Page 35 of The Wrong Ride Home (Wildflower Canyon #1)

“He’ll get laid tonight ‘cause of it, and he’ll soon enough be sayin’ second ain’t bad,” I predicted.

Duke chuckled beside me, deep and low. “Can’t say I’d fault him on that. ”

The way he said it—like he wasn’t talking about Jace at all—sent a different kind of heat through me.

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry, and turned toward the arena. “I’ll see y’all around.”

I didn’t wait for Hunt or Duke to respond; I moved through the throng of people near the holding pens.

As I walked, I hugged the old ranchers I’d known since childhood and joked with the younger cowboys who thought they had something to prove.

"Damn, girl, you ever gonna give me a shot?" A man drawled as I walked past, tipping his hat.

"You ain't got the horsepower." I smirked as I hugged the cowboy. “How are you doin’, Weston Tate? It’s been a minute and then some.”

Laughter rippled through Weston. He lifted me off my feet and gave me a swing before setting me down. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, gorgeous.”

I caught sight of Maverick leaning against the rail, watching one of his horses run in the timed events. He turned when he saw me, grinning wide before pulling me into a quick hug.

“Tate, you hittin’ on my girl?” He swung his arm around me.

“No, sir. My wife will cut my balls off and feed ‘em to me.” Weston winked at me. “Dakota is pissed as hell you haven’t called.”

Dakota was Weston’s lovely wife. They had a small ranch near Colorado Springs, and I’d gotten to know them over the years during rodeos and meet-ups.

“How’s she doin’?” I asked. “Must be big as a house. ”

“Yeah, she is, and she’s allowed to say it, but not me.” Weston grinned. “We catch up tonight?”

“Sure.”

“The Rusty Spur?”

“You know I’ll be there.”

Maverick and I walked toward the beer tent, the scent of grilled meat and spilled whiskey thick in the air. The place was packed—cowboys fresh off their rides, locals in dusty boots, rodeo fans nursing cold beers while the sound of the bronc riding still roared behind us.

A long wooden bar stretched across the back, lined with people ordering drinks. Makeshift cocktail tables—half whiskey barrels with plywood tops—were scattered around. Neon beer signs flickered against the tent walls, their glow casting everything in a hazy golden light.

Maverick tipped his hat back, eyeing the crowd. "Damn, half the county’s in here."

"And the other half’s still in the stands."

“Where’s Joy?” I asked.

“Where do you think?” he replied sardonically.

I laughed. “She found a cowboy?”

“Or two,” Mav muttered.

We sidled up to the bar, squeezing between a couple of ranch hands already deep in their cups. The bartender, a middle-aged woman with silver hoop earrings and an easy way about her, barely looked up as she slid two longnecks across the counter.

"On the house," she said with a knowing grin. "That was one hell of a ride, sweetheart."

I nodded my thanks, twisting off the cap and took a long draw. Maverick leaned against the bar beside me, his eyes moving around the tent.

"So," he drawled, giving me a sideways look. "Your boyfriend is watching you.”

I spluttered some of my drink. “The fuck?”

Maverick chuckled. “ Duke . He’s with Kaz, and he’s looking at me like he’d like to hand me my teeth. You wanna tell me what the fuck’s goin’ on between the two of you?”

“Nothing.” I wiped my mouth with my sleeve.

“Don’t kid a kidder, darlin’. He’s the man who broke your heart, darlin’, and I get the feelin’ he wants to mend it?” Maverick asked somberly.

I took another pull of my beer. “More like ground my heart into dust.”

“Maybe. But he wants you back, that’s pretty much for certain.”

“He’s marrying the bitch in high heels.”

Mav’s eyes narrowed, and he jerked his chin. “ That bitch?”

I followed his line of vision, and wouldn’t you have it, Miss Four-Inch Heels was dressed cowboy chic and walked to stand in between Duke and Kaz, looking as bright as a daisy while I’d just been riding and looked like hell and smelled like…well, a horse.

“Yeah.”

“No." Maverick shook his head. “I don’t think he wants her. She wants him, though, and she wants you to see her with him.”

“You know I hate love triangles. ”

“I want to test a theory,” Maverick said thoughtfully and leaned his face close to mine.

I pushed him away. “Cut it out. You pull a stunt like that here and your theory is going to have half the women in the county hating my guts thinking I’m fucking you. Already, the other half hate me because they think I’m fucking Hunt.”

“Considering you’re nailing half the male population in Wildflower Canyon, it’s a surprise you get any work done,” he joked.

I rolled my eyes. “How did we get from two men, you and Hunt, to half the male population?”

“I’m just tellin’ you what the gossip mongers are gonna be sayin’ tomorrow.”

I looked at my watch. “I gotta go. I have a new colt in the cutting.”

“Me too.” Maverick set his empty beer bottle on the counter and waved a ten-dollar bill at the bartender, who nodded when he tucked the money under the bottle.

We walked out of the beer tent.

I could feel Duke’s eyes on me. The man needed to give it a rest. He was with his soon-to-be-wife, and he was staring daggers at me because I was having a drink with a friend?

Maverick and I strolled up to the arena where the cutting was underway.

I propped my arms on the rail, watching as Dixie May, one of ours from Wilder Ranch, worked the cow like she was born for it.

Quick and clean, sharp as a Bowie knife, never taking her eye off that critter.

Hell of a horse—the kind that made a rider look better than they probably were.

"Not bad," Maverick admitted.

I chuckled. "High praise coming from you."

I felt eyes on me.

Duke. Again .

He was standing near the grandstands, arms crossed, watching me.

“I think they might call that stalking,” Maverick noted.

I sighed. “Can we just focus on my horse?”

“She for sale?”

“Everything on Wilder Ranch is for sale, and it’s breaking my damn heart. Copper, Whiskey…I mean…fuck!”

“I’ll buy them both.”

I put a hand on Maverick’s arm. “You can’t buy horses because of me.”

“Honey, I’m buyin’ them because it’s profitable for my business,” Maverick assured me and then added, “The fact that it’s gonna make you feel at peace that I got them is a bonus.”