His eyes twitched, his lips curving up into a smile.
“I want to have a place where retired racehorses can go to live their last years. I want to take care of sick or older horses that were going to be sent to slaughter. I want to find companions for blind horses, and I want horses to feel safe and comfortable, taken care of. I doubt it will ever happen, but” —I pulled my legs up to my chest—“that’s my future.”
Wyatt’s smile stayed soft, his eyes flitting from my own, dancing as he searched my face. “What would you call it?” He finally asked.
“I…” I stumbled. “I don’t know. I never really thought about it, to be honest. I have no idea where I’d put it. I’d need a lot of land and a building and a barn and…well…it’s going to be a long time until I can make that happen. I’m only twenty-two, almost twenty-three—” I stopped, my jaw dropping as I remembered the small tidbit that Abi shared earlier. “You had a birthday, and you didn’t tell me?”
Wyatt shrugged, pushing himself off the back of the couch with his elbow. “It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Not a big deal…you turned thirty. That’s a big one.”
“Well then, good thing I spent it exactly how I wanted to, huh?” He smiled at me. “This sanctuary, let’s call it ‘Once Upon a Rescue’—”
“Yeah, no. That’s not what I’m calling it.”
“It’ll happen.”
I tilted my head, my hair flopping down over my shoulder. I noticed his gaze trail down my shoulders, lingering there a little longer before his eyes snapped back up to me.
“Until then,”—he shifted again—“you went up the standings. You’re second.”
“Second? Last I saw, I was third!”
“Rising up. And it’s only May,” he whispered, his voice husky as he leaned forward.
My entire body screamed to jump into his arms, pull him close to me, and tell him that I wouldn’t be second if it weren’t for the support that he gave me. All the double-checking my schedules, all the times he saddled and fed my horses as I checked in. Maybe my mom was right, that I couldn’t do this on my own, but he made me feel like I could—and damn, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.
But instead of tackling him, I bit my lip and sighed, saying instead, “I should probably tell my dad. He’ll be excited.”
Shifting on my side, I pulled my phone from my pocket, pulling up the group chat.
Me
Hey! Check out the standings. Second.
The message turned to read, but a few moments passed before the dots appeared, followed by a screenshot of my smiling face in the number two slot on the PRCA Website.
Dad
You were third this morning! Looks like I need to buy those NFR tickets now.
Your mom says congrats.
The excitement from the news drained as it hit that mom didn’t even take the time to message me back herself. I read the message a few times and then showed the phone to Wyatt. He read the texts and met my gaze, his smile never faltering.
“I guess now’s not the best time to tell you I can’t go with you in a few weeks?”
“Really?” I scrunched my nose, lowering my phone down to the couch, my shoulders slumping. “The only reason I'll accept is if you’re announcing at a rodeo.”
He drew in a sharp breath with his teeth, “No. If only. I need to help Cash with wedding stuff.”
I relaxed. “Oh, okay. I’ll accept that, too. I’ll hate not having you there, believe it or not…I really enjoy you there.”
“I figured, but hey,”—he sat back—“I made sure your mom won’t be at any of the rodeos. Well…I made sure Miss Rodeo Montana wasn’t going to be there. I figured if she was there, your mom was there. I can’t have her killing your high.”
That time, I did tackle him, wrapping my arms around his neck as we both fell backwards on the couch.
Twenty-Two
