Tenley watches as they pull the next gate. My gaze wanders around the crowd. Right into the eyes of my ex-mother-in-law.
Susan’s mouth forms a sad smile. She nods at me slowly. I return the gesture. We look away.
Tenley never notices the exchange, and I don’t tell her. Rider after rider goes, and I can tell Tenley is worried about them. “It looks so painful,” she whispers.
“It is.”
“Have you done it?”
“Once, when I was younger. I didn’t last long, and it hurt like hell.”
“Why do they do it?”
“Why does anybody do anything? It appeals to them, in the same way any sport appeals to the athlete who plays it. Also”—I point to the small group of women near the arena floor—“the buckle bunnies might have something to do with it.”
Tenley follows my gaze. “Buckle bunnies…” She draws out the word as she understands what I mean by it. Nodding, she says, “Gotcha.”
Dakota begins yawning, which makes Tenley yawn, and Wes announces he’s taking Dakota home.
Tenley says she’s ready to leave too, so we all get up and file out of our row. We’re in the parking lot when someone calls Tenley’s name. It’s a dude with a big camera, and he’s pointing it at Tenley, taking pictures as he asks, “Can I get your photo?”
Tenley slips into her gracious actress version of herself. “Sure.” She steps away and poses, angling herself toward the light coming from an old wooden post with a lantern hanging off the top.
“More,” the guy says when she stops.
She laughs, but I’m positive she’s not finding him funny. “I think you got your shot.”
“Is this the man you were seen kissing recently?” Now he’s peering at me, camera pointing.Snap, snap.
Anger bursts through me. “She said you got your shot already.” I’m talking through clenched teeth, trying to keep my anger in check, for Tenley’s sake.
He ignores me. “Tenley, why are your parents rushing to sell their house in Aspen?”
Tenley’s easygoing façade disappears. “I, uh…”
“Is it true they’re having financial trouble?” He steps closer. “How do you feel about Tate moving on so soon? Are you mad he proposed to her but not you?”
The next thing I know, there is a camera in my hand.
“Hey,” the photographer screeches, reaching for the camera. I block him with an outstretched palm. “Now do you understand the lady said she’s done having her picture taken?” He reaches again, and I push him. He stumbles back a few feet but manages to stay upright. Wes and Wyatt step between us. I remove the SD card from the camera and toss it to Wyatt. He takes a lighter from his pocket and waves the small rectangle through the lick of flame. No matter how much shit we give one another, there will never come a time when the Hayden boys don’t stick together.
I fling the camera back to the asshole, who fumbles what is likely his most valuable possession. He doesn’t give either of us a glance as he hurries back across the parking lot.
“Warner,” Tenley says my name like she’s not totally happy with me.
Wes and Dakota mutter a quick good night and move on to his truck, and without another word Wyatt walks back into the bar. Tenley steps away from the pocket of light she’d stood in.
A muscle along my jaw tics. “I couldn’t let him keep bothering you. He should’ve listened.”
Tenley sighs. “I’ve been dealing with that crap my entire life. My parents were famous, remember? I know how to handle those situations.”
“You seemed caught off guard. You looked upset.”
“Maybe I was,” she concedes. “I didn’t know anything about my parents selling their place. Or about Tate.” She steps into me, pressing her cheek to my chest.
“Are you upset about Tate?” I’m hoping she gives me the answer I want to hear.
“Not sad. More annoyed than anything else. With myself.”
