Page 90 of Roping My Rival

“Something like that.”

Closing the space between us, I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. “How should we celebrate and try to make some of that fear go away?”

“Well…” he mumbles between kisses while his hands drift down my back to my ass. “I was thinking we should go to your star pocket and make better memories there. Naked ones.”

“I like that plan.”

We kiss more until finally I step back and stare at the man who was my most hated rival for years, and wonder how I could be so wrong about someone for so long.

“What?”

“Just thinking that if I were to never rope again, it wouldn’t matter. I roped the best thing ever when I partnered with you.”

“Even when you have to take a year off without me?”

“Even then.”

It’s true. I’d rather have a year of no rodeos with him at my side than a lifetime of him not in my life.

A throat clears behind us, and I turn to find Pops standing awkwardly.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I heard you’re going out. I left you a container on the table. Take it and enjoy this time together. A whole new chapter begins tomorrow.” Pops nods. “Goodnight, boys.”

After walking into the kitchen, I find a cooler bag packed with sandwiches, beer, ginger ale, and even some of his amazing cinnamon rolls. Dane meets me at the door with a bag, and together we walk out to his truck.

“Ready for a new beginning?” he asks as he starts up the truck and heads down the driveway.

“With you, I’m ready for anything.”

One year later

Dane

“Yes, I can come out to the farm tomorrow and take a look.” My ear on the phone is only half listening as I watch Warren finish packing our gear into the rodeo trailer. “If I can’t finish it tomorrow, I’ll be back on Monday and will then. It’s rodeo season, and I can’t miss this one.”

Warren perks up and smiles as he drops a hay bale next to the camper. My suspension is over, and I’m anxious to get on the road with Warren to our first event of the season. But building a successful mobile mechanic business has kept me more than busy.

Hunter was right when he said my ideal clients would venture through the doors of the rodeo school. From the farmers bringing stock to auctions and the cowboys coming and going, they kept me busy enough to get started.

They also kept me busy enough to keep my mind off the court case with Henry. Clarence kept his promise and prepared me for a day of testimony. Telling my story to a room full of strangers while under oath wasn’t easy, but it was necessary. Henry was sentenced, and since he was a repeat offender, his term was substantially longer. He was finally out of my life, and I felt like I could breathe again.

Then I got to work to finish my qualifications. While I had more than enough hours over the years to meet the apprenticeship requirement, I never passed the final exams needed because the family needed that money more than I needed school.

After proving my knowledge technically and presenting my case as a special circumstance, I could sit the exams. I’m now a fully licensed mechanic with my own business.

Hunter’s start-up loan got the ball rolling, and it felt like once it was all in motion, I never stopped. A bank would never have done this, and one thing I insisted on was a payment schedule. I know it’s not charity, but I’m not accepting that kind of cash as a gift. Hunter instead proposed a profit-sharing structure until I paid him back in full, and when he was, he’d remove himself from the ownership documents.

It was an overly generous act, but the only thing he was losing was access to cash he wasn’t using. Then he told me the community would gain a capable businessman with a skill the area needed. I’d be an asset for the future, and he was proud to back me and stand in for the father I’d lost.

That’s when I full-on bawled like a baby in the man’s arms. It was hard not to when he came at it like that. We talked for hours about my dad and helping him in the garage. How I loved taking motors apart and solving the problem. Hunter shared how he grew up without his father and was raised by his grandparents, and wished he’d had a better relationship with his grandfather.

Hell, most of that night was the two of us bonding and not even talking business. It was exactly what I needed because I needed an outlet with a father figure. Until then, I didn’t realize I’d not grieved my father’s death properly. Hunter understood that, too.

After logging the mechanic appointment on my phone, I help Warren finish loading the trailer.

“We’re still on time for Darla. Quick shower and then we split.”

Warren smirks as we walk to the ranch house. “Define quick.”