I slide my ass into Austin’s passenger seat, avoiding the look he’s giving me, and reach for the seat belt with a wince. Concussion and a broken collarbone. Could’ve been a lot worse, honestly. Maybe Aus should focus on the fact that I didn’t die before he starts his parental-type speech.
“I don’t want to hear it,” I groan, leaning my head against the cool windowpane and shutting my eyes.
I held it together pretty well around Blair, still hopped up on adrenaline and probably a hint of shock—both from the fall and seeing her. Admittedly, I was unable to stop smiling because she finally came home like I prayed she would for years. Not that she noticed how happy I was to see her again, because she actively avoided interacting with me.
And the instant I watched her drive away, it all came crashing down.
“You good?” Austin asks as the truck lurches backward out of the parking stall.
The painkillers for my collarbone do nothing to ease the ice pick lobotomy going on in my skull—a seething halo of pain making it hard to focus. Even in the late afternoon, the cloudy skies are too bright and the truck engine is too loud. Plus, the carefully constructed wall around my heart’s already threatening to crumble over the girl who was the reason for building it in the first place.
But aside from all that, yeah,I’m good.
“Yeah. You should see the other guy.” Not opening my eyes, I hold my good arm up to shoot a finger gun in his direction.
I hear his hand scrub across his beard. “You’re an idiot.”
“You love me.” This time I do open one eye, just enough so I can see to give him a little love tap on the upper arm.
“Know what I love more? Not wasting half my day to come pick your ass up from the hospital.”
“Thanks, big bro. I love ya, too.” I slouch down in the seat, tilting my head so the truck pillar blocks the sun. “It’s like old times with you and Blair coming to my rescue. Didn’t know she was back in town until she was suddenly doctoring me up right there in the arena.”
She’d appeared like a fucking angel, cloaked in sunlight and staring at me wide-eyed when I came to. Of course, I saw her before that—it’s why I fell off the horse in the first place. But having her so close, talking to me, face awash with concern, was unparalleled. She looked nothing like she used to, in fancy clothes that didn’t suit a rodeo, hair neatly tied up, and more makeup than she even wore to prom. Nothing like the small-town girl I knew. Still, she’s as stunning now as she was then.
“You didn’t know? She’s been at the ranch with Cassidy damn near every day.”
Migraine be damned, I open my eyes and turn to look at Austin.She has?How am I the last to know about this?
“Huh. Must’ve missed the memo.”
“Would you have cared anyway?” He raises a brow.
Maybe? Yes?I blink down at the floorboards. “Nah, you’re the biosecurity guy. I don’t give a shit who comes and goes on the ranch.”
“Right.” He reaches for the dented travel mug in the cup holder and takes a long gulp. “So are you finally done rodeoing?”
Ah, time for the lecture.
I pull a face. “It’s a concussion and broken collarbone. I’ll be back out there in like a week…two,tops.”
“Until you hurt yourself again. And we’re down a cowboyagain. Luckily this happened today, not a few weeks from now when we’re really busy. You’d be paying out of your own pocket for a day worker to replace you.”
“Pump me full of ibuprofen and whiskey, and I’m basically invincible. If anything, it’ll make me stronger than I usually am. I can work perfectly fine.”
He sucks his teeth. “Denver, quit being an idiot. You’ll go home and sleep it off, like the doctor told you to.”
—
It’s been a full week since the rodeo, and either Blair has managed to completely avoid me at the ranch, or Austin was exaggerating about how often she’s been coming here. Granted, for the first two days after the fall, I mostly stayed in bed. Then, against the judgment of the mother hens—also known as Beryl, Kate, and Cecily—I went back to work. So I suppose it’s possible she’s been here and I’ve missed it.
I’m not about to ask anybody and make it seem like Icarethat she was here. I can’t let myself care that she’s back, despite my concussed brain telling me to shoot my shot right there in the ambulance. My entire world collapsed when she left almost fourteen years ago. The thought of having her, and losing her all over again, scares the absolute shit out ofme.
Did I break things off with Peyton on a whim because Blair’s back in town?Sure.Was I thinking straight?No.But our casual situation was drawing to a close regardless. I never date women for more than a month or two—much longer and they start getting attached, and it becomes harder for me to break things off without seeming like a total piece of shit. Over text wasn’t my finest work, admittedly. Especiallybecause now she’s mad, and real close to going full Carrie Underwood on my ass.
“I’m in desperate need of a brewski.” Colt claps his hands together as we stroll across the parking lot of the local dive bar, the Horseshoe.
“Fuckin’ eh.” With my good arm, I reach for the metal door handle—shaped like a horseshoe, of course—and yank it open. Turning the corner, I collide with something…or rather,someone. “Shit, my bad.”
