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Austin’s lips tugged involuntarily. “Yeah, I guess it does, but I mean—”
She held up a hand to stop him. “I still don’t know, and neither do you.” She drew in a deep breath. “For now, we’ll come to California with you. I’ll check out the residency option there, and maybe even this camp you keep talking about.”
Austin’s chest warmed, and his shoulders felt like a weight lifted off them. That gave them at least two more weeks together. Two more weeks to convince her they could make something work. “That just made my day.”
The smile that flashed to her lips was spontaneous and had him catching his breath. “Well, Austin Bowman,” she said, laying a hand on his chest. “I do like making your day.” She slid her hand off and stooped to pick up her mug, leaving him staring after her like a drooling coyote. “Now, go get ready. You have a competition to win.”
His heart thundered within him as he watched her slip back into her trailer. He could get used to this life. He shook his head, knowing that he already was used to this life, and he didn’t want it any other way. If he believed prayer worked, he would have prayed for God to show him a way to make this his daily life…but he didn’t. His prayers weren’t answered…never had and never would.
It was up to him to figure out how to make this work, how to keep both his loves in his life: rodeo and Charlotte. He needed both. How could he live without one of them?
Charlotte let out a contented sigh as she stood at the railing of the empty arena, staring out at the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Austin had been right; the mountains weren’t like Wyoming’s jutting peaks, but they were beautiful and teeming with green and life. Yuba City wasn’t anything like she expected a California city to be like; it felt more like a small town in Wyoming than a big city. Even the people were friendly.
She wondered if Chico, where her possible residency was, would be the same way.
When she had first considered which program she wanted to take, her initial thought was of course she would return to Wyoming to be near her parents. Her heart now constricted with that thought. Why work so hard to be close to people who couldn’t take the time to see you? Wouldn’t it be easier to live far away? At least then she’d have an excuse for why her parents weren’t a part of her life.
She tore her thoughts away from the heartache of her parents and focused once again on the beauty around her. It called to her. Lord, guide me. Let me know without a doubt where You want me to be.
“Hey,” Austin called out to her, giving her enough space to pull her thoughts back in as he walked up with another couple. As they closed the distance, she saw it wasn’t the famous Cody, but Jake and Beth. “I wanted to introduce you to a couple of my friends: Jake, his wife Beth, and their little one.”
She shook hands with Jake, then squeezed Beth’s hand. “It’s nice to see you again,” Charlotte said, her cheeks blushing slightly in remembrance of their last meeting.
“Oh, you know each other?” Austin asked, looking between the two of them.
“Yes,” Beth said quickly. “We met on a walk along the creek…in Laramie, right?”
“Yes,” Charlotte said, her heartbeat easing slightly. “That’s right.”
“Great!” Jake said, as if that settled everything. “Now we can all hang out. You’re a vaulter, right?”
Charlotte nodded, still a little self-conscious about being called something she only played at.
“She’s won the last several rodeos. Where were you?” Austin asked.
“Oh, here and there. We went back home to see everyone. Our friends, who are aunty and uncle to our little guy here, missed him, so we skipped out on a few rodeos of the circuit to visit them and Beth’s grandparents.” Jake shrugged. “It’s a part of growing up, I guess.”
“Well, I assume bronc riders age out a lot faster than us ropers.” Austin laughed, and Charlotte watched him, wondering how long he planned to live this nomadic life.
“True, true. As long as your shoulder holds out, that is,” Jake said, tapping Austin’s shoulder. “But, yeah, we’re on the slow retirement plan, aren’t we, honey?” He wrapped an arm around Beth.
“Sure. We’re just enjoying life while we can. Once our little guy starts school, we’ll have to reassess, but we have the land and the ability to settle down whenever we decide it’s time.” Beth said it like there was no rush, no hesitancy, as if everything were exactly as she hoped it would be.
Charlotte watched her, wondering if she could ever be okay with not having a set-in-stone plan for her future once kids came along. Could she traipse around the country with a baby, following Austin from rodeo to rodeo and living by the seat of their pants? Right now, the thought struck her with horror.
Beth giggled. “It’s not all that bad once you get into your rhythm.”
Heat crawled up Charlotte’s neck as she realized Beth had read her expression, and now Austin watched her intensely. “Oh, I wasn’t…I mean…so, will you go back to competing?”
Beth smiled with understanding. “One day, if I haven’t lost it after so long out of the saddle. I know some women who jumped right back into it, but I’m satisfied just being mommy right now.”
Charlotte felt a tugging within her, a longing that had only been increasing the more she hung around Austin. It scared her and thrilled her all at the same time. She almost could see herself bouncing around a baby while cheering on Austin during his events.
“What?” she asked, her cheeks heating as she realized Beth had asked her a question.
“Is there vaulting at this rodeo?” Beth asked again.
“Oh, no, not this time,” she said.
