I curate my words and my tone, aiming my ire at my own staff instead of my shitty neighbor. “I said, knock it off,” I snap at Tripp, hauling Lanie tighter against my chest, and face Jed. Dammit, it’s been too long since I last bantered with a business partner across a table, boardroom or otherwise. Once, this had been my area. But that was before a bull called Wrecking Ball took four hooves and eight seconds before the bell to ruin my life. “Boredom isn’t something I suffer from.” I fake a grin, watching my neighbor closely.
Unlike a fool of a rancher with an oversized ego who I should have kicked off my land weeks ago for the sake of fucking propriety.
“Some of us wanna to see you ride again. Show the boys you’ve still got the goods.” Jed stops flailing and downs the rest of his beer. The empty bottle clangs against the tabletop. “I’ll bet you won’t.” He doesn’t look at Lanie, but then, he doesn’t have to.
“I’d love to see you ride,” Jesse says, all too eagerly taking the easy bait my rich neighbor lays out.
Tripp cuffs the back of his head and leans forward to mutter in Jesse’s ear. The younger man’s face falls and he mutters his apology.
I rub a hand over my face.Shit. That’s a conversation I’ll need to have come morning.
“You know Rand doesn’t ride anymore,” West says in a tight voice. Coiled energy emanates from him, and even Lanie shifts closer into my side.
I miss Levi and his ability to break up a tense conversation with an off-the-cuff comment that would fix this moment. Even Billy’s easy stylewould be welcome right now. Pinned in the corner, the doubts that plague me daily return full force.I am well out of practice for this.
“Not this year or any year, boys.” Riding is off the table for me. It has to be. I man up and hold Jed’s stare across the table. My fingers dig into Lanie’s curves.
She looks up at me with a small frown.
I relax my hold on her with effort, kissing the lines around her mouth away. “Bedtime, beautiful?” I imbue all the promise I have into those two words.
She nods, her eyes luminous. A swipe of dirt flakes away from her neck beneath my thumb. Maybe a shower first, then bed, where I can finally take the time to discover her properly. Part of a pine needle flutters from her hair. I brush it to the floor.
“What do you say, West? Join us in a real bet?” Jed kicks the table leg, toppling the pyramid of sticks West has collected neatly.
“What would I bet with an ass like you? I already know what he’s gonna say.” West shakes his head, rising. “Get out of here. Give the man some room with his woman.”
I grit my teeth, wishing like hell that West hadn’t said anything. Not that my affection for Lanie doesn’t say everything to Jed, but my best friend just confirmed what the other rancher doesn’t already know.
“Come on, Rand. Be the boss. Bet something that matters. We want to see the infamous Cordell Rand back in action.” Jed grins and spreads his hands wide as Tripp hangs on his every damn word. Jesse perks up, too. “Inspire us.”
I’ve let him whisper in these boys’ ears for too long.Dammit, West warned me about taking my attention off the mark. It rankles that he was right. I owe him an apology.
“That’s enough,” West snaps. “Out.” He folds his arms, glaring at the ranch hands across from us when no one at the table moves.
Inspire us.
The point of being out here at Coyote Falls. One of the reasons I bought the land and trained the boys up, anyway. Jed knows that.Once, we were friends. Once, before I refused to sell him back land that he wanted from me.
Once, before my entire world changed in sixteen heartbeats.
I catch West’s eye with a shake of my head. But I can’t shake off Jed’s barb about inspiration. Rushing around organizing the Invitational has distracted me from what makes the event special. For years I’ve hunted down new talent, put them in front of scouts. Hell, it’s why I employ men like Billy, who has talent, and Jesse, who’s got the right sort of X factor to be a decent crowd-pleaser in the first place.
In turn, they do their part because I request their time. Sure, a cash prize is involved, but riding for me has become something of a cult wish list item over the years. Maybe I need to give some of that inspiration back. Maybe I can provide the motivation that’s lacking. And all it will cost me is eight seconds…
“All right.” I lean back, holding Jed’s red-rimmed eyes. “What do you have in mind?”
West spins to face me. “Are you crazy?” he snarls, his eyes nearly black instead of their usual gray. His gaze drops to where Lanie sits half in my lap.
I hold up a hand, waiting for whatever Jed has planned.
Jed’s grin widens. “I dunno. What’s worth something to men like us?”
I press my hands deeper into Lanie’s side, her soft gasp at the extra pressure audible to everyone present. I ignore the sound, which is muted over the roar in my head, trying to convince myself that I’m not only doing this to show my neighbor up, to prove to myself that I’m still capable of riding.
Even if I know it’s impossible.
I pretend to consider. “That’s the trick, isn’t it? You want to emcee next year’s gig?”
