Page 3 of Ace of Spades
“Brad.”
He finally turns to me, jaw tight as he gets up from his seat and leaves the table.
“Quite the tight leash you’ve got on your man there,” Weston smirks, taking another drag of his cigarette.
“I’m a cowgirl. I think if I can control a thousand-pound animal, I can keep a grown man in line.” I tell him. “And he’s not my man.”
“That’s right—if she can control a thousand-pound animal between her legs, imagine the other things she can do with those thighs,” my friend chimes in, causing me to spit out my water.
“Ava!”
“Well, we wouldloveto hear more about how you ladies ride,” Chance drawls, shooting a wink in Ava’s direction as he takes the open seat at her side.
“I’m Ava, I run breakaway. And this is my friend Hailey—barrel racer, breakaway roper, and just placed first in barrels at her first ever rodeo in the circuit,” she brags on my behalf.
“Is that right?”
“Yeah! And she actually just moved to Cedar Creek, how funny is that?”
“Well, maybe we could take y’all out sometime, show you the town. We’re gentlemen, after all,” Chance tells her, lifting his beer to his lips.
“We would love that,” Ava speaks for the both of us. “You see, Hailey? And you were all nervous. She said that you guys might not like her since her parents are building some resort or something, I told her she was just being crazy.”
An awkward silence passes between the group.
“You’re the Sorrels girl?” Weston asks.
“I am.”
Something unspoken passes between Chance and Weston, the grin on Chance’s face still plastered in place though I catch it falling just the slightest.
“I think we should probably go,” Weston states, his vivid green eyes now cold as he regards me with total indifference. I’mnot saying that I cared for his attention, but the rejection hurts nonetheless.
Chance moves to stand, Weston taking a step away from the table as Ava turns to me with a panicked expression and pleading eyes.
“It’s fine—I was just going anyway,” I sigh, grabbing my purse and finishing my water.
“You sure?” she asks.
“Yeah. Gotta get up early anyways, remember?”
I don’t bother to find Brad to say goodbye before leaving, Ava mouthingI love youas I force an unbothered smile. My first solo rodeo without competing on a collegiate team, my first pro rodeo win, and not one person to watch me compete or celebrate with.
“Wonderful,” I mutter to myself.
Chapter 2
HAILEY
My boots crunch in the January snow as I step out of my travel trailer, walking through the rodeo grounds with Gypsy hot on my heels as she leaves little pawprints on the ground beside me.
Luckily enough, the Fort Worth arena offered on-site stalling for the horses, so I was able to let them stretch their legs out overnight before the long drive back tomorrow.
The three grain buckets in my arms knock against each other, the sound coupled with that of horses snorting softly and the gentle shifting of hooves on dirt as I make my way through the rows of stalls, using my free hand to tug my beanie down over my ears, my matching pink pajama bottoms tucked into my muck boots.
Dim lights flickered through the space, the smell of hay and horse hair a familiar scent. My cold breath blew out in front of me like a cloud, my nose and cheeks turning a bright pink.
“There’s my girl—good job today, Vegas,” I whisper, reaching my palomino mare as she sticks her head out of the stall door to greet me. Gypsy jumps up, pressing her front paws to the stall gate to help her reach up and offer a few kisses as I hang the feed bucket.
