Page 18 of Not Over You (Prosperity Ranch 3)

The stands went nuts, and half of the people were on their feet clapping and yelling.

Jana’s skin buzzed at the amazing reception. Knox truly was everyone’s cowboy, and she was pretty sure after tonight, he’d forget all about her—Jana Harris and her small life.

She could only see his back and his cowboy hat from her seat, but the power of the bull beneath him was tangible. It was already pushing against the gate. And then the gate flew open, and out went Knox.

“Look at him go! If anyone can ride King Pin, it’s Knox Prosper!”

The crowd was on their feet, clapping and yelling. Jana jumped to her feet, then stood on her seat in the last row. Finally, she had a decent view. Knox was hanging on tight, and she thought of the fundamentals he’d told her about riding. Forward on the jump. Yep, he had that down. It was as if he were surfing an ocean wave by the way he moved with the bull, keeping in control of his balance. And the intangibles—feel and effort. That was what kept Knox winning, she was sure of it.

He’d told her every bull was different. And King Pin was huge and muscled and on a terror streak. The noise from the crowd only increased as they counted the seconds. Knox held on fast, and when the buzzer went off, the crowd roared. He eased his grip on the bull and slid off.

Both relief and adrenaline shot through Jana. He’d done it, and he was okay. No injuries.

“And there you have it, folks,” the announcer boomed. “Bull-riding at its finest by our own Knox Prosper!”

As if to answer, Knox took off his helmet, then waved it at the crowd, and the fans responded with enthusiasm.

“Let’s see what the judges say about Knox’s ride,” the announcer continued. The seconds ticked by while the announcer read through some of Knox’s previous scores at other rodeos. “This just in. Looks like Knox Prosper is getting an even 96. This puts him in the lead for the night. Congratulations, young man!”

Whistles sounded around Jana, and she found herself grinning and clapping. The next two bull-riders didn’t come close to Knox’s score, and the arena buzzed in anticipation of Knox staying on top. It seemed that his thousands of fans were only too happy to celebrate with him.

Jana should really leave right now if she wanted to get ahead of the crowd, but she didn’t move. For some reason, she felt mesmerized by the lights against the dark night, the glittering stars above, the warm summer breeze, and the thrum of energy from the people.

After the rodeo came to a close, Jana still remained in her seat while people filed out of the stands. The place emptied slowly, as the crowds funneled through the narrow exits. Jana supposed the cowboys were all in the lot behind the arena, taking care of their animals. The maintenance crew started up, cleaning up the garbage in the stands, and plowing the dirt in the arena.

Only when the crew neared her row did Jana get up and head down the stairs. She headed out of the arena, folding her arms against the cooling night. Most of the cars and trucks were gone now, and she still had a ways to walk. Her steps slowed when she looked over to the parking lot with a few horse trailers left. Cowboys had congregated into groups, talking.

When a certain cowboy caught her eye, her breath stalled.

Knox was talking to his family from the looks of it. Macie, Holt, their mother Heidi, and the mayor, Rex Prosper.

In Knox’s arms, he held a little girl who had to be Ruby. Jana had seen Ruby briefly once or twice about town, but she’d never officially met her.

It seemed that Knox was plenty busy, and Jana continued walking, her heart clenching a little. How hard must it be for Knox to be around his family now that his ex was married to his brother? Had Barb been right? Did Knox still have feelings for Macie?

Jana shook away the thoughts. It wasn’t any of her business to speculate or to even care about it. She hurried to her SUV, waving at a few vehicles that slowed—she didn’t really recognize anyone in the dark.

Texts starting piling in from Barb about the rodeo being over, about Knox winning the bull-riding, and how everyone was heading to Racoons.

We can pick you up, or you can meet us there,Barb had texted.

Jana was debating whether she should tell Barb about coming to the rodeo after all when another truck slowed behind her. She was far enough on the side of the road to let it pass, but the truck didn’t pass her.

“I thought that was you,” a deep, familiar voice said.

Jana’s pulse doubled, and she looked over to see Knox driving. No one was with him, which surprised her, although she wasn’t sure why. Maybe because she thought he’d be with his family, going somewhere to celebrate his win?

Since Knox had pulled to a stop, she stopped, too.

“Changed your mind about coming to the rodeo?” Knox teased.

How could he look so… great? He should be a sweaty, dirty mess, but he only exuded masculinity.

Jana moved closer to the truck, while still keeping a fair distance. “Thought I’d see what all the fuss was about.”

He chuckled. “And what did you think, sweetheart?”

The endearment shouldn’t have affected her; it was common enough around these parts. But she felt her pulse go up another notch. “Impressive,” she said, a smile tugging at her mouth. “I guess congratulations are in order.”

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