Page 20 of Rodeo Rivals (Hope Runs Deep #11)

Wyatt

I t was crazy. Wyatt had been off the circuit for months.

He’d attended one and a half events since his return.

Yet the break he was forced to take by missing out on Dalhart refreshed him.

He refocused. The mental clarity he had achieved over the last few days had given him perspective.

Between the gym and yoga classes, he planned a course of action.

It made his brain clear. Nothing muddied the waters, and it allowed him to truly embrace his sport. Finding a space where he could clock a few sessions on a bucking machine improved his timing.

His head was officially back in. Now, all he needed to do was get in the arena. His return to Mesquite, Texas, was his second chance at his meteoric rise to the top of the standings. It’d be the magnificent night he’d dreamed of. Nothing would get in his way.

No distractions.

No nights out.

No one in his bed.

Wyatt wasn’t messing around anymore. This was his career—his life. He was a saddle bronc rider. It was time to get back to the seriousness. No more games.

Seth could fuck all the way off. They weren’t friends. There was absolutely no reason for them to speak to each other. His focus would remain solely on the horse he’d ride into glory, Miss Flora.

Keeping his gaze straight, his shoulders back, and his hands on his hips, Wyatt lunged forward, stretching to get himself limber for his time in the arena. No fuckups tonight. He would take it all. No excuses.

“You got a minute?” McKayla’s voice thrummed through every cell in his body.

It’d only been days since he’d seen her, and it felt like months. This was the opportunity he’d wanted. Though he would’ve preferred it to happen after the two of them had competed, he’d make now work.

“I don’t want to bother you or anything. I just want to clear the air,” she said.

Straightening, he nodded, doing his best to restrain himself. He had a lot to say, but this was her turn. His heart thundered within his chest. It felt like they were lovers parted by war for a year, and this was her triumphant return.

Damn. He’d never taken himself for a sentimental asshole before, but here he was, giddy as a schoolgirl that she showed up looking for him. What had happened to him over the last few days? He didn’t recognize himself.

“We’re fine,” he said, trying to keep this conversation short. He didn’t want to rehash what he had put behind him.

She picked at her fingernails and shifted her weight from foot to foot. McKayla had always appeared confident—a badass in every situation. Why was she so nervous now?

“I really appreciate what you did.”

He waved it off. “It was stupid.”

She frowned.

“I mean, I shouldn’t have hit the guy.” He scrubbed a hand up and down the back of his neck as he glanced around, noting that they were drawing a crowd again.

Shit.

He didn’t want complications. This had gone a thousand times better in his head. Then again, he’d planned this to happen after they got their scores. He needed to regroup and word it better.

“You were, and are, more than capable of handling it yourself. I had no business stepping in,” he added, hoping that would counteract his idiotic comment before.

She nodded and flung her hands out at her sides before rubbing them against her outer thighs. “Yeah.”

“So, we’re good.”

She nodded and chewed her bottom lip. It was too fucking adorable. He couldn’t stand it. What would he do with this woman? He had to make things less awkward.

“Tell me,” he said, leaning against the fence behind him.

She perked.

“How’d you do in Dalhart?”

He knew, but she needed something to take her mind off whatever made her this uncomfortable. The last thing he wanted was for her to be anxious around him or before she got in the saddle.

Everything about her relaxed. Her face brightened with a giant smile. She looked up, and he swore there were stars in her eyes. “I got second.”

“Hot damn.” He slapped a hand against his leg, stepped forward, and before he could think better of it, he wrapped his arms around her.

Squeezing her tightly, he lifted her in the air and placed a kiss on her cheek.

“Wyatt!” she squealed and kicked her feet.

When he put her down, he stepped back. The crowd of nosy Nellies grew larger.

“I’m proud of you,” he said loudly enough for everyone to hear him.

Her cheeks tinged pink, and she looked around, surveying those who were paying far too much attention to them.

“Don’t worry about them,” he whispered.

Returning her focus to him, she frowned. “You’re not the one busting stereotypes here. They’re going to talk.”

Wyatt waved a hand dismissively before reaching for hers and pulling her closer to him. “Let them.”

She peered at him as though he had ten heads. “That’s easy for you to say. It will not undermine your credibility.”

“I’ve seen you ride.” He made sure he held her gaze when he said this. “ No one can take that away from you. You work hard. Your talent exceeds that of most of the men here.” He gestured around.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed and surveyed those lingering near them.

“Including me,” he said as he covered his chest with both hands.

She met his eyes. The look on her face practically broke his heart. There was reluctance mixed with relief. Wait. Was that even a bit of disbelief? He couldn’t have that.

Placing his hands on her arms, just below her shoulders, he crouched slightly to be eye level. “McKayla. You are one hell of a bronc rider. It is an honor to compete against you. Tonight, I’m going to kick your ass.”

That did it.

The spark returned. She stepped back out of his hold and pursed her lips as she jutted her chin upward.

That was the bravado and confidence that had sucked him in at the Double Wide.

It was the moxie she carried herself with when she walked into the arena that first day.

It was the hottest thing about her and damn, his dick was rock hard.

She was competitive. It was time to pluck that chord. “I bet I outscore you tonight.”

Her brows lifted. “Is that so? You willing to put anything on that?”

Betting on performance was strictly prohibited. He had to tread lightly here.

“Well, I mean, we can’t officially wager,” he said as he leaned in close to her, hovering near her ear. “But if I do tonight, I’m on top.”

She gasped. He could practically hear the laugh she refused to allow to escape from her. The amusement was written all over her face.

“Excuse me?” she said.

Smug as shit, he stepped back and folded his arms across his chest. “You heard me.”

“What makes you so confident—”

“We both know it’s going to happen. Every time we tried to refrain, it happened. We might as well embrace it and let go.”

She glanced away, toward the ground, and shifted her jaw back and forth in contemplation.

Would she take him up on it? Had he gone too far?

Licking her bottom lip, she met his eyes and narrowed her own. “And if I beat you?”

He grinned. “We’ll do it your way. You can ride me any way you see fit.” He stooped down again and curled the end of her braid around his finger. “Let’s be honest. We win either way.”

She scoffed. “Are you serious right now?”

“Dead fucking serious.”

“You really want to start this.”

“It already began the last time we were here. I’m just saying, let’s stop pretending it ain’t a thing.”

She placed her hands on her hips and glanced around once more.

“We’ll take it one night at a time,” he said.

She rolled her eyes and let out a heavy breath. “This is such a bad idea.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a better one.”

“Why am I even considering this?”

“Because you’re as curious as I am about this spark between us.”

She crossed her arms again. “I don’t have time—”

“We’re on the circuit together. I don’t have the time either. I’m willing to make it,” he challenged. “Are you?”

She took off her hat and bopped it against her chin a few times. She ran her hand down one of her braided pigtails before she popped the hat back on her head. Slowly, she nodded.

“Okay. Let’s do this,” she said.

He practically jumped for joy. Instead, he grabbed her at the waist and dragged her against him. Before she could protest, he slammed his mouth over hers and kissed her with the passion that had burned between them for the last few weeks. She needed to feel it the way he did.

Out of breath, she broke the kiss and rested her hands on his forearms and her forehead against his.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she mumbled.

He snorted. “Me neither.”

“What were the terms again?”

A loud laugh erupted from him. The bet. He’d forgotten all about it in the last few seconds. Shaking his head, he took hold of her face with both hands. His thumbs swiped over her cheeks. “I win. I’m on top. You do, and you are.”

“Let’s do this.”

Turns out this was the competition he’d always needed. Wyatt rode better. He scored an eighty-five point five. Wyatt took first place. Giving it her all, McKayla came in second with an eighty-four. The two of them pummeled Seth, who came in fourth with an eighty-one point five.

Coming back to the rodeo, Wyatt had anticipated the competition and the rivalry. Especially with Seth. He never expected to stumble across McKayla—let alone her being his greatest challenge. He wouldn’t have it any other way.