Page 16 of Rodeo Rivals
Wyatt ignored him and kept moving. While he understood his competitor had good intentions, the words of reassurance were like nails on a chalkboard. He didn’t want to hear it. He should have done better.
Which meant he didn’t trust himself to speak right now. Any response that came from him would stem from anger. No one encouraging him deserved that.
“It coulda been worse.” Seth’s grin grated on Wyatt’s nerves. “You coulda fell on your ass.”
Wyatt narrowed his eyes and fought the urge to knock Seth onhis ass. The smug bastard didn’t have to rub it in.
Wyatt’s fingers curled into fists, but he continued on his way. He wouldn’t catch a fine because of that asshole.
What an embarrassment. He rode like a fucking teenager whose balls hadn’t even dropped yet. Wyatt should’ve done better. Aseventy-seven. He’d be lucky to earn a penny.
“Hey.” Her voice stopped him in his tracks. “You’ll do better next time.”
“Well, maybe if you weren’t here distracting everybody, I might’ve done better,” he snapped without looking in her direction.
“Excuse me?” she said.
Shit. He winced. The words left his mouth before he thought about them. He hadn’t meant to be so nasty. Turning, he intended to apologize. He wasn’t in the right state of mind to have this conversation. Neither of them was in a good mood.Nothing good would come from talking at this moment. Besides, one and done. Remember?
“It’s not my fault you don’t know how to spur worth a damn,” she fired back. “Maybe if you spent more time critiquing yourself instead of others, you would’ve been more in control.”
13
McKayla
Holy hell. Third place. McKayla tookthird place. She not only earned a check, but she got thirdmotherfuckingplace. It was her first official professional rodeo in the PRCA, and she tookthird place.
Her check had a comma in it. She earned $1,557.27. While that didn’t get her anywhere near Seth Allen on the leaderboard, it was a step in the right direction. If she could keep riding like that, she could keep dreaming big. One day, she could give that asshat a run for his money.
The thought of outscoring him brought a massive smile to her face. One day she would. It was now her only mission this season—beat Seth Allen.
For now, though, she basked in the greatness that was a check with a comma in it. Sitting on the edge of her bed with her forearms resting on her knees, she stared at her score sheet. Were there things she should work on? Absolutely, but not right now.
She wanted to go out and celebrate. With a few days between now and the next stop on the circuit, she had time.
Though after the rodeo’s festivities had concluded, it was a bit late for her to hit the town. Sure, there were others who were out partying, but not her. Excited as she was, she probably wouldn’t go to sleep for several hours, but she didn’t have the energy to socialize.
Instead, she hunkered down in her camper. With her comforter wrapped around her and a remote in her hand, she skimmed through Netflix to find something she could watch while she rewarded herself with the best Tex-Mex she could find.
This was the perfect ending to the best day of her life—so far. The next time she got in the arena, she would do better, but tonight she would relish the fact that she beat out so many others and placedthird.
Tomorrow was fair game, though.
Tomorrow night, after she drove for a bit, she’d find a place to properly celebrate. It wouldn’t be some dive bar like last night. While she’d had fun, probably too much fun—her mind wandered to the feel of Wyatt’s lips against hers, his hands on her skin, and his body between her thighs as she rode him.
Nope.
Don’t go there. Her body heated at the memory of her tryst with the competition.
He was a dick. Remember? A cockknocker extraordinaire.
A talented one. Her core tingled as she recalled the feeling of him filling her deeply when she’d mounted him.
Stop it.She shouldn’t be thinking about him like that anymore. They agreed to a one and done situation. They were competitors. Without a doubt, they’d run into one another again on the circuit. They chased the same dream.
In order to make things less awkward, she had to push him out of her mind. She shouldn’t shit where she eats. Not that it was on the menu or anything, but getting involved with someone she was actively trying to outrank would end terribly for everyone involved.
Men, especially those who rode rough stock, notoriously had fragile egos. Which he displayed when he got snippy as hell with her after he had a less than stellar showing in the arena. She’d beaten him, and he hadn’t taken it well. She saw the red flag and acknowledged it. No need to tell her twice. Wyatt could be a fond memory.
