Page 54 of Unforgettable Cowboy
She tucked her hand in his arm and leaned into his side, suddenly serious.“I’m so sorry to hear about Jeremy.”
“Yeah, but I think the pants were his way of saying life goes on.
Bailey smiled.“Maybe so.Estelle is watching the table, so maybe I’ll just stay here for a bit.”
“Fine by me.”
They stood together as the arena was cleared and the bareback riders began mounting.The pickup men took their positions as did the gatemen and Hayes felt the first tingles of anticipation as he watched the riders prep.
Washe an old guy past his prime, trying to hang on to former glory?
Didn’t feel that way.
He was an old guy doing something he hated to give up.Hell, he could see himself competing in the Senior Rodeo for some serious purses.The bottom age bracket was forty to fifty years old, which gave him over a decade to practice.
Bailey’s hand slid down to his butt, redirecting his thoughts in a serious way.
“Watch it,” he said out of the side of his mouth.
She smiled without looking at him, gave him a pat and let her hand fall away.She seemed to be in a lighter mood and a second later he found out why.
“I heard from Jenna.She’ll be here on Monday.Chance will be on the road for Texas.”
“Good news.You can keep to your schedule.”
She smiled up at him in a way that made him want her to never leave.“Yes.”Her smile faltered and he figured it was because of her missing silver.
“I’ll spend some late nights working, but I’ll keep ahead of my shows.”
“All the same—”
She put a hand on his cheek, rose up on her toes and kissed him.“I need to get back.Estelle will watch the table again during your ride so that I can cheer you on.”
She gave him another pat on the butt and headed back to the sales area.He wasn’t certain if it was their spectacular night together or the fact that she was soon to be free of the palomino mare that caused Bailey’s lightened mood.
Or maybe it was the fact that she’d garnered the promise from him to live for the moment and let tomorrow take care of itself.The only problem with that was, in his experience, tomorrows often didn’t take care of themselves.Actions had to be taken and consequences, good and bad, resulted.
But for right now he was good with the strategy.Instead of thinking about Bailey, he was going to think about his ride and bringing home not only the purse, but also hometown bragging rights.
And then he’d think about Bailey.
Chapter Thirteen
“According to hisbrothers, our next contestant is entering his twilight years,” the announcer joked.“But despite his advanced age of, let’s see, twenty-nine, I think we’ll witness one heck of a ride from Hayes Matthews today.Keep your eyes on chute number three, folks.”
Bailey’s heart hammered as she watched Hayes ease onto the back of the twitchy bronc.He wound the rope around his gloved hand, gave it a couple of pounds with his fist.She shouldn’t have teased him about being old, even if he was one of the older guys in the competition.Older and more seasoned.The sureness of his movements as he prepped for his ride had to be obvious even to the uninitiated.He knew what he was doing.
She wished she had the same sense of sureness.Yes, she was going to continue her circuit of gear shows and art shows and PBR events, but the joy she’d once felt at the prospect of hitting the road and following her dream had been compromised by Hayes Matthews.What her younger self feared, her older self confirmed.The guy was impossible to get out of her head.
Would you change your life for him?
If so, would that mean losing yourself?
The gateman pulled the rope and the gate swung open.The bronc, a piebald bay, quivered in the chute, then rocketed out, all four hooves leaving the ground before coming back down hard.Then it was off to the sky once again.Hayes got his rhythm almost immediately, using his free arm as a counterbalance as the bronc spun first one way and then the other.He’d drawn a great ride, and the crowd appreciated the way both athletes performed, coming to their feet when the buzzer sounded, and he took hold of the pommel with both hands, waiting for the pickup man to pull the bucking strap.But as the guy leaned over to do so, his bronc took offense and shot sideways into the rails, smashing Hayes’s knee.
Hayes gritted his teeth and bailed without benefit of a pickup, landing on both feet, only to have the injured leg give out beneath him.He went down, then struggled back up again, waving his hat and limping across the arena as the announcer called out his score.Eighty points.
“A great start to the saddle bronc event!”
