40. Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Tate
W e did it. We fucking did it. Things are so much better than last month, it’s hard to believe this is only the second rodeo since I officially took over. I lead my horse to the gate where Joy is standing with Rayna and wait for Grayson to come bursting from the chute. It’s his first night back on a bull since his accident, and I’m not sure who’s more nervous, me or him.
“He’s going to do great,” Joy says from across the gate.
I give her a curious look, because I haven’t said how nervous I am to watch him ride. I don’t think I’ve been this nervous even before my own rides. There’s no point asking how she knows what’s going through my head. All I can do is hope I’m putting on a good enough show for everyone else to believe I’m fine. Riding as a pickup man helped take my mind off it for most of the night, but now I want to crawl out of my skin.
Gray’s eyes meet mine from across the arena and I’m completely locked in when he nods his head to signal that he’s ready. Fortunately, my horse knows what to do and stays in position to get to work if need be because I’m frozen in place as I watch. I don’t breathe. For eight seconds, I remain mostly still while Gray holds on tight to the rope with one hand and holds the other one up as the bull bucks and spins, sending dirt and slobber flying everywhere. For eight seconds I cease to exist.
The buzzer sounds, and Gray frees his hand, jumping to safety with the biggest smile on his face. As soon as I’m beside the bull, he takes off through the gate and into the pen. Tears sting my eyes as I watch Grayson celebrate. It was a hell of a ride. I’m proud of him. It takes a lot of heart to go out that strong the first time following a serious injury.
One of the ranch hands gets my horse into her stall and taken care of, so I make it back to the arena in time to catch the line-up. Gripping Joy’s hand, I lead her out to the arena where we congratulate each contestant. Joy’s smile is as wide as mine when they announce Gray’s score. He shakes my hand and then surprises us both by pulling Joy in for a hug. Fucker. But I step back, cutting my eyes at him as soon as he looks at me.
“Did you see that? He killed it out there!” Joy shouts in excitement.
“He did. And so did we.”
She looks at me with one eyebrow raised. “We?”
“Yup. Everything went without a hitch. I wasn’t running around. Everyone loved you. I’m sure Gray will be celebrating with his fiancé. What do you say we do the same?”
“Tate, it’s too dark for a ride.”
I glance over at her and my gaze lingers at the way her eyes shine in the dim lights from the barn. It is dark, but I know the land like the back of my hand. So do the animals. We’ll be fine.
“You scared?” I tease. “The moon’s full, so it won’t be completely dark. Anyway, these horses know the way. They’ll get us there without any problem. They don’t even need our help.”
Joy studies me before looking ahead into the darkness. “Fine. But don’t let my aunt fool you. If I go missing, you’ll go missing.”
Leaning to one side, I huff out a laugh while taking the reins with one hand. I have no doubt she’s telling the truth. In fact, I was worried I was about to go missing for the first part of our trip to see Ms. Sophia. She may look like a sweet old lady from afar, but I’m certain she can and would kick some ass.
“Stop pretending like you don’t trust me,” I say with a laugh. “Come on; let’s go before we lose moonlight.”
That makes her snort with laughter. We aren’t going far, and I make sure to keep my horse at a slow pace since Joy isn’t comfortable. The path is visible in front of us, but seeing things without a trace of daylight makes everything look completely different. I don’t stop sneaking glances at Joy, and I can tell from her small smile that she left her worries at the barn.
It only takes us ten minutes to get to the spot. This small piece of land, although it isn’t far from the house, is the perfect place to view the pastures in the daytime. Here in the darkness, everything is cast in shadow, but you can still make out the silhouettes of the livestock.
I have a blanket already set out and candles ready to be lit along with a lantern, so we aren’t completely in the dark. The picnic basket is filled with her favorite snacks, and I grabbed a bottle of wine and two glasses from inside the house. I wanted to make tonight special. I already asked her to move in, but I don’t need a reason to do something nice for her. I’ve finally realized that just doing the right thing isn’t any way to let someone know how I feel. It’s a lesson I should have learned years ago, but I was too stubborn to pay attention.
“What’s all this?” She carefully dismounts and makes her way to the blanket.
“Just a little something to celebrate.” I flip on the lantern and then light the candles.
“What are we celebrating?”
“Everything?” I light the last candle and shrug. “Us. Moving in together. A successful rodeo. You quitting your job…”
She laughs. “You know I didn’t really quit. I just quit getting paid.”
She isn’t lying. The past few mornings, she woke up with me and went into the ranch to help out. And when I reminded her that she didn’t work there anymore, she told me she didn’t have to listen to me because it wasn’t like I could fire her.
“Well, whatever you want to call it. I said the most important part first. Us. Nothing else matters.”
“Tate…”
“I’m serious. I know everything has been crazy pretty much from the moment we met, but I wouldn’t change it. This is all new to me, and I realize I haven’t been good at telling people how I feel. I think they should just know because I did something nice. Something ordinary.” Making space between my thighs, I pull her to sit between them.
“Tate, I know how you feel,” she says gently.
“And I’m going to make sure you never doubt it. I’ll always do things for you to show how I feel. I’ve been this way for too many years for that to change. But I’ll be sure to do things like this, too. Because I want to.”
She stiffens in my arms, and when I place a finger beneath her chin to tilt her face toward me, I’m horrified to see tears. At a loss for words, I wipe them away and stare at her in a panic. I’m not sure if I’ve said too much, or maybe the wrong thing altogether.
“What’s wrong?” I ask when she still hasn’t said anything. “Did I say the wrong thing?”
She shakes her head emphatically, her curls swaying behind her. “No. You said just the right thing. I’ve always assumed you never really know when you’re with the right one. If they treat you okay and you get along, it’s probably fine. But now I know.” She takes in a ragged breath. “Now I know.”
I place a kiss on her damp cheek before pulling her to me. Her back is to my chest, and she covers my arms with hers as I hold her tight. Unlike her, I never thought I wanted this. I never imagined I could have something like this. But even without having anything to compare this to, I know she’s the one. I know this is it.
“I love you,” I say against her ear.
“I love you, too. So much.”