Page 35 of Ride the Sky

Fallon looks startled then exhales. “I got a good one,” she breathes.

Not just a good one. Known as one of the nastiest bulls in the PBR, Goliath Jim’s average buck-off time is two-point-five seconds. No one’s ever made it past five.

A smirk lifts the edges of Fallon’s bloodred lips. “Jealous, Weston?”

“That bull was supposed to be mine,” Weston growls.

It happens fast.

He takes a step toward her, fists clenched, and I lurch forward, blocking Fallon with my body. “One more step, and I put you through that wall,” I growl.

Behind us, chairs squeak on the hardwood floor. My brothers stand from the table to make their way toward us. Back up.

“No fights,” I hear Davis warn. “This ain’t our town.”

Charlie and I share a smirk. I can count on Davis and Ford to bail my ass out, but the one who’s gonna be sitting beside me in cuffs is Charlie.

Weston looks over my shoulder to jab a finger at Fallon. “You better watch your fucking back before you get hurt,” he snarls

My body tenses at the threat.

Pappy shoves us apart. “My girl’s scrappy, she’s got this.”

“Get the fuck out of here,” I tell Weston.

Weston glares at me but backs a step away.

Fallon wiggles her fingers. “Can’t wait to kick your ass, asshole.”

Hoots, jeers, and hollers go up as Weston storms toward the exit. The crowd breaks up, the cameras zoom out, and my brothers drift back to the table.

Fallon stands stiffly, staring at the exit.

She lets me take her chin, tilting her gaze to mine. “You okay?”

For a heartbeat, it’s just us. Our breathing. Our heat.

Hazel eyes dim, face open and vulnerable, Fallon opens her mouth. “No. I’m—”

“C’mon,” Pappy says, stepping in to break us apart. “Big day tomorrow. Time to get some rest.”

Fallon’s mouth snaps shut, her eyes narrowing at the order, but she gives a curt nod.

“Fallon, wait.” I snag her arm. I can practically hear the hiss rising in her chest.

Her frosty shell’s back. “I told you once, I’ll tell you again. You don’t get a say in my life, Wyatt. You’re not my keeper.”

Too easy, too desperate, the words slip from my mouth. “Yeah, but I’m your—”

“Don’t,” she warns. She cuts a hand through the air, stopping me from coming any closer. Stopping our secrets. “Just don’t, okay?”

That’s what we do.

Wedon’t.

Don’t talk. Don’t kiss. Don’t tell the truth.

Fallon’s pissed about something in our past, and I’m pissed about shit I never said or did.

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