Page 26 of Rodeo Rivals
“It’s a proven fact.”
She smirked. “Aww. That’s adorable. You thought that made sense.”
“You don’t belong here,” he snapped.
Licking her bottom lip, she shifted her stance slightly. Her ire dissipated slightly now that she was completely satisfied that she got to him. “Now you’re raising your voice and not your logic.”
“Girls have no place in rough stock.”
She bobbed her head back and forth as though considering his lack of an argument. “I guess I would have to agree. The PRCA requires all competitors to be at least eighteen. Women, on the other hand, can compete if we hit the same qualifiers you did.”
He stepped closer, invading her space again.
She held her ground. Unfortunately, because of his height, she had to look up at him, but she would not back down to a loudmouth pompous ass. She wouldnotbe intimidated.
“Go home before you get someone seriously injured,” he growled.
“You have no idea how happy it makes me to know you’re afraid to compete against me.”
His head shook. He ground his teeth. When his nostrils flared, a rumble erupted from his chest. She was playing with fire and liked it.
“Use your words,” she coaxed.
“You’re afuckingbitch,” he snarled. “You know that?”
She rolled her eyes and laughed. Now she had him. “Feisty.” If he thought that lame insult would scare her, he had another thing coming. “You remind me of Tinkerbell.”
When Seth cocked his fist, McKayla shifted and braced herself for impact. Except it never came. Instead, a bullet, clad in a black cowboy hat, came out of nowhere and speared him at the middle.
Stepping back, she bumped into the metal rails keeping the horses in place as the dust kicked up from the dirt. Seth landed on his back with a loud “oof” sound. Wyatt sat atop him, straddling him, unleashing a flurry of fists.
Shit! She had to end that.
“Don’t talk to a lady like that, asshole,” Wyatt roared.
“Wyatt, stop!” she shouted as she charged toward them. Looping one of her arms around his, she sought to impede him from pummeling Seth. “Stop!”
Glancing around, she noted that the crowd, which had lingered listening to the two of them banter back and forth, had grown significantly. Switching her stance, she took hold of Wyatt’s middle and pulled him off Seth.
“You’re supposed to be some sort of goddamn role model,” Wyatt spat toward Seth.
Still on his back, with a bloody nose, split lip, and a swollen cheek, Seth tapped his face gingerly.
“Son of a bitch,” he muttered.
McKayla kept her grip on Wyatt to keep him from attacking Seth again. “He’s not worth it,” she whispered.
“What’s going on?” someone barked from behind the crowd.
“Shit,” the two of them hissed in unison.
Seth sat up, shook his head, and shifted his jaw back and forth before he got to his feet. As a rodeo official approached, Seth smacked his jeans to get the dirt off them. Honestly, he got what he deserved, but she doubted anyone related to the rodeo would agree with her.
With his hands on his hips, a sweaty, robust man with a red face, wearing a security T-shirt, stared at them and surveyed the situation. Dammit. The day just went from bad to worse.
19
Wyatt
