“I’m going to need more clarification,” he said when she didn’t add to it.
“I love you too.”
“Why did I hear a ‘but’ in there?”
“Because I’m scared. I’m scared it will blow up in our faces.”
“Why?”
“Because nine times out of ten that’s what happens.”
“So we’ll be the tenth.”
“I hope so.” She leaned forward and kissed him. Let herself sink into the kiss, into the dream.Chase isn’t Phil. And I’m not the same woman I was back then. This time it will be okay. This time we’ll make it.
Was that simply wishful thinking?
*
When Chase signedon to be the ‘Kelly Boots Man,’ he hadn’t quite realized what a major deal it would be. Sure, he knew Kelly Boots were a premium brand of boot. He knew they were successful. But this was his first gig as spokesperson, rather than simply endorsing a brand. And Kelly Boots was a major brand at that. At any rate, it entailed a lot more time in front of the camera than he’d anticipated. His first photo shoot had only scratched the surface. He’d had endorsement deals before, but none had been as big—or as lucrative—as the one with Kelly Boots.
On top of that, color him dense, but he hadn’t realized just how widespread the appeal of the Kelly Boots Man would be. As if those things weren’t enough, the paparazzi had decided to hang out in Whiskey River for a while. It wasn’t as if there weren’t any famous people in town. Much more famous than he was.
There was his brother Gabe, a world-renowned metal artist. Jamie Templeton, the rock star, and Declan Bolt, famous children’s book author, both called Whiskey River home. Hell, Levi Chapman was a freaking billionaire. He liked to keep a low profile, but still, he lived in Whiskey River and the paparazzi sure knew who he was. Then there were the Kellys themselves and their brothers. Trey Kelly raised championship quarter horses and along with Kelly Boots, Wyatt Kelly had his fingers in just about every pie there was. Then there were the Kellys’ brothers, Nick and Xander Blue, well-known both through their own endeavors as well as their work with Kelly Enterprises. But this gig with Kelly Boots was a big deal. If he hadn’t had his head up his butt, he’d have realized it would have to be, given the amount of money they were paying him.
Still, he figured he’d be just a flash in the pan. Apparently not. The girls who accosted him and Ella the other night were only the beginning. It started to seem like everywhere he went someone wanted an autograph or a picture or wanted to know if he got all his boots free—he did but that was his business. And some of them were rodeo fans who knew he’d won two world championships. So all this notoriety didn’t happen only in Whiskey River. No, it followed him to every rodeo where he competed.
Due to his two world championships, he’d been well-known before within the rodeo world. He’d had fans, of course. Even new competitors had some kind of fans, if only their families. But Chase’s popularity exploded with the Kelly Boots gig. Good for Kelly Boots, but not so much for him. Still, his winnings and the money he made from Kelly Boots were important to his being able to contribute to running the ranch. When he was there he helped out, but until his recent injury he hadn’t missed many rodeos. Like most cowboys, he rode through a lot of injuries.
This time had been different, though. He’d missed the rodeo, of course, but not as much as he’d thought he would. He’d found plenty to interest him around the ranch. Plenty that needed doing. And of course, there’d been Ella.
Eventually, Marshall and Damaris would need him on the ranch. Until that time, though, rodeo was his career.
Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to be home in his own bed, preferably with Ella in it, instead of a different lousy hotel room nine nights out of ten. Which was what happened during a regular season. He’d been picking and choosing the rodeos he competed in since his accident. No need to go to every possible one since there was no way he could qualify for the Wrangler National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas.
Oddly enough, while he was glad to be back, he wasn’t heartbroken about missing the finals. Which was downright weird.
*
Chase’s fans werehappy to have him back. To Ella it seemed like social media was filled with pictures of Chase with his fans. Photo after photo of Chase’s fans saying they were so happy he was back. Fans saying they were excited about his return. But what struck her about the pictures wasn’t the fans.
Chase looked happy. He was in his element and it showed. Competing in the rodeo was a hard life, with both great rewards and great heartache possible. She knew Chase had experienced both. But these casual shots of him with his fans showed her—proved to her—how much that lifestyle meant to him. And she feared he’d never be happy giving it up.
She didn’t have to worry about that now. After all, they’d made no promises to each other. Saying ‘I love you’ was not a promise. It wasn’t as if they were planning marriage. And if they weren’t serious she shouldn’t worry about whether Chase ever would or would not give up the rodeo. She should just enjoy what they had and let the future take care of itself.
When Chase came home from his most recent rodeo, her worries faded in the face of her happiness at seeing him. Riding with him. Making love with him. Then, as soon as he left again, the worries flooded back with a vengeance.
“I’m going to the Fort Worth rodeo this weekend,” Chase said one day. “Why don’t you see if you can come with me?”
“I’d love to but I’d feel bad leaving Damaris and Marshall to take care of everything. Again.”
“I thought you had the weekend off?”
“I do. But they might still need me to take care of something.”
Tilting his head, he looked at her for a minute. “If you don’t want to come just say so. It’s not a big deal, I just wanted to be with you.”
Her heart melted. “Oh, Chase, that’s not it. I want to be with you too. I don’t want to take advantage of Marshall and Damaris, though. But I’ll ask them.”
