Chapter 26
twenty-six
. . .
brOCK
The wind that had been howling outside my bedroom window a few nights ago had dragged a freak early September cold front straight off the Bighorns. It snapped the mild summer weather clean in half, dropping the temperature thirty degrees overnight.
I hadn't stopped thinking about what Sienna had said to me in the dark that night. I’d promised I had her back, and I meant it. That started with getting myself healed up properly so I could keep her in Wyoming, and getting her the hell away from her laptop for a morning so she’d stop stressing.
Which was why I’d dragged her out of bed before dawn.
"Explain to me again why you made me shove these flip-flops in my coat pocket," Sienna called out over the thud of hooves on dirt.
Her breath plumed white in the freezing air. The early morning sun was just starting to melt the silver frost off the sagebrush, and she was bundled up to her chin in a fleece-lined denim jacket.
I rode a little ahead on Rio, guiding us up the incline through a stand of ponderosa pines. "Told you. Bottom’s rocky."
"You want to soak our feet in a freezing lake. Are we doing some kind of cowboy cold-plunge therapy? Because I survived twenty-six Chicago winters with all ten toes, and I refuse to lose one to a puddle in Wyoming."
A grin tugged at the corner of my mouth. "Trust me, Starlin’. Almost there."
We rode up to a towering wall of jagged red sandstone and gray limestone, hidden from the rest of the ranch by the trees. A narrow gap split the rock, barely wide enough for a horse to squeeze through. I led Rio into it, and she followed close behind on Dusty.
The moment we passed through the rock wall, the biting wind died. The air turned thick, damp, and warm.
Sienna pulled Dusty to a halt beside me as the canyon opened up. The reins went slack in her gloved hands.
"Oh my god," she gasped.
Tucked against the base of the cliffs was a natural hot spring.
Mineral water had spilled down the rock for centuries, carving a staircase of smooth limestone pools.
The water was crystal clear and glowing turquoise, catching in three deep basins before cascading into the creek below.
A narrow cedar boardwalk, weathered to silver, traced the edge of the largest pool.
"Welcome to the Painted Basins," I said quietly, watching her face.
She sat frozen in the saddle, just staring at the thick white steam rolling off the hot water, drifting across the rocks like a trapped cloud. Then she looked back at me, her dark eyes wide.
"Brock, this is... it's incredible.”
"Told you I wasn't dragging you out here for nothing," I said, a little smirk tugging at my mouth.
I swung down off Rio, then stepped over to her. "Come on."
She slipped one boot free of the stirrup and leaned toward me. I caught her around the waist and lifted her to the ground, her eyes still fixed on the steaming pools.
I led Rio and Dusty to a gnarled juniper tree growing just feet from the largest pool, its branches low enough to loop reins over. I fished two apples from my saddlebag, let each horse crunch one, then secured the reins.
By the time I turned around, Sienna had her phone out, aiming it toward the pools. She snapped a picture.
"I'm sending this to Mara later. She's going to think I photoshopped it." She let out a laugh, the sound echoing off the canyon walls. "She’d go crazy for a place like this."
I walked up behind her, my boots thudding softly on the boardwalk. "You should invite her out here to see it herself. We’ve got the room.”
She cast a sideways glance at me. "Careful, cowboy. She might actually take you up on that."
She'd taken to calling me ‘cowboy’ over the past few days. I sure as hell wasn't complaining.
"Hope she does." I held her gaze for a beat. Then, I started unbuttoning my heavy canvas jacket. "Now, take your clothes off, darlin'."
"Right now?"
"Can't soak in a pair of jeans."
I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it onto a dry rock. The warm air clung to my skin, thick as a blanket. When I glanced up, Sienna was staring, her brown eyes locked on my chest.
I winked, then sat to pull off my boots and socks before shucking my jeans and stepping into the hot water.
My feet hit the rock at the bottom first, uneven stone pressing into my soles as I lowered myself in. I sank until the pool lapped at my collarbones.
A low groan slipped from my chest as the mineral water closed around my bad shoulder, melting through the tightness that had gripped the muscle for days. I settled back against the stone rim and let my arms rest along the edge.
Sienna stood on the boardwalk a moment longer. Then, her fingers found the buttons of her jacket.
When she turned to face me, the morning light traced the soft curves of her naked body. And just like that, I was half-hard. Damn. I forced my gaze down, shifted my hips, and let the steam hide it.
She didn't seem to notice, just slipped on her flip-flops and stepped down into the pool. The water came up to her neck as she sank in.
“Oh,” she gasped. “Okay, I take back every complaint I made on the way here.”
"Wanted to bring you here before Wren got the chance. Granddad and Dad built this boardwalk when I was a kid.”
I held out my hand through the water.
She smiled, wading over and slipping her fingers into mine. I guided her onto the natural ledge between my legs, pulled her back against my chest, and wrapped my arm around her.
She let out a long sigh, resting her head on my good shoulder.
"I could fall asleep right here," she murmured, her hands covering mine on her stomach.
"You can. I’ll hold you."
We sat there, the canyon silent except for the slow drift of steam and the muffled stamp of hooves on stone. The water took the edge off, the ache in my arm finally backing off into something dull.
Her fingers found my forearm, tracing up slowly until her hand settled on my bicep. "You aren't tensing up."
"Heat does the work. Doc said to keep doing it, that it would help."
Her hand went still. She tipped her head back to look at me, a sudden frown pulling at her brows. "You went to the doctor? When?"
"Yesterday afternoon. You were holed up in the bedroom with your laptop."
"And?" She turned in my arms, searching my face. "Brock, what did he say?"
"Nothing's torn. Mild strain, bone bruise. He said to stay off a horse another week or it gets worse."
She turned in my lap until she was facing me. "The rodeo tomorrow. Tell me you withdrew."
"I withdrew."
Her hand slid up to the back of my neck, her thumb brushing the hairline there. “You actually listened to a doctor."
"I did."
I brushed a wet strand of hair from her cheek. I'd been trying not to think about the standings.
"Leaves me fifteenth. If I sit out the weekend, the guys behind me move up."
"So it all comes down to Pendleton," she said.
"Yeah."
She was quiet for a moment, her hand resting on my chest. "That's a lot to put on one ride."
She didn't need to know my phone had been buzzing all afternoon. Everyone wanting to know if I'd lost my mind. Dave Henderson, my rep at Outlaw, had chewed me out for twenty minutes.
I'd told them all the same thing—I'd be ready for Pendleton.
I held her gaze. "I've got a reason to think past tomorrow now. I ride hurt, blow out this shoulder, my season's done. And then you're on a plane back to Chicago."
She shook her head, her wet hands coming up to frame my face. "Brock, don't put that on yourself. You're the one who said it. Even if I have to go back, we’ll figure it out."
Her thumbs brushed my jaw, and something in her eyes softened. "But for the record? I've watched you ride. I know you can do it. Pendleton won't be any different."
"I couldn't have done it without you. You brought in real money with the Ryder thing, gave the ranch some breathing room. First time in a while I'm not just running to stay ahead."
"I just sent a few emails."
"You bought me time to heal, and I won't forget that. So I'm going to do this right. I'll rest this shoulder, then I'm going to ride Pendleton like hell. And then I'm taking you to Vegas."
I leaned in and kissed her, slow and deep, tasting the clean, mineral-rich steam of the canyon. My hands found the smooth curve of her waist under the water, pulling her hips flush against mine.
When she pulled back, her brown eyes were steady. We stayed there, wrapped around each other in the hot water. The sun edged along the canyon rim above us, painting the highest rock gold.
An hour later, our fingers were pruned and the air above the steam had turned sharp again, like the ranch was calling us back.
We waded out. The air hit cool, raising goosebumps on my arms. I grabbed the heavy towels from my saddlebags, wrapped one around her shoulders, and rubbed her arms. We dressed fast, our fingers clumsy with zippers and buttons.
Before she could reach for her jacket, I went to Rio and untied my spare hat—wool, lined thick. I stepped up to Sienna, settled it over her wet hair, and tugged it down over her ears. It was too big for her, resting low on her brow.
She looked up at me from under the wool brim.
“You packed a hat for me?” A small smile tugged at her mouth. “Wren said you’ve got a rule about this. Nobody touches your hats.”
“Can’t have my girl catching a cold on the ride back,” I muttered, adjusting the brim so I could see her eyes better. “And Wren’s right. But you’ve been breaking all my rules since you got here, darlin’. Might as well give you the hat too.”
She smiled, grabbed the lapels of my coat, and pulled me down into a hard kiss.
After we broke apart, I boosted her onto Dusty and swung into my saddle. We rode out of the canyon together, leaving the steam behind us.
My shoulder was finally loosening up. The noise in my head had gone quiet. And for the first time in years, I wasn’t just riding to survive.
I was riding to win.