“You good?” Wade asks, quieter this time.
“Yeah,” I answer.
He studies me like he’s deciding if I’m lying, then nods once. “Don’t make me come down there.”
I huff out a breath. “You’d get thrown faster than me.”
“Debatable.”
Quinn rolls her eyes. “It’s not.”
Behind them, Brooks steps in, Wyatt already climbing the fence like he’s been doing it his whole life, Abby on Summer’s hip with a fist wrapped in her shirt.
“Uncle Jace!” Wyatt calls, grinning like this is the best thing he’s seen all week. “You’re gonna win, right?”
“Gonna try,” I say, tipping my chin at him.
“That means yes,” he declares, completely sure of it.
Summer laughs under her breath. “Don’t let him hear you say maybe. He doesn’t believe in it.”
Luke moves up last, Emma tucked against his side, Addie right there with him, calm but focused in a way that tells me they’re all tracking more than just the ride.
“You’ve got this,” Luke says, simple and solid.
No big speech. No extra weight.
Just trust.
Emma leans forward, hands gripping the rail. “Don’t fall,” she says, completely serious.
I grin despite myself. “Solid advice.”
Addie shakes her head. “She’s not wrong.”
For a second, it all settles.
The noise. The crowd. The bulls hitting the gates.
All of it fades just enough that what’s left is this.
My family.
Showing up like they always do.
It hits different than it used to.
Before, this was about the ride. The adrenaline. The win.
Now there’s something else tied into it, something heavier and steadier at the same time, and I don’t ignore it.
I don’t want to.
“Eight seconds,” Brooks says, stepping closer, voice low so it doesn’t carry past us. “Ride smart. Not fast.”
“I know,” I answer.
He nods, satisfied.
