Page 88 of Never Left You

“Stay away from Abi.”

“I don’t think that’s up to you.”

His glare deepened. “You hurt her once. I was there for it. I saw every second of it after Sylas died. I saw how long it took for her to get over him, and over you. Over losing who she thought was a friend. You can’t just waltz back into her life and expect to replace Sylas. No one can do that. No one will ever fill that hole for her. You don’t know what she does to stop it. You shouldn’t have come back here—”

“You done?” I interrupted, not wanting his words to get to me more than they already were. Abi knew I wasn’t wanting to replace Sylas. Just by seeing everyone’s reaction to our touches and kisses, no one felt that way either. But Wyatt…turns out he wasn’t done.

“Just stay away. Quinn’s better, so get off my property, and stay the hell away from my sister.”

I chewed the inside of my cheek, stopping myself from saying anything to defend myself. If he wanted to give me this speech, he could, but it didn’t change a damn thing. Wyatt’s jaw tensed as he held my stare, and when I didn’t respond, he gave me a single nod and turned his back, heading to his dad with his chin down. The entire time I watched him walk away, I thought about the next time I would have Abi in my arms again.

Twenty-Seven

Abi

“Andthis,”Ispun,my arms wide, a smile on my face as I looked at the bull rider who followed me into the arena, “is our training arena.”

Oakes Ashford, the bull rider currently leading the standings, shoved his hands in his pockets and tensed his jaw as we stepped into the arena. His Wranglers had dirt around the boot, and a fancy belt buckle showed off his winnings. His black hat was perched on his head, his longer, dark hair sticking out in all directions under the rim. His jaw clenched; the only thing missing was a piece of straw sticking out between his teeth.Showing off the stables for potential horses was easy, but Cash was still the only one using the arena…and this was Oakes Ashford. I was a little intimated.

“It’s small,” he grumbled.

My smile fading, I tried to keep my confident look on my face. “We hold small rodeos here often, just the other night in fact. I can assure you it’s big enough for bulls to train. Rhett has done a lot of training here—”

“That’ll be me.” Rhett came around the corner as if he were summoned, appearing behind Oakes with his signature tan cowboy hat and blue button down on. “We’ve met.” Rhett approached Oakes’ side and held out his hand.

“Rhett Hartwell.” Oakes shook his hand, a large smile spreading across his lips. I mimicked him, hoping to sell him with kindness, especially now that Rhett was here—he could help. “You won the NFR last year. Congrats.”

“And you’re leading the boards this year.” Rhett tipped his chin.

Oakes wiggled his eyebrows. “All the way there. Your sister was just showing me around the training arena. I’ll be sticking to the western circuits this next year and looking for a place to train away from the city. When I saw this ad, I had to come check it out.”

“It’s a great space.” Rhett mimicked Oakes’s stance, feet apart, hands on his hips, jaw tense. “You can ask Cash; he’s been training Quinn Cambell here.”

“Callahan?”

Rhett nodded. “The one and only. He and Quinn should be arriving soon for a session. You’re welcome to watch and see the space in action. If it can handle barrel racing, it can definitely handle bulls.”

Oakes’s stoic glance turned into a smile, where he began to chew. Apparently, he had gum in his mouth this entire time. Isighed, relief swimming through me. At least the clenching of his jaw was justified.

“I can stick around.” Oakes turned to me. “Any chance I can try out the space?”

“Sure.” I grinned. “Why don’t you and Rhett stay here, and I can go grab Lachlan. I’m sure he will be more than happy to bring a bull.”

Oakes tipped his hat. “Make it wild one, yeah?”

“You got it.” I gave him a thumbs up.

Rhett took a step towards me. “I can help.”

I spun on my heels. “Nope, I got it. You show Oakes around.” I winked at my brother, he winked back, and left the arena.

With a skip in my step, I ran to the bullpen, where thankfully Lachlan was ready and waiting for me. He had already seen Oakes pull up and figured the famed bull rider would want a practice ride. He pulled in the biggest bull on the ranch—perfectly named Hulk—and was already moving him to the training grounds.

When I appeared and scratched the bull behind his ears, skipping back again to let him through, I noticed Lachlan’s eyes on me, a single eyebrow raised.

“What?”

He shook his head softly. “Nothing.”

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