“Just like old times.” Hayden threw his arm around my shoulder and tugged me close to him as we headed out to take more pictures.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
hayden
Keenan, the girls—Ellison, Isa, and Juniper—and I sat together in the front row as night seven of the NFR commenced. Colter and Reid were on track to win their first world championship buckle, and Mikey looked like a solid contender for the NFR average title in bull riding.
Sierra had competed well, too, and my heart burst with pride seeing her compete at the most important event in professional rodeo.
“Has Sierra decided what she’s going to do after the NFR is over?” Ellison asked. She knew how badly I wanted Sierra to stay in Silver Creek, and I was pretty sure she’d been dropping hints to Sierra about it the whole week.
I shook my head. “Not sure yet. I’m not going to pressure her, but ever since the…” I cleared my throat. “Since the incident, she’s been a lot more relaxed. It took some time, but part of me thinks I could convince her to stay.”
“That’s so cute!” Isa squealed, her eyes sparkling with excitement and pure joyfor me.
“You two are so good for each other,” Juniper agreed. “From what I’ve seen, at least.”
Keenan smirked. “They’ve always been great together. I think they just needed to get out of their own way. For the longest time, you both tortured yourselves into thinking you couldn’t be happy.”
I threw him a glare, and he shrugged.
“It’s true. You may not think you were self-sabotaging, Hazey, but in a weird way, you were. Sure, Sierra was more obvious about it, but I don’t know. You focused so much on protecting her. And she did what she thought would protect you, too.”
I had to agree, even though I didn’t want to. Sierra had left without saying goodbye, but I now understand that, in her own way, it was an act of love. What she thought was her final gesture of love toward me was leaving to guarantee my safety. While I was angry about it for a while, and didn’t get how she could make that decision for me, I learned to understand the way her mind worked. After so many years of trauma and abuse, she did what she thought was best for both of us.
“Yeah, I know,” I grumbled.
Keenan patted me on the back. “All that to say, I’m so glad you two are finally together. It’s been a long time coming, and I know you make each other so happy. I’m proud of you guys.”
A small smile tugged at my lips. “Thanks, Keenan.”
Music blared over the speakers, and the microphone crackled as the announcer started talking. “It’s night seven of the NFR, and we’ve got more barrel racing coming your way. She came into the NFR number fourteen in the world, and she’s been sitting pretty in the middle of the leaderboard this week. A cowgirl from the state ofMontana, she’s riding on Ace’s Lucky Charm! Sierra Bayley!” He dragged out Sierra’s name as she and Lucky raced down the alleyway.
“Let’s go, Sierra!” the girls cheered as the pair rounded the first barrel, keeping their turns sharp and precise.
I sat on the edge of my seat, my hands grasping the plastic.
“Whoa there, Hazey. Loosen up or you’ll snap that seat in half.” Keenan chuckled at my white knuckles.
“What?” My eyes flicked down toward my hands, and I lifted them from the chair, though it didn’t stop them from shaking.
“She’s doing great, dude. Look.” He pointed toward the arena where they were heading toward the third and final barrel.
Once they made it around, cutting through the cloud of dust that rose from the ground, they sprinted toward the alleyway. Sierra’s hair flew behind her, her legs kicking Lucky’s flank as he pushed with all his might. She patted his neck encouragingly as they crossed the time barrier and slowed to a stop.
“Thirteen-point-four-eight seconds for Sierra Bayley and Ace’s Lucky Charm!”
A zoomed-in angle of her face projected on the jumbotron. She looked over at the section we were sitting in, a beaming smile on her face before she threw me a wink and waved at the crowd.
“That’s my girl.” I slumped back in my seat, finally able to relax knowing she kicked ass out there.
The minute our hotel room door slammed shut behind us, Sierra’s lips were on mine. One of my hands tangled in her hair as the other gripped her waist, walking her back toward the bed.
“My little barrel racing star,” I murmured as I nuzzled my face in her neck. “You were incredible out there tonight.”
“You think so?” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as the backs of her thighs hit the bed.
“I know so. Watching you under those arena lights?” I blew a raspberry with my lips. “You looked like a queen.”
