Page 14 of Ace of Spades
Chapter 6
HAILEY
I fall backward onto my bed, my phone still open to another rejection email from a job I’d applied for. It was starting to feel like I wasted four years away at college, receiving endless rejections since I began applying over a month ago.
I didn’t get it—I had a degree in social media marketing, I obviously had experience managing my own socials considering my follower count, and I had orchestrated plenty of brand deals and collaborations for myself—What more could I do to prove my worth to them?
What a downer to end the day on, especially after I had such a great run earlier. I hated to admit it, but Weston’s advice had actually worked. I had been skeptical, but I brought Casinoback down to the basics, just as he had said, and we ended up having our best time yet this afternoon.
Not only did I break my own personal record, but itfeltbetter. I could feel the control, could feel Casino listening to me and actually letting me guide her, rather than rushing full speed ahead without thought. It was… incredible.
Thankfully, I hadn’t run into Weston in nearly a month. I still saw him around, as was expected considering we both followed the same circuit and ended up at most of the same rodeos. I had somehow avoided bumping into him, and a very small part of me actually… missed it?
The thought was absolutely crazy, and I was fully aware of that.
I threw on my puffer jacket and boots over my pajamas, stepping out of my trailer and into the Utah snow. It felt like it was gearing up to be one of the coldest weekends of the year so far, the mid-February storms causing extra maintenance for the horses and quite the hassle for travel.
I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep them warm, Gypsy trailing behind me in her matching puffer jacket and snow boots, her thick fur underneath keeping her small body warm.
Thankfully the stables at these rodeo grounds were indoors, offering some semblance of heat, though it wasn’t much. I blanketed all three of my horses, making sure the heater water troughs were turned on to prevent the water from freezing overnight.
“Hey, Hailey.”
I turn to find Rafe leading both of his horses in, a bay gelding and a beautiful red roan mare.
“Hey,” I smile, stepping out of my stall and closing it behind me as Gypsy comes to sit at my feet. “I actually got to watch you and Beau rope today, you guys are amazing.”
“Oh, thanks. I heard you did great too, congratulations.”
“Thanks. So um… I noticed that Chance and Weston aren’t here this weekend. Did they decide to sit this one out because of the weather?” I ask, trying not to make my disappointment too obvious.
“Chance got hung up and sprained his wrist at practice the other day, so he’s back home letting it rest. Weston’s here, though.”
“He is?” I ask.
Rafe turns to glance at me from where he untacks his horse, and I desperately hope that he didn’t catch on to the excitement in my voice. It’s not like I want to actually hang out with Weston, or spend any time with him. A part of me just wants to see him.
I’d noticed myself putting on a little bit of extra makeup on the days that I knew we might run into each other, I even wore jeans that were a little bit tighter in hopes that I might be able to make him drool.
In reality, I was no better than some middle school girl wearing her prettiest dress to school to get her crush to notice her. Geez, I was becoming pathetic.
“Yeah, he rode down here by himself. I offered for him to camp out in the truck with me, Beau, and Chels, but he insisted on roughing it in his truck instead. Damn thing doesn’t even have a working heater.”
“What?” I ask. “How? It’s well below freezing, that’s not even remotely safe.”
“Don’t look at me, I tried. Wes is a stubborn little fucker, good luck getting him to accept help from anybody.”
“Ugh, how do you guys even put up with him?” I ask.
Rafe chuckles, putting his mare away and tossing some hay into each of his stalls.
“I mean—yeah, he can be a stubborn son-of-a-bitch. And hot-headed. And a flat-out dick sometimes. But he’s about as loyal of a friend as they come. He’s not all bad.”
I let that sink in as Rafe bends down to pet Gypsy before clapping me on the shoulder and walking off.
“Night, Hailey. Stay warm out there.”
But it wasn’t me that I was worried about staying warm as I walked back to my camper. I laid in bed for what felt like forever, going back and forth in my head. Did I like Weston? No. That being said, did anybody deserve to freeze to death? Also no.
