Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
mikey
We’ve got an incredible night of rodeo ahead of us, folks! Thank you for choosing to spend your Fourth of July right here with us for the greatest sport in the world!”
Although the injury to my ankle wasn’t severe—just a moderate sprain, a miracle considering the angle the bull had landed on me—it was enough to take me out for four to six weeks.
“Sorry about the injury, man.” Maverick had patted me on the shoulder when we’d arrived earlier that afternoon.
He was leaning against one of the fences talking to another bull riding competitor. I’d debated going over there, but I didn’t want to talk about my injury or whatever else the press was saying about me lately.
Colter and Reid were warming up their horses, and Hayden and Jake were nowhere to be seen, probably getting ready for competition themselves, so I was alone.
Since I wasn’t competing, I had no reason to be back behind the chutes. But being in the stands felt wrong.
I pulled out my phone, opening my messages.
Happy Fourth
What the fuck are you doing? Happy Fourth? How pathetic are you?
I sighed, deleting the text. I wanted nothing more than to hear from Juniper, to ask her if she was okay and say that I was sorry. I wanted to tell her how badly I’d fucked up and how much I still thought about her, about us.
In the past month, I’d probably typed out at least five different texts, all of them having the same fate. Unsent and deleted.
I wondered if she’d heard about the injury.
A darker part of me convinced myself that she probably had and didn’t care. Everyone had been talking about it online, so there was no way she hadn’t seen it. And she would have reached out to say something if she cared.
I wandered around the rodeo grounds for a bit, not wanting to have to sit alone and watch as my friends and rivals competed.
When the team roping started, I headed back behind the chutes.
“Folks, you are not going to want to miss this next roping duo. They hail from Silver Creek, Montana. The four-time NFR qualifiers, and two years ago they were the average champions, Colter Carson and Reid Lawson!”
The crowd erupted into a chorus of whistles and claps. Colter and Reid were like rodeo royalty around here. The two of them were easy fan favorites in the state of Montana. Sometimes I caught envy crawling up my skin at the thought, but I always pushed it away. They were my brothers. My family.
My time would come. I just had to be patient.
Music played over the sound of hooves against the dirt as Colter and Reid roped. Colter’s horse shot out of the box like lightning, and he was able to catch the steer’s horns quickly, turning the animal so Reid could follow behind.
“How about a five-point-two for these cowboys!” the announcer called out their time.
Ellison and Isa were somewhere in the stands, and I was sure they were celebrating the time. Five-point-two would put them up at the top of the leaderboard for the day, so they were almost guaranteed to cut a nice check tonight.
Hayden and his partner ran a five-point-four, not quite putting them at the top.
Hayden was young, so I was sure he’d get his shot at the NFR and a gold buckle one day.
Luckily for him and the other guys, his event didn’t have as great a toll on the body.
He didn’t have to worry about retiring at thirty-five like most bull riders.
I wasn’t sure where Colter, Reid, Hayden, and Jake had gone off to after they’d competed, but the bull riding was about to begin.
I’d offered to help some of the guys pull their rope, because if I wasn’t competing, it was the least I could do. I wasn’t able to spot with my ankle, but being up there as support in the chutes was important to me all the same.
“He was your World Champion bull rider last year. Coming all the way from Oklahoma, he’s here to show you how it’s done! Let me hear you! His name is Maverick Oakes!”
Deafening cheers echoed throughout the entire rodeo grounds, drowning out nearly everything, even conversation with someone a foot away.
“Let’s go, buddy,” I encouraged him as he adjusted his seat on the back of the bull.
“Go ahead and pull it,” he said when he got to the spot he wanted to be in.
I pulled the bull rope tight, and Maverick wrapped it around his hand, tucking the end of the rope between his ring finger and pinky.
“Suicide wrap?” I raised my brows. While that kind of wrap made the rope tighter and more secure, it could be risky if he got thrown off and was unable to get his hand free.
“Confident in this one today,” he muttered back.
“Let ’er buck.” I dipped my chin in support, and he focused his attention back on the bull, taking a few deep breaths before nodding.
The gatemen swung open the gate, and the bull burst out with a fire, bucking his legs out behind as he spun in a wild circle.
I glanced up at the clock.
Three seconds.
Four.
Five.
Maverick expertly held on, spurring the bull to let the judges know he was in full control.
The buzzer rang out at eight seconds, and he waited for the perfect time to let the bull sling him off his back. He landed on his feet and ran over to the arena fence, hopping up to get to safety.
“How about that! I bet that ride felt pretty good, and I’m sure it’ll feel even better with ninety-three-point-five points! He’s your number one bull rider tonight! Let’s hear it one more time for Maverick Oakes!”
Once Maverick was back behind the chutes again, I gave him a fist pump.
“Hell of a ride out there.”
He nodded at me. “Thanks, brother. Next time it’ll be you.”
Despite the warmth that spread through my chest at the compliment, I nodded back, keeping my cool. I said my goodbyes then went to find the rest of the crew to get out of here so the real fun could begin.
While most people stayed behind to watch the fireworks show, the boys, Ellison, Isa, and I found a table at one of the local bars.
“Good day out there today, eh, boys?” Jake raised a glass for a toast.
Colter and Reid nodded, offering their cheers, and everyone looked at me.
“Sorry you couldn’t compete these last few weeks, Mike,” Reid offered.
I shrugged. “Shit happens. I’ll just come back stronger after this ankle heals.”
“That’s the spirit, buddy.” Colter patted me on the back as he slid me a beer.
“So,” Isa started. “What exactly happened between you and Juniper? I liked her!”
Ellison elbowed her in the ribs, earning her an Ow!
“We just decided it was best to end whatever it was we had.” I rattled off the bullshit excuse I’d been giving everyone. “Everyone knows it was fake, so there’s no use in lying about it. We had an agreement and those terms were met.”
She tilted her head. “Are you sure it was fake?”
The rest of the guys paused their conversations and looked at us like they were interested in what I had to say. I raised my brows at her, and she continued.
“I mean, I’m just saying, it didn’t seem fake to me. I know you want to seem all tough and nonchalant like you don’t care, but you seemed to have something real together. And don’t say it’s just me being a romantic!”
I chuckled. “I wasn’t going to say that. Yeah, maybe it felt real to me, but in the end it was always going to be temporary.”
“If it was real, then why aren’t you doing something about it?!” Isa groaned in frustration, and Reid laughed as he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to whisper something in her ear. Whatever he said must have calmed her down a bit, because she mumbled a quick apology.
“I don’t know. I just figured if she wanted to work it out, she’d have reached out…” I knew I’d been thinking about it for a while, but it sounded ridiculous the moment I spoke it out loud.
Ellison pursed her lips. “Interesting. How would she know you want to make it work if you don’t say anything? Maybe she’s waiting for you to reach out?”
“She’s right, man. If you want her, you’re going to have to go get her,” Colter added.
Even Hayden piped up. “The way I see it is you have two choices. Go after her, or do nothing and lose her, knowing that you’ll always be in her orbit, but she’ll always be just out of reach.
There’s always a risk, but at least if you go after her you’d know.
” His face fell slightly, a type of sadness glimmering in his eyes.
“It’s up to you, brother, but from what I’ve seen, you two make each other better. Sometimes, that’s all you can ask for.” Reid kissed Isa on the temple, both of their smiles lighting up the room.
I looked around the table at my friends. My family.
Their words meant the world to me, and if they saw what I saw in my relationship with Juniper, too, then it was time to swallow my pride before I lost her for good.
“I wasn’t sure if you knew, but I saw her last week. She’s not going to be here for much longer,” Ellison said, determination flaring in her gaze. “She got a job, so she’s leaving soon.”
Based on the information Ellison had, I needed to act fast. If what she said was true, I didn’t have much time.
That night, as we left the bar, an idea hit me. I couldn’t just ask her to take me back. I’d fucked up too badly for that. I had to prove to her that I wanted this. That I’d do whatever it took to keep her in my life.
The media may have been the reason we’d gotten into this mess, but I planned to make it the reason we made it out of this, too.
I just had to make some calls.