Page 60 of One Reckless Moment

The smell of coffee filled the apartment when I opened my eyes to the morning sun. I shifted onto my side and reached out for Paige but my arm landed flat on the duvet. I sat up and looked around at her quiet apartment.

Paige was hurting—that much was obvious—and I was unsure exactly how to help her. Paige and Lottie fighting like this was new territory for everyone in the family. Overall, the Brooks kids got along great. There had been a few fights here and there, but nothing that couldn’t be solved with a few drinks or some tough love.

Paige was always the peacekeeper, and I never realized how much that took a toll on her. I never realized how much she endured to make sure those around her were happy.

I threw on a pair of jeans and a white shirt before heading out to find my girl. If I knew her like I thought I did, odds were I was going to find her laying in Shadow’s stall, telling her fucking horse every thought that was in her mind.

As soon as I opened the apartment door, I heard cheering coming from the stables. I smiled to myself and started down the stairs.

Whenever a new horse arrived, the guys placed bets on who could last on the saddle the longest. It was usually with young and inexperienced horses, and there was always more than one person who got bucked off so hard that we had to drag them out.

It was reckless and more than a little stupid, but it was also why I was now really good on a bucking bronc.

I hurried across the gravel path to the stables and my heart stopped the moment I saw the long blonde ponytail fling as Paige jumped off the rod iron bars into the ring.

I broke into a sprint and jumped onto the fence in a panic.

“Paige, get your ass out of there!” I shouted as she slowly edged the perimeter of the enclosure while the horse galloped in circles. She was calculated with her movements—confident.

“Can’t right now, I’m busy,” she said, without even glancing my way. Her tone was completely calm, like she wasn’t about to get trampled.

I clenched my teeth as I watched the horse circle her at a pace that would knock her completely flat if she took one wrong step.

“Get your cute little ass out of there before I drag you out myself.”

“You’re not the boss of me, Leonard.” She was completely unbothered as my heart threatened to fall out of my ass.

I had one foot over the fence when Paige clicked her tongue and approached the center. The chestnut brown horse whinnied but slowed to a trot, eyeing her with uncertainty. When the horse stopped on the opposite side of the paddock, Paige approached slowly with an outstretched hand. She started speaking in a hushed tone to soothe him. The horse blew out a breath before letting Paige touch his nose.

My heart rate started to settle as she ran her hand up and down the bridge of the horse’s nose in the calm way she was known for. The girls always joined us when we did this. They grew up here and were well educated on how to approach a horse safely, but that didn’t make me feel better at this moment.

“See? I’m fine⁠—”

A loud clatter sounded from the stables causing the horse to jerk his head and rise up on his hind legs with a loud whinny. Paige jumped back, tripping over her feet and falling to the ground. I was over the fence and in front of her in a second. Dust flew up around us as I quickly tugged her to her feet and practically threw her over the fence.

Paige pulled herself to the other side, and I followed her as the horse took off again. Once my feet hit the grass, I ran my hands over Paige’s body to assess with my own eyes that she wasn’t injured. She had a sparkle in her eyes as they trailed my roaming hands right before she burst into laughter.

“It’s not fucking funny, Pip.”

“Yes, it is,” she said, gasping for breaths between her laughter.

“You could have been hurt!” I shouted.

“Oh, calm down. This isn’t my first time.”

“I’m not going to calm down! That horse would have trampled you! Just because your brothers do something stupid doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for you. They do this every day. It’s too dangerous for you.” I crossed my arms and pinned her with a stare.

“Excuse me?” Paige’s laughter stopped and her face fell. The fire that was lacking yesterday was back in full force.

“Oh, fuck,” Reid whispered from behind my back.

“Godspeed, Cash.” Axle chimed in.

“Who wants to bet if she punches him in the face?” my douche of a best friend asked his brothers.

Paige cocked her head to the side and raised her chin in defiance.

“Is it because I’m weak? A woman? Please enlighten me with your reasoning of why I can’t do exactly what my brothers do.”