I still couldn’t believe how fast she’d made it all happen. My inbox was now flooded with offers from feed companies, ranch equipment brands, and more. I gave every one of them the same answer: I’d only talk about their product if I actually used it on the ranch. Surprisingly, most of them respected that.
The hat slipped down a little, sitting just above her eyebrows so she had to tilt her chin up to see me.
"Better?" I asked.
A smile spread across her face. "Much better. Thank you."
I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her against my side. We ate in easy silence, the wind rattling the glass panes outside.
I stared at her as she ate and took sips of beer, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. My hats looked better on her.
Last week, I’d tried moving her share of the new deals into her account, but she’d pushed it right back, telling me to put it into Wild Sage instead. I still felt weird as hell calling my own ranch a “brand.”
Since she wouldn’t take the money, I’d found another way. I’d called her sister a few days ago. The second my NFR payout hit, forty grand was going straight toward helping Mara finish her degree.
That was the thing about Vegas: you could chase rodeos for eleven months and make more in ten nights than in the rest of the year combined. If I rode the way I knew I could, the prize money and sponsor payouts would finally wipe our debt clean and let me buy Maisie the tablet I'd promised her.
I wasn’t looking forward to that fight when Sienna found out. She was just like me, and she hated when anyone tried to fix her problems for her, but I’d take it. I was done watching her stress over money.
"This really is incredible, Brock," she murmured, pulling me out of my thoughts.
She slid off the table and walked over to the far wall, running her hand along the empty wooden shelving. "You could grow so much in here."
I took another drink of my beer to hide the smile tugging at my mouth. “Yeah.”
I set the empty bottle down and walked over, sliding my hands into the back pockets of her jeans and pulling her close.
“Figured we could start growing some vegetables,” I said. “Maybe some flowers for the house. Mom used to love it in here.”
She tilted her head up. The brim of the Stetson bumped lightly against my forehead. “Thank you for sharing this with me.”
I tipped the brim of the hat back just enough and kissed her. It was slow and deep, tasting like cold beer.
Vegas was only three weeks away. My shoulder felt solid, the training was paying off, and the bank accounts were finally moving in the right direction. But Dave’s ultimatum from Outlaw lingered in the back of my mind: make the top five in the first go-round, or they’d drop me.
Losing that paycheck would hurt like hell. I’d been in this game too long to believe anything was guaranteed. I’d gone into the NFR with good momentum before and still come home disappointed.
But this time, Sienna would be in the stands. She was going to be damn good motivation.
thirty-three
. . .
BROCK
The neon lights from the Vegas Strip bled through a gap in the heavy curtains, throwing a slashed red glow across the mirror.
I stood in the center of the hotel room, breaking in my latest gear. The air smelled like new carpet and laundered sheets, a hell of a long way from the ranch back home. I adjusted the heavy leather of my chaps, testing the custom silver buckles at my thighs.
Rolling my shoulders to settle into the crisp arena shirt, I checked the fit in the mirror. The Outlaw neon logo sat on the right chest while the Ryder & Co. crest rested over my heart, right beside the new sponsor's patch from Texas.
My fingers closed around the silk wild rag Ryder had sent in their last package. It was dark blue, smooth and expensive, and completely impractical for ranch work. In my calloused hands, it felt completely out of place.
But it was going to save my ass tomorrow.
I folded the silk into a thick band, reached behind my head, and tied it tight over my eyes, plunging the room into pitch blackness. I breathed in slowly, feeling the slight weight of it against my eyelashes.
I’d been training for this for weeks back home, right up until the day we left. It was a hell of a gamble, but I’d thought it through. Dave had threatened to drop me if I didn’t crack the top five tomorrow night, so I was riding blind.