Page 37 of Roping My Rival

Okay then. Can’t say I’m surprised. I didn’t sleep well either, and it was totally because of him. Knowing he was so close in the bed across from me and how it felt to have my skin on his was a special type of deprivation.

I allowed my head to get ahead of everything and conjure a world where we were the best partners in and out of the ring. I might have even imagined us together at breakfast, being cute and sharing food. Dane would never, ever be so domestic, but it’s a fantasy for a reason.

It’s fucked up that I even went there because he hates me. Or at least doesn’t want to be with me that way, contrary to what happened.

The rest of our trip is just as wordless as the first part. When we pull into the back of the rodeo school where Dane left his truck and trailer parked, that changes.

“Motherfucker!”

He’s out of the truck before I even come to a full stop, running over to his horse trailer. All the tires are flat. Each one slashed across the tire wall with no chance of repair.

“How could this happen!? I thought you said Jesse was keeping an eye on things!” Dane paces around his truck and hesitates before opening the door. I’ve already pulled out my phone to call Jesse. This had to have happened last night. Or early this morning.

“Hey, Warren! How was—”

“Jesse, when was the last time you were at the school and checked on Dane’s truck and trailer?”

“Oh, I left around 6 P.M. last night. I haven’t stopped by today.”

“The tires of his trailer are slashed. All of them.”

“What the hell? I checked before I left, and it was fine.”

“Do we have cameras anywhere back here?”

“No.” Jesse sighs. “We thought about it two years ago and felt the money was better used for upgrading the holding pens inside and fixing the fence out back. The only camera we have is in the hall to the office.”

“Damn it. Okay. I’ll have to figure this out.”

“Do you need me to come down?”

“No, stay with Maise. I’ll let you know if I need you.”

After hanging up with Jesse, I return to find Dane with his forehead resting against the trailer.

“Jesse left here around 6 P.M. last night, and it was fine. We should probably call the police and report it. It’s vandalism.”

Dane’s laugh is dry and humourless. “Reporting it won’t do anything. It’s not gonna pay for new tires that I can’t afford right now.”

“Your insurance will want a police report. I know they don’t pay out that fast, but at least you could get money back.”

“I don’t have that kind of insurance, Burke. I have the bare minimum for my truck, and that’s it. I’m not reporting it.” His sigh is so heavy that I blurt out anything to help.

“We have extra space at the ranch. My dad won’t mind you boarding Trigger there, and it’ll be easier for us that way. I can load both horses in my trailer and pick you up. Keep the trailer here until you can fix it.”

“I don’t want charity,” he spits. “Not from you.”

There’s so much venom in his voice that I recoil with a step backwards.

“It’s not charity. It’s helping a friend. A fellow cowboy down on his luck.”

“No.”

“Well, how else are you gonna get your horse around, Walker? You gonna ask me to borrow my trailer and take your horse home, then come back? Stop being stubborn.”

“Warren…” His voice is so tortured, I stop dialling my dad to meet his gaze. “I don’t want you to care about me. Please.”

There’s so much he doesn’t say in those sentences. Those steely blues plead with me not to push the issue, but I can’t just leave him to figure something out that I have an easy solution for.