Page 4 of The Hearts We've Broken
Colter and Reid were on horseback, and Hayden leaned against the fence by Jake. When I got closer, they rode their mounts by the edge of the arena to say hi.
“The day that Mikey gets a girlfriend will be the day that hell freezes over,” Reid joked.
“Man, I’d pay good money to see that,” Colter added. “It’d be a waste of money, because I doubt it would last more than two weeks, but it’d still be interesting to see.”
“Hey! If Iwanteda girlfriend, I’m sure I’d have no issues getting one.” I thought back to this morning and the girl who was practically drooling over the idea of seeing me again.
Jake walked over to me. “Wanna bet on it?” He pulled out his wallet and started rifling through the bills. “Fifty bucks says you can’t keep a girl for longer than two weeks.”
“That’s a pretty big wager, you sure he’s gonna take that?” Hayden cocked an eyebrow, seemingly staying out of the betting.
I shot him a glare then threw out a counteroffer. “One hundred.”
“Sure confident there, buddy.” Colter laughed. Both he and Reid had dismounted at this point and joined our circle.
Jake thought about it for a moment then said, “How about this? You keep a girl for two weeks and you get fifty. Keep a girl for more than a month and I’ll double it for you.”
Colter and Reid exchanged a glance then nodded to each other before Colter spoke up. “We’ll even join in at that point. Fifty from each of us for an extra hundred. Hell, if you can convince a girl to date you until Houston is over, I’ll give you an acre of land. You can finally build yourself a house and put down some roots. I’m sure your future girlfriend will appreciate it.”
“And if I can’t?”
“Then you owe Jake fifty bucks. I think this one’s a gamble we’re willing to take.” Reid shrugged.
“You boys have got yourself a deal, then. A month will be nothing.” I scoffed and rolled my eyes.
They all looked at each other as though they didn’t believe me. I couldn’t say I blamed them with my…history. But for a bit of cash and land, I could suck it up. It wouldn’t be a real relationship anyway. I wasn’t going to catch feelings for a girl.
Not with a gold buckle in December calling my name.
Whoever the lucky lady was would get a damn good fuck buddy for a month, and then I could collect my winnings and get back to my regularly scheduled programming. It was a win-win.
Now I just had to find a woman worthy of my time.
“All right, then.” Jake extended a hand to shake on it, and I accepted it firmly. “Let’s get back to it, shall we, boys?”
“Mikey, you want to man the chute?” Reid asked, although I knew it wasn’t a question.
I gave him a mock salute and headed back behind the roping boxes.
After about thirty minutes and approximately fifteen runs later—we tended to shoot the shit between turns—Ellison arrived at the arena. She and Reid had made a deal that she could use the arena to give local kids riding lessons as long as it didn’t interfere with any of our schedules.
“Ellie, you’re here early!” Reid called out to her. “Thought you didn’t have a lesson until two this afternoon?”
She shrugged before leaning up against the fence by me and Colter. “Figured I’d come hang out. Maybe get in some runs myself to put you all in your place.” She winked after the last part. Ellison was good, but she didn’t compete professionally. She’d started putting her name in for breakaway at a few of the smaller rodeos and jackpots, but she seemed pretty content at her job in Miles City as well as teaching young kids.
“Hi, baby.” Colter leaned in to peck her on the cheek. Ellison jokingly made a show to wipe it off, but then gave him a kiss of her own.
“You slacking off over here, Michael?” she teased, reaching out to punch my arm. “Sure you don’t want to get up on a horse today?”
I huffed out an amused breath. Ellison asked me this question every single time they roped in the practice arena. “Nah, I’m good. I don’t feel like risking my health to ride a horse.” I wouldn’t be caught dead on the back of one unless I was blackout drunk—like last year’s Bucking Horse Sale—or lost a bet. Those things were terrifying. Not that I’deveradmit that out loud.
“You ride bulls for a living, dumbass!” Jake snorted, throwing his head back in a laugh.
“Yeah, and? I don’t see your point here.”
“Aw, come on. You can ride Lucille. I’ll even lead you around the arena like I do with my five-year-olds.” Ellison chuckled, which caused a chain reaction of laughs aroundthe group. I answered them with a middle finger, but it was all in good nature.
“Have you talked to my girl lately?” Reid asked.
