"Work." I don't elaborate. Don't say that I've been calling or texting her every hour just to hear her voice and know she's okay.
Jake reads between the lines anyway. "You got it bad."
"Shut up."
"I'm just saying—"
"I know what you're saying." I meet his eyes. "And yeah."
Jake nods once and lets it drop. "Alright," he says, clearly sensing my mood needs redirecting. He hooks his elbow around my neck and starts dragging me away. "Let's go charm some cowboys."
We make our way toward the warm-up area where Casey Williams is adjusting his saddle. He’s getting ready to ride a blue roan that he’s had for three years and make a run in the tie-down.
"Casey," I call out, extending my hand. "How's the season treating you?"
"Can't complain," he says, though something in his expression suggests he actually could complain plenty. "Heard you took first in Jackson Hole."
"Got lucky." I take a breath, trying to remember Kinsley's advice about easing into the conversation. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something that affects all of us."
Casey's attention sharpens. "Oh yeah?"
"You ever deal with the Forest Service trying to redesignate your grazing land?" I ask, following Kinsley's script about starting with a question that gets them talking.
The change in Casey's expression is immediate—his jaw tightens and something dark flickers behind his eyes. "Lost two sections to spotted owl habitat. Been fighting it ever since."
Bingo. Kinsley called it perfectly.
"Same kind of thing's happening to my family's ranch right now," I continue, feeling more confident as the conversation flows exactly like her notes predicted. "Federal fire hazard designation that'll force us to remove twenty thousand head of cattle in ninety days."
"That's impossible," Casey says immediately. "They know that's impossible."
"Of course they do. That's the point." I lean against the fence, letting my frustration show through—no script needed for that part. "They make compliance impossible, then use our failure to justify taking the land."
Casey nods grimly. "Same playbook they used on me. What are you doing about it?"
"Fighting back.” I explain the details, watching Casey's expression shift from skepticism to interest to something that looks like hope. By the time I'm done, he's nodding slowly.
"Count me in," he says finally. "Been waiting for someone to organize something like this."
As we shake hands, I feel a rush of success. That's one. Well, three if you count me and Jake.
Jake and I work our way through the crowd, and with each conversation, I find myself relying less on Kinsley's notes and more on my own instincts. Her research gets me through the door, but it's my genuine anger about what's happening to our land that closes the deal.
By the time we break to get him set up to ride, we've collected promises from fifteen people. Fifteen voices to add to whatever coalition Kinsley's building back home.
"Not bad for someone who hates politics," Jake observes as we head back toward the contestant area.
"This isn't politics," I tell him, meaning it. "This is survival."
"Wyatt!" A voice cuts through the noise behind the chutes, and I turn to see Brittany weaving her way through the maze of gates and equipment like she owns the place.
Every muscle in my back goes tight. She shouldn't be back here. Every rodeo has the same unspoken rule—fans stay on their side of the fence. Behind the chutes is sacred space, reserved for contestants and crew. The fact that she's brazenly ignoring that boundary sets my teeth on edge.
"Hey," I say, keeping my voice neutral. Jake stiffens beside me.
"I've been looking everywhere for you." She's wearing tight jeans and a western shirt that looks like it came straight off a boutique rack—all flash, no function. "I brought someone who wants to meet you."
A man in his mid-forties steps up beside her, wearing pressed jeans and a polo shirt with a logo I don't recognize. He extends his hand. "Derek Rhodes, VP of Marketing for VitaPerform. We're looking to break into the western sports market, and Brittany here suggested you might be a good fit for our brand."