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‘Oh, boy.’ Andrea took Stevie by the hand like a mother with an overactive child. ‘Come on. Skye, text us when you’re done and we’ll go get dinner?’

‘Yeah.’

Skye waited until they’d disappeared from sight before taking a huge breath. She leaned against the hood of her truck, crossed her arms over her chest, and stared towards where the huge steel ribs of the Coliseum building rose.

That anxiety that always churned in her stomach before a race was there, and it was so much stronger than usual. This wasn’t just a random race she had time to fit into her work schedule. This was her career now. The stakes were so much higher. Still, she told herself, No big deal. You’re running in the slack. Nobody’s gonna be watching. It’s just you, Smokey, and the clock.

TJ saw her the second she walked in, Smokey’s lead rope in one hand, Bandit trotting at her other side, a familiar black cowboy hat on her head. He also saw the second she looked up and spotted him. Her face fell, and although he couldn’t blame her, he also couldn’t help but feel her dread as it lashed through him.

Once, he’d counted her smiles. Now, he knew he’d probably never see one directed at him again, and as much as it hurt, he couldn’t move on until he’d made things right, until he’d made sure she was safe from her father for good.

Just as she’d done outside her trailer at Tia’s, she walked up to him, her eyes twin blue flames, asked, ‘The fuck, TJ?’

Because Kai had his big head over the stall door, TJ ran one hand down the horse’s soft face. He stoically tried to ignore the impatient tap of his heart in his chest. ‘I’m not here to bother you, Skye. I’m working.’

‘You’re working?’

‘Yup. Got a few pickup jobs lined up this season.’ He didn’t say that he’d pulled in every favour he could to get signed up at rodeos that coincided with the schedule Mav had sent him.

Skye looked down at the tag on the stall next to his, scowled when she realized that their horses would be stalled next to one another. ‘You better say whatever it is you want to say to me, because I’m not going to spend the entire season dodging you.’

TJ nodded slowly. He didn’t really have a plan outside of apologizing, explaining why he’d done what he’d done, and making sure she was safe from her father before he left. ‘I’m sorry – that’s the first thing.’

Skye exhaled a frustrated breath. ‘I told you – it’s history. We had a fling—’

‘Bullshit.’

‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’ she demanded.

‘Fling, my ass.’

Skye paled. She fisted both hands around Smokey’s lead rope. ‘It was a few days.’

‘Time is inconsequential in reference to what happened between us. You know that; otherwise, you wouldn’t be so angry.’

Skye’s blue eyes were huge in her face. Worse, they were sad. ‘Why are you doing this?’ she whispered.

‘Because I need you to understand why I did what I did. I need you to know that I did it for you.’

‘You used me.’

‘No.’ It crushed him that she thought that, even though he’d always known anger would be best for her. ‘I let you go because I couldn’t fucking walk. And, worse, I wasn’t entirely sure that I ever would.’ When that anger and resentment over what had happened threated to drag him down, TJ took a deep breath. He very calmly added, ‘I wouldn’t tie you to me. Not after such a short time. Not when you had your whole life to get started on.’

She looked away, focusing on something over his left shoulder. ‘Why now?’ she asked. ‘I know for a fact that you worked the rodeos at least part of last year. So, if it was that important to you to see me, why did you wait so long? Why now?’

Why now? It was such a simple question, but there was no simple answer. ‘I want closure – for both of us. And I want to make sure you’re safe.’ He leaned against the stall, taking weight off his back. ‘Only a few months to go before your birthday.’

TJ saw the fear slip into her eyes a second before she stifled it. She didn’t address that, only said, ‘I don’t need closure, TJ.’ She led Smokey into the stall, took the mare’s halter off before stepping out and sliding the door shut behind her horse. ‘I haven’t thought about you in ages.’

She walked away without another word or a backwards glance, but TJ couldn’t help but shout, ‘Nice hat!’ to her back.

Skye flipped him the bird over her shoulder. And she didn’t look back.

There was a grin working around the corners of his mouth for the first time in almost two years. His eyes, which had been flat and dull for a long time, sparked. A flicker of light ignited in his dark heart.

He got back to grooming Kai as Skye walked back and forth, hauling her tack and feed in.

Although she solidly ignored him, TJ didn’t mind. It was enough to be close to her, to hear her moving about and mumbling words of love to her horse.