Page 13 of Let Her Buck

Watching.

Waiting.

She saw me vulnerable. Touched me in a way no one else ever has. And now she’s about to see me in my element…where I rule, where I belong.

I swing a leg over the bull and tighten my grip on the rope, breathing in the dust and adrenaline.

The buzzer sounds. The gate flies open.

And I ride.

But it’s not just for the score tonight. Not for the crowd or the circuit.

It’s for her.

To show her that I can help her face her fears. To prove I can carry both the danger and the promise. That I’m not going anywhere, but I need to know she wants to stick around too.

And I’ll be damned if I don’t give her a reason to stay.

Chapter Five

Laney

I’ve always hated the sound of that bell, the one that signals the start of a bull ride. It reminds me too much of the day everything changed. The crowd roaring. The frantic hoofbeats. The silence that followed.

But tonight…tonight is different.

I watch West charge out of the chute like he was born on the back of that bull. He moves like he belongs there, his body coiled with an indisputable power. He’s all instinct and control, one hand gripping the rope, the other in the air like it’s second nature. Dust flies. The bull bucks like the devil’s on its back. But West doesn’t falter.

He’s beautiful. There’s no other word for it.

I’m torn between holding my breath and letting it out in gasps. It’s reckless. It’s dangerous. It’s the exact thing I swore I’d never watch again. And yet…I can’t look away.

He wasn’t lying. It is primal. It’s raw and real and so devastatingly alive that something in me aches. My fear is still there, curled tight in my chest like a clenched fist, but so is something else.

Wonder? Hope?

A warmth I don’t recognize, blooming in my throat and spreading like wildfire.

“Girl.”

The voice snaps me out of my daze, and I spin around to find Sadie beside me, eyes wide and sparkling with a familiar mischief.

“What wasthat?” she drawls.

“What was what?” I ask, keeping a straight face.

“Laney, don’t play dumb. Thatkiss!. Half the fair saw it, including Mrs. Carver from Sunday school and those two gossipy twins from the diner.”

I roll my eyes, despite the heat flooding my face. “It was just a kiss.”

Sadie lets out a dramatic gasp. “Just a kiss? That wasn’t just a kiss, it was something out of a movie, a full-on make-out session in front of the entire arena.”

I groan, covering my face with both hands. “Oh my God. Can I just disappear now?”

Sadie laughs, tugging one of my hands away. “You’re glowing.”

“I am not.”

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