Page 76 of Eight Seconds to Fly
She looked at where Beau still had his arm around my shoulders, a little confused. “And this man is your boyfriend too?”
Well, this was awkward. “Uh, yep. He is. This is Beau. And that’s Frankie.”
“Hi Beau. Hi Frankie,” Helen said and blushed too. Well, she was freaking adorable. Her eyes were comically wide. “But that’s three boyfriends. You can’t have three boyfriends.”
I leaned forward conspiratorially. “Let me tell you something, Helen. You can have and do whatever you want. You just have to believe you can do it and have the stubbornness to ignore anyone who’ll tell you that you can’t.” I looked over her shoulder. “Except your mama. Always listen to your mama.”
I shook her tiny hand and wished her well, and she skipped back to her mother. Beau kissed my temple. “Look at you go, Nugget. Changing lives. Creating hellraisers like you.”
I nudged him with my elbow but he was kind of right and that made me fuzzy on the inside. I didn’t set out to be an inspiration, but I’d be damned if it didn’t feel good anyway.
Dylan bounded up to me, the grin on his face infectious. “What a ride, Baby Girl! Did you see how vertical I got?” He smacked a giant kiss on my lips and then sat down next to Frankie.
“Next up is Branch Watson. Now, you’ll remember Earl that I said this kid was a contender and despite the fact he didn’t ride his bull yesterday, I stand by my words. He’s got some beautiful style and I know he’s pulledChopper,so we both know that if he can stick it, it could be one hell of a ride. A championship winning ride.”
I sat forward on my seat as I watched the footage of Branch in the chutes on the jumbotron. Hell, everyone in the arena was on the edge of their seat. Despite this ride being his do or die in the Championship, Branch still didn’t screw around in the chutes. He gave the nod and the gate flew open.
Chopperbucked out of the chute like he was on a personal mission to eviscerate the rider on his back, but Branch held onto that bull like he was riding a Rolls Royce rather than an enraged animal. The bull performed beautifully, deep kicks, all four feet off the ground like a ballet dancer. When the buzzer sounded, Branch pulled the tail of his rope and was out of there to the sound of wild applause. I was down over the barrier to the railings, my whistles one of many in the crowd. Branch spotted me and ran over, ripping his helmet off and kissing me until I saw stars. “I did it. I fucking did it,” he yelled and I nodded back like a lunatic.
“You’re the world champion,” I squealed back and he laughed.
I vaguely heard the announcers saying, “Well apparently a new team sponsor is not the only thing Dylan Montaigne and Branch Watson are sharing, AJ.” And I laughed, the high of the moment chasing away any worry I might have.
“Go, Mr. Champion. The crowd wants a victory lap!”
He kissed me one more time. “I love you Tessa May Everett. Will you marry me?”
I slapped a hand over my mouth, looking around at the other guys. Could I say yes?
“It’s okay. We’ve all discussed it,Querida.Say whatever your heart wants to say,” Frankie yelled over the noise.
“Yes! Branch, yes I’ll marry you!”
Branch whooped, kissed me one more time and then ran across the arena, the cheers of the crowd following him.
Epilogue
Five Years Later
The harsh summer sun was dipping below the horizon, and Judy was ringing the dinner bell. I gathered up the ropes and gloves that seemed to be strewn all over the dust, piling it in the back of the truck.
“Come on, kids. Let's go eat!” I hollered at the group of teens inside the practice chutes. Frankie and Branch waved, and started ushering them back toward the truck.
I stared at the lone mountain in the distance, deep in thought. Beau came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Hey Beautiful, what are you thinking so hard about?”
I look over my shoulder at one of the most handsome men I’d ever met. The way Beau loved me filled my heart ten times over until I felt like it would explode in my chest. “About retiring.”
He raised both eyebrows. “Retiring? From bull riding?”
“Well, I’m not about to retire from knitting, Beau Larkin.”
“No need to get snarky, Tessa May Watson.” He nuzzled my neck. “Gotta see this from my point of view. Only thing you ever wanted to be was a bull rider from the time you could walk. This talking about retiring is making me think you’ve been body snatched by aliens.”
“Well, you aren’t entirely wrong,” I laughed. “I’m pregnant.”
Beau whirled me around so I was facing him. “Seriously?”
