Page 27 of What I Should Have Known

A shift whispered through the air; the sun completely set, and the stadium lights cracked on as she guided me to the edge of the railing. Shrill whistles danced through the air as the bellowing of cattle funneling through the chute became lost behind the booming speakers from the arena.

This view was perfect. Right off to the side of what I learned was the roping box, Kat’s commanding voice talked to me as each event began. Cowboys and cowgirls slipped in and out of the arena, riding on horses that apparently could actually be the color blue.

Half of the words from her mouth sounded foreign, and I knew several languages that weren’t English, so it was fun feeling new at something. A sense of freedom weighed down on my shoulders as she excused herself momentarily and danced over to the chutes to help load a few wayward steers.

A chilling breeze brushed across my shoulders as I watched a woman who barely passed five feet tall command cowboys twice her height and size. I had to admit, I was surprised by her confidence, yet the fire that roared in her soul crackled as brightly as the hottest flame ever recorded.

And damn, what a woman she was.

How strange it was to technically be an outsider. To not be the one in the middle of everything and know exactly what was going on was not something that graced me often, but in this moment, I was. And adrenalineprickled at my fingertips. How exciting this was, especially considering the less I knew, the more excuses I had to keep her attention.

“Lookie what we got here boys,” a voice I knew from somewhere grated through my thoughts of the most enticing woman I had ever seen.

Leaning my forearms against the railing, I glanced away from Kat and caught sight of the same cowboy who’d given me shit walking my way. A beer bottle swung loosely in his hand as a few other guys trailed behind him.

“You know,” he said as he paused directly next to me. “I’m surprised you’d show your face around here after that rather embarrassing moment the other day.”

I furrowed my brows, scanning the lanky man with weathered cheeks and hands, and upturned eyes. “The fuck are you talking about? I don’t even know your name.”

He inhaled deeply and tipped the beer against his chin. “When you fell in shit and screamed like a baby. And it’s Wyatt.”

“Shit’s not the worst thing I’ve landed in. But I didn’t scream like a baby.”

“No?” He glanced at one of his companions and adjusted the cowboy hat on his head. “Oh, that’s right. You just apologized to every damn calf when you cut their nuts off.”

“Yes, I fucking did. I wouldn’t want my balls cut off, so of course I was gonna fucking apologize.” I shook my head and shifted my attention back to the arena as another cowboy dove off his horse and wrapped an arm around the steer’s horns. “Shit, that’s something else.”

“Yeah, only real men do this stuff. Like me, I’m riding bareback. Carter and Tyson are both entered in saddle bronc,” Wyatt said, and I glanced back at the man who I knew was taunting me.

“What the fuck are you saying?” I turned and crossed my arms over my chest.

Wyatt pushed off the rail with a chuckle. “Stop messing with Kat.”

“I’m not messing with her.” Furrowing my brows, I noted the shifting stances of his two buddies.

“Back the fuck off, is what I’m saying; she’s mine.” The volume in his voice lowered, like a snake slithering toward its prey.

Sliding my teeth back and forth, I smiled to myself. There it was, confirmation that something was going on or at least had gone on between the two of them, though Kat hadn’t seemed to reciprocate it. “But is she? Anyway, she’s just explaining to me all this rodeo shit,” I said with a shake of my head.

“Why are you even trying? It’s not like you’d ever do any of this stuff. You’re just some asshole who thinks he can swoop in and get the girl after just a week. I’m not going to let some idiot ruin what I’ve been working on for three years.” Wyatt raised the beer bottle to his lips and took a swig, his Adam’s apple bobbing beneath the light beard coating his pointed jawline.

“If that was my intention, I’d already have her. I wouldn’t need three fucking years.”

“Oooh, big tough guy are we. Get on a bronc, then.”

“I have nothing to prove to you, man.” I shook my head and dropped my arms from in front of my chest.What the fuck was this man thinking?

“See? You’re a fucking pussy.”

“Nah, I’m just trying to lay low right now,” I replied with a hiss and turned away. My mom had asked for me to not do anything rash, and getting on a bronc was certainly that. But everything in me tingled, begging me to jump at the chance of trying something as completely reckless as riding a bucking horse.

Ignoring the bubbling of annoyance rolling around in my stomach, I took a step away from him before rational thought left my mind.

His hand slammed around my wrist.

“Don’t you fucking touch me,” I snarled as I whipped around and ripped my wrist out of his grasp. Red-hot rage surged through my veins, and I clenched and unclenched my fists, reining in the frustration gnawing to be let loose. The final flicker of control dimming.

Wyatt’s brows twisted, and he flexed the fingers that’d been holding tightly to my skin. “Get on a bronc.”

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