Page 59 of Hung Up (Shadow Ridge #1)

ARLINGTON

a kiss for goodluck

I still can’t believe Faith got all my siblings and my mother to be here. It’s one thing to get my sisters, who can spare the time to be here, but to get my brother, who hasn’t left Montana since he was twenty years old, and my mother, who hasn’t even watched a clip of me riding online?

Faith has no idea just how much this means to me.

No one has ever done something like this for me before, has ever gone above and beyond and done the one thing I didn’t even realize I needed the most. The amount of time and energy that must have gone into pulling this off couldn’t have been a one-person job, but I can tell just by looking at her that this was all Faith.

If I wasn’t in love with her already, this most certainly would have done it.

“Alright, superstar,” Stevie says once Lee finishes his ride, meaning that there’s only two more before mine. “How are we feeling?”

“Ask me again once Carson rides.”

To my surprise, Nash scoffs. “Like he’s anyone you have to worry about.”

“We’re basically tied right now,” I tell him, unable to hide the unenthusiasm from my expression. “I think if there’s anyone to worry about, it’s him.”

“Who you’ll have to worry about is me kicking your ass if you fuck this up.” I whip around, my eyes the size of saucers because there’s Kai, coming toward us on crutches, his leg in a cast.

“Oh, did I forget to mention?” Faith slides up next to me, grabbing my arm. “You had one more surprise.”

Kai stops a couple of feet in front of me, giving me a reassuring smile. “If you really thought I wasn’t going to be here to watch you win that buckle for me, you clearly aren’t as smart as I once gave you credit for.”

“I thought you’d be at home watching, given the cast and all.” He holds his hand out, keeping the crutch tucked under his armpit, to smack my hand. “I know I probably would’ve been.”

“Wow, so you wouldn’t have come to support me?” He shakes his head. “Maybe I will go home then.”

Faith laughs, pushing me aside to walk up to him, her arms wrapping around his neck. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just nervous.”

“He’s not nervous,” Stevie responds, taking the space beside me that Faith has vacated. “He’s just…anxious.”

“That’s the same thing, Stevie,” Faith tells her, humor evident in her voice.

“Well, excuse me, not all of us went to some big fancy college.” She tries to sound offended, but the grin on her face gives her away.

“Anyway, Carson is riding Doze You Down. He’d have to be perfect to clinch those few extra points he might lose due to the way his bull prefers the middle of the ring.

” I look down at my sister in surprise. “What? I watch you all the time. I’ve learned a thing or two. ”

It’s Faith who says, “If my calculations and assumptions are correct based on the averages of this season, you’ll have about a ten-point grace window, which should help you, should Titan take advantage of the rest he’s had and make things harder for you.”

“You, Faith Thompson, who hates math with her entire being, ran the numbers?”

“I’m more than just a pretty face.”

The rider who went after Lee finishes up his ride, which means it’s time for me to head to the chute.

Turning toward Faith, I find her already smiling at me, and I can’t get over how perfect she looks in her overalls, boots, and brand-new hat.

I’ve officially turned this city girl into my southern belle—at least into the start of one.

“Okay, Pretty Boy,” she says, interrupting the bickering that somehow broke out between Stevie and Kai over what bull is the hardest to ride. “Time to get you over there.”

“Good luck.” Addie throws her arms around me, giving me a tight squeeze before letting go and Stevie does the same.

Nash pats my shoulder and my mom grabs my hands, kissing my knuckles.

With a simple dip of his hat from Kai, Faith interlaces our fingers together and walks with me side by side to the chute.

Carson is climbing onto the bull when we reach chute two, Titan already securely inside.

Faith and I watch in unison as the door flies open and Doze You Down starts bucking and spinning, but this time he decides to stay closer to the rails than he normally does.

I can feel Faith’s sudden worry as we watch him on the big screen, the buzzer sounding just as he tumbles off and into the dirt.

And when his score comes up on the screen, all the confidence I had before vanishes.

My ten-point grace window just diminished to a one-point five.

The arena is loud, the fans cheering as he whips his hat in the air. He walks off and over to us, giving me such a cocky and demeaning smile that I find my free hand fisting tightly at my side.

“Don’t worry, Hayes,” he says, putting his hat back on his head. “There’s always next year.”

Words seem to escape me as he walks away, my jaw ticking as my mind begins to run a million miles a second. I should’ve known I wouldn’t be able to pull this off. This buckle has eluded me for as long as I can remember, why would this year be any different?

But then I think of my family, who showed up for the first time ever because they have that high belief that I’ll be able to pull this off.

I think of Kai, who showed up to watch me because he knows that if anyone can do it, it’s me.

And then there’s Faith, who has supported me time and time again and never once doubted me.

I might not be able to get up there and win this thing for me, but I can get up there and do it for them.

I won’t—can’t—let them down.

“Hey,” Faith gives my hand a tug, pulling me out of my thoughts as she looks me in the eye. “Don’t do that. You’ve got this. Do not let him get into your head. Yes, things just got a little bit harder, but that doesn’t make them impossible. Let me hear you say it.”

“I’ve got this,” I repeat, although not as confidently.

“Jesse, again.”

“I’ve got this.”

“One more time.”

I slip my hand out of hers and grip her face between my hands. “I’ve got this. Now, give me a kiss for good luck.”

She rolls her eyes but obliges, closing the space between us and gingerly pressing her lips against my own.

It’s slow and sensual, one that almost has all the blood in my body rushing to a place it shouldn’t, but she pulls back before it can.

Giving me a sheepish smile, she presses a kiss to my nose before nodding.

“Go get ‘em, Pretty Boy.”

Faith walks away, heading back to join my family and Kai.

I have about thirty seconds before I need to climb onto the bull, the announcer running over my stats and stating how this is the most important ride of my life.

Instead of allowing that thought to consume me in a negative way, instead of allowing it to make me nervous, I let it fuel me.

He’s right, this is the single most important ride of my life, and I’ll be damned if I lose all I’ve worked for now. If I let my last ride go to waste.

I have worked so hard for this. I’ve sacrificed more than I thought I’d ever have to and even lost myself in the process somewhere along the way.

I’ve struggled with my self-worth and self-doubt, have worried there was nothing for me except bull-riding—that I was nothing without it.

But this season is the one that really shaped me, the one where I grew and overcame all those doubts, fears, and worries.

And now I have to make sure that wasn’t all for nothing.

Once I hear my name again, I start my climb up to the top of the chute, swinging a leg over before lowering myself down on Titan.

The second I’m seated, he starts to sway, jamming my leg against the metal, but I fight past the uncomfortableness of it.

With my gloved hand, I grip the rope, making sure it’s almost painfully tight in the palm of my hand.

I take a couple seconds to close my eyes, taking a few deep breaths.

I’m doing this for Kai.

I’m doing this for my family.

I’m doing this for Faith.

I’m doing this for me .

I snap my eyes open and nod, the door flying open and Titan tearing out of the chute.

My thighs begin to burn almost immediately as he spins and bucks at the same time, my abdomen clenching as I twist and turn with him, my free arm up.

Each time his hooves hit the dirt, I feel a sharp jolt through my body but ignore it, focusing on the top of his head to anticipate his spins.

Four seconds.

He turns to the left, getting increasingly closer to the barrier and I have to lean away instead of with him, my grip tightening on the rope.

Five seconds.

He bucks, his hooves hitting the rail, and my thighs lose their grip for a moment, causing me to slide a little bit closer to his head.

Six seconds.

Titan spins again, which allows me to slide back, leaning into the aggressive movement and trying to push past the ache in my fingers.

Seven seconds.

He leaps fully into the air rather than kicking his back legs, and the feeling has my arm that was in the air dropping in instinct to grab it with the rope and hang on, but muscle memory has me stopping.

Eight seconds.

The buzzer sounds and I yank my hand free, getting tossed into the dirt. I roll away and leap to my feet. It takes a few seconds for the adrenaline to subside and for my body to come back to the present, but when it does? The sound in the arena is deafening.

I grab my hat and wave it toward the crowd, turning in a full circle. My perusal stops as I catch sight of Stevie, Addie, Nash, and Faith leaning over the top railing where I left them, screaming along with the rest of the crowd.

It’s a sight that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

The static of the announcer coming over the loudspeaker draws my attention, and I risk a glance up at the jumbotron in the middle of the arena. But it’s not until I hear the announcement that I’m able to believe what I’m looking at.

“Let’s hear it for this year’s Pbr Champion, Jesse Hayes!”

I can’t believe it.

I won.

Turning back toward my biggest supporters, I laugh as I see them already in the arena and running toward me, all my friends and fellow bull riders running out behind them, a few camera crews not far behind.

Stevie reaches me first, slamming into me so forcefully that I almost lose my footing and fall into the dirt.

Addie and Nash join us in a group hug a few seconds later, verbalizing their excitement and congratulations.

Mom pushes her way through the crowd and pulls my siblings off me, kissing both my cheeks before wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Once my mother steps to the side, my eyes immediately fall on Faith as if they always know just exactly where she is.

Her smile is the largest that I’ve ever seen it, her elation practically rolling off her as she takes those few steps that separate us and launches herself into my arms. One of my arms holds onto her waist, the other resting on the back of her neck as she laughs with nothing but pure happiness.

“You did it, Jesse.” She pulls back, her kiss hard and fast. “You fucking did it.”

I set her down but keep one arm wrapped around her, the other reaching into my back pocket. Pulling out the note I had written for her earlier this morning, I hand it to her. Her brows furrow, but it’s quickly replaced with a smile as she reads the words I’ve scrawled on the paper.

It was all for you. I love you.

“And I love you.”

My attention is pulled away as I see a cameraman push his way through the crowd, Rylie beside him. Refusing to let go of Faith, I tuck her closer into my side. For the rest of my life, I want the whole world to know she’s mine.

“Congratulations on the win!” Rylie yells over the loudness of the crowd, the microphone close to her mouth, as the light from the camera blinds me slightly. “Now that you’ve won, what comes next?”

I glance over at Faith as Rylie tilts the microphone in my direction, knowing there’s really only one thing left for me to do.

“I’m taking my girl home.”