Slow Burn (Wild Sage #1)

1. Lyla

Lyla

I’m not normally a glass half-empty kind of gal, but today? Today can go right ahead and fuck itself.

Scratch that, the whole week can go fuck itself, maybe even the whole year. It’s only the first week of May, but it’s been an onslaught of bullshit, one catastrophe after the other, insult on top of injury.

“You coming, Ly?” Sutton calls as she strides ahead toward the open air stadium.

To make matters worse, my best friend has dragged me along to the Sage Valley Rodeo, my least favourite weekend activity in my hometown. Sutton is well aware of this, but she insisted I tag along. I guess she’s afraid I’ll just sit around alone and mope if I don’t have something to do.

She’d be right, and I hate to admit that.

I am not one to mope. I don’t sulk, I don’t whine, I hardly even frown. I pick myself up by my bootstraps and get on with things, taking every setback as a sign from the universe there’s something bigger and better out there for me.

I’ve just been having a harder time doing that this time around. I really thought I’d made it, you know? So, getting fired was a kick in the teeth and unfortunately for me, the only person I have to blame is myself.

“I’m only staying for an hour,” I say once I catch up and match her steps.

The sun is hot, the late morning air hazy with heat and dust as Sutton leads me through the back entrance of the staging area.

Horses nicker softly as we pass them, one of them reaching its muzzle over a fence and nibbling the sleeve of my t-shirt.

I reach up to give it a pat as it stares at me with its soulful eyes.

“The second you have to tend to an injured animal, I’m gone,” I add.

Sutton is the only large animal and equine vet in town, and in all the neighbouring towns too, which means she’s in high demand, especially through the summer during rodeo season. She attends all the events and waits on standby if any of the animals need care.

And they do, often. Sutton is amazing at her job. She treats every animal with care and love.

“That’s fine,” she says. “I get it, I do. The rodeo isn’t for everyone. But it’s not as evil as you make it out to be.”

I generally prefer animals to most people. It doesn’t matter what size, species, whether they’re cute or homely, I love them all.

But I am not a fan of the rodeo.

“I never said it was evil,” I retort. “It just goes against every single one of my values, Sutton. You know that.”

Sutton and I have had this discussion before, so she doesn’t press the point. She knows she isn’t going to change my mind. She opts instead to let a silence fall between us, her tall brown leather boots making heavy footsteps on the concrete as she strides out to our spot next to the arena.

Growing up around the rodeo, I hated watching how the animals were treated–when they didn’t perform, getting flipped from rodeo to rodeo, being made to buck and kick. It commodifies animals in a way that makes my heart ache, makes a spectacle of these gentle creatures. It just feels wrong.

The rest of Sage Valley, however, doesn’t agree.

The seats are nearly full already, hundreds of people from Sage Valley and neighbouring towns coming to either compete, cheer on their friends or family, or just have a day out. People here love the rodeo, they live for it. It’s an integral part of the culture out here in the prairies.

And I can think of a million things I’d rather be doing, and a million places I’d rather be. All of them would be air conditioned and none of them would smell like fried corndogs, sugared mini donuts, and eau de horse shit.

We have prime seating, at ground level, next to the exit where riders will come to bring their horses to the cool down ring, or to brush themselves off after getting dusted by an angry bull. The front row view is utterly wasted on me.

“You never did tell me why you’re back in town,” Sutton says, taking a seat on a bench reserved for rodeo staff. I sit next to her and pretend to be heavily invested in the barrel racing event so I don’t have to look her in the eye when I tell her the truth.

I recognize the woman getting ready for her run as Skye Hollis, the youngest of the Hollis siblings. Beck, her brother, is my brother Austin’s best friend. How? I’m not sure. They couldn’t be more opposite.

Austin can be a hot head, but deep down he’s passionate and caring.

Beck, on the other hand, is sullen and scowly.

Closed off and broody. I’ve always had the distinct impression he doesn’t like me.

Even as kids, he put as much distance between us as possible, finding excuses to not hang around if I was there, looking visibly put off when Austin said I’d be tagging along.

He begrudgingly watched out for me, as he would his own sister, only because he cared about Austin like his own family.

I’m too much for him. I’m bubbly and bright, loud and opinionated, and I think that makes him uncomfortable. To be fair, I think it makes a lot of people uncomfortable. My personality gets me in trouble a lot of the time, and I’m facing the consequences in a dire way now.

“I lost my job,” I admit finally.

The barrel racing starts, the crowd whooping and hollering with every competitor who finishes, and groaning whenever a barrel gets knocked down. Skye dominates and everyone from Sage Valley erupts in cheers.

I have to admit, the energy at the rodeo is infectious, and despite my reservations about it, I find myself rooting for her, too.

In my periphery I can tell my beautiful best friend’s eyes have widened, and she’s gaping at me rather than the event, her mouth popped open in surprise. It’s the same expression I made when my boss told me I was being let go.

Not that I had any right to be surprised. Losing the second biggest account isn’t a mistake you come back from. It’s not an offence that warrants a slap on the wrist and a write up.

“Wait, what?” She shakes her head, incredulous. When I look back at her, her wavy auburn hair is glowing in the sun, the frizzy edges creating a halo effect around her.

I nod as confirmation that she heard me correctly.

“But you’re incredible at your job,” she says. “You’re so… you.”

I shrug. “As it turns out, being me is not always a strength.”

I’ve been really trying lately, too. After my boss hauled me into his office a few months ago to tell me our business consulting firm had received a complaint about my strong opinions and my eagerness to share them, I’ve been trying to hold my tongue more.

But I can only control so much, and when my client is found out to be doing sketchy shit and implicating me, I’m not going to stay quiet.

Of course, no one likes to be called out, especially when they’re caught with their pants down so to speak. So, my “outburst”, as my boss called it, got back to him right away.

I don’t regret it, though. I stand by my morals and I’d do it again.

So, here I am. Back in Sage Valley, with my tail tucked firmly between my legs.

I made such a big deal over the fact that I was leaving, getting out of my hometown and doing something with my life. Turns out, life in the city when you’re single and jobless is expensive, not to mention lonely.

“Fuck that,” Sutton says, breaking me out of my thoughts. “They’re stupid to let you go.”

“Maybe,” I say, giving my head a defeated shake. My long dark pony tail swishes across my shoulder blades. “Doesn’t change the fact that now I have to find something else, without a decent reference.”

Sage Valley isn’t exactly a bustling business hub. It’s why I moved to the city in the first place. There isn’t a ton of work for business consultants in small towns, and I love what I do. I wouldn’t have gotten my MBA if I didn’t.

What I didn’t imagine was consulting for big corporations with less than upstanding ethical values. I had envisioned myself working for smaller businesses, maybe even non-profits. And at one time, I had even dreamed of opening my own.

I stay at the rodeo longer than I meant to, and as the day goes on I do loosen up a little. I almost forget about the stress of finding a new job looming over me. I attribute the improvement in my mood to being out with Sutton all day.

“Why don’t you come to Lucky’s later?” Sutton suggests. “I think everyone will be there. It’s line dancing night.”

“I don’t know Sutt…” I say. “I was planning on spending tonight applying to some new jobs, or at least looking. Besides, I can’t leave Critter all alone, he goes kind of feral when I’m away for too long. Last time I left him he nearly chewed through the front door.”

“He really manages to cause a lot of damage with that snaggle tooth of his,” Sutton laughs. “We can go check on him before we go out. I missed you too much. You’re stuck with me all day.”

“Here’s the thing…” I chew my bottom lip, my stomach twisting into a knot at the thought of running into my brother. “I haven’t told Austin I’m back.”

I got lucky and didn’t run into him at the rodeo today.

Austin was a bronc rider turned horse trainer.

He decided he’d rather work with horses rather than against them.

Sage Valley is where he’s always belonged, unlike me.

If I know Austin, he’ll almost certainly be out at the bar on Saturday night.

I want to have a plan of action, maybe another opportunity lined up before I tell him I lost my job.

Something to soften the blow when I break the news, so he won’t fly off the rails.

Ever since our parents died, he’s ultra protective whenever it comes to me.

I wouldn’t put it past him to go back to Calgary and give my boss a piece of his mind.

That’s the last thing I need. My boss already thinks I’m a loose cannon, and apparently so does the rest of the business industry. No one needs to know it runs in the family.

Sutton clicks her tongue. “You’re going to have to talk to Austin eventually.”

She does have a point. I can’t avoid him forever.

My mouth works as I consider her argument. “Fine.”

Sutton and I sit and catch up as we watch the rest of the events. She occasionally gets called away to look at animals who suffered minor injuries in the arena. Luckily, there haven't been any major incidents requiring her attention.

The last event of the day is steer roping, and the announcer’s voice crackles over the loud speaker to introduce the first competitor. It almost doesn’t register at first, but my gaze drifts over to the starting gate and lands on Beck Hollis, waiting on his horse to start his event.

He says something to the roughstock worker standing next to him, and then his eyes flick up and over to where I’m sitting. It’s as if they were drawn to me by some invisible force.

My brother’s best friend is handsome, I won’t deny it. His chiseled jawline is covered with stubble, a dark moustache highlighting his stern mouth, and his dark chestnut hair curls out from under his brown suede cowboy hat.

Beck glowers at me, sending me back to the days when we were both kids, teasing each other mercilessly. Well, me teasing Beck and my brother mercilessly. A lot of time may have passed since those days, but still, something comes over me at the expression on Beck’s face.

I glower back at him, and stick out my tongue.