Page 118 of Never Left You

“I do mind because whatever you said to him got in his head, and now he’s having a hard time enjoying the rodeo.” I walked closer to her, standing in front of her to block her view of the bull riders.

“My husband is up next and if you think—”

“No, Carolyn. I couldn’t care less if you miss your husband’s ride. What did you say to him?”

Glancing to her kids, who were engrossed at the event below, her eyes narrowed the second she turned. “I asked him if you knew the real reason why I left him. The fact that you’re up here, intruding on my time with my family, proves to me you don’t.”

“The real reason?” I asked, lowering my voice. “Just tell me, and we can go back to hating each other.”

She shook her head. “I’m not getting into this with you. I’ve managed five years without seeing your face, and it was a glorious five years. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to watch my husband ride.”

“Curtis. Roster.” The announcer shouted, making his name last way too long as the rock song blared over the speakers, the voice louder in the box with the speakers right there, not being drowned out by any cheering from the crowd. “Two-time NFR champion. Making the money everywhere he goes. Standing high in the United States and the Western Circuit. Riding Mad Horn…a bull that gets just as high of points as the rider…”

“Excuse me, Abi.” Carolyn put her hand on my shoulder and pushed me aside.

I turned towards the edge of the wall and watched as Curtis Roster, Carolyn’s husband, rode the bull for eight seconds, jumping off in time and throwing his hands up in the air, giving a victory pose. He pointed up to the box and blew a kiss. Carolyn dramatically caught it. Once he was back behind the gate, she turned back to me.

“You may want to talk to him before you decide if you want to be in a relationship with him.” She spoke quietly. “I don’t know what he’s told you…”

“We’ve only been back in each other’s lives for nine weeks. Someone blocked my number.”

She breathed a laugh. “Yeah, that was me. I’ll admit that. But Abi…you’re going to want to talk to him.”

Thirty-Six

Cash

AbimetQuinnandme at the trailer, her smile widening as she wrapped Quinn in her arms. She congratulated her on her run before she lightly brushed my arm as she headed to help with the horses. She spoke calmly to them as she hooked them in and made sure they were safe, giving them each a kiss on the nose before closing the trailer, making sure my client knew the way to the stables.

“Yes,Mom,” Quinn teased.

Mom…

Abi grinned. “Speaking of mom, we should probably call Stetson before it gets too late.” She turned to me. “Come on, you know he’ll want to talk to you too.”

Saying goodbye to Quinn, we pulled out of the arena before the crowds, turning the opposite way of Quinn to our hotel, my hand wanting to hold Abi’s the entire drive. She called Stetson, giving him a run down about what happened at the rodeo, then handed the phone to me for a quick goodnight, and once she hung up she faced the window. Looking out at the twilight sky, she played with her fingers, twirling rings that weren’t there. I moved, slowly at first, but then her hand moved, too—her fingers brushing mine until they were threaded together.

Instant comfort. Instant relief.

Pulling up to the hotel, our contact broke only briefly until we found each other again, never once letting go. When we made it into the hotel, she pulled me to her, her body pressing against mine.

“Cash,” she said in the crook of my neck.

“Abi.” I stopped her, arching my back slightly, lifting her chin with my forefinger. “If I had known Carolyn was going to be there—”

“I really don’t care about Carolyn,” she interrupted, her fingers brushing my jaw line.

“Neither do I.”

That was the absolute truth. I was always worried that if I saw her, feelings and memories would come back and I would fall back into where I was, but I couldn’t care less about Carolyn and her three kids…her cheating and everything that happened. What I cared about was right here in my arms.

“Do you remember when we danced?” I asked, running a lock of her blonde hair through my thumb and forefinger. “When you kissed me.”

Her answer was a kiss, a soft chaste one against my lips. “Yes. The night we stopped holding back.”

“You asked me what happened with Carolyn.”

“Cash, I don’t care what happened with her.”

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