Addison mounted while Brandy and Josey did their run. They crossed the finish line in a little over sixteen seconds, which was a great time. Addison and I had done better in practice, butI’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous as I jogged out and climbed up on the barrel.
The next thing I knew, Addison was racing toward me. I crouched low and put my hands out to steady myself. She started the turn and Bucky’s back legs flicked up in his first kick. The crowd gasped, and I couldn’t help but smile. They hadn’t seen anything yet.
It was now or never. I grabbed the horn and jumped,squeezing Bucky’s belly with my legs as he bucked the second time. The saddle shifted, feeling a little crooked, and I tried to straighten Addison and hold on at the same time.
“Something’s wrong with the saddle. It’s slipping!” Addison shouted.
“I know.”
“Hold on.”
I understood that her order was somewhat rhetorical, but I still had to fight the urge to yell a snarky response or point outthat I only had the tail available to me should she and the saddle slip off.
The third buck came, then it was like a bee stung him. Bucky bolted for the gate while I held on to Addison for dear life. For both of our dear lives. The people waiting outside the arena to slow the horses after they crossed the finish line stepped in front of us and started waving. Addison pulled on Bucky’s reins,begging him to stop as I tried to keep us from toppling over.
Jake and Asher both lunged for Bucky, and the two of them finally reined him in. The moment our forward motion came to a halt, the saddle slowly slid off, taking both Addison and me with it. It was quite possibly the most gracefully I’d ever fallen off a horse.
We hit the ground, realized we were okay, and started giggling uncontrollably.
Bucky looked back at us like we were nuts, which was probably accurate.
The saddle had tipped on its side, and Jake grabbed the cinch and held it up. It had been split in two.
I stared at the girth, not wanting to believe my eyes. Girths didn’t just split, and there didn’t appear to be much fraying. If I had to guess, I’d say someone had cut the side and let it tear. Wyatt said he’d saddledBucky himself and assured us the horse was ready to go...
Wyatt.
The scowl on Jake’s face told me he’d reached the same conclusion.
* * *
Addison
Jake dropped the girthwith a scowl and stormed off toward the stalls. I pushed myself up and rushed after him, Dylan and Asher hot on our heels. We arrived to find Wyatt on his stomach, his face in the dirt, and Jake’s knee in his back as hezip-tied Wyatt’s hands together.
“What are you doing?” I squeaked.
Jake yanked Wyatt up and said, “I’m vanquishing the fuckin’ dragon, Addison.”
“Jake, I’m sure there’s an explanation,” Dylan said, easing forward. “I’ve known Wyatt forever and he’d never...” She scooted around the two until she was looking in Wyatt’s face. “Would you, Wy?”
Wyatt didn’t answer. I couldn’t see his expression,but whatever Dylan saw tensed her up. She squeezed her hands into fists. “You bastard! You could have killed Addie.” She lurched for him, but Asher intercepted her.
“Whoa there. Simmer down, sweetheart. Jake’s got it under control. We’ll deal with this,” he said, hugging her as he practically dragged her away from Wyatt.
Dylan wouldn’t give up. “I trusted you. You were my friend, and you...”Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. The fight went out of her, and Asher picked her up and carried her to a bale of hay by the entrance. He sat, positioning her on his lap, and started talking to her.
“What are you gonna do with him?” I asked Jake.
“I’m gonna handle it.”
Before I could ask what that entailed, a man ran into the barn, looking around frantically. “Dylan James and AddisonAllen? You two won the Buddy Barrel Race. They’re waiting for you to grab your prizes.”
“You go,” Asher said, easing Dylan off his lap as he stood. “Jake and I’ll take care of the cowboy.”
I really didn’t want to leave, but the way Dylan was glaring at Wyatt told me I needed to get her out of there. I grabbed her hand and we headed to the booth for our prize.
“And here they are now,” the announcersaid as we headed toward his booth. “Folks, these little ladies have officially blasted through the all-time fastest record by over two seconds.”
