Page 40 of Ride the Sky

“I’ll be right there.”

I stare at the space where Fallon’s disappeared, hit by the real urge to go after her. To toss her over my shoulder and take her anywhere but here.

As I turn to head for the stands, movement in the shadows catches my eye.

Cole Weston. He stands outside the chute, watching as Fallon gets ready for her ride.

The buzzer sounds. I glance up at the announcer’s voice.

When I look over my shoulder, Weston’s gone.

Iwalk fast, away from Wyatt and the weight of his heated gaze. From whatever the fuck that was.

Asshole. To let him get to me with one touch—unacceptable. No man is worth my toes curling in my boots.

My core’s aching, the breath stole from me. Wyatt’s smug, dimpled grin flashes in my mind.Did you miss me?

I was pathetic, so close to saying yes. To giving him what he wants.

Well, what I want is for him to go back home. To take his cocky smirk and his charming swagger and leave me the hell alone. Because he does something to me whenever I’m around him. He makes me care, and I absolutely cannot have that.

The sooner this is over, the sooner we stop being fools.

Still, it’s not to say I won’t take his advice. Despite being an arrogant cowboy, he’s still one of the best riders on Earth. I’d be an idiot not to listen to him.

Wyatt’s words to those reporter’s echo through my brain.She’ll ride as good as any man.

For so long, I’ve craved those words. Craved him seeing me as an equal. As not just a girl. As someone he respects.

So yeah, for one long second, those words turned me to mush. But I’ll never let another man get the drop on me. And that includes Wyatt Montgomery.

Hardening my heart, I shove Wyatt out of my mind. I have to focus on this ride. Steady my nerves.

Sure, I have nerves. Vic will be watching. Dakota. Goliath Jim is monstrous. One of the biggest bulls I’ve ever rode.

Straightforward and vicious, the Rock ’n Ride competition is one round, best score wins. A single night of weeding out the worst from the best. The higher I rank, the more significant the payout. I want the money. I want to beat Cole Weston’s cocky ass.

Women deserve to be here, and I won’t stop riding until they have a place.

In all those little girls screaming for joy, I see myself.

I elbow my way through the cowboys crowding the entrance to the chute.

“Fallon!”

I turn my head. There’s Tripp and his damn water bottle.Hydrate.He’s as bad as Dakota and her worrying.

Face red, he hustles up to me, wiggles his brows. “One more for the road?”

I scoff and reach for the water bottle. “You’re such a nag.”

“You know me, I take care of you.” He laughs. “Hell, I gotta pull my weight. You think I want to go back to Resurrection?”

Like me, Tripp did everything he could to dig his way out of our small town. Volunteering as a rodeo clown, working winters at Zeke’s Hardware, and then eventually hooking up with Pappy to help me out on the road.

“Fuck that,” I blast drily. “We’re not going back there.”

“Deal.” He grins. “In it together.”

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