Chasin’ The Wind
Chasin’ The Wind
OLLIE
AUGUST
Cash Mooney would be the fucking death of me.
Mostly because he was infuriatingly attractive, and his stupid, cocky smile did dangerous things to me. Then add in that he’d been surprisingly helpful, and my heart was a fucking mess of emotions. Which, if it wasn’t obvious, I fucking hated emotions.
I prided myself on being chill, laid back, mysterious, if not a bit aloof. I didn’t like that he could so easily gauge my emotions. Not only that, but he’d managed to calm me down.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous as hell when I’d first gotten on that mare.
She was more sensitive than Doc, the horse Hux and the guys had me riding, and with each second that ticked by I could feel both of us getting more frustrated with the other.
I might have picked up on riding really well, but I was still learning.
Truth was, I liked that Hux wanted my opinion, even if it was only because I was a sucky beginner rider.
So when the rising panic within me felt like a sea during a storm, I knew that poor mare was feeling it too. But I didn’t know how to stop it.
And then in came Cash fucking Mooney, like some white knight to save my ass.
And as much as I didn’t want saving, I’d needed it.
And he’d come in clutch. But if there was any solace, it was in the fact that I knew I affected him about as much as he affected me.
If not more, maybe. I drove him wild. With want, with desire, with longing.
He was drawn to me. Just like I was drawn to him.
Now I just needed him to break up with his girlfriend. I might be a shameless flirt, but I wasn’t a homewrecker. I wondered why he hadn’t broken up with her yet. It didn’t matter, I guess.
I aimed the horse over in the direction of where Hux and the others stood. Cash had joined them once more, and even though he talked with the others, joking and laughing and being his obnoxious, boisterous self, I sensed his attention on me.
“Alright, I think she’s had enough for today,” I said, drawing everyone’s gaze.
The older cowboy who’d greeted us when we first got there nudged the younger one beside him. “Charger, take that mare back on up to the barn, would ya?”
I hopped off and walked the horse toward the gate before handing her off to him. Hux and his dog ambled over more slowly.
“Right here, cowboy,” I called out, making my location known.
He shifted, angling his body more accurately toward me and walked on slow, sure steps until he stopped just in front of me. I wondered if he could, like, feel my body heat or something like that to know exactly how far away I was.
“So, what’d you think?” he asked, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.
“Well, she didn’t buck me off, so I call that a win.”
A chuckle rumbled out of him.
“But seriously…” I continued on, “she was good. A bit nervous at first, but I think that was mostly my fault. I was nervous too and she could sense it.”
His head cocked to the side. “What was she doin’?”
I pulled my hat off and my braid out before attempting to rebraid it as I said, “Just prancing a bit. Shaking her head and snorting. Nothing I couldn’t handle in the end. Once I took Cash’s advice, she calmed down.”
I still was incredibly annoyed that he’d swooped in and saved me, but he probably could have been more of a gloating ass about it and hadn’t so I was grateful.
“Which was?” Hux asked.
“I was squeezing her with my legs and being too handsy with the reins.” I righted my hat once more.
“Ah,” he replied with a nod. “So, what I’m hearin’ is, she’s a bit sensitive, but calms down quick?”
I thought for a moment. “Yeah. I think she’d be fine for a beginner. She did good for me. Great for Cash. She’s got some get up and go in her, but not too much. Not like that demon mare you ride back home. But she’s also not like Wyatt’s horse, Tucker, who’d be late to his own damn funeral.”
Hux’s lips drew up as a chuckle escaped him once more. “Think I should put in an offer on her?”
I shrugged, more out of habit than for him. “I mean, if she’s healthy, then I’d say yeah.”
“Alright.” He nodded. “Let’s go talk to Charlie.”
We neared Thousand Trails around early afternoon. My muscles were stiff from driving and riding. Riding was a real damn workout.
“I gotta say,” Hux said from the passenger seat, drawing my attention. “I’m impressed with you.”
I turned down the music, a trickle of pride welling in my chest as I turned his way. “Why’s that?”
He absentmindedly pet Rusty’s head as he spoke. “The Odyssey Ranch is a big operation. Lots of really talented cowboys and cowgirls come in and out of there. You held your own. You didn’t let any of those guys get to you. And from what I understand, you rode pretty well.”
I thought of earlier, and how Cash had to come to my rescue. It was enough to douse the pride in my chest like throwing a bucket of water over an open flame. I snorted. “That’s debatable.”
Hux shrugged. “Don't trust my word for it, trust Bad Mooney’s and Charlie's.”
“They thought I did well?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“They both were blown away when I told them you’ve been ridin’ less than a week.”
My lips pulled up into a smirk, pride returning once more, but I made sure to temper my excitement as I replied, “They’re just a bunch of old cowboys.”
Hux chuckled like he knew something I didn’t. “Bad’s a saddle bronc legend, and Charlie is the head trainer of a multi-million dollar operation. That’s high fuckin’ praise comin’ from them.”
Really? Well, damn. That made me feel a bit more confident.
I hadn’t realized Cash’s dad was a rodeo cowboy as well, though it made sense.
My mind drifted to Cash and I couldn’t help but ask, “What about Big Daddy?” I fought an eyeroll…
and maybe a hint of a smile as I glanced over at Hux once more. “How, uh, accomplished is he?”
I didn’t miss the way his lips curved up into the ghost of a knowing smirk.
Like he’d been wondering when I’d bring him up.
Bastard. “He's a helluva bareback bronc rider,” he replied, “but I think he’s more talented as a roper. He’s one of the best fucking headers I’ve ever seen.
Well, saw. My dad raves about him all the time. ”
I huffed. “That explains why he wants me to compete in this roping event in December.”
“You gonna do it?”
I looked at him, trying to gauge his posture and facial expressions to determine what he was thinking. “I mean, might as well, right?” I asked, though I already suspected his answer.
“Knowledge is power,” Hux replied with a shrug.
“And you’d be gettin’ more time in the saddle, as well as instruction from a professional roper, no less…
Most people would pay a pretty penny to take a lesson with someone as talented as him.
If he’s willin’ to train you, I think you’d be dumb not to take the chance. ”
I nodded, glad I’d made the right decision. I just hoped that whatever chemistry Cash and I had between us didn’t explode and turn to shit before December. That was cutting it close to when things started to go downhill for me. “I think you’re right.”
Hux chuckled, settling himself more into his seat. “You’re gonna put Cash through the ringer.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You remind me a lot of him.”
I tossed my head back, a disbelieving laugh escaping my chest. “What are you talking about? We’re nothing alike.”
Hux’s low, deep rumble of a chuckle was full of warmth.
“Y’all are actually really similar if you think about it.
Competitive, confident, y’all are loud and speak your mind.
You’re both unapologetically flirty. Y’all are kinda like mirrors of each other.
” Another chuckle echoed through the cab.
“It’ll be like Cash gettin’ a taste of his own medicine. ”
I hadn’t thought of it that way, but we were similar. I wondered how that would work between us. Between us…who the fuck am I kidding? There was no us. “Yeah, well, he’s got a girlfriend still, and I’m not looking to settle down,” I finally managed to get out.
Hux laughed once more. “Trust me, neither is Cash. I’ve known him long enough to know there ain’t a settlin’ down bone in that man’s body. And from what Bad mentioned, he and that girl are basically done.”
I blew out a breath, even as Hux’s words ignited an ember of hope in my chest. “Well, until he is, he’s off limits.”