Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
mikey
Don’t feel pressured to get on a horse or anything today.” I squeezed Juniper’s hand as we drove out to Reid’s place.
“What if I say I’ll only get on a horse if you do?” she teased with a wicked grin on her face.
“Then there definitely won’t be any horseback riding from either of us.”
She scoffed. “That’s so lame. I thought riding horses was good for bull riders. I read that it helps with rhythm.”
My brows rose. “You’ve been researching bull riding?”
“Just to understand it better. Don’t let it go to your head, tough guy.”
Oh, I was absolutely letting it go to my head.
Both of them, actually. I’d never known anyone else to show that level of interest, not enough to go out of their way to learn more about the sport.
Most girls were just interested in the fact that I was a bull rider, not the actual act of bull riding.
And coming from Juniper, a girl who was probably the least sports fan I knew, it meant the world.
“Tough guy, huh? That’s a new one.”
Juniper tapped her lips with her finger as she tilted her head to the side. “You know, I take that back. A tough guy would face his fear of horses and get on the back of one.”
“You don’t think riding bulls is tough enough?” I teased, and her entire face flushed.
“Well, yes, but I just think if you can ride bulls, then a horse should be nothing.”
“The day you get on a bull, Peach, will be the day I get on a horse. Deal?” I dared. “And not a mechanical one.”
“Are you sure you want to wager that? I’m braver than you think, Tucker.”
“I don’t doubt it for a second.”
When we took the turn onto Reid’s property, I could already hear them bantering in the arena, throwing around playful insults.
I parked the pickup behind Colter’s and killed the ignition. “Ready?”
Juniper nodded, and I hopped out of the truck, locking the doors before she had the opportunity to open it herself.
“You still haven’t learned, have you, Peach?” I teased as I grabbed the door for her, helping her out of the truck, even though I knew she was fully capable.
She shrugged. “Guess I’m just not used to it.”
I shook my head. Who was the asshole who let her open her own door? Didn’t matter who she was, if I was pissed at her, or what she’d done to me. I was still holding the door for a lady.
“Well”—I planted a kiss on her cheek—“better get used to it.”
I reached for her hand as we walked over to the arena where Reid and Colter were getting in a run. Colter roped the head as we stepped up to the arena fence, and Reid quickly caught the legs.
“Damn,” Juniper whispered. “They’re good at that.”
I nodded. “They’re in the top fifteen in the world for a reason.”
Even though we competed in different events, I found myself in awe of Colter and Reid often.
I knew they didn’t like to talk about it—just like I didn’t like to talk about my feelings—but they had shit that they’d dealt with in the past five years and still managed to come out on top and win gold buckles.
And they were able to do it with the support of Ellison and Isabelle by their sides.
I knew there wasn’t a rush or a perfect timeline on settling down.
There wasn’t a magical age to get married and start having babies.
I also didn’t think I was ready for it yet—felt like I still had a lot of life left to live on my own—but the past couple months with Juniper had me thinking it was at least possible.
More and more, I was wanting that future to be possible with her.
But I also knew she was young and had a lot of life ahead of her, too.
I knew at twenty-two that I didn’t want to get married yet.
That obviously still rang true at thirty-one.
Juniper was smart, damn smart, and I didn’t want to get in the way of her goals.
I had a feeling she wouldn’t expect me to give up bull riding for her if we were in a real relationship, and I sure as hell wasn’t expecting her to uproot her life for me any more than she already had for this arrangement.
“What are you thinking about?” She squeezed my hand, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“Oh, you know, deep shit like existence and the meaning of life.”
Juniper rolled her eyes, and I winked, knowing it was all bullshit but not quite wanting to let her into that corner of my brain. Those would stay inside thoughts. For the sake of both her heart and mine.
I told myself it was because I didn’t want her to get her hopes up, but really, I think it was just a reminder for me.
Rule number four. Absolutely no—under any circumstances—falling in love.
Too bad that ship had already begun to sail.
“Ready!” Hayden called from atop his horse.
Ellison was in the box on the other side of him, and I was manning the chute.
He nodded, and I released the steer, its feet pounding against the dirt as it sprinted toward the other end of the arena.
Juniper stood next to me, watching in awe as Hayden and Ellison expertly roped the steer.
“That was about nine-point-six seconds.” Colter looked at his stopwatch. “Truly, that’s not bad, honey,” he reassured her as disappointment fell over her face.
“You have to remember, we do this for a living. You’re just doing it for fun and practice,” Reid reminded her.
Ellison was as competitive as they came. She hated being bad at things, and she hated losing even more. It made beating her in pool and darts even more fun.
“I know. I just want to be able to keep up with you guys.”
“No, you just want to be able to say you kicked our asses.” Colter chuckled, to which she pushed her lips outward and bobbed her head to the side in agreement.
“Mikey, your turn?” Ellison grinned as she rode her horse over to the fence line.
I shook my head. “When are you gonna learn, woman? The answer is and always will be no.”
“I’ve become accustomed to saying, ‘Never say never,’ Michael. I figure if I bother you enough about it, you’ll get sick of me asking and finally just do it.”
“I’ve been trying to get him to do it, too.” Juniper sighed. “What if you just touch one?”
I made a dramatic show of shaking my head, yet again. “Nope. I’m good right here, at least ten feet away from that thing.”
Juniper looked to Colter, Ellison, and Reid. “Can I ride one?”
“Uh, yeah. Come here.” Reid gestured for her to follow him over to where one of Colter’s horses, Trigger, was.
She looked over her shoulder at me, a beaming smile plastered onto her features.
“I like her a lot.” Ellison had moved to stand by me. “I think she’s good for you.”
“I do, too.”
That was what I was most afraid of.
From afar, I watched as Reid taught Juniper all the basics. How to approach a horse, what not to do around them, and basic safety things. Juniper slowly reached out her hand to let Trigger sniff it, letting him become familiar with her.
Soon, she was hoisting herself up into the saddle. Reid walked a lap around the arena with her, just to make sure nothing happened, but she looked more and more confident with every turn.
“Come on, Mikey! This is fun!” She giggled.
I waved her off, still not convinced about the horse. I was just glad he was taking care of my girl and that she was happy.
After Juniper had her fill of horseback riding and I’d opened the chute a few more times for Colter, Reid, and Hayden, we set up some chairs on Reid’s back porch. The sun was just starting to set, casting hues of orange, pink, and yellow across the western sky.
I pulled Juniper up on my lap, and she leaned back against me, her long hair tickling my jaw.
“How’s working at Rudy’s been for you?” Hayden asked.
“I actually really enjoy it. It’s pretty laid back compared to some of the bars I’ve worked at in the past,” she stated. “I also love working with Liv and Nico. They’re fun. What do you think you guys would be doing if you weren’t competing in the rodeo?”
“Ranching,” Colter promptly declared. “My degree was in Farm and Ranch Management, so I was always going to end up back here.”
“I probably would have ended up doing something similar,” Reid replied. “But I don’t know, I can’t really see myself doing anything other than rodeo right now.”
I waited for the others to answer, because I wasn’t sure what I’d be doing.
Hayden mentioned that although he went to school to rodeo, he also got a degree in Business Management and Economics. Jake probably would have ended up in some blue collar field like construction or auto mechanics.
I didn’t go to college, a fact that not many people knew. I graduated high school, but quickly started riding bulls, and the thought to get a degree never occurred to me. I wasn’t sure where I’d be without bull riding. Maybe I’d still be roaming around, trying to find a purpose.
I was good with my hands, so I probably still would have found my way to a ranch or farm.
Or I’d be working in a shop. I could have seen myself welding or being a carpenter for a living.
Leather crafting also sounded interesting.
I was also good with finances, having taken care of my own for the past decade or so.
I had options, should the bull riding thing not work out. I had to make it work out, though. If not for myself, then to prove everyone who’d ever doubted me wrong.