I turned my head toward hers, noticing how her green eyes stared off into space above us.
She continued. “There’s a whole world, a wholeuniverseout there, and we’re stuck here in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.”
I hadn’t really considered the world outside of Goldfinch. I hadn’t considered the world outside of Montana, because Sierra was here, andshewas my world. I knew I’d always said I wanted to go to SGU, but if she asked, I’d follow Sierra to the ends of the Earth.
“I’d like to get out. See the world a little, then maybe come back,” Keenan admitted.
“Hayes?” She looked at me.
“Yeah. Maybe.” If it meant being with her, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do.
As though she decided then and there, she announced to us, “I’m going to be a champion barrel racer one day. Travel all around the world to compete. Houston, Pendleton, Cheyenne, and Las Vegas. I’m going to do all of it. We all will. I’m sure of it.”
The clank of chains cut through the silence hanging around us, and we perked up.
“Shit, we gotta go, guys.” Keenan shot up to his feet, grabbing Sierra’s hand to pull her up.
I sprang up as well, running after them, and just in time.
We entered the tunnel under the bleachers where the concessions were and turned the corner just as a flashlight beamed behind us.
“Who’s there?” a booming voice called out.
“Run!” Keenan whisper-shouted at us.
I was sure whatever security was here could hear our feet as they pounded against the ground. My lungs burned as we made it to the gate, the padlock undone—presumably by the security guard.
Keenan’s shaky, out-of-breath laughs filled the air. “That was close.”
“We areneverdoing that again,” I scolded him.
“Come on, you have to admit that was kinda fun.”
“I think being asleep would be more fun, but yeah, it was kinda cool to be on the field,” Sierra admitted quietly.
“I need to get Sierra home.” I pointed at Keenan. “You get home safe. Text me when you’re at your house. Don’t get pulled over.”
He gave me a mock salute. “Got it, Chief.”
I shook my head, thinking of the memory.
“When did you start running Peanut Butter?” Sierra asked in a soft voice.
The claws of grief gripped my chest, but I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Full time? Two years ago. But after graduating from SGU, I started practicing with her more because Bullseye was getting older. He passed a couple of years ago. Peanut’s young, but she’s good at what she does.”
“Damn. I’m sorry about Bullseye. He was a good one.” Sierra pursed her lips.
“When did you get your horse?” I asked.
“About four years ago, I think. I’m sure you know, but I didn’t enter into the WPRA until recently. When I left, I traveled around for a bit, competing in smaller-scale rodeos.” She huffed out a laugh. “Guess I couldn’t quite get rid of the itch.”
“You’ve always been a natural competitor.” I teasingly nudged her with my elbow. “Racing’s in your blood, Skip.”
Her eyes flicked to me, an ocean of emotions swirling in them. “That was always our dream, wasn’t it? To make it to the NFR together.”
I nodded.
I didn’t know if it was still her dream, if her plans still included me. But, even if I had to watch from the sidelines, watching Sierra succeed was always going to be part of mine.
