Page 42 of The Story We Wrote

“Yeah, Darling. I’m doing this for you.”

Boone let go of my arm right before the entrance. The attendee looked up from his phone unamused. Boone handed the kid a five-dollar bill, removed his hat, and handed it to me.Like Penny suggested, Boone unbuttoned his pearl snap shirt, revealing a white undershirt.

Lord help me, he looked sexy. His hair was messy from his hat and he wore a lazy smile on his face. I was wound tight knowing I’d have to watch Boone ride a fucking bull this close.

The attendee opened the gate and explained the rules to Boone. One hand on the bull and the other was used to keep balance. Boone nodded and climbed on top. Waiting for it to start, I toyed with my dress with my free hand. Why was I nervous?

Giving me one last look, Boone wrapped his hand in the loop. The bull came to life slowly at first and Boone kept his non-dominant hand in the air, which was his right hand because he was a lefty, to embrace the ride. His hips gyrated against the bull, rocking back and forth faster and faster as it gained speed. There was something insanely hot about a man riding a mechanical bull.

“Come on, Boone!” I yelled, jumping up and down. The big timer on the far end counted in bright red numbers. Boone held on for dear life; the bull rocked him ferociously. Mac, Rhodes, Penny and Theo all made their way closer to us to cheer Boone on. The timer ticked, and as it struck nine seconds, Boone flew off and smacked the floor. I ran over to the edge to peer over and make sure he was okay.

“How’d I do?” He asked from the floor, laying on his back to catch his breath.

Giving him a thumbs up I said, “You looked good doing it too.”

Boone chuckled and got to his feet. I handed him his hat and he adjusted it on his head. He placed his arm around my shoulder and guided me away from the bull and towards the food trucks.

“I need funnel cake,” Theo said, a pregnancy craving obviously kicking in.

“Then she gets funnel cake!” I said loud and proud. If my pregnant friend needed funnel cake, I’d ensure she got it.

Nineteen

Boone

I hadn’t eaten this much funnel cake and fried Oreos since I was a teen. Theo kept the orders coming, one after another, like the world was going to run out of the ingredients and she’d never come face to face with a funnel cake again. When Aspen told me about Theo being pregnant, she made me swear to secrecy I wouldn’t tell a soul. I was shocked by the news, but from how Aspen tells it, Theo was happy, which was all that mattered. It took a strong woman to do what she was about to do.

Thanking fate, I was glad I didn’t wait until after eating to ride that damn mechanical bull, because I’d be puking after the first spin. I don’t know what came over me, hoping up on the bull like that. Seeing Aspen standing on the sideline cheering me on made my heart leap out of my chest. I wanted her as my permanent cheerleader.

Also, having her by my side when Buck made his rodeo appearance dulled the hurt and anger. Watching him live his life carefree made me see red, but when her soft voice whispered that she was “hexing him” in her mind, I released a tense breathandactuallylaughed. Her powers must’ve worked. Him falling in horse shit was exactly what I needed to curb the pain I felt when the reminder was right in front of me.

Being at the rodeo tonight and watching Aspen’s eyes light up with excitement as she watched the steers and riders battle in the rink, made me realize I’d never seen someone so beautiful and carefree. She had the ability to take anyone’s hard feelings and turn them into pure gold. If it weren’t for her, I’d probably would’ve left the moment the announcer said his name.

We were walking in twos, me with Aspen, Mac with Penny, and Rhodes with Theo in the very back. My hand itched to reach out and hold hers, to claim her and confront whatever feelings I was starting to have for this woman. I glanced down at her, taking in the green dress she wore which laid on every dip and curve. Under the rodeo lights, the beams reflected off of her silky blonde hair, making her look heavenly. I loved stealing glances, especially when she wasn’t looking.

Suddenly, Aspen stopped short and her cheeks reddened under the shadow of her hat. Penny squealed, putting her hands out to stop herself from running into Aspen and took a few steps back to create distance. I followed Aspen’s eyes, and that’s when I realized exactly why she’d froze.

“Of course,” Aspen muttered, fixing her dress and straightening the hat. Miranda Yert was in the distance, walking hand in hand with two other girls I didn’t recognize. I could tell Aspen was in her head, just like she’d been at the bonfire when Miranda was mentioned. I didn’t know the details of what happened with them, but the mention of her name made Aspen retreat.

I placed my hand on her elbow, squeezing slightly.

“Look at me,” I mumbled, low enough only she could hear.

Reluctantly, Aspen removed her eyes from Miranda and met mine. She stared back, wide eyed at me. Right now, I’d have herback like she had mine earlier tonight. I gave her a soft smile, my thumb rubbing at her skin where I grasped her arm. Something changed in her, her face softened, eyes less tense like she felt at ease knowing I was here.

She must’ve sensed us because Miranda looked in our direction. Her eyes landed on Aspen, then my hand, and quickly snapped to me. An evil grin formed on her face and she lifted her hand to finger wave in my direction. Immediately, I looked back to Aspen, because I didn’t care about anything else.

Leaning down, I whispered in her ear, “Don’t let her win.”

Aspen swallowed and nodded, her lips tugging upward on one side.

“Oh hell no,” Penny barked from behind us. “Someone hold me back.” She clawed her way between Aspen and I, breaking the contact before Mac reached out and grabbed her by the biceps.

Instead of entertaining Miranda, I guided the group towards the carnival games. Rows and rows of booths stretched out with lights and color under the dark sky. Each was a burst of neon, drawing crowds in with their promise of winning. I was about to be another sucker, everyone knew the games were rigged, but it didn’t make them any less fun.

At the ring toss, colorful rings clattered into rows of glass bottles. Kids cheered on their parents, who worked hard to try to win them a prize. I had to be strategic about what game I chose, because there was no chance I was winning the ring toss.

A little further down, the balloon darts were calling my name. Brightly colored balloons fixed to a board waited to be popped. This was something I could do: throw a dart at a still object; that would be a breeze.

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