Page 87 of Downpour

“You know, I was excited to retire in a few years,” he admitted with a heartbreaking crack in his voice. “I wanted to settle down and have kids. Taking care of my nieces when they were little and needed someone put that fire in me. I wanted to have the kind of family I had growing up.”

“You can still have all those things. You’re the man who figures it out and makes it work. I’m not saying it would be with me. Hell, we might hate each other by the time we get home tomorrow. You’re forgetting that you don’t need me. Remember?”

His eyes were soft and glassy. “I think I was wrong.”

21

RAY

We pulled out of the parking lot in silence, but Brooke never let go of my hand. Even when she drove over the curb.

I had never admitted any of that to anyone, not even before the accident. My public persona was built on being the carefree, unattached wild child. My sponsors didn’t want the doting uncle. The brother. The kid from the ranch in Temple, Texas, who wore his heart on his sleeve.

They needed the guy who rode hard, stripped down for photoshoots, and partied.

So, I put the kid I used to be away.

Without the cameras, the lights, and the glory, all that was left was torn skin and broken bones. My body gave up on me before I was ready to quit.

I used to think about what I would do after I was finished with the rodeo circuit, but I never made a plan. I considered going back home to Colorado, packing up my life, and traveling for a while. Maybe going further West to California or North to Wyoming.

Once, I even threw darts at a map, hoping to decide where I would end up. But sinking those little silver tips into Laramie, Wyoming, Marion, Iowa, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Wilmington, North Carolina didn’t bring any clarity.

I never expected to be back on the ranch for good. I liked visiting and I missed it, of course. I missed my brothers, parents, and nieces. But coming back when I had finally gotten out wasn’t part of the plan.

And now, I was leaving again.

Except for a few supervised trips to see specialists in Dallas, I never left the ranch or my town anymore.

Leaving this afternoon with Brooke was different. We were getting away just for the hell of it, and it felt so fucking good.

I wasn’t accustomed to this feeling. But recently, I had been feeling really good. It was all because of her.

The sex was incredible. But it was also the comfort and ease I felt with her that truly mattered. I didn’t have to pretend or put on a show.

Brooke didn’t look at me the way my family did—with pity. She didn’t treat me like the buckle bunnies who latched onto riders every season to be their meal ticket. She looked at me like I was the one she wanted to spend every moment with.

As Brooke pulled into the lot of the Maren Motel and parked in front of the office, memories flooded back. I had stayed here before. It was a simple place, but clean and well-maintained. But those memories felt like they belonged to another man in another life.

While she went inside to book a room, I sat in the cab and worried about everything that had spilled out of my mouth.

Talking about going on dates. Holding her hand.Ourwedding and future children.

I ran my hands over my face in frustration. Why had I said all that shit out loud?

She was going to think I was trying to pressure her into something she wasn’t ready for.

The last thing I wanted was for Brooke to feel obligated to stay.

I watched through the window as she skipped out of the office with a room key in her hand.

She was wearing another pair of iconically short denim shorts. Her tanned legs were a fucking dream. A sliver of her stomach peeked out of the bottom of her tied-off tank top. Her thick hair was in a bun on top of her head. She had the most graceful neck and delicate jawline.

Brooke tapped on the window, and I rolled it down. “3A is ours. They only had one accessible room left, so it looks like we got here just in time.”

Room 3A was neatly furnished with a standing shower, a mini-fridge, a microwave, a TV, and a single king-sized bed.

“Do you mind sharing? I can sleep on the floor if you want the whole thing. It won’t bother me at all,” she said.

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