Page 101 of Hung Up
I slowly open my eyes to see that he’s holding his phone out toward me, the camera open so I can see my own reflection. Sitting atop my blonde curls is a white cowboy hat with blue twine making up the band, a black and white feather sticking out of it. I end up slipping the hat off my head to look at the underside and see a blue heart engraved on the underbrim with a J above it. When I glance up with misty eyes, he gives me a smile before slipping his own hat off his head. Flipping it over, my eyes widen as I see my own initial directly next to his family sigil.
“Figured it was about damn time I had you out there with me.”
Slipping the hat back on my head, I bite my lip and reach for his hand. “I have a surprise for you, too.”
We walk hand in hand down the hallway toward the chute, and I can already feel my heart rate spiking and my palmsgrowing sweaty. I had to pull a lot of strings and do a shit ton of coordinating to make this happen, and I can only hope and pray that Jesse will love this as much as I think he will.
And based on the gasp he releases when we round the corner, I wonder why I was ever nervous in the first place.
Standing near the chute are Stevie, Nash, Addie, her godson, and Loretta.
Jesse jogs toward them, Stevie meeting him halfway and launching herself into his arms. I can see her lips moving as he sets her down, but can’t make out what’s being said until I get closer.
“—and she wasn’t taking no for an answer. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Faith.”
He turns around to stare at me, a look of disbelief in his somewhat glassy eyes. “How did you do this?”
“I can be pretty damn convincing when I want to be.” I stop beside him and put a hand on his arm, giving his family a wide smile. “I wasn’t about to have them miss your big moment.”
“We don’t know if I’m going to win, Sweetheart.” For the first time in weeks, there’s very clear doubt in his tone.
I reach for his hands and hold them between my own. “Hey now, none of that. You are Jesse Hayes, stubborn bull rider who never walks away or gives up ‘til he gets what he wants—and you always get what you want. I know that better than anybody.”
“She’s right, you know,” Nash says, taking a step forward. “If anyone is crazy enough to pull this off, it’s you.”
“We’re here because we believe in you,” Addie states.
Loretta approaches Jesse, so I drop his hands, taking a step back so she can take my spot. “As your mother, I’ve never been a fan of the career path you decided to go down. No mother ever wants her babies to do dangerous things. But Jesse, I am so proud of you. I’m sorry if my lack of support has ever made this hard on you, because the truth is, I’ve always been proud despitemy fear. You’ve chased your dream and you’ve never given up, and now that it’s within reach… There’s no doubt in my mind that you can do this. I wasn’t going to miss this for the world.”
Jesse wraps his arms around his mother, tears streaming down his face as they hold onto one another. Stevie slides up to me and bumps her hip against mine, Addie giving me that gentle smile she always seems to wear. Nash, well, Nash is wearing the one and only expression I’ve ever seen him wear, so I truly don’t know how he feels, but he’s here. They all are, and that’s what matters.
When they finally separate, Loretta wipes his tears away and stares at him with nothing but determination, almost as if she were trying to give Jesse some of her confidence. “Now, what are you going to do?”
The announcer begins to go over the lineup for today—Jesse riding last—when he reaches for me, tucking me into his side as he stares at his family.
“I’m going to win this thing.”
40JESSE
ARLINGTON
a kiss for goodluck
I still can’t believeFaith got all my siblings and my mother to be here. It’s one thing to get my sisters, who can spare the time to be here, but to get my brother, who hasn’t left Montana since he was twenty years old, and my mother, who hasn’t even watched a clip of me riding online?
Faith has no idea just how much this means to me.
No one has ever done something like this for me before, has ever gone above and beyond and done the one thing I didn’t even realize I needed the most. The amount of time and energy that must have gone into pulling this off couldn’t have been a one-person job, but I can tell just by looking at her that this was all Faith.
If I wasn’t in love with her already, this most certainly would have done it.
“Alright, superstar,” Stevie says once Lee finishes his ride, meaning that there’s only two more before mine. “How are we feeling?”
“Ask me again once Carson rides.”
To my surprise, Nash scoffs. “Like he’s anyone you have to worry about.”
“We’re basically tied right now,” I tell him, unable to hide the unenthusiasm from my expression. “I think if there’s anyone to worry about, it’s him.”
