Page 88 of Untamed
The hand a bull rider uses to grip his bull rope is called his "riding hand."
She’s a distraction I don’t need, but can’t resist. I should have told her about Wyatt. I don’t know what I was thinking, but clearly I wasn’t. I can’t believe she’d been so cool about it and went with the flow of it.
“Do you have custody of Wyatt?” Maesyn asks, just before we head to New Orleans. It’s a nine-hour drive back to Decatur and there is no way I’m making that drive after a ride.
Britany had called and got us a hotel room in New Orleans for the night since the girls had never been there. We could have stayed in Biloxi again, but I wanted her to experience New Orleans.
I stumble over how to explain our situation with Wyatt in a way that makes sense. Everyone, including Britany’s parents who hate my goddamn guts, thinks we’re crazy for the way we’ve handled all this. “We split custody pretty even. When I’m in town I take him, but we don’t have a set plan.”
I knew Maesyn would be curious about the arrangements with Wyatt, and officially speaking, she hasn’t really met him other than in passing. I still can’t get her take on the situation either, or how mad she is that I asked her to come see me three thousand miles away and didn’t tell her I had a son. Not my best move by far.
“Will he be at your place?” she asks, her voice soft and even. There’s certainly no anger to it at least.
I glance over at her, the passing street lamps lighting the side of her face. “Not when we get there, but I’ll probably take him for a night before we leave for Tulsa. I usually do.”
She smiles. “What’s he like?”
Pride swells in my chest thinking of my son. “He’s . . . a lot like me. Determined. Stubborn. But he has the good qualities of Britany and her softer side.”
“You love her, don’t you?”
I swallow, like a lump’s lodged in my throat. “Not in the way you think, but yes, as the mother of my child I will always love her. She’s actually my best friend. I’ve known her for years and she’s always been there for me.”
I wait to see how she’s going to react to that. Most girls would get defensive, and have done so in the past. They’d tell me, well, make it work with her then or constantly compare themselves to Britany. Even before Wyatt . . . they just couldn’t get past the fact that my best friend was a girl.
But Maesyn, she’s never anything I assume she’s going to be, so I wait for her response.
Her smile’s genuine when she says, “I think that’s great that you guys are friends and make it work for Wyatt. I can’t wait to meet him.” She laughs. “I mean, like officially at least.”
My chest swells again, this time not with pride, but hope that maybe this might lead to more. And fear for it working out. I don’t need to be in a relationship. Especially not with the world finals coming up and the chance at a repeat championship on the line, but I’m reckless enough to let her in.
