Page 31 of The Scars We Heal

Even though they were far away, I could still make out Jake standing in the row of cowboys, his tall stature standing out among the rest. Taking off his cowboy hat, he ran his fingers through his hair before fixing it back on his head and engaging in conversation with another one of the ropers.

I rolled my lips between my teeth, completely zoned out to the fact that Ellison was trying to say something.

“Earth to Caitlin.” She waved her hand in front of my face, blocking my view.

“Huh?” I snapped out of it. “Sorry, were you talking to me?”

Her lips curled up in a mischievous grin. “Yes, but I could tell you were a bit preoccupied. Perhaps watching a certain cowboy at the end of the arena?”

“Trust me, I’m not staring at your husband. In case you forgot, he’s also my brother.” I teasingly rolled my eyes, despite knowing exactly who she was referring to.

“Ha ha, very funny. You’ve got jokes, Cait.” She nudged me with her elbow. “You know who I’m talking about.”

“I actually have no idea,” I lied, letting my hands fall into my lap just as the announcer called out, “Get loud for our next cowboy, Jake Flynn!”

Heat rushed into my cheeks as Ellison raised her brows.

“Sure, you don’t. Well, I won’t distract you.” She reached over me to tap Whitley on the arm, pointing out to the arena. “Look, it’s Jake! He’s going to rope now.”

“That’s Mommy’s friend!” She nodded with vigor.

“Yeah, Mommy’s special friend.” Juniper grinned, adding emphasis.

“Knock it off!” I hissed at them. The last thing I needed was for Whitley to repeat that around Jake.

All three of them started giggling, and I let out a heavy sigh.

In the arena, Jake mounted his horse. Sitting tall in the saddle, he swung his rope over his head a couple times before riding his horse into the roping box next to the chute the calf would be released from.

A familiar country rock song played out of the speakers, and the rodeo clown was getting everyone in the audience to dance and sing while they waited.

My eyes, however, were glued on Jake.

I was never going to get past the allegations that I had been staring at my brother’s best friend. Allegations that were one hundred percent true, I might add.

Across the arena on a big screen, a zoomed-in image of Jake in the roping box appeared. His eyes flared with determination, and his mouth had set into a hard, focused line. Dust floated in the air behind him, but the camera didn’t focus on the flecks, making it look like glitter shimmering in the light.

If you weren’t paying rapt attention to what was going on, you would have missed the swift, subtle nod of Jake’s head before the calf was released from the chute. The animal sprinted across the dirt for a few feet before his horse took off right behind it. Both Jake’s and the horse’s muscles rippled in a show of pure athleticism, the animal charging forward with maximum effort and the rider swinging his rope through the air with ease.

In one smooth movement, Jake released the rope from his hand, letting the loop float through the air before it settled over the calf’s neck.

I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until I sucked in a gasp when the rope tightened and the calf jerked backward. All while Jake had dismounted his horse and was running over to the calf. He picked up the animal with the kind of ease only a man who had worked with cattle for years would have, turning it onto its side before kneeling on the ground and wrapping the string once held between his teeth around three of the calf’s legs.

When the rope was secure, he threw his arms in the air and sat back on his heels.

“How about that run, folks! Now, the calf must stay tied for six seconds to count as a legal run,” the announcer explained, his voice mere background noise to my pounding heart in my ears.

Jake ran back to his horse, mounting it and riding slightly forward to loosen the slack in the rope, one end still attached around the calf’s neck and the other wrapped around his saddle horn.

“Seven-point-two seconds for Jake Flynn!” As his time was called out, the rodeo officials ran forward to untie the calf.

After it was free, the animal ran happily down to the other end of the arena, as if it had already forgotten about the time it was restrained.

“He looks good out there,” Ellison said.

I nodded, voice coming out a bit breathy when I said, “Yeah. Yeah, he does.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN