Page 121 of Relentless

Oakleigh couldn’t help but crack a smile, noticing Maeve’s exasperated eye roll.

It felt good to smile.

The chute gate opened, and the bull lunged into the arena, sending up a cloud of powdery dirt. The bull had certainly been well-trained. It bucked hard, contorting its body with the goal of launching its rider. The young hotshot cowboy held strong until the blaring horn sounded, announcing eight seconds.

Leaping off the bucking bull and into the dirt, the rider fled to the safety of the iron fence, while the bullfighters distracted the angry animal back into the chutes.

Tucker whipped his hat off in frustration, cursing under his breath.

The next few rides were a blur while Oakleigh attempted to tame her rebellious nerves.

“This one,” Tucker announced. “He’s going to put us on the map.”

Sure enough, the next Melody Fields’ bull was a fierce one. The rider barely made it out the gate before he was ejected, landing hard on his shoulder in the dirt. Stumbling to his feet, the young cowboy dashed away from the bull’s stomping hooves, narrowly missing further injury.

“Ha,” Tucker turned to Maeve, stepping into her space. “Beat thatCallaway.”

Oakleigh had a sharp reply on the tip of her tongue, but before she could fire it at the smug cowboy, she was distracted by a ruckus. Swiveling to find the source of the commotion, her eyes landed on the opposite end of the platform.

Harper had Sam cornered, and she was wearing a fierce expression.

Chapter 33

For Pete’s Sake

Maeve could only assume Tucker had lost his mind as she turned to address his challenge. She couldn’t help but tilt her head, raising an eyebrow at his sheer audacity. Before she could collect her response, Dallas stepped between them.

“Back in line, Tuck,” he warned.

“Or what?” Tucker sneered. “Your lady’s going to show me who’s boss?”

“She won’t,” Dallas’ voice dropped to a low growl, “but I might.”

Tucker hesitated, appearing to gauge just how much danger he was really in. “Aren’t you a pastor or something?”

“Or something,” Dallas replied, taking up the space in a way that made Tucker backpedal. “Don’t mess with my girl.”

Maeve leaned her elbows on the railing, not bothering to hide her satisfaction. Not only did it feel rewarding to have someone come to her defense, but it had been some time since she’d been referred to as someone’sgirl.

“All right, you two — settle down,” Maeve finally intervened, grasping their attention. “Crew’s up next.”

Wholly distracted, she hadn’t noticed that Oakleigh was no longer beside her. She pushed off the railing, searching for the young woman on the crowded platform.

“Um, Maeve!” Oakleigh’s voice rose above the raucous sounds of the audience, and blaring music being pumped through the speakers. “Help!”

Maeve squeezed through the crowd around them, finally laying eyes on another brewing conflict.

Harper had Sam against the wall, and was pointing a sharp finger squarely in his face.

“What in the —” Maeve’s eyes went wide. Clearly, Oakleigh had done her best to mediate, but had little success against her mother’s hot temper.

Maeve calmly excused herself as she navigated through her colleagues gathered on the platform, letting each of them know she would be available to talk at some point in the evening. The eyes of the packed stadium were on them, and her only hope was to reach the situation without drawing more attention to the heated dispute.

Arriving at arms reach, she pulled Oakleigh to her side.

“Oakleigh, what’s going on?” she demanded.

“Oh, just the usual,” Oakleigh exclaimed, flinging a hand toward them. “He’s mad that the town was packed over the weekend, and for what I said about Stetson,” she listed. “and how Mom scared the bear onto his property.”

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