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‘Yeah, we’re to’lly fine,’ the girl with black hair slurred.

Beau put both hands on his hips. ‘Yeah, no. A, we’re going to the same place. B, I’m not letting you get into a car with a stranger in your current state.’

‘C,’ Skye whispered and, ignoring TJ completely, raised her eyes to Beau, ‘I would rather throw up in your truck than an Uber?’

‘Atta girl.’ Beau crouched down in front of Skye, extended both hands palms-up. ‘Need some help?’

‘Yeah,’ she managed, but the words were shaky. And she didn’t so much as look at TJ.

‘All right. I’m gonna lift you, okay?’

‘’Kay.’

When Beau reached under Skye’s bare legs and around her back, TJ closed his hands into tight fists.

‘Ah, raincheck? Tomorrow?’ Beau asked TJ distractedly. ‘Same time?’

Unsure of what to say, TJ just nodded and stepped aside.

He watched Beau walk down the street, Skye in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. Her friends stuck to either side of him, forming a defensive wall.

As the shock of the meeting began to fade, as the stunning blow of seeing Skye again sank in, the pain came back in full force. TJ’s spine spasmed from when he’d crouched on the floor. The muscles in his right side flickered and twitched. A torrent of angry fire spread from his right hip down to his knee, but below that point, all his nerves were numb.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he fought the tremors. His entire body was a constant and painful symphony – one he would never be rid of.

The entire encounter with Skye might have spanned three minutes. But it was enough to remember:

Every second he’d spent with her.

The weight of the bull coming down on him.

After …

But as he watched another man – a friend – carry her in a way he’d never be able to, as the pain had sweat coating his brow, he remembered why he had hurt Skye, and why he would ride through the pain for one last season.

TJ looked towards the doors of Dave’s. Although the promise of oblivion beckoned, called to him even, for the first time in a while, he didn’t give in to it. He turned on his heel and walked the short distance back to his parked truck, his right leg hitching in a pronounced limp. If he was going to try and speak to Skye in the morning, he wanted to be clearheaded. Calm.

He drove home without detouring, and when he walked into the kitchen, his mom looked up from where she was making a cup of tea. She frowned. ‘That was quick. Beau cancel?’

‘Ah, no. He had to drive some guests of Tia’s home,’ TJ said. He opened the fridge, foraging for something to eat. But because he was still hovering in some state of disbelief, he closed the door almost immediately, asked, ‘Did you know Skye was staying with the Bakers?’

The spoon his mom was stirring her tea with clattered on the counter, answering his question before she said, ‘What?’

‘Yeah. I just saw her.’

‘No. I mean, you told me she’s racing this year, of course. But, no, I didn’t know she was in town.’

‘Her and two friends. They must be passing through.’

‘Oh.’ For just a moment, his mom seemed sad or maybe disappointed. But she caught herself. ‘How did she look? Happy?’

TJ almost smiled. He didn’t think anyone could focus on being happy while actively throwing up. But he answered honestly. ‘She looked the same.’

And he thought: Beautiful. Perfect. So fucking far out of my reach.

Chapter 23

Skye woke up in the trailer the next morning with a throat that was desert-dry, eyes that were swollen and achy, and a pounding headache, the likes of which she’d never experienced before.