Page 11 of The Chances We Take

“Sweet and spicy. I like it.”

I sat on the couch in the hotel room with my latest paperback in my hand when I heard a knock at the door. Ellison and Colter had gone for a walk since they hadn’t been able to spend much time together alone. Earlier that evening was the seventh round, and Colter and Reid had placed third.

I got up and opened the door, assuming they had forgotten their keys.

“Forget your—oh! Hey…” I jumped back a little when I realized it wasn’t Ellison, but Reid instead.

“Hey. Sorry, is Colter here?” he asked, looking over my shoulder into the room.

“No, he’s not. He and Ellison went for a walk. What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. Mikey’s just being his usual self. I’ll go back. I don’t want to interrupt your evening.” He glanced down at my book and turned around to leave.

“Wait!” I blurted before I could catch myself.

He looked back over his shoulder, raising his eyebrow at me as I opened the door all the way for him.

“You can stay. It’s fine. I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”

His eyes tracked down to mine, and he nodded, following me in. I walked over to the couch and sat back down, curling my legs under me to give him room to sit. I put my book aside, expecting him to say something, but he just sat there.

“Um, so…” I stuttered.

His lip curled up in an amused grin. “So, what?”

“I, uh…”Get it together, Isa.I didn’t know what it was about Reid, but he made me nervous. “Did you and Colter grow up together?”

“Nah, we met in college. I grew up four hours away from him and was a year younger. We’d probably seen each other at rodeos in high school, but we didn’t become friends until I went to SGU. I, uh, wasn’t good at making friends in high school,” he admitted as he ruffled his hair.

“I see,” I replied, not wanting to push him to explain.

“Yeah. I didn’t have a lot of free time, you know.” He looked away, not meeting my gaze.

“Why did you start roping? Was that something you always wanted to do?”

He nodded, looking back at me. “Yeah, it was my escape. I didn’t grow up in a rodeo family, actually. My dad traveled for work, so he wasn’t around a lot, but one weekend he was home and took me to my first rodeo.

“It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I was probably nine or ten years old, and I just remember being in awe of everything. The sound of the crowd, the smells, all of it. When I’m in the arena now, even as an adult, I think about the rush it gave me back then as a kid.” He took a deep breath, and I didn’t say anything, letting him continue when he was ready. “Anyway, one of the, uh, team ropers there gave me my first rope. No one had ever really given me a gift like that before—something so practical, something I could actually use—so, being a kid, I was obviously ecstatic and made it my entire personality.”

I grinned a little as he laughed over the memory. I could tell it was an important event for him, something that shaped who he was today.

“That’s really cool. I’m sure your parents are really proud of you,” I said.

“Mhm. Yeah. Yeah, they are.” He cleared his throat. “I, uh, I should go.” Motioning to the door, he got up, smoothing out his jeans, his movements a bit awkward and unsure.

“Oh, I—” I stood too; for what reason, I wasn’t sure. But then the door clicked open to a confused looking Ellison and Colter.

“Hey, guys?” Ellison greeted us, drawing out her words.

“Mikey?” Colter asked.

“Mikey.” Reid nodded, and Colter opened his mouth in a silentah. Reid pursed his lips, nodded at Colter and Ellison, and slipped out the door.

“What was that all about?” Ellison gestured at the door over her shoulder with her thumb.

I shrugged. “I don’t know? I asked him about how he got into rodeo and he kind of talked about his family, but then said he had to go.”

Ellison and Colter exchanged a knowing look.

---