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The ride seemed to last forever. Hunter raised his left hand up and down with the flow of the bull’s kicks, holding on tight to a strap with his right. Even from this distance, I could see the deadly concentration on his face. The cowboys on the fence whooped and hollered, waving their hats as if to goad the bull on even more. The massive thing lowered its head and let out a nasty snort before charging toward the fence and stopping fast enough to fling Hunter from his back.
He landed hard on the ground, looking up at the clear blue sky above him. The sight nearly gave me a heart attack. Two of the cowboys raced into the ring, waving their hats and chasing the snorting bull toward the other end of the corral. A fall like that would’ve knocked the stuffing out of me, but Hunter was tougher than that. He pushed himself up on his elbows, laughing as his gaze trailed the bull. And when he turned back in my direction and our eyes met, red hot relief burst inside me.
“Ow, Charlotte, you’re hurting me,” Lexi whined, looking down at where I’d grabbed her arm.
“Oops, sorry.”
I dropped my hand from both of them and took a steadying breath. I wasn’t sure whether to be furious or impressed with my best friend right now. The emotions swirling inside of me were too confusing to make out. He’d mentioned how his time in Texas had gotten him into extreme sports, but for some reason I’d had some vague notion that it involved wrestling a greased up piglet or maybe tussling a calf. I’d had no idea that meant bull riding. This was dangerous. This was stupid. This was reckless.
And so unbelievably cool.
“Charlotte Hale, how’d you like that surprise?” Hunter pushed himself off the ground and ran to climb over the arena fence.
He easily cleared it and landed on the other side with a solid thud and a cloud of dust forming around his boots. Part of me longed to run to him. I would’ve done it a year ago, no questions asked. But this young man in jeans and a threadbare shirt, half covered in dust, was not the kid I remembered from seventh grade. The boy who had secretly admitted to me that he listened to Taylor Swift to put him to sleep at night and didn’t mind when I picked Easy A every time it was my turn to choose for movie night.
“Don’t just stand there,” he said, his hazel eyes glittering as he tore off his helmet and shot me the ornery grin I knew so well. “Are you fixin’ to stare at me all day, or are you gonna come give me a hug?”
What was this twang coming out of his mouth? I didn’t recognize it, but it didn’t stop me from jumping from the bleachers and pummeling him with a hug. As he wrapped his arms tight around me and lifted me off the ground, I got the distinct scent of dirt and salty sweat from his t-shirt. I sighed and closed my eyes, sinking into his embrace. It might have been a lot different from the Hunter hugs I knew, but they were just as good at making me feel at home.
“You’re here,” I said as he put back on solid ground. “You’re really here.”
He smirked and tugged playfully on a lock of my hair. “In the flesh, Char Char. Guess you’ll have to get used to having me around again.”
“That was the longest year of my life. Thank goodness for cell phones or I would’ve been convinced you’d dropped off the edge of the world.”
He chuckled, his laughter a lot deeper than before he’d left. “Widow, Texas might just be the edge of the world. People go there and never come back. I was one of the lucky ones to escape.”
I stared at him in wonder, hardly able to contain my happiness. How many nights had I wished he’d come back? That he could be there as I trudged through my second year of high school, pathetic and alone? But all of that had changed. I was determined to put things right again. Starting now, things would go back to normal. It would be as if he’d never left.
“I can’t believe you’re finally back. And I really can’t believe you just rode that big horrible bull,” I said, glaring up at him. The adrenaline from watching that scene was still coursing through my veins, but at least I wasn’t shaking now. “My best friend moves back into town only to be nearly trampled by a bull? What were you thinking with a surprise like that?”
I smacked him lightly on the shoulder and he grunted, faking a wince and rubbing it as if I’d injured him. His reaction only made me laugh and gave me a chance to take him all in. Standing this close, I could now see the hint of new scruff coming in on his chin. That definitely hadn’t been there before.
“Come on, Char. You’re going to hurt Marshmallow's feelings,” he said glancing over at the bull loitering in the opposite side of the arena.
“Marshmallow?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “That monster’s name is Marshmallow? You’ve got to be kidding. I’d say Man-Killer would fit him better.”
“Nah, he’s as soft as a teddy bear,” Hunter said, his hazel eyes fixing me with a teasing glint.
“That thing is not a teddy bear,” I said firmly.
Hunter shrugged and glanced over his shoulder at the arena. “Marshmallow’s about the size of the bulls I’ll be riding at the junior 4H rodeo next weekend. This was just a taste. I wanted to surprise you.”
I gaped at his back, dread sprouting through my chest like thorny vines. “You’re kidding me. You’re actually going to do that again?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Why?”
“The thrill of the ride, Char,” he said, frowning at me. Shadows danced in his eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but a lot’s changed in the last year. I’m not the weak little kid that moved away. I can handle this bull and anything else that comes my way. You’ll see. Everything’s changed for the better.”
Since when had Hunter McNally become so serious? I’d never considered him a weak little kid. He was one of the strongest, most kind-hearted people I knew. I didn’t want him to change.
“Wait – you’re riding in the rodeo during the fair?” Sarah asked from behind me.
I hadn’t noticed her and the girls coming to join us. The slow way Sarah scanned Hunter over with her approving brown eyes gave me the sudden and powerful desire to jump in front of him and tell her to back off. I inhaled sharply at the sensation, unused to such a strange reaction around my best friend.
“Yes, sirree. I’ll be in the junior bull riding rounds on Friday night,” Hunter said, leaning his elbow on the arena fence and returning her smile.
