Page 28 of Ride the Sky

I plotted. To be a better rider than him. To make him eat his words.

As we trained together over the years, I endured that smart mouth and irritating smirk to beat him at his game. Thenwe went on the rodeo circuit together. Close quarters meant loathing turned to lust. In the angriest kind of way, I fucked him. Partly because of attraction, partly because it seemed like the best way to get under his skin at the time.

He broke my fucking heart back then.

I’d break his. In as many ways as I could.

There was a minuscule moment in time, an idiotic foolish girl notion, that we could be more. But…not anymore. Not after Aiden. And especially not after that letter.

Now, I’m committed to the bit of hating Wyatt Montgomery.

Petty spite works wonders.

“You live here?” Ruby asks, thankfully changing the subject.

Charlie slides an arm around her shoulder. My friends stare at me with a mixture of sympathy and curiosity.

“In that bunkhouse there.” I hitch a thumb. “I’ve been practicing riding bulls with Vic since I got here.”

Wyatt crosses his arms, sneers as he looks toward Pappy and Tripp. “Riding bulls include photographers and red lipstick?”

Hot temper erupts. I snap open my mouth.

But before I can say a word, Reese grabs my hand. “I think bulls and red lipstick go fabulous together.”

I give her a weak smile of thanks.

I want my family to see where I am now. What I’ve done. Who I am. That I left but I’m okay now. That this wasn’t a mistake—leaving. But most of all, I want Wyatt to know he doesn’t have to look out for me. Not anymore. Even if he is an asshole, he doesn’t deserve that.

Footsteps thump behind me. “Hell, since I got a circus on my property, think I deserve some introductions.”

“Shit.” I turn to Vic, who’s ambling our way.

I make introductions around the receiving line of friends and family. Charlie, Davis, and Ford shake Vic’s hand with a reverence reserved for legends. When I come to Wyatt, my handdrops in the space between us. “This is…Wyatt. He used to be my…trainer.”

I say it because it’s exactly the right thing to hurt. To push.

“Right,” Wyatt rasps, sounding pissed off. Almost in pain.

Good. He deserves it. If he wanted to see me so bad, he knew where to find me.

“I’ve heard about y’all,” Vic says with a chuckle. His gaze lands on Wyatt. “Almost all of ya.”

My eyes fly to Wyatt’s face. Stormy. Scowling.

Still, he reaches out to shake Vic’s hand.

I take a step back from Wyatt, needing the distance. My heart hammers so loud and fast I’m sure everyone can hear it.

Silence falls around us.

“Goddamn hot, ain’t it?” Tugging on the neck of his T-shirt, Ford looks up toward the blinding-bright sky and grimaces. He takes his baseball cap off and rests it on Reese’s blonde head.

Everyone looks exactly how I feel. Uncomfortable. Fucking awkward.

Meeting my sister’s eyes, I slap my hands on the sides of my thighs. “You want to find a bar. Get a drink?”

“A drink,” Charlie’s relieved voice rings out.

---