Page 4 of The Chances We Take

His original plan was to wear chaps—just chaps—but we immediately shut that down.

“Shut the fuck up, man!” Colter gritted his teeth as we tried to pull the horse to a stop.

We were still being pulled around, and Mikey, being the dumbass he was, ran behind the horse, nearly getting kicked, which would have put him a piss-poor mood.

Neither of us would have felt bad for him, though.

We finally got the horse slowed down enough for Colter to grab its neck as I continued to hold on to the lead rope. Mikey ran around to the side and threw the saddle over the horse, taking his damn time securing it.

“Can you go any slower? My baby sister could do a better job of this than you!” I barked at him, wanting this whole thing to be over. “Come on, some of the other teams have almost got it!” Since Colter and I were dragged intothis silly competition, we’d better win the whole damn thing.

“Give me a minute!” he snapped back before he finally got the saddle secured and hopped on the horse. It took off, and Mikey hung on for dear life as Colter and I stayed to catch our breaths.

“Hee-haw!” I heard him yell as he disappeared around the corner. A few other teams followed suit, leaving us in their dust—literally.

Once the dust settled, Colter looked up at me from his bent over position. “Never again.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, there goes the blue team. He’s headed around the track followed by the orange and pink teams.” The announcer interrupted us as the spectators all around us cheered. “We’ve got ourselves a winner, folks. The blue team out of Silver Creek, Montana!”

I looked back at Colter, rolling my eyes as I brushed off my jeans. “Never again.”

That evening, we all huddled around the pool table at Rudy’s. Jake and I were playing against Colter and Mikey, and Hayden was watching.

“So, how’s all that wedding planning goin’, big man?” Mikey asked Colter.

“I think Ellison’s got a pretty good hold on it. She isn’t really letting me touch much.” He shrugged as he lined up a shot, aiming to hit the ten-ball in the middle left pocket.

“Yeah, I talked to Isabelle and it sounds like they’re getting it done. They might be barely afloat, but at leastthey’re still above water,” I added. “Besides, I offered to help. We both did, but we were shut down.”

“It was probably best to leave it to the ladies anyway.” Jake chuckled. “I mean, what do you two know about weddings?”

Silence fell over the group, the thud of the cue ball dropping into a pocket suddenly amplified, as Jake realized what he had implied. We’d already been through the process of planning a wedding once before for Colter, and it hadn’t gone well.

“I—man, I didn’t mean it like that. You and Ellison are meant for each other. I think we all know that.” He grimaced as he moved to set up the cue ball and take his turn.

“It’s all right, buddy. I know what you meant. Shit, Idon’tknow anything about weddings. All of these decisions about flowers and colors. I just let her decide what she wants and it’s good with me.” Colter gave Jake a reassuring look, even though I knew the implication probably still stung.

The topic of Sophie, Colter’s ex-fiancée, didn’t come up much these days. Not that it ever really came up before Ellison was in the picture, but now it was almost as if she never existed. Colter had moved on and found himself a great woman, and we were all happy for him. Most importantly,hewas happy. That’s all I’d ever wanted for him.

“Speaking of which, she’s calling right now. Hayden, you want to take over for me?” Colter handed Hayden his pool stick as he answered the phone and walked toward the bar entrance.

“So, now that he’s gone, how have you all been doingwith the ladies?” Mikey waggled his eyebrows, earning him groans from the rest of us.

“Mikey, no one wants to talk about the girl you brought home last night.” Jake shot him a look that had Mikey rolling his eyes before he knocked the eight-ball in.

“Well, that was quick.” Hayden sighed, leaning his pool stick against the wall.

“Just like Mikey’s sexcapades.” Jake snorted before Mikey smacked him with the end of his pool stick. “Ouch!”

I laughed and gave him a fist bump before asking, “Another round or what, boys?”

They all nodded as we hung up our cue sticks and made our way through the crowd of people over to the bar where Ol’ Rudy himself was working.

John Rudolph, known as Rudy, was a beloved man in the community. Colter had told me once that he couldn’t remember a time Rudy wasn’t here in Miles City. It surprised me to see him working tonight. It could get rowdy during the Bucking Horse Sale, and it was only a matter of time before a fight broke out and someone got arrested. Only two of the regular bartenders were here, though, which was probably why Rudy came in.

“Ho! Hello there, boys,” Rudy greeted us as we sat down in front of him. He had a thick Norwegian accent he always said came from his mother’s side of the family, since his father was German.

The boys all exchanged their greetings.

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