Chapter Ten
Dinner at Wildhaven Storm feels like walking into a Sunday dinner at my grandparents’ house after church when I was a kid.
The long dining table is set for twelve. Platters of meat swimming in gravy, a cheesy potato casserole, buttered corn, green beans, and fluffy biscuits waiting in the center. The mouthwatering aroma hit me before I even stepped through the doorway, and my stomach growls in appreciation.
I don’t think I’ve smelled “home” in a long time.
They don’t have to welcome me at their table the way they do. I’m sure there wasn’t a feed him daily clause in the training contract they signed with my management. Yet they’ve freely opened their home and kitchen to me.
“Bryce, come on in,” Evelyn calls, waving me toward an open chair.
“I think you made enough food to feed the whole damn county,” Earl says as he takes his own seat next to Albert.
“That’s because Cabe eats enough for four grown men,” Charli mutters, sliding past me with a teasing grin.
Evelyn chuckles, her silver hair twisted up in a bun. “That’s ’cause he works hard. Hard work builds up an appetite,” she says, pinching Cabe’s cheek affectionately before taking her own seat.
I can’t help but smile. There’s something about her—soft eyes, sharp tongue—that makes me feel like I’ve known her all my life.
Albert sits at the head of the table beside Earl, who already has his elbows propped up and is sneaking bites of his biscuit before everyone’s been seated. Shelby gives him a playful smack on the arm, but he just grins at her.
My eyes fall to the girl seated to the left of Charli. Golden-streaked brown hair and the same bright blue eyes as the other Storm girls.
“Hi, you must be Harleigh,” I say.
She smiles, genuine and warm. “And you must be Bryce. I’ve heard a lot about you,” she says, “but nobody told me how attractive you were.” She elbows Charli in the side.
“Owww,” Charli mutters. “Don’t worry; it’ll fade after a while.”
That makes me smile.
Cabe introduces me to the older couple seated next to him. His father, Boone Trust, and mother, Irene. I’ve seen them around this week, but wasn’t introduced. They work at the ranch as well but live about three miles away.
The front door opening draws everyone’s attention, and Matty appears. She smiles widely when she sees the table and everyone seated.
She steps inside, Caison following, but freezes mid-step, shock flashing across her face. “Harleigh? What the—what are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to come home till next week.”
Harleigh stands and crosses the room in three strides, wrapping Matty in a tight hug. “Surprise! Happy birthday, sissy.”
“You brat. You didn’t skip any exams, did you?” Matty’s voice catches, half laugh, half disbelief.
“Of course not. I took my last one yesterday afternoon and flew in this afternoon.”
“So, you’re home for the summer?” Matty asks.
“For two weeks. I got a summer job at a ranch in Saratoga,” she says, her voice giddy.
Matty frowns. “You got a summer job at a ranch? You could have worked here.”
Harleigh ignores her frown and shrugs. “I know, but this isn’t an all-inclusive luxury ranch resort that offers intern credits,” she says. Then adds, “Yet.”
Everyone laughs as Matty swats at her, but the tears gathering in her eyes give her away. She’s happy to see her baby sister for however long she’s home.
Caison walks her the rest of the way in and pulls her chair out for her.
When she sits down, she looks up at him with that look—the one that says everything without words.
I’ve seen that look between other people, like my parents, but never directed at me.
Dinner begins like a thunderclap of chatter and laughter. Earl leads grace, and then it’s a blur of dishes passed back and forth, butter melting into biscuits, glasses clinking, the kind of cheerful noise that wraps around you like the heat of a summer day.
Across the table, Harleigh’s telling a story about a blind date that her roommate set her up on that went terribly wrong, and Shelby’s making jokes about “the poor thing, inheriting her bad luck with men.” Albert pays attention but offers no comments or advice.
I mostly just listen.
The rhythm of them—the teasing, the interrupting, the laughter—it’s something I don’t think I’ve had since I was a kid.
Life on the rodeo circuit doesn’t make room for this kind of thing. My family’s back in Tulsa, and I barely make it home once, maybe twice a year. Quick drive-bys to check in on Mom and Dad. Then it’s all airports, arenas, motel rooms, repeat.
I love what I do. The adrenaline, the eight-second fights, the crowd roaring when I stick the ride. But nights like this … they remind me that when the lights go out and the crowds go home, it’s just me.
No laughter.
No family table.
Just silence and the faint hum of a mini fridge.
Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of buckle bunnies around to warm my bed for a night.
There’s always a crowd of them waiting at the bar after an event—easy to find and easy to forget.
But I haven’t had any meaningful relationships or friendships in over a decade, apart from my team—and they get paid to like me.
I shake off the thought, pick up my fork, and let myself get pulled back into the noise.
Halfway through dinner, Evelyn disappears into the kitchen and comes back, carrying a chocolate cake, candles flickering. Everyone starts singing before Matty can protest.
“Happy birthday to you …”
She groans and hides her face, cheeks going red, but she’s smiling too big to mean it.
When they finish, Caison leans close, voice low and teasing. “Make a wish.”
She glances at him, eyes shining in the candlelight. “All my wishes already came true.”
Then she kisses him, soft and slow, right there in front of everyone.
Shelby immediately makes a loud gagging noise. “Ugh, gross. Someone get me a bucket.”
Charli joins in, fake coughing. “Ew, Matty giving public displays of affection.”
Harleigh covers her face, snickering.
Evelyn just shakes her head. “Oh, hush up, all of you. Let the girl have her moment.”
Matty sticks her tongue out at her sisters and blows out the candles, still smiling like her heart’s about to burst.
I can’t help but smile too. The taunting, the devotion—it’s all so natural. So … unforced.
It hits me then how rich they are, not in money, but in love. How full their lives are.
Mine’s always been the opposite—fast, loud. Always chasing the next high. The money. The glory. Another gold buckle to add to the collection. And it’s all empty when the dust settles.
But this—what’s happening around me—is something money can’t buy.
After we’ve all had a slice of cake, the sisters announce their plot.
“All right,” Shelby says, “since Harleigh came home early, that means one thing—girls’ night out.”
“Correction,” Harleigh says, “family night. The boys are invited this time.”
“Oh, right,” Shelby says. “I meant family”—she looks at me and winks—“and Ry night out.”
Matty raises an eyebrow. “All of us?”
Charli smirks. “Yep. You too, boss lady. We’re going out dancing for your birthday.”
To everyone’s surprise, Matty doesn’t argue. “You know what? Why not? I want to celebrate having all my people here. Take me out and get me drunk, troublemakers.”
A symphony of hoots and hollers follows.
Charli’s eyes flick toward Caison and soften as she whispers, “You’ve changed her, you know.”
Caison looks confused. “Changed her?”
“Yeah.” Charli smiles. “She used to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. Never taking time to enjoy herself. Now she laughs more. Let’s go of things easier. You made her load lighter. She’s lucky to have you.”
He shakes his head. “Nah, I’m the lucky one.”
Charli studies him a moment longer, then nods. “You’re a good man, Galloway.”
He chuckles. “Don’t spread that around. I’ve got a reputation to protect.”
When the laughter dies down, Evelyn starts stacking dishes. The girls stand to help, but she waves them off.
“Uh-uh. You young folks go have fun. Albert, Earl, Boone, and Irene can help me clean tonight.”
Albert groans dramatically, but there’s no sincerity to it. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t you sass your momma. I’ll still take you over my knee,” she says, swatting him with a dish towel as the girls head upstairs to get ready and us fellas make our way out to the porch.
Outside, the sun’s dropping low behind the Tetons, the horizon painted gold and pink. Cabe hands out cold beers he snagged from the fridge, and the three of us—Caison, Cabe, and me—settle onto the porch steps while the sisters get ready.
“Feels like a damn postcard out here, and it’s so quiet,” I murmur, taking a pull from my bottle. “I forgot what a real country night felt like.”
Cabe nods, glancing around. “Quiet’s good for the soul.”
We sit in companionable silence for a while, listening to the crickets starting up, the occasional whinny from the barn.
Caison leans back on his elbows, eyes on the darkening horizon. “I thought I’d miss my luxury apartment and Texas more when I moved back. But I don’t miss it one bit.”
I glance at him. “Where about in Texas?”
“Dallas.”
“Me too. Well, I have a condo on the riverfront in Fort Worth.”
“Nice area,” he says. “Lots of people.”
I look away because there’s something about the way he says it.
The screen door creaks open, and whatever air was left in my lungs disappears.
They step out one by one—Shelby first, in a denim skirt, off-the-shoulder blue blouse, and turquoise jewelry; Harleigh in a strapless, wide-legged black jumpsuit; Matty follows in a floral dress and cowgirl boots, her hand slipping into Caison’s.
And then there’s Charli.
My brain short-circuits.
She’s wearing a strapless cream-colored dress that hugs every curve before flaring slightly at her knees.
A brown leather belt cinches her waist, and matching knee-high boots make her legs look endless.
Her long, dark hair falls in loose ringlets down her back.
Thin gold hoop earrings dangle above her bare tanned shoulders.
Her makeup is soft, natural, just enough to make her cheekbones glow and her lips look like they were made for sin.
My mouth goes dry.
She catches me staring and arches a brow. “What? Like you’ve never seen a woman in a dress before?”
“Not like that,” I mutter before bringing my beer to my lips.
Her mouth twitches into a smile as she brushes past me and whispers, “Who’s staring now, cowboy?”
I cough, choking on the sip I just took from my bottle.
Charli shakes her head, cheeks flushing slightly, but there’s a spark in her eyes that wasn’t there earlier.
I can’t look away.
“All right,” Matty calls out, pulling everyone toward the trucks. “Let’s get moving before all the good tables are gone.”
We all pile into two vehicles—Caison driving one, Cabe the other. I end up in the back seat beside Charli, which feels like divine punishment and sweet reward, all rolled into one.
She smells like peaches and sunshine. When the truck hits the bump at the top of the drive, her arm brushes mine, and I swear the temperature in the cab jumps ten degrees.
She glances at me, eyes narrowing—but there’s heat there, playfulness too. “You ready for trouble?”
“Yeah,” I say with a grin. “Are you?”
She looks away, but I catch the hint of a smile on her lips.
As the truck rumbles down the dirt road toward town, we settle in to silence as Cabe and Shelby argue over the radio.
For the first time in a long damn while, I don’t feel like an outsider, looking in.
Maybe it’s just tonight. Maybe it’s this town.
I glance beside me. Or maybe … it’s her.