Hadley beside her, small hands gripping the rail just like the other kids, eyes wide, locked on me like she hasn’t looked away since the gate opened.
My chest tightens, something sharp and unexpected cutting through the adrenaline.
Riley’s standing just behind her, one hand resting light on Hadley’s shoulder, her expression steady but not distant. Watching. Taking it all in.
She didn’t have to come.
I didn’t expect her to.
But she did.
Hadley’s face breaks into a grin the second I look their way, bouncing on her toes like she can’t hold it in. “You did it!” she calls, loud enough that I catch it even over the crowd.
I find myself smiling back before I can stop it, a quick lift of my hand in her direction.
Riley doesn’t smile.
But she doesn’t look away either.
And for a second, standing there with the dust still settling and the noise building back around us, it feels like something just shifted again.
I turn back toward the chutes to clear out, rolling my wrist where the rope bit in, letting the last of the ride bleed off my system.
“Nice seat,” Colt says from my left.
I glance over. He’s closer than before, hat tipped low, smile in place but not reaching his eyes. Up close, it’s easier to see what’s off. Not nerves. Not respect.
Something tighter.
“Thanks,” I answer.
His gaze flicks past me toward the arena, then back again like he’s checking something instead of watching the show. “Been a while,” he adds.
“Couple months.”
“Mm.” He nods once, slow. “Timing’s interesting.”
That lands wrong.
“Is it?” I ask, keeping my tone even.
He shrugs, casual on the surface. “Just saying. Things change when people come back.”
Behind him, Ryker laughs too loud at something that isn’t funny, slapping another rider on the back before drifting off again, attention already somewhere else. Colt doesn’t follow him this time.
He stays right where he is.
Watching me.
A handler calls for the next rider and the gate slams, the bull hitting hard, but Colt’s focus doesn’t shift with it. Not like it should.
“Ride clean tonight,” he says, same words as before.
Different weight.
“Always do,” I reply.
For a second, nothing moves between us. Then he smiles, easy again, like the moment didn’t happen, and steps back, giving me space he wasn’t taking a second ago.
