Time.
All she needed was some more time.
The current cowboy in the arena fell off the bronc and darted to the edge of the arena while several others raced to the horse.
“So, do you attend the rodeo often?”
Hallie stiffened at how close the cowboy to her right had become. She leaned away slightly and nodded. “You?” she asked without looking in his direction.
“Yeah. My brother was just up.”
She glanced at him then. “Who’s your brother?”
“Joe Hamilton.”
Hallie’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
Joe’s brother smiled again. “You a fan?”
“Nah,” Sammie interjected, clearly eavesdropping. “We’re actually team Jacob Hines.”
Hallie swiveled her wide eyes to Sammie who at least looked a little apologetic.
“Is that so?” The cowboy looked amused if anything. He scrubbed his jaw in thought then faced the arena. “Hey, isn’t that him over there?”
Just like that, Hallie’s precarious control slipped. She couldn’t help but look in the direction where Joe’s brother pointed and that was when her eyes locked with the one pair she would have given anything to avoid—at least for the next couple of months.
Jacob was staring at her, his focus drilling into her like he’d done so many times before. She couldn’t tell from this distance if he was upset at seeing her or simply curious. Heck, this was Jacob. He might even be happy to see her there because then it showed that they were both moving on with their lives.
But if that was how he felt, he couldn’t have been more wrong.
She wasn’t doing any better than she’d been the day he’d cut her out of his life like the tumor she was.
Based on the way her heart felt like it was shriveling up and dying right then in her chest, Hallie could tell this outing had been a mistake of massive proportions.
She shot to her feet, nearly knocking Sammie’s drink from her hands.
“Hey!—”
“I have to go,” Hallie blurted.
The cowboy at her right rose to his feet. “Everything okay?”
Hallie ignored him and scurried toward the end of the row, not caring about the people calling after her with frustration. She bumped into several of them but the whole process was a blur. She was vaguely aware of the fact that Sammie had followed her, but she had no idea where Faith was and couldn’t worry about that.
By the time she made it into the large hallway that led to the exits, she was breathing heavily, and her heart was ready to explode right out of her chest. Palms slick with sweat, Hallie paced. She shouldn’t have come. She wasn’t ready. He’d seen her and… nothing. She’d read nothing in his reaction.
A hand landed on her shoulder and she bit back a screech.
Sammie stood there with sad eyes and an even sadder smile. “It’s going to get better, Hallie. I promise.” Behind her and a few feet away was Joe’s brother. He had a look of concern on his face but thankfully he wasn’t interjecting himself into their conversation.
Hallie nodded, but she didn’t believe a word of what Sammie had to say.
“Want to go home?”
Another nod.
“I’ll go find Faith and we can get out of here, okay?”
