Page 52 of Here With Me

“Poor baby. You’re gonna get all kinds of extra lovin’,” Ellie says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“How long have you been competin’?” I ask in an attempt to distract her. I’m on his last hoof since I had to pause to let Mr. Weston look at him.

“Since I was thirteen, but Ranger was a gift for my sixteenth birthday. We’ve been inseparable since. I hate that we’ll have to skip the fundraiser event. I was lookin’ forward to beatin’ Marcia Grayson’s ass.”

I chuckle at the competitiveness in her voice. “I know the feelin’.”

“You used to race?”

“Rode bulls,” I clarify. “But there’d be times I’d have to take time off to heal after fallin’ or gettin’ stomped on. Not an easy career.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re a former bull rider?” Her tone lightens. “I bet you have thebeststories!”

I chuckle and nod because she’s right. “It was many years ago. I did lots of stupid shit.”

“Like what?” Her eager voice makes it hard to ignore her.

“One night after drinkin’, a friend and I decided to go back into the arena and ride a bull drunk off our asses. You’d think my friend fallin’ off in two seconds and gettin’ stomped on woulda stopped me from doin’ it, but it didn’t.”

She laughs, keeping her attention on me as I walk to my rig to grab another shoe.

“Broke a couple ribs and my collarbone. Nearly lost all my sponsorships, too.”

“Oh my gosh. That sounds painful.” She speaks with awe, but nothing is admirable about what I did in those early years of my career.

“Not the worst pain I’ve experienced,” I mutter.

“What happened after that?”

“Took me three months to fully recover, and even when I did, I couldn’t ride the same. Had to take another month off before they’d let me back on.”

“What about your friend?”

“He wasn’t as lucky. Broke his scapula and never came back. His only sponsor dropped him, and he couldn’t afford it on his own.”

“Wow. How long did you compete?”

“From the time I was twenty-one to twenty-nine. After that, I got my farrier certification.”

“Do ya miss it?”

“The lifestyle? No. The rush? Yes. But it was time to retire. I had two young kids and a wife at home always worryin’ about me. It was time I acted like a family man.”

“Where are your kids now?”

“Ellie, can I speak to Fisher for a minute?” Noah asks, thankfully appearing before I had to respond.

“Oh, sure! I’m gonna call my mom and let her know what’s goin’ on.” She gives Ranger a quick peck before leaving the barn.

“How long were you standin’ there?” I ask when we’re alone.

“Long enough to know I’m gonna kick your ass on the mechanical bull tomorrow night.”

I snort, shaking my head at her confidence. “You think the few times you’ve done it will be better than my decade of experience?”

“No, now I know all I gotta do is get you drunk, and I’ll win, no problem.”

I smirk, cleaning up my area now that Ranger’s hooves are done. After his Epsom salt soak and getting checked by the vet, I bandaged it. It’ll need to be soaked and cleaned daily until the wound heals.