Page 35 of Second Rodeo

I smile. “It’s almost like she planned it.”

His hazel eyes cut to me, a reluctant smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “It’sdefinitelylike she planned it.”

Then, in a move that catches me off guard, he steps closer, slinging an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side.

“Hey, we’re not enemies, remember?” I remind him, throwing his words from last weekend at the bar right back in his face.

He nods. “We’re not enemies. But we’re definitely not in love either.”

I wink. “I told you not to fall in love with me. You keep trying to avoid it,husband.”

Then, with a teasing pat to his chest, I laugh and skip off to catch up with Betsy before I can catch the absolute panicked look crossing Hayes’ face.

Chapter 14: Hayes

“Are you nervous?” Regan’s twin brother, Colt, chuckles as he comes up behind me, squeezing my shoulder with enough force to be borderline hostile.?

A day ago, I was attending a funeral for a woman I barely knew—an old lady who, apparently, was like a mother to the woman I had a one-night stand with seven years ago. That same woman who now, by some cosmic joke, lives in the small town that I moved to after finishing school.

And today?

I’m marrying her. Because that same old woman conned me into it. For the deal of a lifetime. A practically free property, hundreds of acres of land for my horses to roam, and a future I can actually picture for myself. The next phase of my life. I just didn’t expect to have a wife of convenience moving into this phase.

Oh, or four new brothers-in-law who are extremely protective of their sister and family name. One of whom is currently staring me down like he’s waiting for me to break and run out of here.

Honestly, the whole thing feels like something straight out of a comedy because there’s no way I thought trading my wild boy lifestyle as a bull rider to become a physician would eventually land me getting married to a woman I hardly know. The progression of my life since retiring from the circuit has been nothing short of bizarre.

Colt—theformer convict brother, is built like a wrecking ball, and about as friendly-looking as a rabid wolf. He’s standing next to me now inside of the courthouse where I’m about to get married. He’s big, mean, burly, and I don’t think I’ve seen him smile once since meeting him. Tattoos snake up his arms and disappear under the sleeves of a dress shirt that looks like it hasn’t seen daylight since his high school graduation. His biceps are the size of my damn head, and his hair is shaved short on his head.

Now, I’m a big guy. Had to be to ride bulls and make it to the top without getting my back broken every night. But this guy? It looks like all he did behind those bars was lift weights and get inked. I need to ask Regan why he was locked up in the first place so I can at least prepare myself.

With all that said, I kind of like him. And though he hasn’t cracked a grin in my direction yet, I don’t think he outright hates me, which in my book, is a win. Because I’m marrying his twin, and he just met me. I’d be pissed if someone did that with my little sister.

“Nah, not nervous,” I lie, even though my gut is telling me to turn around and run out of here.

Did I ever picture myself getting married? Absolutely not. I know how that sounds. Forty-one years old and never even considered it. But no, I haven’t. Marriage? Commitment? I’ve always known that wasn’t for me.

My dad was a shit father and an even worse husband. And I’ve always figured, if the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I’d be the same.

But beyond that? The responsibility of a wife, the expectation that I’d need to be good to someone all the time, that I’d stay attentive and sensitive, that I’d never be the reason she cried herself to sleep at night because I somehow hurt her?

No. I wouldn’t do that. Couldn’t do that. Because I’m sure I’ll fuck up somehow along the way. Not in the ways that my dad did, but in a new way. It’s in my DNA. So, I never let it get to that point. And that’s exactly why I agreed to this thing today because Regan swore it’d be on paper only. Swore we wouldn’t make it weird. Swore we were doing this for the love of the property and not love of each other. This is for the business.

And I believe her. Hell, I have no reason not to. She’s never once made me feel like she has feelings beyond our one-time hookup. If anything, I’m probably more into her than she is into me. But more than that, I can see how much she loves Mrs. Mayberry’s place. That kind of love? It’s rare. And I’ll gladly help her get the farm if it means keeping that love alive and getting my own dreams out of it.

So, no commitments.

No crying herself to sleep.

No arguments that stretch into the silent treatment.

No going to bed angry since there will be nothing for us to fight about.

No chance for me to fuck it all up because there’s nothingtofuck up.

We’re just two people, committed to a property that we fell in love with.

Colt chuckles, a deep rumble in his chest as we wait for Regan and her witness—his wife, Molly—to show up.

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