I took it from her outstretched hand, forcing it over my head. She helped me pull my hair free, smoothing it down without a word as I shifted to watching the one big screen visible from the truck, on the edge of the arena. It was still the bronc riders competing, being tossed around like rag dolls, the roar of the crowd rumbling through the frame of the truck.
‘Now tell me exactly what he said,’ Lottie said, clearing her throat a little and pushing her own hair back.
I turned to her, my mind still working in slow motion. A smudge of dirt on her cheek remained from when she’d fallen in the dirt for me, for no fucking reason at all.
‘Not a lot,’ I answered quietly, reaching out to wipe it away with my thumb. She eyed me, watching carefully. ‘That poisonous little bitch was doing her best to distract him.’ Remembering, I felt the first threads of emotion since I’d walked out of the stadium half an hour earlier. ‘He just said, “Don’t go,” but . . .’ I stopped, hardening myself to everything in my gut that threatened to spill up and over. ‘The officials were talking to him. Half the people in the area were watching. I didn’t want to make it worse, so . . . I left.’
Lottie bit her lip, looking up at the screen.
‘There’s no way we’re going to get back by the chutes again,’ she murmured, a calculating expression in her eyes. ‘But there’s something you need to know. Please don’t be angry,’ she began, wincing as I stared. Forcing myself to soften my gaze, I shook my head.
‘Don’t be a dick, Lottie. I can’t ever be angry with you, not really.’
She ventured a small smile.
‘I, um . . . I called Cal last night,’ she started, taking in my surprise. ‘We spoke for a while. Mainly it was him apologizing, regretting everything that happened in the past few weeks. But I also asked him to do something for me. For you, I mean.’
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
‘I asked him to call Jesse, to leave a voicemail and explain, in his words, what he did at your flat. When he pretended you guys were back in a relationship.’
‘Oh, holy fuck,’ I breathed, the potential for Cal making everything so much worse amplified.
Lottie shook her head, grabbing my hands with hers as she smiled.
‘No, Hes. It worked. Cal called me back when it was done, said he’d rambled until the voicemail had cut him off but he’d made sure it was clear nothing was happening between you two. That you deserved a real love, someone who could really return it.’
I swallowed. I couldn’t quite bring myself to believe Cal would do something like that.
‘Oh . . .’ was all I could manage, not able to compute the dawning happiness in her eyes.
‘But it was the call I got from Jesse early this morning that meant I knew everything would be okay,’ she reassured, as my hands tightened around hers, eyes darting across her face, desperate to read her expression. ‘He said he understood what’d happened, to pass my thanks on to Cal, and . . . tell you that he’d call straight after the rodeo. That he was booking tickets to fly to London, leaving tomorrow. That he can’t live without you. I didn’t want to say anything before, because I thought he’d get a chance to tell you himself, in person. But . . . well, obviously it didn’t quite turn out like that.’
I choked then, the sobs rising up more quickly than I could push them back.
‘It’s going to be okay,’ she said, holding tight as I struggled to gather myself. ‘What just happened, whatever’s going on with Chrissy . . . he wants you, Hes. He’s in love with you – he has been for ages. That doesn’t just go away, no matter what she says or wants.’
I let myself cry then, the relief reducing my body to jelly, leaning against Lottie as she held me.
It took some time to gather myself, to work up to sorting out my face and getting back out.
‘Are you sure you want to watch?’ she asked as we walked slowly back over to the entrance. It was now completely clear, everyone already inside. ‘We could just wait round the back, for when he’s done?’
I swallowed, trying a weak smile.
‘If I’m going to be with a bull rider, I’ve got to get used to this, right?’ I said, brushing off her excitement. I couldn’t quite picture it all yet, despite what she’d told me.
We re-entered, this time picking up a couple of beers as we made our way to the stands. It was clear that finding a seat would be impossible now.
‘You okay to just lean here?’ I said, and she nodded. We had a clear view of both the area itself and one of the screens.
We watched the end of the bronc riding. My pulse was thundering as they finally announced the bull riding, listing out some of the competitors.
‘. . . And from Jackson Hole, Wyoming’s golden boy, right back on the circuit after a year off – it’s Jesse Bennington!’
The camera panned to the chutes. Jesse pinched the brim of his hat as he sat astride one of the gates, the cast on his wrist visible below the cuff of his shirt. His face was set firm, every inch the Old Hollywood star, as the crowd roared – a very noticeable female contingent screaming from the stand we were in.
Lottie smiled at me, her mouth twitching as I rolled my eyes.
