Chapter 29
COLTON
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Lucy asks hesitantly.
I nod as I pull into the parking spot outside the arena where tonight’s rodeo performance is being held. Reaching over to grab her hand, I press a kiss to her fingers.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” I reassure her as she looks over at me in concern. “I promise. I want to do this. So, are you ready to go?”
She nods, straightening her cowgirl hat before she turns to open her door.
I do the same and meet her at the front of the truck, admiring how perfect she looks in her boots, jeans, and brown sweater.
Her long hair falls in waves down her back, and the extra hat I usually keep in my truck looks ten times better on her than it ever has on me.
“What, is something wrong?” she asks, looking down at her clothes. “I knew this outfit wasn’t quite right. You should have told me to change.”
“Baby, you’d look perfect no matter what you wore. I was just thinking that I can’t believe you’re wasting your time on an old, ugly bastard like me.”
She rolls her eyes and presses a quick kiss to my lips. “First of all, I know I like to give you shit, but you’re not old. And don’t act like you won’t have girls crawling all over you tonight, Mr. Rodeo King.”
“The only person I want all over me is you,” I tell her truthfully. “If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not interested in anyone else but you.”
Lucy blushes at the compliment, and I take her hand, leading her towards the entrance to the arena. She frowns down at our hands, leaning in to whisper, “Are we allowed to hold hands here?”
“I don’t think anyone’s going to stop us.
” I laugh. She continues to look up at me, the hesitation clear on her face, so I continue, “Listen, Hayes sure isn’t gonna be wandering around out here to see us.
Your mama decided not to come tonight after her doctor’s appointment earlier today wore her out.
So, unless you aren’t comfortable being seen with me, I don’t see a problem with it. ”
She nods, and I try not to cringe at the reminder that our time of keeping this thing between us is quickly coming to an end. Hayes will be coming home this week for Thanksgiving, and between now and then, we’ll have to figure out how to break the news to him.
Pushing the thought from my mind, I focus on leading her through security and into the crowded arena.
Lucy follows me through the tight corridors, passing the vendors selling cowboy hats, stuffed animals, and popcorn.
“Are you hungry?” I ask, pulling her into the line as we reach the concessions stand.
“Uh, I’d love a pretzel and a Diet Coke, but I can get it,” she offers, laughing as I shoot her my usual look of disdain at that statement. “Fine, fine,” she says, holding up her hand in surrender. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing,” I say, dropping a quick kiss to her forehead.
“Hey man, aren’t you Colton Harris?”
I turn to see a boy who looks to be in his early teens standing in front of us, watching me. His cowboy hat is slightly too big on him, sitting crooked on his head and partially covering his eyes.
“Uh, yeah, that’s me,” I say awkwardly, preparing myself for whatever he’s going to say.
“Wait, that’s so cool,” he says, his face bright with excitement. “I’ve followed your career since I was a little kid. You were always my favorite rider.”
“Oh, thank you. That means a lot to me,” I tell him truthfully. “What’s your name?”
“Billy. And I just want you to know, I hate how it ended for you, but I hope that you’ve found something else that makes you happy,” the kid says.
I look down at Lucy before shooting him a smile. “Yeah, Billy. It’s all worked out all right.”
He nods, reaching out to shake my hand. “It’s really nice to meet you, Mr. Harris.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” I say truthfully before he walks off and the concession line moves forward.
“Wow, that was really sweet,” Lucy murmurs, her eyes wide.
“Yeah, it was,” I agree, as we step forward and grab our food. After making sure we have everything, I lead the way to our seats just as the music for the opening ceremony starts to blare through the speakers.
We’re just getting settled into our seats as the lights go out, and the spotlight hits the riders making their way out onto the dirt floor.
Through the darkness, Lucy reaches out and squeezes my hand in comfort as I try to decide how I feel.
This is the first time since I was a teenager that I’ve been on this side of an opening ceremony, and a sharp pang of longing hits me.
Part of me would give anything to still be part of this world, but as I think back over the last few months, it hits me that the part of me that longs to be on the back of a bull tonight is much smaller than it used to be.
“Oh look, there’s Hayes,” Lucy points out, pointing to her brother riding a beautiful white horse slowly around the arena floor.
My earlier wave of longing fades, and I smile as more riders I recognize fill the competition floor. I watch as they make the circle, until a voice comes through the loudspeaker announcing the end of the opening ceremony. Lucy’s hand squeezes mine in reassurance as the lights flicker back on.
“You okay?” she whispers, leaning in so I can hear her over the noise of the crowd.
“Yeah, I’m just fine,” I tell her, stealing a quick kiss from her lips. And as I wrap my arm around her and settle in to watch the events, I know it’s the truth.
“First up, riding on behalf of the Bama Bulls this evening, we have Hayes Phillips,” the announcer’s voice booms over the loudspeaker, and I lean over to grab Lucy’s hand.
I drop a kiss to her knuckles, both of us watching as Sam leans over to pull Hayes’s rope tight. They exchange a few words before Hayes nods, and the gate swings open.
The bull charges out of the chute, turning and bucking hard, but Hayes is ready, keeping his body ahead of the bull’s motions.
Lucy cheers along with the crowd as I watch, quietly cataloging every shift of his hips to dissect with him later.
Just before the time ends, the bull turns hard to the right, his whole body seemingly frozen in mid-air.
But Hayes manages to stay ahead of him, keeping his balance just as the buzzer rings out, signaling the end of his ride.
Hayes jumps off, letting out a yell of triumph as soon as his feet hit the ground.
“It’s been forever since I watched one of these things. That was good, right?” Lucy asks, leaning over so I can hear her over the roar of the crowd.
“Yeah, it was a good ride. The bull bucked hard enough to get him the points he needs, and he stayed in control of the ride the entire time. If I had to guess, he’s looking at something between an eighty-seven to a ninety.”
Lucy nods, turning her attention to the Jumbotron above us as we wait for his score. After a moment, a large red eighty-nine point four lights up the screen, and the arena erupts in cheers. Hayes throws both arms up in excitement, and Sam leans over to clap him on the back.
“Up next for the Louisiana Lightning team, we have Arthur Coleman” the announcer says, and we turn our attention to the other team’s chute. The rider nods, and the gate swings open as the bull charges into the open area of the arena.
As soon as he’s no longer confined in the chute, the bull goes wild, turning frantic circles as he bucks.
The rider manages to keep his balance at first, but after another hard turn to the left, he flies through the air, hitting the side of the arena before falling to the ground.
I wince as the arena sucks in a collective gasp of shock, followed by a moment of silence as everyone looks to see if he’s okay.
My heart feels like it’s in my throat as I watch, trying not to think too hard about the fact that the last time I rode ended pretty in a pretty similar fashion.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been bucked off a bull, never mind watching someone else take the fall.
But after the accident, it feels a little harder to watch.
I take a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves as the rider pushes to his feet, waving his hands to let everyone know he’s okay.
Lucy lays her head against my shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief. “You okay, babe?” she whispers, gripping my hand hard.
I squeeze hers back, before I admit, “I’m fine. That just hit a little harder than I expected.”
The announcer’s voice crackles through the speakers, interrupting my admission. “All right, folks. Right now, the Bama Bull team is in the lead, but we’ve got a lot of riding to get to tonight. So without further ado, next up is Mason Wallace, riding for the Bulls.”
I lean into Lucy, grateful for the distraction after the way the last ride ended. “His family owns the big ranch in Saddle Ridge. His brother is actually who I bought most of my cattle from.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “Wait, that’s cool. Are you and Mason friends?”
I shrug. “He keeps to himself for the most part, but we’ve ridden in the same circles for years.”
Lucy nods, watching as the gate opens again, the crowd going wild.
Clearly, he’s become a bit of a crowd favorite this season, and after watching him ride, I can see why.
His movements are confident, keeping his control over the bull, while still making sure the bull bucks hard enough to give him the score he wants.
After the buzzer rings out, signaling the end of the ride as half the people in the arena jump to their feet, screaming his name.
“Wow, that was really something,” Lucy mutters.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if he scores in the mid-nineties,” I agree.
A moment later, a large ninety-three pops up on the screen. The Jumbotron pans to him, Hayes, and the rest of his teammates throw up their hands in excitement. I expect him to celebrate, but Mason just nods once and walks over to sit in an empty chair behind the chute.
“He doesn’t seem to get too excited, huh?” Lucy asks, and I shrug.
“Yeah, some guys aren’t into all the showy celebrations. They’re just here to ride.”
Lucy nods, and we watch a few more mediocre rides. I’m about to ask her if she’s ready to go when her eyes widen and she points at the rider who’s up next for the Bulls.
“Wait, oh my gosh. That’s Mitch’s stepbrother,” she says, and I look at her in surprise.
“Wait. Really? Like Amelia’s Mitch?”
She nods before saying, “Yeah, his name’s Luke, right?”
“Yeah, Luke Ashford.”
“Is he as big of an asshole as Mitch is?” Lucy asks, looking down at the chute curiously as Luke gets set for his ride.
“No, he’s a good guy. He actually only started riding professionally a few years ago, but he moved through the ranks really fast. We’ve done a lot of the same events, and he’s a hell of a rider.”
We fall silent as the gate of the chute swings open again. The bull barely makes it out of the gate before he starts bucking, but Luke manages to keep his balance, holding tight to his rope and shifting his hips as he digs in his spurs.
The bull puts on another good show, but Luke stays on until the buzzer. He throws himself off and raises his hand, acknowledging the cheering crowd before walking back behind the chute to join his team.
When the Jumbotron screen fills with his score of eighty-eight, I realize there’s only a few more riders left.
I know Hayes probably wants us to come see him after this is over, but I don’t think I’m ready to see him and pretend like what Lucy and I have isn’t real until we can tell him the truth.
I just want to go home and fall asleep with her in my arms.
“You about ready, Darlin’?” I ask, leaning over to whisper in her ear.
She looks at me and nods quickly. “Let’s go home, Cowboy.”
And as I stand, I can’t help but think that sounds like the best plan I’ve heard all night.