Page 64 of The Maverick’s Legacy

“Tell me about it,” he said, echoing her earlier words and she smiled sadly.

“Elizabeth and I were making a name for ourselves in Australia. We were traveling all over, getting sponsorship deals right and left. The truth is I’ve always had this unhealthy drive to be successful in everything I do. I was consumed by it, needing to make sure that no matter where I went in the world, I’d never have to struggle again like I did when I was a child.”

She told him this without meeting his eyes. It was her dirty secret, how much she desired success, to never go without money again.

“That’s understandable given everything you went through as a kid.”

She shrugged a shoulder. She appreciated him saying so. “And then the unthinkable happened. Elizabeth’s husband died unexpectedly, leaving her a single mom. She lost all her zeal for life and the circuit, and she decided it was time for her and the kids to go back to the States. She told me I should come with her, but around that time, I met this bull rider, Fletch Alistair. He was your typical spoiled rich boy who only got top billing in the circuit because his father owned it. He wanted credibility, and what better way to do that than to date one of the Hawkins Sisters?”

Carly’s mouth pursed with bitterness as she recalled how hard he pursued her.

“Fletch made sure that they scheduled our events on the same day so that we’d always run in to each other. If sponsors came in to see him because of his direct connections to his dad, he’d make sure to introduce me, always wrapping an arm around my waist. Pretty soon, we were taking pictures together, and people assumed we were dating. When I joked one day to him about how people thought we were a couple, he very seriously told me that we were. I accepted it. He was fun when times were good—a nice distraction from my increasing homesickness—but he was never anything serious to me. However, the public did take us serious. Pretty soon, we were being followed by paparazzi wherever we went, and they’d scream the vilest things. About me and my childhood. Nothing was sacred. When I’d ask Fletch to use his connections to get them to back off, he looked at me like I was crazy. He said, ‘There’s no such thing as bad publicity, Car!’

“I started to feel like I was living in a nightmare. On top of the tabloids digging into my past, Fletch’s relations with groupies who followed the circuit was getting back to me. He told me to stop being jealous when I’d ask him about it. I wasn’t jealous—I was humiliated. I finally told him I wanted to go home. He told me about a deal that would make me even wealthier than I was at that point. I almost agreed to stay for another year, but I walked in on him with someone.”

Carly gave a sad shrug.

“The rest you know. I came back to the States. What I didn’t know was that without me and the Hawkins name, Fletch has been struggling. He said seats aren’t selling out anymore. He’s behind the offer I was given for the European tour. He wanted a repeat of our notoriety. I told him no.”

“You’re giving up rodeo?” Jesse asked. He seemed to be holding his breath as he waited for her answer.

“I told my agent the other week that I was done. I want to focus on my school. The Dinosaur Days Rodeo was my last performance.”

Jesse looked like he was doing his best not to smile. He carefully wrapped his arms around her. “Soo…is there anything else you want beside your school?”

“Subtle,” she joked before she grazed his lips with her own. “You, duh. Because I love you too.”

“Thank God,” Jesse muttered before he pulled her to him again.

When they finally broke apart, Carly asked, “What does all this mean? For us?”

Jesse brushed his thumb across her lips as though he couldn’t stop touching her. “I can’t walk away from you. I love you too much. I know it’s a lot to ask, settling down with a guy who comes with a teenage boy who has autism.”

She frowned. “You know I care very deeply for Oscar. How could I not? He’s a part of you. Which is why I should warn you…someone took pictures of us at the Tenacity Social Club.”

“I know.”

Her eyes flew to his. “What do you mean, you know?”

“Oscar’s a sports junkie, remember. He follows all the news. He told me about it a couple of weeks ago.”

“What…why didn’t you tell me?”

Jesse gave her a confused look. “I figured you were used to that kind of thing. It didn’t seem a big deal.”

“And you’re okay with it? Being splashed in the tabloids like that?”

“I wasn’t thrilled, but I would never leave you because of it.”

“What if they show up here and start causing issues for you and Oscar?”

“Oscar’s got a whole football team that’s willing to protect him now, thanks in large part to you.”

Carly tried not to smile at that. “And what about you? Would you be okay if the press showed up here and started taking your picture?”

“As long as I get to keep you, I’ll ask them to get my good side and go about my day.”

She let out a laugh, unable to believe how well he was taking this.