Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
mikey
Hurt flashed in her eyes, but her emotions didn’t match what she was saying.
Even though I knew I would regret it later, I couldn’t stop the words from falling from my mouth. “Well, then, we might as well end this ‘relationship’ while we’re at it.” I put air quotes around relationship because it was never real, was it?
It was always meant to be temporary. Fake. There was always a risk that someone would end up getting hurt, but I still went through with it.
Worse yet, I let myself fall.
My heart was screaming at me to stop, to explain. To say even though none of it was real, I wished it was.
But instead, poison dripped from my lips, tainting whatever was left of us. “You clearly got what you wanted, and I got what I needed out of this a long time ago, so there’s no need to pretend anymore.”
As though I drove the knife in further, ripping our chances to shreds, her shoulders fell.
“I guess not.” Her jaw set in a hard line as she tore off the silver chain of the necklace I bought her and threw it on the ground, the blue gem shimmering in the sunlight amongst the gravel.
Without another word, she walked away, leaving me behind.
I watched as she pulled out her phone and placed it against her ear. Even with the distance between us, I heard the break in her voice when she choked out, “Come pick me up. You were right all along.”
It didn’t take long for videos of our fight to pop up on social media. Less than twenty-four hours later, gossip accounts were talking about us.
@therodeoroundup.official: Trouble in paradise? Our sources say that bull rider Mikey Tucker and his girlfriend got in an explosive argument last week in Goldfinch, Montana.
@cowboy4lifee1423: @therodeoroundup.official I heard their relationship was fake the entire time.
@kalee.marieee1: @cowboy4lifee1423 It was fake. I was there. He used her to win a bet.
@codylbarton102: @kalee.marieee1 That’s rough.
@cowboy4lifee1423: @kalee.marieee1 How embarrassing.
@connorridesbulls12: I knew it was too good to be true. There’s no way he actually liked her.
@ranchandmoto123: @connorridesbulls12 I wonder what she got out of it.
@ttchance16: @ranchandmoto123 Fifteen minutes of fame probably Typical buckle bunny shit.
@kalee.marieee1: @ranchandmoto123 She was using him to get back at her ex. It’s all messy AF.
I threw my phone across the trailer. It wouldn’t be long until the press caught wind of this and it was all anyone would talk about. My life would no longer be about my bull riding performance. It would once again be about my non-existent love life.
Old Leroy must have sensed something was wrong, because he didn’t shoot me his usual scowl when I came tearing into the trailer park the other day. He just went back to reading his newspaper, a sad expression plastered on his face.
This morning, Colter had sent me the pin for the plot of land he owed me after the bet. I was going to take it, but I couldn’t deny the twinge of guilt that pricked at my chest at the idea of it.
Sure, Juniper had used me to make her ex jealous, but I was no better. In fact, I was probably worse. The look of betrayal on her face replayed through my mind like a broken record. Every time I closed my eyes, I was teleported back to that moment.
I decided that moving would take my mind off things, at least temporarily, so I got dressed and headed outside to hook up the trailer and get out of this park for good.
“Whaddya do to that girl?” Leroy croaked. “I saw something about you two getting in a fight over the weekend.”
I ignored him, resisting the urge to tell the old man to shut up and get back to reading his paper. He didn’t deserve that, even if he was a nosy, grouchy old fart.
“I told you not to mess it up.” He tutted. “It’s not every day you find someone like that. I thought you’d met your match.”
“You thought wrong,” I muttered as I opened the driver’s door of my pickup to back it up to the trailer.
Before I could close the door, he raised his voice. “You skipping town now? Too embarrassed to show your face?”
The old man seriously was going to mock me after all this?
“Are you bored or something?” I finally gave in to his harassment.
He shook his head. “No, I just know a fuckup when I see one.”
“Gee, thanks.” I rolled my eyes. “And I’m not skipping town. I’m just moving to a plot of land my friend gave me.”
“Ah, so the rumors are true.”
“Don’t you have anything better to do than speculate about my love life?”
“Clearly no.” He shrugged.
I shut the door, slamming it a bit harder than I intended.
Ignoring Leroy, I backed up the pickup, having to get out, pull forward and adjust, then back up again because I kept missing the spot where the hitch needed to be.
Frustration churned in my gut, and I was about to get out yet again, but the old man had gotten up from his chair and hobbled over to the trailer.
“Come on, son.” He waved me backward, putting a hand up when I needed to stop.
I hopped out to check, and sure enough, the hitch was perfectly lined up.
“Thanks,” I muttered. I hooked up the trailer, removed the wood under the tires, and started to head back to the pickup to get the hell out of here when Leroy called my name.
I raised my brows at him, and he looked at me with empathy in his gaze.
“Mikey, I know happiness when I see it.” He sighed, his breaths wobbling with age. “You love her, I can tell. Don’t make the same mistake I made once. You can still make it right.”
What was the point anymore in trying to prove everyone wrong? They had their idea of who I was, and I wasn’t sure if I could change that. To them, I was the idiotic, womanizing bull rider who’d never be anything more than one night of fun. I was the guy who everyone laughed at, a distraction.
Juniper looked at me differently. She saw right through the bullshit, but all I’d done was prove everyone right. Even if I could fix this, I didn’t deserve her.
So, what was the point in trying?
I pursed my lips, shaking my head to be stubborn. “I’m not sure I can, Leroy.” Then I hopped in the truck, closed the door, and drove away, leaving the old man and my former home behind.
The acre of land Colter had set aside for me was nice.
The plot was nestled at the base of the hills on the west end of the ranch.
It wasn’t too far from his place—fairly close to it, actually—but it was enough out of the way that we wouldn’t be under each other’s noses.
Probably intentional on his part, but I wasn’t complaining.
Then again, this part of the ranch had already been set up with a water well and septic system. I’d assumed the land was intended for one of Colter’s siblings, but when they both left Silver Creek, it became vacant and they didn’t have much use for it.
Dust plumed into the air about a half mile up the road while I was unhooking the trailer, and within a few minutes, Colter’s pickup was pulling up.
“What do you think?” he asked as he hopped out of the truck.
I wiped my hands on my jeans after getting up from the ground. “It’s nice. I really appreciate it, Carson.”
He shrugged. “Figured it was about time you had somewhere to call your own. This land’s just been sitting out here with no one to occupy it. If you decide to stay here and put down some roots, you can build on it.” He hesitated. “Or if you want to leave, it can be a temporary thing.”
I nodded tersely. “I’m guessing you’ve heard all about my explosive break up.” Using air quotes, I relayed what the press had been babbling about online.
“Honestly, I don’t know what exactly happened there.
It’s not my business, so I won’t pry. Partially because I’m not sure if I want to know, but also because I know how it feels to have everyone obsessed about your relationships.
No one’s entitled to your personal life just because you’re a professional athlete.
” His voice trailed off slightly, but he cleared his throat.
“Anyway, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here. ”
“Thanks. I’m just waiting for it all to die down.
They can’t talk about me forever, right?
Or maybe they’ll just keep talking and I’ll be the butt of everyone’s jokes until I croak.
Someone’s gotta be the funny guy who everyone makes jokes at the expense of, am I right?
” I forced out a laugh without humor. When Colter didn’t laugh with me, I deflected.
“Actually, it doesn’t matter, I’m just—”
“No, man, don’t do that. Talk to me. What’s going on?” Colter’s face was written with concern.
I shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I just deal with enough shit from the press. It’s kind of the cherry on top for my closest friends to also give me shit about my personal life and bull riding career.” I flicked my gaze away from Colter. I couldn’t meet his eyes.
He sighed. “Man, fuck. Mikey, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it bothered you. That’s on me, and I’m sure the others would understand, too. We love you, you know that, right? You’re our brother, our family.”
I nodded as I kicked the pebbles on the ground.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I try not to let it get to me because I give you all just as much shit, but sometimes it weighs on me. Especially this year with all the fans having opinions on my career being mediocre. I mean, shit, the whole reason I took that stupid bet was to hopefully get you all off my back for a little bit. Didn’t think it would blow up in my face like it did. ”
Colter huffed out a breath. “Damn.”
I pursed my lips in a tight smile. “Yeah.”
“I…I can have a talk with the boys and Ellison and Isa. Eventually, they’ll probably have to hear it from you, but I can try to get them to tone it down a bit.”
“Thanks, Colt. I mean, I don’t want you guys to treat me differently or for our friendship to change. I still want to shoot the shit with you guys, but maybe someone else can be the punchline for once. At least until the media dies down with all their bullshit.”
He nodded in understanding then reached out his hand. I grabbed it, the firm handshake a symbol of solidarity between us.
“You know, I want to wish you’d talked to us about it sooner, but that would make me a hypocrite. I mean it, though, Mike, we’re all here for you. We’re not gonna leave you. We’re family, and family has each other’s backs.”
It wasn’t much, but a weight seemed to lift off my shoulders.
I’d worried for so long that my friends wouldn’t want to be my friends anymore if I’d confronted them, but Colter was right.
We were brothers. We may not always have gotten along—as families do—but at the end of the day, we always had each other’s backs.
I’d go to war for those boys, and I knew they’d do the same for me.
Our hands unclasped, and Colter ran his fingers through his hair. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I just came to check on you and make sure everything’s working right. Call me if you need anything.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll see you all later at Reid’s.”