Page 86 of The Pieces We've Lost

But then a new voice rang out, one I’d heard for the last few months.

I believe in you.

That was all I needed to zero in my focus on the steer ahead of me as I threw my rope and caught the horns. The next part was the part I had dreaded for the pastmonth, but my boots were secure and there was no way I would slip. I dallied my rope and turned the steer for Reid who was right behind us.

He caught the steer successfully, and we finished, turning toward each other as the announcer called out our time of four-point-six seconds, enough to beat out the team from Oklahoma by a hair.

Fuckers. That’ll show you, thinking you can come into our state and throw us off our game.I internally boasted our win over them.

Dash Kingsley and Wayne Marlow didn’t matter anymore, though, as we took our victory lap around the arena and I looked out into the crowd of fans, smiling and cheering for us. There was only one person who I looked at, though, as I rode around, her smile captivating me—capturing my heart—just like the first day I met her.

I raced over to him as he exited the arena, sweat slicked on his forehead but a huge grin on his face. He was back. My boy was back and nothing could stop him. The win tonight would keep him in a great position for world standings, so he still had a likely chance of making it to the NFR.

“You were amazing out there, Sparks.” I hugged him.

“Thank you, baby.” He squeezed me tighter, like he never wanted to let go.

“Carson! Come here!” Mikey yelled out to him, and Ipulled away to let him go take care of whatever it was Mikey needed. We still had plenty of time.

“I love you.” He grabbed my hands and pulled me back so I was facing him.

“W-what?” I blinked, not sure if I heard him correctly.

“I love you, Blaze.” He tilted my chin up so I was looking directly in his eyes. “I’m in love with you. I love the way that you challenge me and motivate me. I love how understanding and caring you are and how you make me feel like the luckiest man in the world. You make me forget about every past failure in my life, every insecurity, every doubt. Because you see me for me, Ellison. And I love you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Sparky.”

Colter Carson was everything. He was a best friend, a son, a brother, a rising team roper, and a cowboy from Montana. But most importantly, he was mine. My entire world had changed in the past three months, but I knew we didn’t have anything to worry about. I was absolutely carefree as I pulled him toward me, Mikey and the boys be damned, and kissed him.

Colter and I? We were exactly where we needed to be.

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

ellison

FIVE MONTHS LATER: THE NATIONAL FINALS RODEO, LAS VEGAS, NV

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the final night of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo!” The announcer’s excitement was contagious, and the entire arena was erupting in a chorus of cheers. The NFR was the final event of the year. Every moment, every trial throughout the year had led to this.

“Hey, Sparky?” I smiled at Colter. He was about to run off so he could meet Reid and be ready to rope when the time came.

“Yeah, Blaze?”

“I love you. Give ’em hell.” I wished him luck right before stealing a kiss.

Everyone was here to support Colter and Reid. Isabelle was sitting to my right and my mother to my left. Mikey, Jake, and even Hayden were also here. Even though they themselves hadn’t qualified for the NFR, they wouldn’t have missed the chance to cheer on their brothers.

The events went by in a blur. The boys had done extremely well throughout the entire week. They looked natural out there, as though they had been on this nationalstage their entire lives. This last day was muscle memory for them.

Dash Kingsley and Wayne Marlow ended up screwing themselves over for the NFR Average Championship by securing themselves a no time and a barrier violation in the previous rounds. I took satisfaction in thinking it was karma for all of the hell they had put Colter and Reid through. I kept my mouth shut every time we passed by them, though.

After the bull riding, they would crown the new NFR Champions and World Champions. One winner would be crowned based on average scores throughout the ten-day rodeo, and the other would be based on overall winnings throughout the entire year. Both would take home gold buckles and a fair amount of prize money.

“Ladies and gentlemen. The time that you all have been waiting for has come. It is time to crown our new NFR and World Champions!”

The anticipation in the arena was palpable. It was unlikely that Colter would win a World Championship with the month he was out for his injury, but he and Reid had a good chance at winning the average.

They announced the first few events, bareback riding and saddle bronc riding. Cheers erupted from the crowd as their favorite cowboys’ names were called. There was only one name I wanted to hear, though, and my palms started to clam up as I waited for the announcer to call out the winners for team roping.

---