Page 25 of Let Her Buck

She doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t move.

I take a breath. Try again, softer this time. “Hey.”

Finally, she turns. Eyes rimmed red. No tears now, just that hollow quiet that feels louder than yelling ever could.

“Thought you had another ride,” she says, voice flat.

“I do,” I answer. “But I wasn’t about to get back on that bull without finding you first.”

She looks away again, her chin tucked against her knees. “You shouldn’t have come.”

My jaw tightens. I want to go to her. To drop beside her and wrap my arms around her and just hold her. But I stay where I am. Because I know what that’ll feel like to her right now—like pity. Like some guy trying to comfort the poor girl who got in over her head.

She’s strong. Proud. Not some fragile little thing who needs saving.

Still…I have to say something.

“They were talkin’ shit,” I start, voice low. “About you. About us.”

“I figured.” She sniffs. “I’m not stupid, West.”

“I know that.”

The silence between us stretches tight like barbed wire. Every second hurts.

“I shouldn’t’ve kissed you like that out there,” I say. “Should’ve thought it through, but…I didn’t. I didn’t want to. You looked at me and I forgot we weren’t alone. I forgot I was supposed to be playin’ it safe.”

Her fingers tighten around her shins. “So it was a mistake.”

“No,” I grit. “You’re not a mistake. What I feel for you sure as hell isn’t. But how I went about it—that part I screwed up.”

She says nothing. Just stares off at the horizon like maybe she’ll find peace somewhere in that endless stretch of sky.

“I wanted to tell you everything,” I say, taking a step closer. “About how you changed my mind about everything I thought I wanted. I was gonna tell you tonight, after the fair. But then…”

Laney finally turns to me, and her eyes—God—they’re full of something I can’t name. Something that guts me and builds me back up all at once. Pain. Hope. Fear. Maybe even a little love. I’m too damn scared to guess.

“I have one more ride tonight,” I say, running a hand down my face. “And I gotta stick it out. Perfect ride if I want any chance at winning this thing. But I need to know you’ll be here after. I need you to stay.”

“West…”

“You don’t have to watch,” I add quickly. “Hell, close your eyes, go get a funnel cake, I don’t care. Just…don’t leave. Not until we finish this conversation. Please.”

Her gaze softens, the slightest nod dipping her chin. “Okay.”

It’s one word. Simple. Barely more than a whisper.

But it means everything.

Still…that look doesn’t leave her face. That strange flicker of something I can’t quite read. Like she’s already pulled away and is just waiting for me to catch up. It burns in my chest more than anything those assholes back at the fair said.

I want to ask her what it means. I want to ask if I’ve already lost her.

But now’s not the time.

I reach out and brush a knuckle along her cheek, light as a breath. “I’ll be back,” I promise.

Then I turn and run.

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