Chapter Twenty
Jesse watched Carly go, unable to tear his eyes from the retreating figure.
Grayson snorted. “I think you have a little drool on your face.”
JenniLynn smiled. “They’re clearly in the honeymoon stage.”
Grayson lifted an eyebrow at that. “And we’re not?”
JenniLynn looked like she was about to show him that they indeed were when someone called out. “Afternoon, Mayor.”
She waved to the greeter before urging the men to walk. “Come on.”
Grayson took her hand, and the three of them headed to the arena.
“Where are the girls today?” Jesse asked.
“My parents are in town,” JenniLynn replied. “They volunteered to take the kids around the festivities so that Grayson and I could have a date.”
Jesse clutched his hand over his heart. “And you’re letting me be your third wheel? I’m touched.”
“Not exactly,” Grayson joked. “We thought Oscar would be with you.”
“He’s with his friends.” Jesse nodded to a group of teenaged boys walking ahead of them toward the arena, clearly done with the dinosaur sumo wrestling so they could watch the rodeo.
“Wow,” Grayson said when he noticed his nephew included in the group. “This is a big day. For both of you.”
“It’s the Carly effect,” Jesse replied. “She’s good for him.”
Grayson nudged his arm. “I’d say she’s good for both of you.”
Jesse smiled, not trying to deny it. In the distance, a gunshot went off, and JenniLynn scowled.
“They better have those hay-bale races done by the time the rodeo starts,” she said. “Last thing we need is for something to startle the horses. Excuse me for a minute.”
She left the brothers and headed for the nearby track where the races were taking place. They watched as she spoke to a tall man in overalls who nodded before going into the fenced-in area where the races were taking place.
JenniLynn came back in a huff. Grayson reached up and pushed a strand of her hair away from her cheek.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes, Al said they just started the final race. Next year, they can move the event to the other side of town. That starter gun is fraying my last nerve.”
Grayson pulled her against his side and murmured against her temple, “I love it when you get all mayoral.”
“Oh, you,” she replied, her cheeks turning red.
“Can you save that for when you’re at home? My poor eyes,” Jesse deadpanned.
Grayson reached out with his free arm and pulled his brother to his other side. “It’s good to have you here, little brother. What are the chances we can get Jonathan, Amanda, Benjamin, and Evie to move to Tenacity?”
Jesse chuckled. “The whole clan? I think you have a better shot of moonwalking on the actual moon.”
There was no way they’d get all of their siblings to move to Tenacity. Especially their youngest sister, Evie.
They entered the arena and found seating on the indoor steel bleachers that put them at the center of the course.
Jesse would be able to see every move that Carly made.
Oscar and his friends took seats in the front row of the same section, to Jesse’s relief.
He was growing more and more okay with giving Oscar the space he needed, but Jesse was the first to admit that he needed to let go in baby steps.
As he took in the setup, his stomach started to swirl and his hands tightened where they rested on his knees.
“You okay?” Grayson asked.
“Yeah… I just want Carly’s event to be done and for her to be in front of me safe and sound.”
He didn’t have to go into detail; his brother understood.
Grayson clasped the back of Jesse’s neck and gave it a light squeeze. “She’ll be fine. She’s a professional, one of the best in the world.”
“I know,” Jesse replied, though that knowledge did little to comfort his nerves.
“Mind if we sit next to you?” a woman asked.
Jesse looked over to see Carly’s sister Amy with her husband, Josh Aventura. Remi and her fiancé and an older couple were behind them.
“You’re welcome to it,” Jesse said, waving at the empty spot next to him.
Amy sat beside him. She had her baby with her, sporting noise-canceling headphones similar to what Oscar wore. The kid looked at Jesse with the biggest eyes he’d ever seen.
“She’s a cute kid,” he told Amy. He had the urge to make a good impression on his girlfriend’s family. He wanted—no, needed—them to like him. But…he wasn’t lying to be polite. The baby’s face looked like it belonged on a baby-food bottle.
“Thanks,” she said before turning to the older couple that took the seats in front of Amy. “Mom and Dad, this is Jesse Abernathy.”
The older man turned around with a serious expression.
From what Oscar had told him when he first started spewing statistics about Carly’s family, Arthur was once a rodeo star himself.
It showed in his beefy frame. If he was twenty years younger, he probably could have crushed Jesse with one hand.
… Maybe ten years younger, Jesse thought as the man shook his hand. The grip was like a vice.
“You’re the one dating my daughter,” Arthur said, his voice tough.
Jesse didn’t flinch. “Yes, sir, I am.”
“And you’re treating her with the absolute respect she deserves?” Arthur asked.
Jesse tried to keep his face as angelic as possible considering the ways he’d gleefully defiled this man’s daughter. He must not have done a good enough job because Arthur’s hand tightened enough to make him wince.
“Oh, stop,” the woman next to him said. “You seem to forget what it was like to be young and in love.”
In love?
Hope bloomed inside Jesse so hard he couldn’t even feel the hard grip his hand was in anymore. Had Carly told her family that she was in love with him?
Arthur finally dropped his hand so that he could kiss his wife on the top of her head. “I haven’t forgotten what it’s like to be in love. Trust me on that.”
“Ew,” Amy said. “Can we not?”
The older woman blew out an annoyed breath. “What am I going to do with you two?” She turned to Jesse and said, “Hello, I’m Suzie Hawkins. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, ma’am,” Jesse replied before looking back at his brother. “This is my brother, Grayson, and his girlfriend, JenniLynn Garrett, the mayor of Tenacity.”
They exchanged greetings before Suzie turned her full attention back on him. “And don’t let Arthur scare you.” Jesse nodded, feeling like he had an ally in Suzie. That was until she said, “He’s a softie compared to me when someone hurts my children.”
Her gaze turned steely for the briefest of seconds before she turned further around to look at Amy. “Now, let me hold my grandbaby.”
Amy laughed before handing Josephine to her mom. Jesse looked blankly at the center of the arena, unsure what the heck just happened.
Amy lightly elbowed him. “Relax. They like you.”
“How can you tell?” Jesse muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
“Because despite their tough act, you didn’t flinch. They respect that. Especially since we Hawkinses can be a handful.”
“You don’t say.” Josh snickered next to his wife. Amy turned to him with a mock glare, to which he quickly responded, “Kidding. I’m just kidding.”
The rodeo started with some amateurs from town. As they performed, a buzz was going through the crowd. Jesse noticed that more than one head kept turning in their direction.
Josh leaned backward so that he could speak to Jesse behind Amy’s back. “You get used to it.”
“What?” he replied.
“This tends to happen when more Hawkins family members are together. Especially when Suzie and her mom, Hattie, are in the house. Suzie and Hattie are living legends in this field.”
“I see,” Jesse replied.
“Carly’s technically the last of us to retire,” Amy said.
“Is she retired though?” Jesse said, looking around the crowd, taking in the awe on people’s faces as they looked their way.
He had a sinking feeling in his stomach.
He knew that Carly had been offered that deal in Europe.
Between the admiration and the money, why would anyone want to walk away from this life?
As though reading his thoughts, Amy said, “There’s more to life than all of this.” She waved her hand toward the arena.
“Such as?” he asked.
She looked at him like he was a fool. “Everything.”
She didn’t say anything else, but she didn’t have to as she grabbed Josh’s hand and pulled it into her lap.
He gave her a look that was so tender, Jesse had to look away.
He wished that Carly was sitting beside him right now so he could tell her that a life in Tenacity was worth it. A life with him. He’d make sure of it.
The event went on for another hour before the announcer said, “And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment that you’ve all been waiting for. Carly Hawwwwkinnnns.”
The crowd went crazy as Carly and Nieve came flying out of the tunnel heading toward one of the barrels at breakneck speed.
She’d changed into a white shirt with fringe on it and red riding pants that matched her hat.
Her face was determined as she and Nieve sped through their routine.
Jesse’s heart was in his throat as she rode.
She was absolutely breathtaking. She was also going so fast Nieve’s feet were a blur.
“She hasn’t lost her touch,” Amy said beside him.
“Go, Carly!” her dad shouted.
“I wonder if she’s about to break another world record,” JenniLynn murmured beside him.
Before he could respond, Carly headed toward the final barrel. But as she went sharply around the corner, a gunshot rang out through the air. Nieve jerked at the unexpected noise and stumbled to the ground, taking Carly with him.
“No!” Jesse yelled as the large beast landed on top of her.
He jumped to his feet and ran down the steps as fast as his legs would go. He was somewhat aware that Grayson and Carly’s family followed him.
“Dad,” Oscar called out as he hurried over to him. “Is she okay?”
Jesse couldn’t answer. He hopped over the barrier separating the bleachers from the dirt floor of the arena. By the time he reached Carly, the event medic was there along with a wrangler who pulled Nieve off to the side, where a vet was inspecting him closely.
“Carly,” Jesse whispered as he finally reached her. He came to an abrupt halt as he stared at her. She lay there, not moving. He watched as blood dripped from her mouth.
The air thickened in Jesse’s lungs until he could barely breathe. For just a second, Carly’s body blurred and he was staring at the lifeless body of MaryBeth. She was dead. Carly was dead, and he hadn’t even told her how much he loved her.
Arthur and Suzie hurried by him, the older man limping as he went. Suzie dropped to her knees.
“Sweetheart,” she murmured, carefully holding her daughter’s hand.
The medic waved smelling salts under Carly’s nose, and she came to with a groan.
“Darlin’, you scared the life out of us,” Arthur said.
“Wha-what happened?” she whispered. She sounded feeble, not anything like the strong woman he knew.
JenniLynn came up to them, looking angrier than Jesse had ever seen her.
“One of the men from the hay-bale races dropped the starting pistol they’d been using, and it went off,” JenniLynn explained quietly. “I’m so sorry. This will not happen again.”
Jesse barely heard her over the buzzing in his ears, causing everything to sound muffled.
“We need to get her to the hospital to be looked over,” the medic said.
“Will she be all right?” Suzie asked.
“I’d wager she has a concussion and possible fractured ribs, but they’ll be able to examine her further there.”
“Nieve…” Carly murmured, her eyes unfocused.
“We’ll make sure he’s looked after,” Amy said.
Carly’s gaze finally landed on Jesse. She gave him a weak smile he couldn’t return. He felt like he’d turned to stone.
“We’re going with you,” Suzie said.
Carly looked at Jesse one more time before she closed her eyes. Had she passed out again?
“We need to get her there now,” the medic urged.
Shane Corey was waving an ambulance in through the large entryway at the side of the arena. Two EMTs loaded Carly onto a stretcher and pushed her quickly toward the waiting vehicle.
“Dad?”
Jesse turned his head, dazed. Oscar stood next to him, his hands clenching and unclenching by his sides.
“I…” Jesse didn’t know what to do. His head felt like it was made of cotton. The noises around him became muffled.
“We’ve got you, champ,” Grayson said. He and JenniLynn quickly escorted Oscar out of the arena, but not before giving his brother a concerned look.
The only thing that registered in Jesse’s muddled brain was that Oscar was safe.
He turned back in time to see them load Carly into the back of the ambulance.
It was just like before, when he watched them load MaryBeth into one. They’d closed the door on him then too, blocking the last view he’d had of her alive.
He’d lost the love of his life that day. Never in a million years did he ever think that he’d be lucky enough to find a love that great again.
But he had.
And history was repeating itself. As the ambulance lights lit up and took Carly away from him, all Jesse could do was stand there and stare.