Page 142 of Buck ’Em Cowgirl

The words hit like a physical blow, rattling through my ribs, making my vision go white-hot with fury.

And I moved.

I shoved him, hard, the force of it sending him stumbling back, his boots scraping against the dirt as he fought for balance.

“No one gets to call me a bitch and stand on my property,” I spat, my chest rising and falling with sharp, uneven breaths. “No one.”

He caught himself, straightened, and took a slow step closer, his lips curling in that smug, infuriating way that made my skin crawl. “Yeah? That why you let that bull rider in your bed?”

My stomach twisted. What? How did he⁠—

It hit me.

“You saw the kiss on TV.”

“Damn right I did,” he snapped. “He was kissing what was mine.”

A harsh, bitter laugh tore out of me, my whole body vibrating with rage. “HA!” I spat, shaking my head. “I needed you, Mike. I needed you when I was in the hospital fighting for my life. And where were you?” My voice cracked, but I didn’t let it break. “You were never there.”

“You think that bull rider’s gonna love you? Bet he doesn’t know you’re a broken woman.”

I sucked in a sharp breath, the words cutting deep, but not deep enough to break me.

Not anymore.

A horse neighed in the distance. My head snapped up. Kline didn’t have the horses out this late.

And then I saw her.

Ginger. Beau’s horse.

Wait.

My gaze flicked to the arena. The floodlights weren’t on, but I could still make out the shapes inside. Large, hulking figures shifting in the dark.

The bulls.

Why the hell were they in there and not in their paddocks?

“I have to go, Mike. Leave.” My voice was flat, all my focus shifting away from him, from this bullshit argument, and toward the bigger problem unfolding in front of me.

I stepped down, brushing past him, but before I could move another inch, his hand clamped around my elbow.

I froze.

“Let go of me,” I demanded, pulse hammering.

His grip tightened. “No man will ever love you. Not that bull rider, not anyone. No man wants a woman who can’t give him a family. Who can’t fill a home with children. You’re barren.”

Ice spread through my veins, freezing me in place. He said it so carelessly, like he wasn’t the reason for it. Like he hadn’t stolen something from me that I could never get back.

“Because of you!” I shouted, my voice tearing from my throat.

Mike’s expression flickered for a second, but I saw it.

“You pushed me down the stairs,” I spat, my breath ragged. “I fell because of you.”

His jaw locked, his nostrils flaring. “It was an accident.”