Page 37 of Destry

I was grinning.

The car stopped, the safety bar lifted, and I climbed out first, offering her my hand.

She didn’t take it right away but frowned hard as hell, tugging at her dress. She climbed out and before she could step away, I tucked her firmly under my arm, keeping her right at my side as we walked away from the ride.

Neither of us said a word about what had just happened but we didn’t need to and I sure as hell wasn’t done with her for the night.

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

Savvy.

The sun had barely started rising when I slipped out of Destry’s bed, grabbing my clothes in the quiet of his house. I had to be at the rodeo grounds early, and even though he promised to see me out there, I decided not to wake him before he was ready.

As I moved around his room, I felt his presence lingering. The memories of last night, the way he wrapped himself around me and the lazy way he had kissed me before I finally drifted. I shook the thought off and headed out with a big ass smile on my face. I needed to head home, shower, and get dressed for the day.

The rodeo grounds were already chaotic when I arrived. I pulled my hair into a low ponytail and secured my hat as I headed toward the main arena, where a handful of other rodeo hands were setting up for the day’s events.

I fell into the rhythm of the day. The work was steady and familiar, busting my ass to get the gates in place, making sure the barrels were lined up right, checking that the ground was good for the riders. I worked alongside a few of the regular hands, falling into easy conversation with them as the morning passed.

“I didn’t think you’d last the first week,” Sam, one of the older wranglers, said with a smirk as we secured the last set of saddles for the guys.

I tipped my hat back. “Good thing I love a challenge.”

He chuckled. “That much is clear.”

A few others chimed in, some teasing, some just genuinely impressed that I kept up with them. It felt good, being accepted into this world and not just as an outsider looking in, but as someone earning her place.

By mid-afternoon, I was out with the others, sorting cattle in the holding pens. The sun was high, sweat sticking to my skin and dust clinging to my boots, but I didn’t care.

This was exactly where I wanted to be. Then out of nowhere, a voice called my name.

“Savvy?”

I turned, wiping sweat off my forehead as a woman approached me. She was about my height, dark hair in a loose ponytail but instead of a cowboy hat, she wore a bright green ball cap with Boston printed on it. The rest of her attire was full blown cowgirl.

I hesitated. “Yeah?”

She stopped in front of me, offering her hand. “I’m Shore Reeves, Wilde’s wife.”

I blinked, shaking her hand. Her accent made sense of the hat. She wasn’t from here and I also remembered Wilde had married a woman from Boston.

Her smile widened slightly. “Destry’s mentioned you.”

That made me pause and I folded my arms, tilting my head. “Did he?”

She nodded, glancing over my shoulder at the holding pens. “He told Wilde he wanted him to work with you and your horse to make sure you were in sync.”

I frowned. “Wait…myhorse?”

Shore raised a brow, like she was waiting for me to catch on.

I shook my head. “The horse is on loan.”

Her smug smile deepened. “Oh, honey.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What?”

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