Page 27 of Forever Enough

“I tell you what, let’s skip the milkshake and head to Shaw Ranch a little early.”

“Shaw Ranch? Why are we going there?”

“You didn’t forget already, did you?”

“Forget what?” she asked with a hint of teasing in her voice.

“You’re getting to know me, so I want to show you everything I love. Not just good burgers, books, and milkshakes.”

Turning in her seat to look at me, she asked, “It’s snowing outside. Won’t the bull slip and fall?”

“My uncle has an indoor arena. He trains bulls for the PBR, like I said, so the training never stops, not even for snow. When I’m home, I usually head over there and ride for him.”

When she didn’t say anything, I turned to see her smiling at me. “You’re okay with watching me ride, right?”

“Yes,” she quickly said. “I would love to see you ride.”

A strange tightening in my chest nearly had me rubbing it with my fist.

Mackenzie started to ask me questions as we drove to the Shaws’ place.

“How do they train the bulls?”

“They start off by bucking them with weighted dummies on their backs, once they’re at the right age. When they buck hard, Ty releases the dummy. That trains the bull to buck harder each time, to get the weight off quicker.”

“Interesting. How do you know if a bull will be good at bucking?”

“Years of working with them. You can pretty much tell which bulls want to buck and which ones honestly couldn’t care less. They’re judged on strength, health, their agility, and of course, their age.”

“Have you ever been seriously hurt?”

I shrugged. “Some broken bones. Lots of bruises. Twisted my ankle a few times jumping off the bull.”

“And you do this for a living?”

Laughing, I glanced her way. “I do.”

“Do you get to pick which bulls you ride?”

“Riders are matched randomly before each competition, but some events allow ranked riders to choose their bulls from a bull draft.”

“Wow. I guess I never really thought about it all before. How do you get the sponsors and the commercials?”

“Be one of the top-ranked riders. Of course, my father always tells me that my pretty face plays a part.”

She laughed. “I’m sure it does. Who are your sponsors?”

“A couple of mine include Bass Pro Shops and Kubota. To be honest, at this level, most of my money now comes from the sponsors and doing ads and stuff. If I win an event, I get a nice payout, but the real money comes from doing everything off the bulls, like the commercials and special events.”

I pulled up to the gate to the Shaw Ranch and punched in the code. As we pulled in, Mackenzie gasped. “Look at the horses!”

A herd of horses were walking through the snow-covered pasture. Some wore blankets, while others had snow stuck to their thick winter coats.

“Do you like horses?”

“I love them. I took riding lessons for years. I never owned my own horse, obviously, but I would spend hours at the barn where I took lessons. It was an escape for me.”

Her hands twisted together in her lap as she stared out the window. She was slowly giving me bits and pieces of her earlier life, and I found myself really liking that…even if I didn’t love the picture that was starting to form.

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