Page 133 of The Wildest Ride

She thanked them and a reporter took it as a go sign, asking, “What did you think when AJ was thrown?”

AJ held up a hand. “Quiet.” The man went silent.

The medics cleaned Lil’s wound where she stood, putting a wide bandage over it.

Despite the commotion, the unforgettable drama, and the upset—Sierra said over the loudspeaker—the show wasn’t over yet. Hank was up next on Shadow Haint.

Lil stayed where she was, beginning to shiver as the adrenaline wore off and the fact that she was standing around in full gear with a ripped-up shirt sans vest started to make itself known.

She didn’t need to watch Hank. Whether or not he had a good ride didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if she won the Closed Circuit or if AJ did or Sierra did. It didn’t matter that she had indisputably shown the world that girls had try, or proven that her granddad’s way was a good way. In the end, it didn’t even really matter if they kept the ranch.

Gran mattered. Piper and Tommy mattered. AJ mattered.

The people she loved mattered, those who were still alive and real and present—far more than anything else she could prove or preserve.

A sea of people swirling around her, she looked at AJ and she knew what her grandmother had meant.

In just two months, her entire world had transformed, and now, towering at the center of it was a man whom she was willing to offer up her very life for—someone whose potential loss would bring a pain so sharp she wasn’t sure she could survive it.

That was what it was all about. All for.

Her granddad had always said everything in life was reflected in rodeo, that there wasn’t a lesson from it that couldn’t be applied to the everyday dilemmas and tribulations of existence.

If life was the ride, she realized with a start, a lone point in a swarm of people, then like her grandfather had always told her, she had to pour her whole self into it—the fear, the anger, the hurt, the need—all of it, and trust that life, like the bulls and the broncs and the timers and the judges, were still no match for the stillness at the center.

A center that had grown bigger, so that it could hold a man who it would someday be impossible to say goodbye to.

But that day wasn’t today. She reached out to grab his hand and hold, and he held her in return.

Today was a day for holding on.

And she just happened to be a woman with an iron grip.

The thought brought a blinding smile to her face as a group of men in suits cut a beeline through the crowd. At her back, AJ squeezed her hand.

One of the suits opened his mouth to speak. “Young lady.” The crowd leaned in, straining to catch every word. The man cleared his throat.

Lil’s stomach sank. The man looked like he’d been born for an era when people still respected rules. Until he smiled.

Instantly, his stern countenance transformed into that of a wily old codger, complete with a missing tooth front and center, and Lil realized he was a retired cowboy.

“Congratulations on becoming the first ever PBRA Closed Circuit Champion!” And in front of the gathered cameras, including one projecting on the jumbotron, he handed her a trophy, and a shiny new buckle. And as if the moment couldn’t get more surreal, AJ swept her up into a kiss, projected for the whole arena on the jumbotron, to the delight and roars of a sold-out show and a thousand screaming girls.

38

The green room was cramped and celebratory when AJ held the door open for Lil. Swimming in his navy shirt, which he’d given her as they’d walked hand in hand together to meet their people, she stole glances at him, struck each time by the wonder that he was hers.

He wore a soft white T-shirt, stretched deliciously across his chest, blue jeans, and a Stetson, looking for all the world like a cowboy coming in off the range rather than a man who’d been near stomped to death within the last hour.

That easy and carefree were as natural to him as breathing was exactly the medicine she needed to balance her own tendency to auger the omens and predict the worst.

Stepping inside, her eyes immediately searched for Gran and Piper and Tommy, landing on them where they sat grouped together in a corner.

AJ was already looking toward the place where Diablo stood, tall and dark in his cowboy hat, which should have been at odds with his three-piece suit, but somehow looked as fluid together as water.

Squeezing AJ’s hand, Lil said, “You go on. I’ll catch up with Gran and them and meet back with you later.”

Smiling, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles before releasing it. Wickedness came to his eyes and he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I love you Lilian Island.”