Welcome To The Show
OLLIE
DECEMBER
There were very few moments in my life that I was proud of.
Graduating high school, but half a year early—it’s amazing how much better of a student I became when I didn’t have to deal with dickhead teachers and could go at my own pace.
Buying my motorcycle. Getting out of foster care and no longer being yet another number in a broken system.
This moment was definitely going to be added to that list. Maybe even the top.
2.4.
Two. Point. Fucking. Four. Seconds.
My heart pounded in my chest harder than Nesta barreling down the arena as I rode back toward the warm up area to wait for the rest of the contestants to make their runs.
I still couldn’t believe it. That score was impressive as fuck.
No wonder Cash enjoyed rodeoing so much. The high I felt right now…I hoped I never came down from it. It was like being on cloud nine.
Speaking of Big Daddy, I had no idea where he was, but as much as I wanted to find him, I wanted to see the last few contestants compete.
I hadn’t gotten first, which honestly, I wasn’t even expecting that for my first time competing, but there was still a chance to get second or third.
“Hey,” a husky, feminine drawl drew my attention.
I turned to find a girl around my age, give or take a few years, riding over on one of the most gorgeous palominos I’d ever seen.
Its coat literally gleamed and rippled like liquid gold.
Her and her horse were bedecked in turquoise.
From the cowboy hat and western shirt she wore, to the wraps on her gelding’s feet. Even her rope was turquoise.
I recognized her instantly.
She was one of the contenders in the pro level that was competing after my group. Why the hell was she over here talking to me?
“Hi?” I replied, my brows pinching together on instinct. Way to sound friendly, Ol.
Even her eyes were a bright, brilliant cerulean color that popped against her auburn hair. “That’s an impressive time you got there. I’ve never seen you compete before… How long you been ridin’?”
I dipped my head. “Thanks, this is actually my first competition.”
The cowgirl rocked back at that, almost as if she’d been struck by an invisible wall. She blinked…once. Twice. “No fuckin’ shit?”
My lips curved upward. “Yeah, I’ve only been riding since September.”
Her mouth flopped open and closed like a fish out of water. “Who the hell are you trainin’ with?”
“Cash Mooney from Mercenary Ranch.”
Recognition sparked in her gaze. “I know him.”
The way she said it gave me the impression she might know him a little more than I’d like, but I wasn’t an overly possessive bitch. I knew of his long list of conquests before me, just as he knew mine that was equally as long.
“I didn’t realize he was trainin’ now too.
” She shrugged, looking me up and down, but not with jealousy or judgement or anything like that.
It was an assessing gaze. “Well, whatever you’re doin’ keep it up.
I’ve been watchin’ you all day. Your times and the way you ride are impressive.
Especially given how inexperienced you are.
Keep it up and you’ll be ridin’ pro in no time. ”
Something swelled in my chest, spilling over and filling me with the same warmth I felt when Cash or Bad or Mav gave me a compliment on my riding. Pride.
“Thank you.” I held my hand out to her. “I’m Ollie, by the way. Ollie Ravenwood.”
“Wynona Winters,” she replied, shaking my hand right back, “but most people just call me Winnie.”
“Nice to meet you, Winnie.”
She grinned. “You too. You know, a couple friends and I are part of a rodeo team. We travel together, compete together on the circuit…I think you might fit in well.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, trying to hide the intrigue boiling up within me. She thought I was that good. Was she asking me to be on her team?
“Yeah. I like your vibe and in a sport that’s already hard, it’s nice to know you got some girls who have your back.”
“I um…” I didn’t know what to say. What to even think for that matter.
Everything felt like it was happening way too fast and really damn slow all at the same time.
Like being in one of those wave pools at a waterpark.
The waves barreling this way and that. It wasn’t a bad thing, I just felt all out of sorts…
and if I were being honest, a bit overwhelmed.
And then, like a life raft in a sea of uncertainty, a familiar, whiskey smooth voice rang across the arena. “Ollie!”
As if drawn together by an invisible string, I couldn’t help but look at him. The smile on his face as he climbed up the rungs of the warm up arena was enough to power this entire building, the entire town maybe.
A soft, husky chuckle drew my attention. “You don’t have to give me an answer right now. Just think about it…” She pulled out her phone out of her back pocket. “Here, what’s your number?”
I gave it to her quickly, all the while, Cash shouted my name once more. “Sorry. He’s obnoxious as fuck. Thank you.”
“You two hookin’ up?” she asked, her tone and gemstone gaze curious.
My lips curved up. “He’s actually my boyfriend.”
“Well, shit. You tamed the stallion?”
I cackled. “Oh dear God, please tell me you guys don’t call him that. He’s already got a big enough fucking head as it is.”
She laughed, the sound warm and smoky. “I’ll shoot you a text. Think about my offer.”
I smiled. “Thanks, and good luck.”
She grinned and tipped her hat to me before riding off into the fray of bodies once more.
Cash didn’t wear a grin as I turned to look at him, but he didn’t look angry either. Not that he had any reason to. Nudging Nesta onward, I aimed his way.
“What’d Winnie Winters have to say? Was she givin’ you any problems?” I’d never really heard him sound protective or possessive before, but there was a sort of…concerned look in the way he watched her ride.
“Not at all. She actually, uh…kind of, sort of, I think offered me a spot on her rodeo team?” I said slowly, almost more of a question than anything.
Cash’s eyes flared, the gold hues eating up the greens and blues. “Holy fuckin’ shit, really sugar?”
I nodded.
He leaned over the fence and grabbed the back of my neck, dragging my mouth to his.
I kissed him with fire and fervor, which he eagerly matched.
He was just as winded as me when he finally broke away.
Still clutching the back of my neck, he replied, “Winnie fuckin’ Winters just asked you to be one of the Rode-hoes? ”
A grin cracked on my lips. “That’s their team name?”
He chuckled. “Unofficially. They’d never be allowed to call themselves that. But they’re kickass. The rebels of the rodeo, some call ‘em. But they ain’t, they're just damn good.”
The way he talked about them…like they were rodeo royalty or something.
And she wanted me to be on their team.
That unfamiliar swell of pride surged in my chest once more and I couldn’t help but smile.
Cash kissed me again. “I’m so fuckin’ proud of you, sugar. Two point four…two point fuckin’ four, Olina. Do you know how fuckin’ amazin’ that is?”
My throat tightened, tears pricking in my eyes. In my entire twenty-five years of existence, I don’t think anyone had ever looked at me like he did in that moment. Pride and happiness and love. So much fucking love it made my heart hurt.
I’d always thought love was a weakness. A crutch. Something that could only ever cause you disappointment and inevitable pain. But every day with Cash proved just how wrong I’d been.
I grabbed a fistful of his red-collared shirt and kissed him, murmuring, “Yeah, well, I had a really adequate teacher.”
He laughed. “Careful now, sugar. I’ll show you adequate.”
I grinned against his lips. “Promise, Big Daddy?”
He groaned into my kiss. “You’re gonna be the death of me, sugar.”
Well, that made two of us.
Well, I didn’t get first place, but second was pretty damn good. Especially when it came with three thousand bucks and my very own fancy silver and gold buckle. You best fucking believe I was going to put that shit on the moment I got back to the horse trailer.
Second place in my first roping competition. Getting an invitation onto a rodeo team. Friends and a family I managed to weasel my way into all on my own. Not to mention, a hot as fuck boyfriend who doubled as my coach. My life might as well be a fucking fairytale.
Kid me settling into yet another group home would never believe this is how far we came.
“So, you gonna talk more with Winnie?” Cash asked as we walked back to the trailer together, Nesta plodding along proudly behind us. I had no way of knowing this, but I think she was proud of herself too.
“Probably. What all does a rodeo team even do though?” I asked.
“The team she’s on has two teams, a development team and a pro team. My guess is they’d have you ride on the development or amateur team, and then move you up once you get some more experience and a spot opens up on the pro level. Y’all would compete together, goin’ rodeo to rodeo on the circuit.”
“So, would I have to quit at Broken Creek?” The thought made my heart pang a bit. I’d put Hux and Quinn through the ringer the last few days. Honestly, everyone really. I didn’t want to potentially be another source of stress for them.
Cash shook his head. “Not necessarily. I mean, that would probably be more up to them than anythin’. But you wouldn’t be on the road all the time. Some rodeos are closer than others.”
“What about you?” A lump lodged in my throat. It was crazy, a few months ago the thought of being on the road, doing something like this would have been a no brainer for me, but that was before him.
God, just the thought of that made me want to roll my eyes on instinct. I sounded so corny. But as corny as it was, it was still true.
Cash Mooney changed me. Well, maybe changed was a bit strong of a word. I was still me, still feisty and prickly, a tad bit reckless, and also stubborn as all hell. So maybe he hadn’t changed me, but…honed me into something different. Better.
Yeah, being with Cash made me better. And I wasn’t in a rush to give up on that.
Cash slung his arm around my shoulder and dragged me into his side to pop a kiss on my forehead. “What about me, sugar? We’d be doin’ the same circuit. You could rope, I could ride and be there to coach you. It’d be fuckin’ perfect.”
It still was a bit—no, a lot—baffling to me that I’d actually found someone worth my time, but also someone who understood me in a way I don’t think anyone else had ever understood me.
Not that I gave many people the chance to.
But still, Cash blasted through my walls and forced himself into my life, accepting all the ugly, broken pieces of me.
Not just accepting, but appreciating. To him I wasn’t broken.
I didn’t need to be tamed or fixed. I just needed someone willing to take the time to earn my trust.
I grinned and leaned into him, sliding my hand into his back pocket. “You know, Big Daddy, you’re a lot smarter than you look.”
Everyone was at the trailer by the time Cash and I walked up with Nesta.
And I mean everyone. Hux and Quinn. Walker and Whit.
Cash’s uncle, Goodie, as well as the ranch boys.
Charlie and Chey were trying to keep the babies happy with Mav and Ryder.
Violet sat like a queen in a throne in one of the camping chairs, Bad the ever dutiful hand waiting right beside her.
Cason and Wiley, Hux and Quinn’s foster kid they were trying to adopt, were playing with the dummy cow and rope.
The flood of praise and congratulations that ensued the moment they saw me was overwhelming and…well, really really nice. So this is what it felt like to have a family?
I bit back tears, my heart so damn happy it could burst. No tears. I wasn’t going to cry, not even happy tears. I had no desire to be one of those happy, blubbering idiots who couldn’t keep their shit together when something good happened to them. No need to get emotional.
“Thank you, but second place isn’t really much to celebrate,” I huffed, trying to downplay the situation a bit. While I had no desire to flee, my nerves were conditioned to hate situations like this. Years of running didn’t just disappear over night.
I managed to keep my shit together as everyone came up and congratulated me or offered me a hug or some other nice gesture. But the minute Bad moved from his spot behind Violet and made his way over to me, tears stung in the corners of my eyes.
“That was one hell of a run.” He didn’t smile, didn’t smirk, but his gaze and words were warm.
I pursed my lips together and smiled. “Thanks for helpin’ me, old timer.”
He chuckled then, the low familiar sound reminding me of a summer storm. “I’d say give me about a grand of that money and we’ll be caught up on my trainin’ fees.”
A tear slipped down my cheek even as laughter bubbled up out of me. “Fuck off.”
He pulled me into a bear hug, so tight I swear he might have bruised a rib or two. “Sky’s the limit, kiddo. Can’t wait to watch you continue to shine.”
There was no doubt about it. Today officially was the best day of my life.