Page 81 of Bull Riders Don't Swoon

“I figured you would. I grabbed an extra pizza from the store yesterday. It’s pre-cooked so justheat it up.”

“Ah, you’re the best boyfriend ever.” Jamieson removes the pizza slices from the carton and rips a bite from a cold slice.

“Too hungry to warm it up?”

“Cold pizza is the bomb. It doesn’t need warming.” Jamieson tucks into the second slice as I gather our bags of gear. “Are you nervous?” His voice is softer, and I turn my head towards him. His remaining pizza sits untouched on the counter while he focuses on my response.

“Some,” I admit, but Jamie shakes his head and steps closer.

“Tell me, babe.”

Jamieson’s soft touch to my arm has me sinking into his embrace. “Just overwhelmed with everyone’s help. With you, the house, and Dad. It’s a lot of stuff that’s out in the open now, and as happy as I am to have it, I feel like I’m a gutted fish on the dock.” His hands move up and down my back as I pour out this overwhelming tide of emotion I can’t put a name to. “I’ve been so used to just being on the fringe, you know? My entire life has changed, and while they’re all good things, it’s catching up, and I feel overwhelmed.”

Jamie kisses the top of my head and hugs me tighter. “Thanks for telling me. What can I do to help with that?”

People shouldn’t need to ask for help when they’re happy. It makes no sense, but it also makes perfect sense to me. My heart is full, but my brain needs extra time to process it all. It’s a weird place to be.

“I…I’m not sure, Jamie. But this definitely helps. Holding me and just making me feel like I’m deserving of this life.”

Jamieson sucks in a breath and steps back so he can press his forehead against mine. “You deserve to have a reason to smile, and I will hold you anytime you need it, okay?”

“Okay.”

We stay like this for a few beats before I pull away first and playfully push him back to the kitchen. “Go finish eating. We have lots to do today. Areyounervous?”

I throw the question back at him because it’s a big day. Hometown heroes are always under extra pressure to perform, and Jamieson needs high scores for an invitation to the national finals. He’s had a strong season, but so have a few other riders in our tour, and it’s a deep field.

He leans on the counter with his pizza and chews slowly, uncharacteristically quiet for him. Jamieson usually talks a mile a minute and eats just as fast. Thereissomething on his mind, but he usually saves the nerves until he’s at the event and can pace it off behind the chutes.

This is new for him to be almost…reserved.

His soft gaze meets mine, and the tenderness he aims at me makes my breath hitch in my throat. “I’m not nervous in a bad way. Maybe I’m so excited I don’t know what to call it.” He huffs a small laugh as he cleans up his pizza mess. “My parents and sister are so eager to help your dad. They want to make sure he has fun and experiences his son doing his job that he’s really fucking good at.” He grabs a glass from the cupboard and pours a glass of milk. “I think I’m a cross between over-the-moon excited our families are mixing and nervous about not having a great ride.” He chugs his milk and laughs. “I want to impress your dad, Griff. Is that lame?”

Of all the things I thought Jamie might say, that wasn’t it.

“I think you already have, and it’s not lame at all.”

Jamieson rinses his glass and leaves it in the sink. “Have I?” He strides over to the door and grabs his boots, the last thing he needs before we head to the rodeo grounds.

“Yep. ‘My son’s dating a fancy bull rider. Does that mean I get good seats at the rodeo?’ That’s what he said, and no, it wasn’t a joke. He was so puffed up about it, he went online to watch some of your rides.”

Jamieson smiles, and his dimple pops. His eternally boyish grin will never stop making my heart flutter. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Well…cool.” Jamieson is genuinely lighter with that knowledge, and it’s beyond sweet that he wants to impress my dad. “We should get going, though. I’ve got that meet and greet thing with Jackson and Hunter.”

And just like that, we’re in the normal pre-rodeo groove with Jamieson chatting away while he tosses our bags into his truck and I yank the keys from his hand to drive. Just because I let him drive more when my arm was in a cast doesn’t mean it’s the new norm.

I’m still not a fan of his driving, and that’s never going to change.

The shuttle van from Dad’s rehab pulls up to the curb in front of the rodeo grounds, and I jog over to meet it.

“Are you Griff?”

“That’s me.” The woman smiles and glances in the back. “I’ve got a very excited man here who claims he’s your dad.”

She hands me a clipboard, and I sign the consent that Miles reviewed with me. Dad is free to leave the rehab anytime he wants, but he opted for more accountability and asked for them to make him stick to tighter rules because he doesn’t want to mess things up. That means I have to sign a form that Dad already did, agreeing on a curfew and pickup times.

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