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“How did you know he’d agree to come and watch you ride?” she asked when they’d stepped outside.
“We’ve talked about it some.” He opened the car door for her. “He’s interested in bronc riding. I told him I’ve been dabbling.”
Really?It had been that simple for him to connect with the kid? “But you haven’t told hardly anyone about riding.” She climbed into the driver’s seat.
“He’s not going to say anything.” Thatch glanced at the windows. “I think he’s scared of me. He does seem to respect authority.”
That made sense. There was no authority figure quite like an ex–Navy SEAL.
Thatch leaned into her car. “I know you said you want nothing to do with my riding, but that was the only thing I could think of to get him motivated enough to show up.”
“It’s fine.” If their double date had to be at the arena, she would make it work. She needed to see Elina and Franco interact to figure out if her instincts were right. “I’ve been to plenty of arenas. I’ve seen plenty of cowboys ride.” She used to watch her ex ride every weekend. “I can handle it.”
As long as she stayed focused on helping Elina.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Thatch had never been nervous before a practice ride. It wasn’t like he lived to impress Kirby. But with Lyric walking into the arena alongside him, a tic worked in his jaw. It didn’t help that she’d been nearly silent since they’d met at the café and then during the whole drive to Kirby’s. Lyric was never silent. Desperation flooded through him. What was she thinking? Why was her face so expressionless?
He glanced at her again while they paused at the fence around the corral. “You okay?”
“Mm-hmm.” Her eyes were trained in front of her, focused on something he apparently couldn’t see.
There was no sign of Kirby yet. Nothing else to distract them. Nothing to interrupt the awkwardness between them.
This was ridiculous. He and Lyric talked all the time. So he’d kissed her. He’d have to get past that and move on. There had to be something they could talk about.Thatch cleared his throat. “You said you’ve been around the rodeo a lot?”
“Uh, yeah.” She paused, seemingly lost for a second. “It was years ago, though.”
As much time as he’d spent with Lyric in the last couple of years, she’d never really talked about her history. He knew the basics—that she’d lived in Fort Myers until her mom had married her stepdad, who happened to be Kyra’s dad. Apparently, their affair had been quite the scandal. Lyric and Kyra had been best friends, and then Kyra’s dad had cheated on her mom with Lyric’s mom. The three of them had moved to Wyoming when Lyric was in elementary school. But past that, she’d never revealed anything. “Did you grow up watching bronc riders?”
“No.” She ran her dainty fingers along the top run of the fence. “I didn’t get into the rodeo world until I moved here with my mom and stepdad.” Her gaze toured the corral in front of them. “Believe it or not, I was a rodeo queen.”
It wasn’t much, but for some reason, that revelation felt like a gift. “Yeah?” Though she was beautiful—with her soft long black hair, her silky skin, her curious dark eyes hiding beneath long lashes—he couldn’t quite picture Lyric as a beauty queen. She didn’t do herself up like so many of those women did. From what he could tell, she wore little to no makeup. Her clothes were understated; when not teaching or working out, she mostly wore flowy tops with jeans or shorts. These were some of the things he liked best about her. They told him that appearances didn’t seem to matter.
He quickly looked away. He’d been studying her too long. “How’d you like being a rodeo queen?”
“I wasn’t that into it.” She collected her hair in her hand and pulled it on top of her head with an elastic band. “Star Valley didn’t have any candidates willing to compete. Kenny taught me how to handle a horse, and I was pretty good. So he talked me into entering the pageant. And I won.”
He spied a hint of pride in her smile. But it wasn’t a full smile, not her real one. It was hiding something. “Anyone else know about this beauty queen business?” Because he was having a hard time believing no one in their group of friends had ever discussed this tidbit.
“Only Tess, and she’s been sworn to secrecy.” Lyric walked along the fence a few paces. “I don’t exactly remember a lot of my time around the rodeos fondly.” She said the words so quietly, he almost didn’t hear them.
“What happened?” Had she wanted him to ask? He didn’t know. He didn’t know what the rules were when they were supposed to be faking it. But he couldn’t pretend he didn’t want to know about her. She made him wonder.
“I met my ex-husband at a rodeo. And then we went to college together.” Now she fully turned away from him, rubbing her hands up and down her bare arms. “He’s a bronc rider.”
Lyric had been married to a bronc rider? She’d never said anything. Even when he’d told her what he was training for. She’d never brought up her ex-husband. “What’s his name?”
She hesitated. “Luke Copeland.”
Copeland?The guy wasn’t just a bronc rider; he was a pretty big deal in that world. “I know the name. He’s good.” From the articles Thatch had read, her ex had won plenty of competitions. “So what happened—?”
“I wonder where Franco and Elina are.”
He could take a hint. This conversation was done. “I’m sure they’ll be here. The kid asked me about a million questions after you left the other day. I think he wants to get into riding too.”
“He’d probably fit in with the rest of those cowboys,” she muttered with clear disdain.
