Page 105 of The Wildest Ride

An airless laugh escaped and she nodded, but the corners of her mouth lifted. “It does.”

He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “You rode well.”

She looked down at her boots and gave a small snort. “Not much to ride.”

“Sometimes it’s like that,” he said. No explanation for it. It just was. Another important life lesson from rodeo.

Somehow it was softer coming from AJ, though. Maybe because, like her granddad, he understood.

Lil took a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back. “There’s always next time.”

Watching her, AJ’s smile heated, eyes dancing. “You’re incredible,” he said.

Lil’s entire body flushed. In just a few words he touched her everywhere, and she had no idea what to do about it.

Blushing, she looked at the door and did the sensible thing—changed the subject. “They’re going to be looking for us.”

AJ shrugged. “We’re fine. There’re a lot of riders left and it’s their last hurrah. I’d think you’d let them have the spotlight before they go, Lil.”

With the end of tonight’s show, the Closed Circuit would be officially halfway over. The final three contestants would be announced, and tomorrow, those going on and those going home would all say goodbye to their RVs.

They would get to the remaining stops on the tour via airplane, flying to the locations of the to-be-announced final three challenges, and then on to the grand finale in Vegas.

Even without the announcement, they knew where they stood. Lil’s success with AJ in the overnight challenge had nearly been enough to push her over the edge, but after tonight’s dud, she would remain in second place, just two points behind AJ. Trailing behind them by fifteen points but a good fifty points ahead of the rest of the pack, Hank would likely maintain his stranglehold on third place, which meant everyone else was going home.

Both she and AJ knew that as cocky as she was in the arena, though, there wasn’t an ounce of spotlight hog in her.

A chuckle worked its way past her hurt and disappointment as she shook her head at him. “You’re a ridiculous man, you know.”

And though she wished it weren’t true, his responding grin snagged at the ragged edges of her mood, soothing, smoothing, and sewing them back up until they were as good as new.

28

They landed at the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, just before 6:00 a.m. local time. The flight from Santa Fe, first-class and uneventful, had provided ample napping time, though, so while it was still dark and he’d ridden a bull the night before, AJ felt rested and energized for the first of the final challenges, which wasn’t too bad for an old man.

Maintaining his first-place position, and knowing Lil’s bunk would be just down the hall from his at the thoroughbred farm where the weeklong challenge would take place, didn’t hurt his mood, either.

This far into the competition what had already felt like constant filming had kicked up a notch, with cameras constantly trained on the final three cowboys, hungry and hoping for drama, which meant there’d be no more sneaking into her bunk late at night, but he felt a strange sense of comfort just knowing she was close, a kind of steady reassurance he normally associated with family. It was new, wanting to spend time with a woman, to simply be near her, as opposed to pursuing and delighting, and after the dull horizon of the future with active rodeo, it was a novelty he could appreciate.

Their challenge, inspired by DeRoy’s coming from Kentucky horse breeding stock, was to finish up fitting thoroughbred yearlings for sale. Each cowboy would be assigned their own, field-wild, blue-blooded yearling, which they were responsible for cleaning up and preparing for auction. Points would be based on a combination of readiness, appearance, and price earned. The Closed Circuit had promised to make up the difference to the operation that volunteered the space and yearlings—and to pocket anything that came in above their preestablished appraisal value.

Business was business, even when business was reality rodeo.

Hank would have the advantage going into the challenge, but if the Closed Circuit showed true to form, their stock would be pretty yearlings, just this side of plump, that really just needed a good brushing.

In reality, the yearlings turned out to be a bit more complicated.

On Sunday, Hank, AJ, and Lil had their pick of yearlings from a pasture full of bright young things.

In third place, Hank was allowed to choose first, and, true to type, he chose the obvious standout amongst the bunch. Clean lines, muscular and large without teetering near chubby, the blood bay colt looked like money on legs, just a few buckets oats away from being ready for the downs. There was no doubt the man knew his horseflesh, and he flashed a snide grin at AJ as he passed by him, leading the colt away.

Walking by Lil, he offered, “Go for the one that looks the best now because there ain’t much getting better than that in a week’s time.”

AJ almost laughed. That Hank’d intended to snub him, leaving him out of the advice, was clear as day, but did nothing to offset the fact that AJ still had ears.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” Lil’s brush-off was as classic as it was obvious, and, chuckling under his breath, AJ loved her all the more for it.

Hank didn’t sputter in offense the way he would have if AJ had delivered the line, though. Instead, he just smiled wider, speaking slow and suggestively as he said, “Now don’t get mad, sugar. I just know how you women go gaga over a runt. But don’t worry, a quick little thing like you won’t take too long to identify the real quality.”

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