Page 23 of Roping the Rodeo Queen
I climb out of the pickup and begin the familiar routine of unloading my horse, the physical labor a welcome distraction from the storm in my head.
Dad's sitting on the porch when I lead Thunder toward the barn.He doesn't call out to me.No, he just rocks the porch swing while calmly watching me disappear into the barn.Why did Dad seem...pleased?Or maybe it's resignation because his son fucked up royally.But as I head for Thunder's box stall, a figure emerges from the shadows across from me.
It's Jolene Callahan.
Her auburn hair catches the last rays of sunlight streaming through the barn's open doors.She's clutching her hat in her hands like a shield.The sight of Jo, here on my family's land, hits me like a bolt of lightning.Maybe I'm delirious.But no, this feels real.
"Jo, ah, what are you doing here?"
She takes a tentative step forward, her boots scuffing against the hay-strewn floor."I had to see you.After everything that's happened, I couldn't just leave things the way they were."
"You ran out on me, abandoned our plan, left me in the lurch."
Jo hunches her shoulders, biting her upper lip."Please, can we talk?"
Thunder snorts and tosses his head, sensing the tension between us.I lead him into his stall, buying myself time to process seeing her here.She followed me home.All the way to Montana.
"How'd you even find this place?"I ask, latching the stall door.
"Buck gave me directions."A ghost of a smile tightens her face briefly, but it doesn't reach her eyes."Said you'd need someone to talk sense into you after...after everything."
I lean against the stall door."Buck should mind his own business."
"He cares about you."Jo steps closer, and I can smell her sweet floral perfume."We both do, Clay.And I...miss you."
That last part hangs in the air between us, loaded with everything we haven't said to each other.The barn feels too small suddenly, the walls closing in as I try to figure out what to say next.
"The PRCA called me yesterday," she says."They wanted my side of the story."
"Your side?Two of us were involved, you know.What did you tell the PRCA?"
"The truth."Her eyes meet mine, her expression placid."Told them our engagement started as a strategy but became something real along the way.That whatever mistakes we made, the feelings between us aren't fake."
I study her, unsure of how I should feel right now."You told them that?"
"I told them everything, Clay.About the honky-tonk, about Sterling's threats, about how we needed each other for different reasons but ended up needing each other for the same one."She sets her hat on a hay bale and steps closer."I told them I'm in love with you."
The words hit me so hard that I stumble backward half a step."Jo...are you sure about this?I mean, you ran away the last time we saw each other."
"I'm so sorry about that, Clay.I know it's complicated.I know the timing is terrible with everything seeming to fall apart."She lifts her chin, her stance defiant."But I couldn't let you think that any of this was just business for me.Not anymore.I love you, Clay.I'll say it ten more times if that's what it takes for you to believe me."
Thunder whickers softly from his stall.It's the only sound in the barn as I struggle to find the right words.This woman who's turned my world upside down is standing in front of me, laying her heart bare, and I'm frozen like a greenhorn on his first bronc.
"The bank called yesterday," I finally say, my voice rough."They're moving forward with foreclosure proceedings."
Jo flinches."Clay, I don't know what to say except I'm sorry.That doesn't mean much, though."
"Four generations of McKendricks managed to keep this place afloat through droughts, floods, and market crashes.Then I come along and lose it all."A bitter laugh spills out of me."Some legacy I'm leaving."
"You can't give up yet," Jo declares, taking another step toward me."We can still fight.Together."
"Fight with what?Our reputations are in tatters.The PRCA campaign is gone.I've got maybe two months before the bank forecloses."I shove a hand through my hair, frustration burning inside me."I've got nothing left to fight with, Jo."
She strides up to me, the distance between us abruptly erased.The determination flashing in those green eyes gives me an ache in my chest."You've got me, Clay McKendrick.Whether you want me or not.And I will never walk away from you again.Please believe me."
And I do believe her.So, I drag her into my arms and kiss her like the world's about to end, holding nothing back as I devour her mouth and grasp her ass roughly.A jolt of lust hits me, and I drag her down onto a pile of straw.We tear each other's clothes off, not giving a damn about ripping anything.I've just freed one breast when I hear something that stops me.
The distinctive sound of someone clearing their throat.
