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“No, we don’t,” I said, more to convince myself than anything because, somewhere deep down, a nagging part of me wondered if that was really true. If Kinsley and I were just too stubborn to figure this out and make it last. Maybe if we just...
I shoved that thought aside, tucking it into a box on a shelf in my mind to let it gather dust. What-ifs and lingering thoughts wouldn’t do either of us any favours. Kinsley and I had tried and failed. It was well past time we accepted that reality and moved on from the idea of there being an “us”.
Still, I couldn’t stop my gaze from dropping to her mouth one last time, remembering how her lips felt against mine and how her body felt pressed against me. With a silent curse, I gave myself a mental shake.
Pulling away was the right call, no matter how my body and heart might protest. Kinsley and I simply didn’t work as a couple—at least, not in any lasting, permanent way. It was time I accepted that bitter truth once and for all.
“I got to get this guy put away for the night.” I gestured to Drifter patiently standing at my side.
Kinsley nodded slowly, chewing the inside of her cheek. “Okay, well, I should get going anyway. I’ll see you around, Wyatt.” She hurried off before I could say anything else.
“Bye, Kinsley,” I said, even though she was already out of earshot.
I got Drifter back to his stall and untacked him. I ran my hands slowly over each of his legs, checking for heat or swelling, but he felt good. “What are we going to do, old man?”
His ear flicked my way, and he eyed me as if to say, Who are you calling an old man?
I had no idea what I was going to do. Should I even ride him tomorrow and finish up this rodeo? Then what?
Damn, my life was a mess.
I filled Drifter’s water bucket and tossed him hay and a scoop of grain. I wanted a bed to hide in until all my problems went away, but I would settle for my tent and a sleeping bag that night. When I woke up tomorrow, all my problems would still be there.
Chapter 8
Vice - Miranda Lambert
Wyatt
The next morning, I decided a vet needed to check out Drifter to be sure he was okay. I didn’t want him to suffer any more than he already had, so I made the call to one of the rodeo vets on-site.
Dr. Lawson looked Drifter over and said all his vitals were normal. He felt around his legs for heat and swelling and took him through a series of exercises. After a thorough examination, the vet told me that Drifter was getting older and might be developing a mild arthritis. I could still ride him, and light exercise would be good for him, but I would probably need to step back from competing because he wouldn’t be able to go as hard as he used to.
The news didn’t come as a surprise but hearing it out loud still stung a bit. It was the end of an era. My life with Drifter as my rodeo partner was ending.
The vet handed me the bill for the exam, and I shoved it in my pocket without looking at it. It would be more than I had in my bank account. I would deal with it later.
I thanked the vet for his time and gave Drifter one last pat on the neck before heading back to the camp with a heavy heart.
“What did the vet say?” Finn asked when I got back.
“Exactly what we thought—old age and arthritis.” I sat down on a chair in front of the embers that remained from the fire we had at breakfast.
I saw the disappointment on Finn’s face. As my partner, this affected him too. “So, what are we going to do?” he asked.
I took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “I’m going to have to pull out of the rodeo.” With that, our dream of making a comeback was dead.
Finn nodded slowly, processing what that meant. He couldn’t compete alone. I felt awful for letting him down.
“You could find a new partner,” I pointed out.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But what’s the point? I was going to be done at the end of the season.” He slumped down into the chair next to me. “Wow. I didn’t think we were going out like this.”
“No kidding,” I said. “It would’ve been nice to have a last hurrah or whatever.”
“Go out a little nearer to the top.” The corner of his mouth twitched.
I grinned. “Yeah, maybe a little.”
