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No, not left.He fought to stay on, to keep himself upright, his equilibrium intact.Hold on, hold on…
That was it. Eight seconds. He had it. And it was a damn good thing because the bronc had had enough. It arched and sent him catapulting off to the side, face-planting him into the dirt. But that didn’t matter, because he’d done it. He’d racked up points for style and technique. He was sure of it.
The crowd seemed to agree, the noise rising into a deafening cheer for the hometown rider. Thatch got to his feet looking for Lyric in the stands again. She was moving now, rushing down the steps to the fence. He met her there and kissed her to a collectiveawwwfrom everyone around them.
“Eighty-six.”
Thatch almost didn’t hear them announce his score, but Lyric squealed. “Eighty-six! You did it! You won!”
He ducked the fence, then, so he could lift her up and into his arms. They laughed together, hugging and kissing, and then they were surrounded by everyone else. Everyone who mattered. His mom and dad. Liam and Sienna. Silas and Tess. Aiden and Kyra.
His family. Their family.
“I knew you could do it,” Lyric whispered in his ear. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I did it for you.” Who cared about the money?
“That’s my son!” his mom called from somewhere nearby.
Thatch released Lyric but not before his mother saw them together.
“Oh, my God! Lyric!” His mom hugged her before she even looked at him. “I’m so happy to see you here.”
“I’m very happy to be here.” She took his hand, and his mom’s eyes got even bigger. “Oh, you two!” She slung an arm around both of them. “Does this mean we can do that family dinner again?”
“Yes, please.” His girlfriend—girlfriend!—smiled. “You just let me know the time, and I promise I won’t miss it.”
“Perfect.” His mom gasped with excitement. “Maybe we could do a family yoga class too!”
“That’d be fun.” Thatch found Lyric’s hand and towed her back to him. “Yoga is one of my new favorite things.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
What do you think about this dress?” Elina cautiously crept out of Lyric’s walk-in closet, turning to look at herself in the mirror.
“I think you look fabulous!” She admired the girl in the flowy robin’s-egg-blue baby-doll dress, marveling at how far they’d come since that first yoga class. When she and Elina had started to chat after Thatch’s award-winning ride earlier that morning, Lyric had asked if she planned to go to the barn dance, and Elina told her she didn’t have anything to wear.
Well,shehad a whole closet of things to wear—dresses she’d worn more often in her old life. So she’d invited the girl to get ready at her house and take her pick of clothes.
“Or should I wear this one?” Elina disappeared back into the closet and emerged holding the hanger of a flowery faux wrap number Lyric had worn to several barn dances back in the day. “You have such amazing clothes. It’s impossible to pick my favorite.”
“I hardly ever wear dresses anymore.” But she might have to start putting some effort into her appearance now that she had a certain cowboy to impress. It would be fun to go on dates again, to dress up occasionally. “That dress you’re wearing now really brings out your eyes.” She hurried to her bureau and rifled through the jewelry box in search of the perfect complementing necklace.Aha.
“Are you sure you don’t mind if I wear it?” Elina smoothed her hands down her sides, looking at herself from all angles with a small smile that didn’t hide how much she loved the dress.
“I don’t mind at all.” Lyric clasped the necklace on her. “You can even take the dress home if you want. I don’t think I’ve worn it in years.”
“Thank you!” She threw her arms around Lyric in an exuberant hug. “Maybe I could wear it to homecoming next year too.”
“I think that’d be perfect.” Now for earrings. She started to search through her collection. “Will Franco come back to town for homecoming?”
“I think so,” the girl said through a dreamy sigh. Lyric could relate to that tone.
“He’s such a great guy. Really supportive.” Lyric handed Elina a pair of dangly earrings the same color as the dress as the girl sat on the bed. She ducked into her closet in search of some fun shoes. “But you don’t only have to rely on him. You’re going to have a lot of support moving forward.” Yes, the silver cowgirl boots would look perfect. She handed them to Elina to complete the ensemble.
“Minnie stopped by to talk to Mom.” Elina put on the boots and then stood and went back to the mirror, turning and grinning. “I think it went well. She’s so nice.”
“Minnie is nice.” And generous and nurturing. There would be no better person to walk alongside her mom so Elina could simply be a kid. “And we’re working on a schedule for meals, so your family should be covered for a while.” While the whole town had mingled outside the arena after Thatch’s victory, she’d talked to at least twenty people who wanted to help. Minnie had started to spread word at the café as soon as Lyric had run out.
