Page 4 of The Pieces We've Lost

The Houston Rodeo started in a couple of days, and we were driving all the way from Silver Creek, Montana, a small settlement outside of Miles City. We all traveled together, even for events like the Houston Rodeo that had a bracket-style format where we might not be competing on the same days.

I’d been involved with the sport for as long as I could remember. Growing up on a ranch in Montana ingrained the competitive spirit in me. I competed in high school and even in college before graduating with a degree in farm and ranch management, naturally. As much as I would have loved to save money and not go to college, I’m glad my parents made me.

If this rodeo thing didn’t work out for me—which it would—at least I had something to fall back on, and that was more than I could say for some of the people I knew in my small town.

“What makes you think we want to spend twenty-one hours with you, Michael?” Reid fired back, unable to keep the smirk off his face.

“Who wouldn’t want to spend twenty-one hours with me?” Mikey winked in response.

We all raised our hands.

I met my best friend and roping partner, Reid Lawson, in college. We went to a school in Goldfinch, a small city in central Montana. He was a year younger than me, but we started roping together as a team my sophomore year and quickly developed a friendship. He also grew up inMontana, in a little town about four hours away from Silver Creek.

Needless to say, Reid was like a brother to me. We’d helped each other through good times and hard times.

“Carson, we need to find you a woman down in Houston.” Mikey grinned at me.

Michael Tucker, or Mikey, as everyone called him, was most likely the biggest playboy you’d ever meet. He had a different girl with him every week. But the women loved him, for some odd reason. That way of living wasn’t really my style.

My last serious relationship didn’t end well. Sophie and I met in college, close to the time I was about to graduate. She was a couple years younger than I was, but the spark was instant. All of our friends thought we were going to get married one day.

And that was the plan. We were engaged for about a year and had our wedding date set for the summer after she graduated from college. But she didn’t like the idea of me being on the road all the time while she was still in school. I’m not sure what it was that caused her to have such a distrust in me, but I was raised to only have eyes for one woman. And my eyes were glued on her.

She broke it off via text message while I was out of town for a rodeo in Arizona, and it absolutely crushed me. For about a year, I was in a really rough place. Reid pulled me out of the hole I had dug myself.

I’m not proud of the man I was during that time. I was angry, drank too much, and didn’t care about the people around me like I should have. I was better now, at least on the outside. I had to be. If not for myself, then for the people who loved and cared about me.

“You know me, man. I’m not trying to get into anything like that.” I shrugged him off.

“Come on, brother. Live a little! Have some fun. When was the last time you brought a girl home anyway? It’s not like you’d have to commit to anything. Those girls down there would do anything to say they were with cowboys like us, even if only for one night.”

“Not all of us are like you,” Reid grumbled as he rubbed his eyebrow. He knew Mikey was trying to get a rise out of me. Reid was observant, had a sharp radar for bullshit, and could sense any issues from a mile away, which made getting a lie past him almost impossible.

“Lawson, you’re just as bad as me, the fuck you talkin’ bout?” The look on Mikey’s face screamed,“Can you believe this guy?”

While Reid did have his fair share of flings, he wasn’t nearly as bad as Mikey.

“Listen, I’m simply trying to get the job done and win. I’m not the type for one-night stands and you know that. But I also know on the off chance I did find a girl in Texas, she wouldn’t like the fact that I’m constantly on the road. Right now, I’m only focused on rodeo andnothingwill change that.” I explained my case for what felt like the billionth time.

“All right, man. I get that. Guess that just means there’s more options for me and the boys.” Mikey stretched out his arms behind his head.

I couldn’t even imagine all of the trouble that man had gotten himself in, especially when he wasn’t around us. He was twenty-eight and still acted like a college frat boy.

The rest of the guys rolled their eyes and changed the subject, wanting to talk about anything but Mikey’s next sexual conquests.

A few hours later, the guys had gradually started to head home. Mikey caught a ride with Hayden because he was drunk off his ass and said he’d come back to get his pickup from my house in the morning.

Jake had also headed back home, leaving me and Reid sitting in front of the house.

“Have you heard anything about Sophie lately?” Reid dared to ask.

It was a touchy subject, but because he was my best friend and I was real with him, he was willing to take that risk.

“Nah, I try to avoid anything related to her.” I shrugged. That usually meant avoiding looking at social media, but it also sometimes meant avoiding the spots we used to go together. “Truth is, I’m worried about what I might do when I find out she’s moved on and is seeing someone else. I’m honestly trying to avoid what’s inevitable.”

I was sure she had already found someone else. I might not have seen the breakup coming, but other people had, especially toward the end. According to my friends, she’d always had one foot out the door.

“I’m here for you, man. Whatever you need, you know that right?” Reid’s response confirmed my suspicions. He had to have heard something or seen something. Unlike me, he wasn’t actively avoiding Sophie and her world, and besides, word got around quickly in a small town. And Montana was really just one big small town.

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