I opened my mouth to speak, closed it, opened it again. “What I want and what I need are two different things. I wanna ride, but one wrong move and I can’t have her.” I raked my teeth over my bottom lip. “And I need her.”
I needed her warmth and light. I needed her laughter and kindness. I needed her like a desert needed rain.
Chapter twenty-seven
Am I Okay?
Quinn
“Did I…did I dosomething wrong?” I asked, watching Hux walk away and disappear into the tide of people. I glanced at Whit, who looked just as confused as I felt—her brows furrowed and a frown scrunching up her face.
What had happened? He was doing so good. Great, even. At least, he seemed like it. What had I missed, or not noticed sooner?
Every inch of me screamed to go after him, but Mister Mooney’s warm, heavy hand on my shoulder kept me rooted to my seat. “You didn’t do anythin’ wrong, Miss Quinn. Some demons you just gotta fight alone.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, shifting my focus between where Hux had just gone and Mister Mooney. “I hate that,” I admitted with a huff.
His gaze turned contemplative as he looked off in the distance and nodded. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry about him too much. Kid’s tough as nails.”
Something about Mister Mooney’s words eased some of the worry knotted in my chest. Not much, but it was enough to keep me from running after Hux.
My heart hurt at the thought of him going through this alone. He’d come here because of me. Because he wanted to show me this world. This part of him. And even though Mister Mooney’s logic made sense, I still felt like I could—should be doing more to help than sitting here.
I cast my gaze to Whit once more, sharing a silentwhat-do-you-thinklook with her. Her lips tugged upward into a soft, hopeful smile. “Give him some time, Quinnie,” she whispered, reaching over to squeeze my hand gently.
With a sigh, I set my sights forward on the arena. Mister Mooney explained the ins and outs of bull riding as they went one by one through the lineup of contestants. Watching them compete was equally as terrifying as it was magnificent. How they rode these gargantuan animals and didn’t die was no small miracle. But not only that, they did it with such ease and grace. It was baffling.
Of the eight riders who competed, only three lasted the full eight seconds. Three impressive rides, but the highest score went to a cowboy by the name of Ryder Wright—yes, you read that right. Whit and I giggled like school girls at that wonderful innuendo of a name.
Mister Mooney went on to explain that his son, Cash, and Ryder were best friends, and that Ryder was a potential candidate for NFR this year, which was, I guess, the “big daddyrodeo of all rodeos”. His words. An annual ten day rodeo for the top fifteen competitors in each event.
Hux had gone to that. And won. Not once, but twice. He’d been working on a third.
“Alright, Miss Quinn,” Mister Mooney said as the commentator announced the end of the rodeo. “Let’s go find your cowboy.”
My cowboy.
Butterflies fluttered against my ribcage at that.
The rodeo erupted into chaos as people filed out of their seats and down the main aisleway. We followed the throng, my heart thumping faster and faster in my chest. I wondered what state Hux would be in. If he’d still be open and happy like earlier, or as closed off and shut down as when he’d left me.
As I followed the throng of people and made my way down the aisle into the main rodeo grounds, my gaze settled on a section flurrying with excitement. My heart skipped a beat. Two, three as I got my first glimpse of Hux.
I’d expected—well, I don’t honestly know what I’d been expecting, but certainly not this. Not him smiling and laughing and conversing with fans. My boots felt like they’d been filled with cement, keeping me rooted to my place. For a long moment, all I could do was watch. Watch as fan after fan walked up to either say hi to him or ask for a photo or autograph. He never said no. Never looked annoyed.
“Holy shit,” Whit gasped, “He’s like areallybig deal.”
Mister Mooney let out an appreciative huff. “You don’t become a two time World Champion by bein’ mediocre, miss.”
I liked Mister Mooney, he was brusque and the type to not sugar coat things, but would tell you like it was. He reminded me of Hux.
The weight of his hand rested on my shoulder. “Told ya he’d be okay.”
I nodded, awe replacing any of the worry left in me. “I shouldn’t have doubted you,” I replied, offering him a soft smile.
He winked and nodded toward Hux and Cash, who stood a few feet away, talking to two other rodeo contestants. “Come on, now.”
I was only a few feet away from him when a family approached Hux—well, approached was a nice way of putting it. The couple had tried and failed to hold back their kid—couldn’t be older than nine or so—as he barreled for Hux. Their younger daughter hung back though, too shy to follow her brother.
