"Do you?" I need her to hear this. "Because you're the one I call every night.” I stop myself before I say somethingI’m just starting to figure out about how much Kinsley means to me.
The silence on her end stretches long enough to make me nervous.
"You still there?"
"Yeah." Her voice sounds different—softer, maybe relieved. "I'm here."
"Good." I take a breath, forcing myself to calm down. "About that sponsor she brought—I was considering it. Money's tight and I thought it might take some pressure off. But if it comes with strings attached to her, I'm not interested."
"Wyatt, you don't have to—"
"Yes, I do. I'm not giving her any reason to think she has access to my life." The decision feels right as soon as I say it. "I'll find another sponsor. Or I won't. Either way, she's not part of the equation."
"Thank you." The relief in her voice makes my chest tight. "For believing me. For not making me feel crazy about this."
"You're not crazy. She is."
Jake steps out of the building and points at his watch before ducking back inside.
"Listen, I have to let you go. But we'll figure this out, okay?"
"Okay."
"I'm sorry you've been dealing with this alone."
"I'm not alone anymore." Her voice is soft. "Thank you for that."
We say goodbye and I hang up and stand there in the parking lot, staring at my phone. The protective instinct thatflares in my chest surprises me with its intensity. Kinsley's one of the strongest women I know—she'd probably laugh at me for worrying. But strong doesn't mean she should have to handle everything alone. And all I can think about is how she spends her life fighting for other people—my family's ranch, other families' land rights, causes that would crumble without her.
It's about time someone fought for her.
I pull up the airline app and start searching flights.
Jake appears beside me as I'm studying departure times. "You ready to hit the road? Calgary's only a six-hour drive from here."
I'm barely listening, too focused on schedules and connections. There's a red eye out of Spokane that gets me into Denver by morning. I can spend the day with Kinsley, then catch the Thursday morning flight back to Calgary with hours to spare before Friday's competition.
"Change of plans." I hit the purchase button. "I'm going home."
Jake stops walking. "You're what now?"
"I'll be back in time for Calgary."
"You're gonna risk missing your ride?" The disbelief in his voice is thick enough to cut. "Calgary pays fifty grand, man. You can't afford to miss it if you want the world title."
I shrug, pocketing my phone. "It's no risk. The flights all work out."
"Yeah, because no one's ever had a delayed flight before." Jake's looking at me like I've lost my mind. "Weather, mechanical issues, acts of God—any of those ring a bell?"
"I'll figure it out." The confidence in my voice surprises even me, but it's true. I've spent my whole career makingsplit-second decisions on animals that want to throw me away. A little flight juggling doesn't scare me.
What scares me is the thought of Kinsley dealing with threatening texts and a stalker while I'm a thousand miles away, chasing buckles and prize money.
Jake studies my face for a long moment, then shakes his head. "Well." He claps me on the shoulder. "Try not to miss your flight. I'm not explaining to the Calgary organizers why their star bull rider got stranded in Denver because he was too busy playing Romeo."
I grin. "Wouldn't dream of it."
But as I pull out my phone to order an Uber to the airport, all I can think about is the relief in Kinsley's voice when I told her I believed her.
