Page 104 of Buck ’Em Cowgirl

Once we checked in for our flight, we found seats near the gate, settling in while we waited to board. I popped an M&M’s into my mouth and turned to Harleigh.

“How are you?” I asked, glancing at her. “I know I tend to dominate the conversation . . .”

She scoffed, reaching into the bag and grabbing a piece of candy. “Psh. You’re fine. Besides, nothing exciting is happening on my end.”

I raised a brow. “What about Gatlin? I’ve seen the way he looks at you⁠—”

“Nope.” She shut me down instantly, shaking her head. “There’s nothing there. He’s never around, always with the rodeo, always on the road. Even more than the boys.”

I nodded, chewing on my candy. “I know that’s hard.”

She exhaled, her shoulders sagging slightly. “I grew up with him, Fabs. It’s . . . Gatlin.”

The way she said it sounded final, like she was convincing herself more than me.

“I’m excited we’re going together.” She leaned over, resting the side of her head against mine. “You make a pretty great partner, Fabs. I’m glad creepy John fired us.”

I chuckled softly, the memory of that awful job a distant, almost laughable past. “Me too, Harls.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the warmth that had been flooding my life lately sink in. The love, the light—I had it all, or at least, almost all of it.

I needed the last piece of the puzzle to finally fit.

“Me too,” I whispered.

35

Beau

“You’re on goddamn fire, Banks,” Lucky, one of the bullfighters, said as we exchanged a fist bump.

“Must be something in the Midwest air.” I joked, heading toward the locker room.

This arena was bigger, meaning we actually had a proper changing area instead of some makeshift setup. But as I rounded the corner, I caught a scent—strawberries and vanilla.

I froze.

It was unmistakable.

No fucking way.

I turned around, and there she was—standing and laughing with Kline as he gestured down to one of the pens where their bulls were kept. I knew he was here with his stock, but she never came. Standing next to her was Harleigh’s unmistakable dark hair, so it had to be them.

My chest tightened, and I felt the weight of the rope in my hand, like a lifeline I wasn’t sure I could trust. There was always this gnawing fear—what if she ran? What if she saw something in me that made her leave, just like my mom did? I could already feel the possibility of her slipping away.

I clenched the rope tighter and walked straight toward them.

“What’re ya’ll doing here?”

“Oh. Hello to you too.” Fable quipped back.

I slipped in beside her and tipped my chin toward the door. “You just get here?”

Harleigh furrowed her brows. “No. We watched you kick ass yesterday.”

I shook my head in disbelief. No way they’d been here last night. “Are ya’ll staying at the hotel we’re at?”

“Yeah. Kline set us up. We’re living large at the best budget hotel in the country.”