Chapter Forty-Six
Royce
Axle approaches me as I walk into Bryce’s office, wearing a curious yet worried expression.
For the past couple of months, I’ve felt a little lost.
Not lost like I don’t know where I am. I know exactly where I am.
It’s more like the life I’ve been living and the life I thought I was headed toward have slowly started diverging. Like two roads splitting in opposite directions while I’m standing right in the middle, trying to figure out which one is actually mine.
I’ve felt ungrounded.
And I’m tired of pretending I haven’t.
Axle drops into the chair across from me, glancing between Bryce and me. “So, what’s this about?”
I lean back against the edge of Bryce’s desk, folding my arms. “I’ve been thinking.”
Axle snorts. “Well, shit, this ain’t starting out good.”
Bryce laughs from behind his desk.
I shake my head. “Just hear me out.”
Axle settles.
“I love bull riding,” I tell him. “You know that. I love every damn thing about it. Everything about rodeo really. I love broncs. Roping. Steer wrestling. All of it.” I look down at my hands for a second.
“I love watching somebody ride and being able to see exactly what they’re doing wrong.
Where their weight is. What their hips are doing.
Why they got hung up. Why they got bucked off.
I love breaking down the mechanics of it. ”
Axle nods slowly.
“And I love working with these kids.” I glance toward Bryce. “The up-and-coming ones. Watching them figure something out for the first time. Seeing a kid go from barely staying on to making a ride he never thought he could make.” A smile pulls at my mouth. “That part? I could do forever.”
Axle studies me. “I get it.”
I push away from the desk and pace a couple of steps before turning back toward them.
“But the rest of it …” I shake my head. “The spotlight. The Buck’n Diesel Energy of the whole thing. The cameras. Everybody watching. Everybody wanting a piece of you.” I exhale. “It’s never felt right.”
Axle’s eyebrows draw together.
“I don’t need the spotlight,” I say. “Never have. Never will.”
I look at my brother. “But I sure as hell love it for you.”
Something shifts in Axle’s expression.
“I love seeing you out there,” I continue. “I love watching you ride. I love watching people lose their minds over you. That’s your thing, Ax.” I shrug. “I’m proud as hell of you.”
He looks down, rubbing a hand over his jaw.
“But me?” I say. “I think I’m meant to be right here.”
I glance around Bryce’s office, then through the window, toward the academy. “Home.”
The word settles between us.
I look at Bryce. “And you need people.”
He raises an eyebrow.
“Not just part-time summer instructors,” I say. “Not if you’re serious about this. Not if you’re really gonna turn this place into what you’ve been talking about.”
Bryce leans back in his chair.
I look at Axle, then back at him.
“You need someone here year-round. Someone who knows this stuff. Someone who can support you both inside and outside of the arena. Be here handling things while you’re out shaking hands and making deals.
Someone who cares whether this place and the people who come through it succeed. ” I pause. “I’m not gonna be cheap.”
Bryce’s mouth twitches.
“But I’ll be worth every penny.”
Axle chuckles under his breath.
Bryce studies me for a long moment before leaning further back in his chair. “I have no doubt about that.” He folds his hands over his stomach. “And I’m not looking for cheap.”
I blink.
He looks me straight in the eye. “So, what’s your price?”
I didn’t expect him to ask that fast.
I glance toward Axle, then back at Bryce. “A fair salary.”
Bryce nods.
“Six months recovery time after I get surgery.”
His eyebrows lift, but he doesn’t interrupt.
“A sponsorship.”
That gets a look from Axle.
“And one barrel racing instructor.”
Bryce sits there quietly, a small smile playing on his lips.
For a second, I wonder if I’ve pushed too far.
Then the corner of his mouth lifts. “You want a lot.”
“I’m worth a lot.” I hold his gaze. “And so is she. You know that as well as I do.”
Bryce’s expression shifts, the humor fading from his face.
“She doesn’t belong here. Not yet. Hell, we’re all gonna be put out to pasture here before long, but she still belongs out there.” I glance at Axle. “In the spotlight. Chasing world championships. Hearing crowds chant her name.”
Bryce nods once. “Agreed,” he says. “But how are we gonna make that happen?”
“She needs three things.” I hold up my hand, ticking them off one finger at a time.
“First, a few months of training to get her and Rowdy back into competition shape. I watched those two run a pattern the other day when she thought nobody was watching.” A grin pulls at my mouth. “It was something to see.”
I lift a second finger. “Second, she needs money. That’s where you come in, Ax.
Should be pretty damn easy to convince the folks at Buck’n Diesel of the benefits of sponsoring a former—and future—female world champion barrel racer instead of a fourth-ranked bull rider.
I appreciate the opportunity and you including me, but she’s what they need.
Plus, I think the damn drink tastes like piss. ”
Axle chuckles. “Careful.”
I grin. “And, Bryce, couldn’t Bull Rope Whiskey use a little estrogen on its marketing team?”
Bryce smirks. “I believe we could.”
I hold up a third finger. “Third, she needs a steady home base. Somewhere she knows Ryder is taken care of when she’s out there shining. A soft place to land between rodeos. Somewhere surrounded by family who’s got her and her son’s backs. A place where she doesn’t have to wonder if she belongs.”
Then I glance between the two of them. “I need all of us for that. The Trust and Storm crew.”
I gesture to the window, beyond it to the sprawling ranch. “She needs a reliable partner. Somebody who can anchor her without holding her back. Somebody to be her safety net while she’s out there chasing dreams—that part’s all on me.”
Bryce studies me for a minute, and whatever he sees on my face must convince him. “You got yourself a deal.”
Something in my chest loosens.
Just like that.
The road that’s been splitting in two suddenly merges back together and leads me right back to where I started.
Wildhaven.
Home.
I’m halfway down the hall when I nearly run straight into Blaze.
“Where’s Bryce?” he asks.
“He’s around here somewhere.”
Blaze nods once and turns like he’s going to walk away.
“Hey.”
He glances over his shoulder.
“You aren’t gonna cause any trouble, are you?”
His mouth twists into a sneer. “What? You afraid she’s gonna want to go back with me?”
“Fuck no.” I take a step toward him. “I’m pretty sure she forgot you even exist.”
He laughs. “That’s my boy she’s got with her.”
I shrug.
“Pretty sure he forgot too. And that one’s all on you, not me.”
I step closer. “She’s not going anywhere. Not unless you try to use Ryder against her and force her.”
Something cold settles over his face. “I just might have to. For her own good. Get her away from you.”
I chuckle. “You’re a pathetic, jealous prick.”
“Jealous?” He laughs. “Of you? You’re nothing but a busted-up cowboy, living in your brother’s shadow.”
“Not jealous of me, dickhead.” I step closer.
“Jealous of her. Her star shone too damn bright, and you couldn’t stand it.
You had to tuck her away so you wouldn’t have to stand beside a woman who outshone you.
” I shake my head. “That doesn’t make you a big man, Blaze.
It makes you the smallest man on earth.”
His face darkens. “Watch your mouth.”
“Why? Hit a nerve?”
He takes a step toward me. “You don’t know shit about me.”
“I know enough, and I’m guessing the reason you’re so damn insecure about everything is because you’re compensating for something else that couldn’t satisfy her.”
His jaw drops. “Don’t talk about my dick.”
I grin. “Didn’t have to. You brought it up.”
He squares his shoulders. “Trust me, I’ve got nothing to be insecure about.”
“When a man really has a big dick, he doesn’t have to swing it around for everyone to know it.”
“Fuck you.”
I smile. “Sorry. You’re not my type.”
A door opens behind me.
“Okay.” Bryce’s voice cuts through the hallway. “You get to work on your part, and I’ll do mine.”
I glance over my shoulder.
Bryce and Axle step out of the office.
Bryce takes one look at Blaze. Then at me. “Everything all right out here?”
I smile. “Everything’s fine.”