“I followed her. She was headed straight for the trailer. I’d never seen her before, and when she looked over her shoulder, she saw me and ran away.”
Sierra tilted her head a little. “Are you sure she didn’t run away because a tall, muscular stranger was following her?”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes, trying not to focus too much on the subtle compliment she’d woven in. “No, Sierra, I don’t think that.”
She shrugged, a bit of petulance in her body language. “Of course you wouldn’t. You’re a man.”
“Can you take this seriously, please?”
“Fine. You’re positive she was headed for our trailer. Was she another contestant? What did she look like?”
“I’m not sure. She didn’t have a number on her back, and I didn’t get a good look at her face, but I didn’t recognize her. She was wearing a long sleeve button-up and a white cowboy hat. Had blonde hair?” I tried my best to remember what she looked like, but to be honest, there wasn’t anything that special about her besides the fact that she was trying to do something to our stuff.
Sierra pulled her lip between her teeth, although her posture did seem to stiffen a bit. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but maybe you’re being a bit paranoid, Hayes.” We started walking toward the trailer, the clomp of Lucky’s hooves against the gravel like a drumbeat rhythm. “You’ve been a bit on edge. Is it possible you were trying to find something to take issue with or someone to be suspicious of? I’m not trying to discredit what you saw, but nothing happened, right? The girl ran away?”
I nodded. “She ran, and I…” I looked away, running my hand across my face. “I ran after her, but couldn’t catch up.”
Sierra groaned, exasperation in her voice. “Hayden. You can’t just run after random women. She probably thought you were going to attack her.”
We’re back to this again?
“I thought she was going to attack my trailer!” I defended my actions, although she had a point, even if I didn’t want to admit it. I wasn’t thinking about that, though. My mind was locked on Sierra’s safety and that alone.
“Okay, well, nothing happened, so take a deep breath.” She went through the motion with me,inhaling a long breath through her nose and then exhaling through her mouth. “Better?”
“Yeah.” My heart rate had calmed a bit, the adrenaline starting to leave my body. “Sorry, Skip. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just…”
She finished my thought for me. “You’re looking out for me.”
I nodded, and soon we were in front of the horse trailer. Everything looked fine, not a scratch or a dent in sight, and everything was locked up like it was supposed to be.
Maybe this was a good sign—the sign I was needing. Maybe Sierra had been right all along, and the fire and saddle incidents had just been weird coincidences.
Maybe we could go back home to Montana and both breathe a little easier knowing she was safe.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
sierra
Loud chatter and the thump of bass drowned out everything else in the bar we found ourselves in after today’s final competition.
The air felt hot and sticky from the warmth of bodies packed into the building, combined with the scent of spilled beer and liquor. The soles of my boots stuck to the floor with every step, but I gritted my teeth and bore it for the sake of Hayden and the rest of the guys. It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to go.
I was sure if I asked Hayden, he’d pack it up and get us out of here right now, but he’d already done enough for me. The least I could do was spend a few hours in a bar, have a few drinks, and maybe, just maybe, be able to relax.
“Skippy! What are you drinking?” Keenan, who stood at the bar, attempted to yell at me over the sea of people.
Christ.
I pushed through the crowd to get to him. “You buying, Kee?” I nudged him in the ribs with my elbow, and he grabbed his side, pretending to be in pain.
“Ouch, first my ribs, then my wallet? You wound me.What happened to being a strong, independent woman who can buy her own drinks?”
“Two things can be true at once, Chase. I can be a strong woman and still not spend a dime at the bar,” I teased. “Besides, you guys cut a nice check tonight.”
However, if we wanted to be technical, I also earned a nice check, placing in the top three.
“All right, fair enough. Just for you.” Keenan flagged down the bartender. “What are you feeling then?”
