“Missed Auntie.”
“I missed you too, love bug.” I hug her back, overwhelmed with gratitude that I’m here with them and my family.
Someone comes up behind me, hugging me tightly with one arm. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I turn, smiling at the gorgeous blonde. Monroe must have flown in yesterday from Los Angeles, where she lives part of the time with Cash.
“I’m fine. How are you?”
She takes the chair next to me and shields her eyes from the Texas sun. The half-grown kitten in her lap meows, causing the twins to squeal with excitement and run over to pet her.
“Careful, girls. Be gentle,” Rosie says.
“I’m okay, just a little jet-lagged. Cash caught me up on what’s been going on here. I’m just amazed you’re even functioning right now. Are you sure you don’t want a ticket out of here for a few weeks?”
I shake my head, looking out over the arena to see Sam getting ready to ride the next bull. They test them every few months to see which ones will be viable options to sell to the Professional Bull Riders Association and which ones may be used for the Riders.
“I need to be with my family. I was thinking maybe we should take a family vacation somewhere, maybe where there’s snow.”
“Ooh, actually, I love that idea!” Rosie chimes in.
Monroe nods, grinning. “Absolutely. We could rent a big cabin in the woods and hide away for Thanksgiving.”
As much as she loves her job and her fans, I know Monroe lives for secret getaway places, where she can be herself and out of the spotlight.
I nod. “I’d like that. Would be really nice to see some snow and snuggle up by the fire.”
“And a hot tub!” Rosie pitches in.
I shake my head. “I want my own hot tub that none of my brothers and y’all have access to.”
Rosie snorts. “You mean, just for you and Sam? So, we’re looking for a place with at least three hot tubs.”
Monroe’s eyes widen. “You and Sam, huh?Finally.” She looks out over the arena at him.
He’s climbing up on a huge black bull now.
My heart squeezes inside my chest. “Yeah, I guess. At least for a little while.”
Monroe and Rosie both turn to face me, but I keep my eyes trained on the arena despite their heavy gazes. Sam is mounted on the bull, his hand wrapped up in the rope around the frontof the bull. My stomach tightens, even though I’ve seen him ride and other cowboys hundreds of times over the course of my life.
Duke opens the chute, releasing the animal. Sam holds on, the wild bucking beginning immediately. His baseball cap flies off. I try to remember to breathe as he’s tossed around on the two-thousand-pound wild animal like a rag doll.
After about six seconds, the bull jerks left, and Sam loses his balance and falls off, but his hand is caught in the rope. He’s dangling off the side, nearly being trampled. I scream, jumping to my feet and clapping my hand over my mouth in fear.
My heart is racing at a mile a minute. I grip the side of the steel railing in front of me, gaping in horror as the black bull drags him around the arena, still bucking. A ranch hand on a horse finally gets close enough to loosen the strap around the bull’s flank. Once he slows down, Sam is finally about to jerk his hand free and jog away from it toward the fence.
I exhale, taking my seat again. Monroe’s and Rosie’s eyes are on me again.
“I don’t wanna hear it,” I grumble, folding my arms over my stomach.
Rosie leans over, wrapping her arm around me. “I heard he was pretty vicious with Ben. I wouldn’t count on him thinking it’s just for experience at this point, honey. He’s just having a hard time admitting it to himself. And he’s scared shitless of your brothers.”
“Sterling knows,” I blurt out, keeping my voice low.
Monroe leans closer. “I hate to break it to you, but Cash does too. I told him forever ago.”
I whip my head to face her. “How did you know?”
