex? You’re getting assaulted by reporters—”
I cut in. “I got assaulted by a reporter.”
“You shouldn’t be getting assaulted at all!”
Well, she had a point there.
“Mikey took care of it.” I shrugged her off, heading toward my bedroom.
“Took care of it, how? By punching him?”
I looked over my shoulder, a sarcastic grin on my face. “Exactly.”