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“You know, Rhett,” Finn started, but I elbowed him in the ribs. “Hey!”
I looked at him and shook my head. I was not about to let him reveal Maisey’s crush on Rhett, which was exactly what he’d been about to do.
“Never mind,” Finn mumbled.
I thought they would make a cute couple. Maisey was a sweetheart, and Rhett was a good guy, but he was also complicated, and Maisey probably didn’t need that.
Maisey’s time was the one to beat, but nobody came close. When Kinsley’s turn was up, I went up on my toes trying to see her in the chute. Gambler’s head was up in the air, the whites of his eyes showing. Kinsley was trying to hold him back. Her lips were moving; she was talking to him and patting his neck, trying to get him to calm down.
“Shit.”
A loud clang rang out as he sent a hard kick into the metal dividers.
“That horse is all strung out,” Finn murmured.
Get off, Kinsley. Please.
The girl didn’t know fear, and it sometimes made her reckless. She walked Gambler in a tight circle, continuing to speak softly to him. It did the trick. He was calming down. She stopped and stood facing the arena, waiting for her cue to go.
“That’s better,” Finn said.
I nodded in agreement, but I still wasn’t breathing.
At the cue, Kinsley and Gambler took off for the first barrel, but it was too fast. He was going to overshoot it, like he had last weekend. Kinsley tried to rein him in tighter, get him around closer to the barrel, but he was going too fast.
Time slowed down as I watched the scene unfold before me, every detail etched into my mind with painful clarity. Gambler’s shoulder fell in, and I saw the moment his balance shifted, the way his hooves scrambled for purchase on the dirt. My heart seized in my chest, a cold fist of dread squeezing the air from my lungs.
Kinsley pitched to the side; her body thrown off balance by Gambler’s misstep. Her blonde hair whipped around her face, obscuring her features, but I could imagine the look of surprise and fear in her blue eyes that always seemed so fearless, so alive with determination and fire.
And then, with a sickening crack that echoed through the arena, Kinsley’s head slammed into the barrel. The sound reverberated through my bones, turning my blood to ice. I watched, frozen in horror, as her body went limp and crumpled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.
There was a collective inhale of breath throughout the crowd, but I couldn’t breathe at all. My lungs constricted, and my throat closed as panic gripped my body. The world around me faded away. The silence of the crowd was a deafening roar in my ears. All I could see was Kinsley, lying motionless in the dirt, terrifyingly still.
Memories flashed through my mind in rapid succession: Kinsley’s laugh, her teasing smile, and the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at me. The thought of losing her, of never seeing that light in her eyes again, sent a wave of nausea rolling through my gut.
The horse got up, but Kinsley didn’t move.
Without hesitation, I jumped over the rail and sprinted across the arena. My feet pounded against the ground, each step feeling like an eternity as I raced towards her. I couldn’t think, couldn’t feel anything beyond the overwhelming need to get to her and make sure she was okay.
The medics were right behind me, shouting things I couldn’t comprehend over the ringing in my ears. Shock had taken over my body, muting the chaotic scene around me. All that mattered was Kinsley, and the desperate prayer in my mind. Please, let her be okay. I can’t lose her. Not like this. Not ever.
The medics carefully loaded Kinsley onto a stretcher, securing her neck in a brace. Her eyes were closed, her beautiful face smudged with dirt. I grasped her limp hand in both of mine, refusing to let go even as the medics lifted her into the ambulance.
The medic stopped me from climbing in with a hand to the chest. “Are you family?”
“She’s my girlfriend. Please, I have to go with her. Her family isn’t even in town.”
He considered a moment, studying my face, which must have told him something because he nodded and allowed me to climb into the ambulance.
The wail of the siren barely registered in my stunned mind as we sped toward the hospital.
My heart raced as I sat in the back of the ambulance, my eyes never leaving Kinsley’s face. The medics worked around me, attaching various monitors and an IV. All I could focus on was the steady rise and fall of her chest—the only sign that she was still with me.
I clutched her hand tighter, silently willing her to wake up, to flash me that dazzling smile and tell me everything would be alright. But her eyes remained closed, her face unnaturally still.
A lump formed in my throat as I realized how much I needed her, how empty my life would be without her light. Memories flooded my mind again: the first time we met, the way her laughter filled the air, and the stolen glances and electric touches that always left me wanting more. I had tried to deny it for so long, to push her away and protect my battered heart, but in that moment, with the very real possibility of losing her forever, I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.
I loved her.
