Beau had told Scarlett to meet him after they announced his score so they could go find his family together. Because his friends couldn’t sit in the family section, his parents had gotten seats by them. Scarlett wondered why his parents didn’t at least sit by her in the family section so they could explain more about bull riding to her. Then again, they didn’t know how ignorant she was of all this. Either way, she was grateful she’d been alone. She’d met a new friend who, from the sound of it, Scarlett would be seeing a lot of. She was pretty sure Katie never would have come over if she hadn’t been sitting by herself.
“I’m sorry, Katie. It was so nice to meet you, but I have to go find Beau and congratulate him! Thanks for coming over here. I don’t know if I could have gotten through that alone.”
“It was my pleasure,” Katie assured her. “I hope to see you tomorrow! Take care now.”
Scarlett stood and shuffled over to the stairs. When she was at the bottom of the steps in their section, she turned and waved goodbye to her new friend, thankful there were women in this world who weren’t too shy—or too stuck-up—to come sit with the lonely girl who looked like she didn’t belong. She wasn’t sure how she’d gotten out of explaining how she and Beau had been set up by a matchmaker, or how they’d met at the altar, but she got out of there as fast as she could in case Katie suddenly remembered the unanswered questions she’d asked.
* * *
Beau had never ridden a bull as a married man, and if he’d thought it wouldn’t really affect him, he’d been dead wrong. Suddenly, his life revolved around one person, and one person only—Scarlett. His shy but witty wife of only twenty-four hours was now the center of his universe, and he was actually happy about it. That was what made this ride so difficult.
He’d always been willing to risk it all. He knew every time he got on a bull that he was risking it all. But now, that all had just grown to encompass another person. He was tied to her in a way that he hadn’t imagined was possible. It was unexpected, but welcome. Until he’d gotten on that bull. Suddenly, his mind had raced to her devastated face as he lay mangled on the ground, or leaving her as a widow, and his heart twisted in a way he’d never felt before. He’d quickly buried the feelings as he settled down onto his bull, but as soon as his ride was over, his concern for Scarlett returned.
The entire time he sat in the dirt by the fence waiting for his score, his thoughts were on her. And when they announced a 91.5, he’d felt the happiest he’d been in a long time. He wasn’t just doing it for himself anymore. He knew that he would make her proud too—and that meant something to him. Risking everything with her, and winning everything with her, brought back the passion he had been missing for the past couple of years.
Usually, after his score was announced, he tried to get away from the crowds as quickly as possible, but this time, he was walking straight into them.The difference was, he wasn’t avoiding girls anymore—he was looking for the only one who mattered. Thinking of her beautiful, smiling face made his stomach fill with warmth, and he wanted to pull her tightly into a hug more than anything else in this world. He couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been for her to watch all alone.
His parents had annoyed him when they’d decided to sit with Drew and Taryn over his new wife, but he tried to let it roll off his back. He was just getting used to feeling close to them again, and he didn’t want resentment to put a wedge between them now. He just hoped their actions weren’t motivated by malice toward his bride. Scarlett was wonderful, and he wanted them to see it for themselves.
“Beau!” Scarlett’s clear voice rang out above the steady hum of the many conversations taking place around him. He scanned the crowd in front of him, trying to catch a glimpse of her red hair, and his heart leaped in his chest when he saw her. She had a wide smile on her face, and was waving to get his attention. He lengthened his stride as much as he could to close the distance between them, and when he reached her, he picked her up in his arms and held her tight to his chest.
“I missed you, Scarlett. It feels weird to say because we haven’t known each other for very long, but I did. I missed you like crazy the past few hours, and I couldn’t wait to hold you again.”
“I missed you too,” Scarlett said into his ear, her warm breath on his skin sending tingles down his spine.
The two of them stayed like that—locked together, just soaking in the moment—for a while, the crowd shuffling around them, but Beau didn’t care. He felt like they had just survived a month apart enduring that ride together. Getting on that bull, he honestly didn’t know if he would ever hold her again, kiss her again, and each second away from her had been pulling on his heart.
Beau buried his face in her auburn hair and inhaled the sweet scent of honeysuckle. A flood of memories from the night before—sitting cross-legged on the hotel bed, facing one another, and asking each other a million questions—came rushing back. The way she’d held his hands in hers as she leaned in to kiss him, the way she’d tilted her head back when she laughed, the way she’d begged him to take her to a drive-thru for a chocolate shake at one in the morning—he loved it all. He loved everything about her.
She was unpredictable, and the truth was, he didn’t know how he’d ever lived without her. That thought scared him because now that they were married, he didn’t ever want to lose her. He prayed that she’d be okay with his riding, but he knew there was really no way to predict her feelings about it before she experienced the rodeo life for herself.
“Your ride was amazing,” Scarlett said. “I don’t really know much about bull riding, but you were so great. I was proud to be cheering for you.”
Beau smiled. He’d hoped that seeing him succeed would make her proud, and hearing it from her lips gave him so much satisfaction. When they finally parted, Beau looked into her brown eyes for a moment, trying to see if he could detect any lingering fear or worry about his ride. When he was satisfied that she seemed fine, he kissed her, really kissed her. And he didn’t care who saw. He wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her into him.
“It meant so much to have you here watching,” Beau said after reluctantly pulling his lips off hers.
“Well, now you won’t be able to get rid of me. I don’t think I could miss a ride, knowing how fun it is to watch you. Terrifying, but at the same time, exhilarating and addicting. The animals are so unpredictable, and even though I always want you to win, I found myself cheering for everyone, hoping they would at least ride for eight seconds.”
He laughed, watching her talk so animatedly about bull riding. She had been infected with the love for it—he could tell. He just hoped it would last after the first injury she witnessed. “Yeah, it’s a tough sport, but there’s so much satisfaction when you have a good ride. There’s nothing like it.”
“I’ll agree with you on that. So, should we go find the others? What’s the plan for the rest of the night?”
“Yeah, let’s go. We’re gonna meet up with everyone for dinner. I hope that’s okay with you. I just want them all to get to know you a little better.” Beau was still a little peeved that his parents had decided not to sit with her, but he wasn’t going to let her know that. He’d talk to them after dinner and get them to sit with her for the next few nights—if he made it that far. There was no guarantee going into a ride that he’d pull through to the next round, but he was hopeful he’d make it to the final—if not win it all.
“I’d love that.” Scarlett grabbed his hand, and they turned to walk to the section where the others were waiting. He was so grateful Scarlett was excited about bull riding. That day could have gone a lot differently if she wasn’t.
Eight
Scarlett felt like she was living in a whirlwind for the rest of the weekend. They’d gone out to dinner the first night, and after that, things started to blur together. This wasn’t the slow-paced, relaxing life she’d been hoping for, but it was different from her life in Hollywood because the focus wasn’t on her. No one was real
ly asking her for much of anything these days, and she wasn’t forcing smiles to hide her unhappiness and discontent. For the first time in a long time, Scarlett was genuinely happy and excited about life.
Meeting Beau’s family had been wonderful. She had only gotten a glimpse of them at the wedding when she and Beau walked out after the ceremony, and she was happy to be spending so much time with them this weekend. If she couldn’t be with Beau, she could at least get to know him through his friends and family—although she was quite sure they were picking out the most embarrassing stories they could think of to tell her. Beau would probably be furious if he knew what they were saying about him, but she was happy to have a little ammunition to tease him with since he was teasing her all the time.
She’d spent the most time with Beau’s parents because Drew, Taryn and Lily couldn’t sit in the family section, and they seemed nice. His dad owned a farm equipment supply store in Grace Lake, Idaho—where Beau was originally from and where Drew, Taryn, and Lily all lived now. And his mom was a homemaker who worked at the local library part time for fun. Beau, she’d learned, had moved to a ranch in northern Nevada. He’d made enough money to buy the place after joining the PBR several years ago.
Scarlett wasn’t confident in a lot of things in her life, especially when it came to meeting other people, but she loved being around Beau’s parents and friends, and if she was reading them right, she’d say they liked her too.
“Scarlett! Big day! How do you think Beau will do?” Katie’s cheery voice was close, and Scarlett jumped a little.
She turned to see Katie crouched down in the aisle, holding on to the armrest of her chair for balance. “Oh, Katie! You scared me.” Scarlett laughed. “I was kind of zoned out there for a second.”
“Sorry, hon! Didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to say good luck and see how you were feeling. It’s been so fun seeing you this weekend. Can we please stay in touch when this is over?” Katie’s big blue eyes looked genuinely hopeful, and Scarlett was so glad she’d said something.
“I would love that! Here, let me give you my number. Beau said there’s another big event here in Vegas next month. The NLR or something like that?” Scarlett looked through her purse for her phone. She never could find anything in there when she needed it.
“I think you mean the NFR,” Katie said with a giggle, “and yes! I’ll be here. We come every year.”
“Perfect! That means I’ll see you again. How’s your brother today? I was so bummed when he didn’t make it through to the final round last night.”
“Oh, Collin is all right. He’s young. He’s just happy to be here right now, honestly. He was thrilled to make it as far as he did. For a young kid who doesn’t have even half as much experience as most of these other cowboys, he did great.”
“Well, I hope he makes it to the NFR, but if not, I’m glad you’ll still be there!”
“Me too. It’s been so fun to watch you cheer on Beau. I can see how much you love him when you watch him ride. He’s lucky to have you.”
“I’ll make sure to remind him how lucky he is,” Scarlett said jokingly. Meanwhile, her mind was racing around the words Katie had just spoken. Had she really just suggested that Scarlett loved Beau? Was it so obvious that Katie could see it in the way that she looked at him? Could she really love Beau already? She thought about the last few days, and while she’d loved spending time with him, and kissing him, and watching him ride, she wasn’t quite sure she was ready to call what she felt for Beau love.
“You’d better! All right, I’d better go find my family. It was nice seeing you again before this is all over. Have a safe trip home. I’ll be in touch!” Katie had a hard time keeping eye contact with Scarlett after she’d talked about Beau, and Scarlett had the distinct impression that she was thinking about her late husband.
Katie tried to act happy and bubbly, but Scarlett could easily sense loneliness in people because it was such a familiar feeling to her—she’d dealt with it almost her whole life. Part of her wanted to comfort her new friend, or at least find out what happened to her husband. Scarlett’s worst fear was that he’d died riding bulls, and it made her worry about Beau even more. She didn’t feel like they were close enough to bring up something so obviously painful. If Katie wanted to share, she would.
* * *
Beau threw his helmet in the dirt after he climbed over the fence. There’d be no score to wait for this time, and he was incredibly disappointed in his performance in the championship round. He’d expected more from himself, and he’d thought that this might actually be the year that he’d win it.
Everything inside of him tightened when he saw Josh running to catch up with him. The last thing he wanted was to be patronized right now. He didn’t want to hear “You did great!” or “I’m sorry,” and he knew that’s exactly what anyone who cared about him would say. That’s what they were supposed to say—he just didn’t want to hear it. He wanted to be alone, but he also knew that he owed it to Josh to talk to him about the ride. They’d been on the road together all year. It was the least he could do, especially after he’d spent so much time with Scarlett this weekend. He’d hardly seen Josh except right before he got in the shoot to ride his next bull.
“Beau, man, that was a dagger to the heart. You were so close to the buzzer. I’m sorry,” Josh said as he patted Beau on the back.
Beau wanted to cringe and shy away from the attention, but he forced himself to look at Josh. “Yeah, that was a rough ending. I tried to predict what the bull was going to do because I’d ridden him before, but everything always goes so much better when I take the animal’s movements as they come instead of trying to anticipate them.” He picked up his helmet and slapped it as a curse word slipped from his mouth. Beau had wanted the title this year more than ever. He’d thought it would be the perfect end to the weekend. Getting married and becoming the PBR World Champ—it couldn’t get better than that.
“I get it, man, but it’s natural when you think you know how to handle a certain bull. You’ve got to let it go. You did so well. Don’t punish yourself for falling short a half second,” Josh pleaded.
“The judges did.”
“Exactly. So now you don’t have to. Let’s just focus on the NFR."
“Yeah, you’re right.” As angry as he felt right now, he didn’t want to dwell on what had just happened. Focusing on the NFR next month would help him put this bad ride out of his mind, and he was grateful to have something else to look forward to.
The crowd was sending him off with loud cheers, but he knew he wouldn’t feel better until he was out of the arena, his new bride by his side, headed north on the highway back up to his ranch. Hopefully, the outcome would be different next time.
“Thanks for being here with me this weekend. We’ve had a great year so far, and there isn’t anyone else I’d rather work with.” The words were hard for Beau to speak. He wasn’t good at expressing his feelings most of the time, but he could tell it meant a lot to Josh by the look on his face.
“I’m happy to help, Beau. Don’t get me wrong—I’ll be glad to just be on the ranch for a couple of months this winter, but traveling with you over the years has been a blast. Don’t kick me to the curb because you went and got married, okay?”
Beau pictured Scarlett’s face in his mind, and despite his disappointment, he couldn’t help but be a little excited to take her home and show her the ranch. Things about his lifestyle suddenly seemed more special and new to him since marrying Scarlett. Knowing that she was from California and had never experienced the country lifestyle made him want to show her all the good things she’d been missing.
“Don’t worry.” Beau laughed. “Scarlett doesn’t know the first thing about running a ranch.”
Everyone had planned to meet by Beau’s truck once his ride was over, and seeing Scarlett laughing with his parents and friends made him proud to call her his wife.
“Sorry I had to make you drive separately this time,” Bea
u said to Josh before they got close enough that everyone would hear.
“Nah, I understand. You and your bride need time to get to know each other. You know, since you didn’t before you got married,” Josh said sarcastically.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe I’m not so sorry I won’t have to hear you run your mouth for the next five hours.”
“Hey! Don’t forget that if I hadn’t called you out on your B.S., you’d be sulking and alone for the rest of your life.”
“You know, normally I wouldn’t give in this easy, but I’m so happy with Scarlett, I’ll let you have this one. Thanks for helping me pull my head out. I needed someone to kick my butt into gear and help me move on,” Beau admitted.
Josh shot Beau a smirk, but they were now within earshot of everyone waiting by the truck, so he didn’t say anything back.
“Hi, guys.” Beau wasn’t looking forward to facing his loved ones. Despite everyone’s best intentions, anything they said would be like salt in his wounded pride.
“Oh, Beau! We’re so proud of you!” His mom was the first to speak, and she hugged him fiercely.
He wasn’t quite sure how he could tell, but something was different about his parents today. “Thanks, Mom,” Beau said as he relaxed into her arms.
His dad, Drew, Taryn, and Lily all gave their own condolences and hugged him while Scarlett waited patiently. He’d wanted to push through everyone and snatch her up in his arms when he’d first gotten to the truck, but they’d have the next five hours on the road together, and he wanted to send everyone else away as quickly as possible so they could be alone.
“Come here, you,” Beau said as he pulled Scarlett into his arms.
Her warm body pressing into his was such a comforting feeling, He finally felt like he could take a deep breath again. He wasn’t sure how a person could feel like home, but Scarlett did.
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