Chapter 33 Lucy
Lucy
The late afternoon sun beats down on the rodeo arena as I clip my walkie-talkie back onto my belt, satisfaction humming through my veins.
Every detail is falling into place. The vendor booths stand in perfect rows, the sound system crackles clear across the grounds, and the portable restrooms are strategically positioned exactly where they need to be.
Mrs. Henderson was right when she said I had a gift for organization. After coordinating everything from parking to concessions, watching it all come together feels like conducting a symphony.
"Lucy!" Emma appears at my elbow, her baby balanced on her hip and a clipboard clutched in her free hand. "The barbecue team needs to know where to set up their smokers. Something about wind direction and fire safety."
I point toward the designated area near the north fence. "Over there, at least fifty feet from the main seating. Already cleared it with the fire marshal this morning."
Emma shakes her head with admiration. "I don't know how you keep track of everything. You've been running around since sunrise, and you still look like you stepped out of a country music video."
I glance down at my outfit, chosen specifically for today.
Dark jeans that hug my curves, boots with just enough heel to make my legs look miles long, and a white button-down shirt tied at my waist that shows a tempting hint of skin.
My hair is loose around my shoulders, and I've spent more time on my makeup than usual.
All day, I've been hyperaware of my appearance. Not because of the townspeople or the committee members, but because of three men who are somewhere in this organized chaos. Three men who've been occupying every spare thought in my head for hours.
The anticipation has been building all day like a wildfire in my veins. Every time I catch a glimpse of Gabriel's uniform across the arena or hear Colt's laugh from the animal holding area, my pulse jumps.
When Beau's voice carries across the announcer system as he discusses his prize bulls with the rodeo coordinator, heat pools low in my belly.
"Speaking of country music videos," Emma continues with a wicked grin, "I think half the single men in town have been finding excuses to check on your booth assignments. Very thorough quality control, if you ask me."
"Emma," I protest, but I'm smiling.
"What? I'm just saying, if those three complicated men of yours don't appreciate what they've got, there are plenty of other options.
" She shifts the baby to her other hip. "Though from the way Sheriff Maddox has been watching you from across the arena, I don't think you need to worry about anyone not appreciating you. "
My heart skips like a startled calf. "He's been watching me?"
"Honey, he's been watching you like a hawk watches prey. Very intense, very focused. Very..." She fans herself with her clipboard. "Let's just say if looks could strip clothes, you'd be naked as a jaybird by now."
Heat floods my cheeks, but before I can respond, the arena announcer's voice booms across the grounds. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Briarhaven Roundup Days Rodeo!"
The crowd erupts in cheers, and Emma squeezes my arm. "Showtime. You should be proud, Lucy. This is all because of your hard work."
As she walks away, I take a moment to survey the scene. The bleachers are packed with families, couples, and groups of teenagers. Vendors are busy serving food and drinks. The arena is perfect, the animals are ready, and everything I've planned for weeks is finally happening.
But all I can think about is Gabriel's eyes on me from across the crowd, burning into me like a brand.
The first event is bull riding, which means I need to check with the safety crew and make sure the medical station is properly staffed. It also means I need to find Colt, who's serving as the rodeo veterinarian for the evening.
I spot him near the holding pens, talking to one of the bull riders. Even from fifty yards away, I can see the confident way he moves, the easy smile that makes women do stupid things.
Today he's wearing his best jeans, the ones that showcase his long legs and perfect ass, and a black button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal strong sexy forearms.
When he sees me approaching, something shifts in his expression. The professional smile becomes something hungrier, more personal, more predatory.
"Well, well," he says as I get close enough to hear him over the crowd noise. "Look what the cat dragged in."
The bull rider he'd been talking to takes the hint and wanders off, leaving us alone beside the fence.
"I need to check that the medical protocols are in place," I say, trying to sound professional despite the way my pulse is racing like a runaway horse.
"Do you now?" Colt steps closer, crowding into my personal space in a way that makes my breath catch. "And here I thought you just missed me."
"Maybe a little," I admit, tilting my face up to meet his eyes.
"Just a little?" His hand comes up to rest against the fence post beside my head, caging me in. "That's disappointing, shortie. I've been thinking about you all damn day."
"Have you?" My voice comes out breathier than I intended.
"Mmm." His free hand traces along my jaw, thumb brushing across my lower lip with devastating precision. "Thinking about how good you looked this morning. Thinking about how you taste. Thinking about all the things I want to do to you once this damn rodeo is over."
Heat shoots straight through me, pooling between my thighs like liquid fire. "Colt."
"What, baby?" His thumb presses against my lip, and I can't help but part them slightly. "You want to know what I've been thinking about?"
I nod, not trusting my voice.
"I've been thinking about getting you alone somewhere quiet. Somewhere I can take my time with you." His voice drops to a rough whisper that makes my knees weak. "Somewhere I can make you scream my name so loud the whole county knows who you belong to."
"Dr. Mercer!" A voice calls from across the holding area. "We need you to check the backup bull!"
Colt's jaw tightens with frustration, but he doesn't immediately step away. Instead, he leans down until his mouth is right beside my ear, his breath hot against my skin.
"Hold that thought, shortie," he murmurs.
Then he's gone, leaving me pressed against the fence post with my heart hammering and my skin on fire. I press my thighs together, trying to ease the ache he's left behind, and realize I'm in serious trouble if this is how I react to just one of them.
The bull riding event goes off without a hitch, which means I can check that item off my mental list. Next up is barrel racing, and after that, the main event: Beau's prize bulls against some of the best riders in the state.
I make my way toward the area where the bulls are being prepared, my boots clicking against the hard-packed dirt. The sun is starting to sink toward the mountains, painting everything in golden light that makes the whole scene look like something from a western movie.
That's where I find Beau, standing beside a massive black bull that looks like it could level a building. He's in full rancher mode: worn jeans that fit him like a second skin, boots, a black cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes, and a shirt that stretches across his broad shoulders.
When he sees me approaching, he says something to the handler and walks over to meet me with that controlled grace that's pure predator.
"Everything running smoothly?" he asks, his voice carrying that low, controlled tone that always makes my stomach flip.
"Like clockwork," I tell him, proud of how steady I sound. "Your bulls look incredible."
"They should. They're the best breeding stock in three counties." He moves closer, and suddenly I'm very aware of how much bigger he is than me. How solid and warm and completely male. "But I'm not thinking about the bulls right now."
"No?" My pulse jumps like a startled rabbit. "What are you thinking about?"
Instead of answering with words, he reaches out and traces one finger along the edge of my shirt where it's tied at my waist. The touch is light, barely there, but it sets every nerve ending on fire.
"I'm thinking about how this shirt is driving me crazy." he says quietly, his voice rough as gravel. "I really would like to untie this little knot."
His finger hooks under the tied fabric, tugging gently, and I swear I can feel that small touch everywhere.
"Beau," I breathe.
"Do you know what you do to me, sunshine?" His other hand comes up to cup my cheek, thumb stroking across my skin with devastating tenderness. "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to stay focused on work when all I want is to get my hands on you?"
I lean into his touch, my eyes fluttering closed. The combination of his gentle touch and the heat in his voice is making me dizzy. "Tell me."
His thumb traces my lower lip, and where Colt was playful, Beau is intense. Reverent. Worshipful. "I've been thinking about pulling you behind one of these barns and showing you exactly how much I've missed you."
"We're in public," I whisper, though I don't pull away. Can't pull away.
"I know." His hand tightens on my cheek, possessive and gentle at the same time. "That's the only thing keeping me from doing it."
The arena announcer's voice booms across the grounds again, calling for the next event, and Beau's jaw tightens with visible frustration.
"I have to go," he says, but he doesn't move.
"I know."
"But Lucy?" He leans down until his forehead almost touches mine, his gray eyes intense enough to steal my breath. "Later, we're going to finish this conversation."
The promise in his voice makes my knees weak. Then he's gone too, leaving me standing beside the bull pens with my heart racing and my whole body humming with need that's building to dangerous levels.
Two hours later, the final event is wrapping up. Beau's bulls have performed magnificently, the crowd is happy, and all my careful planning has paid off. The Briarhaven Roundup Days Rodeo is officially a success.
I'm checking with the cleanup crew about tomorrow's schedule when I feel a presence behind me. Strong, commanding, radiating authority in a way that makes every nerve in my body stand at attention like a soldier.
"Miss Reid." Gabriel's voice is perfectly professional, but there's something underneath it that makes my skin prickle with dangerous awareness.
I turn to face him, and the sight steals my breath. He's still in uniform, but there's something different about the way he's wearing it tonight. The badge catches the arena lights, his gun belt sits perfectly on his hips, and his blue eyes are darker than a Montana storm.
"Sheriff Maddox." I somehow manage to keep my voice steady. "Everything alright?"
"Everything's under control." He steps closer, close enough that I can smell his cologne mixed with leather and something purely him. "Walk with me."
It's not a request. It's a command, delivered in that tone that makes my body respond before my brain catches up.
He leads me away from the cleanup crew, away from the vendors and the lingering crowd, toward the empty end of the arena where the shadows are deeper and the noise is muted.
"You did good tonight," he says when we're far enough away that no one can overhear us. "Confident. Competent. Completely in control."
Another step closer. I'm backed against the arena fence now, the metal rails cool against my back through my shirt.
"Do you know what it does to me, watching you like that?" His voice drops to that low, authoritative tone that makes my knees weak and my pulse race. "Watching you handle everything with such perfect confidence?"
"Gabriel," I breathe.
"I've been watching you all day, Lucy. Watching you work, watching you smile, watching other men look at you and know they can't have what's mine." His hand comes up to rest against the fence beside my head, but unlike Colt's playful dominance, this is pure alpha authority.
The possessive edge in his voice sends heat racing through my veins like wildfire.
"They can't have you," he continues, his thumb stroking across my cheek with devastating tenderness. "Because you belong to us. Don't you?"
"Yes," I whisper.
"Good girl." The praise makes something clench low in my belly, hot and desperate.
"I've been thinking about you all day. Thinking about getting you alone. Thinking about all the ways I want to touch you."
His thumb moves to my lower lip, pressing gently until I part them.
"Thinking about hearing you say my name when I make you come apart in my hands."
A soft sound escapes me, half gasp, half moan.
"Are we interrupting something?" Colt's voice comes from somewhere behind me.
I spin around to find both Colt and Beau approaching, their expressions intense and predatory. The air between all four of us suddenly crackles with electricity.
"Not interrupting," Gabriel says, his voice rough. "Just getting started."
Beau steps closer, his gray eyes taking in my flushed face and Gabriel's possessive stance. "Rodeo's over. Cleanup crew has everything handled."
"Which means," Colt adds, moving to my other side so I'm effectively surrounded by all three of them, "we can finally stop pretending we're not all thinking the same thing."
My heart hammers against my ribs as I look between them. "What are you thinking?"
"That we've been taking turns," Beau says quietly, his voice carrying that controlled intensity that makes my knees weak. "Playing this careful game of sharing time with you."
"But tonight," Gabriel continues, his hand sliding from the fence to rest possessively on my hip, "none of us wants to walk away."
Colt grins, wicked and hungry. "Tonight, we want you all to ourselves. All of us."
The words hang in the air between us, loaded with promise and heat and possibility that makes my whole body clench with need.
"I want that too." I manage to whisper.
"Fuck," Colt breathes, running a hand through his hair. "In that case, we need to get out of here before I do something that'll give this whole town something to talk about."
"Where?" Beau asks, his practical mind already moving to logistics.
"My place," Gabriel says.
"Your place?" Colt raises an eyebrow.
"My place," Gabriel confirms, stopping beside me. His hand settles at the small of my back, warm and possessive. "Private, secluded, no interruptions."
Colt grins, the expression wicked and full of promise. "Ten minutes to Gabriel's place. Think you can wait ten minutes, shortie?"
The challenge in his voice makes my pulse jump. "Can you?"
"Hell no." His grin turns predatory. "Guess we'd better hurry."
The parking area suddenly feels charged with electricity, like the air before a Montana thunderstorm.
Three men, one woman, and a promise that's about to change everything.