Page 42 of The Wildest Ride

AJ took another swig of water before he asked, “And why would you help me?”

Lil Sorrow shrugged. “Don’t want to see an old man embarrassed.”

AJ’s laugh lifted some of the tightness in his shoulders. It’d already been a long night. “With how quick you are to make me look like a fool? What’s the real reason? I know you want to win.”

A light dusky rose blossomed on her cheeks, and she looked away before grumbling, “I sure do, but when I beat the world’s greatest rodeo cowboy, I want to be sure that it’s because of skill and not ignorance. It doesn’t mean anything if it only happened ’cause you didn’t know.”

He snorted. He should have known she’d say something like that. Ms. Solitary Cowboy would never admit to helping the enemy for the simple fact that they were becoming friends.

“Fair enough, Lil Sorrow. Thanks for the tip.”

She turned back to him with a smile, her gray eyes warming to sparkling crescent moons above her grinning cheeks, and AJ’s heart stopped. It was like a mini sun had risen in the room, bright and fully capable of energizing the cosmos.

“No problem,” she said, adding, “and call me Lil.”

But she was wrong. It was a problem, a series of them, in fact, and not insignificant. It was an unforgettable kiss, an incredible talent, and a galaxy-charging smile.

After AJ didn’t say anything, Lil shrugged, and on her way out, smile wavering, said, “Anyway. Good luck out there,” on her way out.

AJ stayed where he was. The final event of the night was less than thirty minutes away. He didn’t have the time to be laid to waste by a smile.

But there he was.

12

AJ’s first moments in the arena with the calves were chaos—but, once again, Lil had been right.

AJ’s calf had been marked with a strip of blue paint on its flank, a color that turned out to be far harder to track amongst the panicked calves than he would have guessed. Creating the extra space on the left kept the others away and made it a whole lot easier to rope his mark.

But not easy enough to beat Lil’s time.

The next day, the novelty of waking up in second place was starting to wear off.

Unfortunately, his next opportunity to change things involved catching wild mustangs.

Having never encountered a wild mustang in real life, AJ was at a disadvantage. He knew how to rope, and at its core, the whole thing was just more rope work, but AJ knew better than to think that was how it would go.

As always, a small pod of greenies bustled around the RVs, running errands, taking pictures, and stocking mini fridges. AJ felt bad for those on snack duty. They had to go inside the bullpens, as the multibunk vehicles had started to be called. Just being downwind was enough to knock you over.

It was just too small a space for that many grown men...

Once again, AJ appreciated the spacious, pleasant-smelling accommodations of the top tier. He tilted back in one of his plush leather seats and stretched out his legs. He wore a white T-shirt, gray sweats, and a backward baseball hat. The ensemble had been his basic at-home attire since he was ten years old.

Why change what worked?

He was tempted to look out the window to see if Lil’s blinds were open. He bet the woman probably relaxed in full rodeo gear—if she even knew how to relax. He honestly wasn’t sure.

But, knowing Lil, she probably skipped the usual routine of coffee and instead wrestled with mustangs for breakfast.

AJ snorted. She was a real cowboy, that one.

Jokes aside, though, it was never a good idea to ignore a resource when one had one, and he was going to need more help.

He slipped on a pair of shoes and headed next door.

Lil opened after the first knock, but not all the way.

Just as AJ’d imagined, the woman was dressed full cowboy: Wranglers, black button-up, black hat, black books, big buckle.