He dropped the reins of the horse he was leading to offer clasped hands for Georgia to use as a makeshift step to climb aboard Jake. She rolled her eyes, lifted her foot into the stirrup, and threw her other leg across the saddle. “Lead on, Cowboy.”
Wyatt didn’t move from his slightly bent position, fingers still laced together, jaw open. “H-how…how the hell did you do that?”
She pressed her heels into Jake’s sides and he started off on a slow trot. “Do you think I quit doing something I loved just because you disappeared? I ride all the time, Wyatt.” She lowered her chin and captured his stare. “It hurt like hell when you left, but my life didn’t pause at eighteen just because you couldn’t be bothered to hang around.”
A flash of pain flittered across his face, but she tried to ignore it. The girl who stood on his doorstep crying had a few pent-up zingers to dole out.
He offered a brief nod of resignation before mounting his own horse and beginning the tour. She silenced the small voice inside whining because he really was keeping it business only. That stupid part that wanted to bitch him out for hurting her and then see exactly how thoroughly he could make up for all the pain he caused.
Georgia had prepared herself for Wyatt’s overzealous charm—which he did indeed lavish on her—but she hadn’t expected the passion in his voice. Not for her, but for his ranch, his training camp, and the future competition.
His hands waved over the barren expanse as he described the main office for the training camp, the indoor arena, the paddock, and the dozens of boxes he’d have filling the various stables to house the horses.
“It will be amazing, Gigi. No one within a hundred miles has anything like this. And the big rodeo is going to be great for tourism. I’ve already gotten some of the highest-ranking guys to agree to come to the opening and the first competition.” A wide grin split his face. “It’s gonna be awesome.”
When they crested the hill that overlooked another area, he dismounted first and rushed to help her down. Her body slid against his as he lowered her to the ground, and heat coursed through her veins. Her face flushed when he gave her a cocky grin, and she stepped away quickly.
In the distance sat the framework of a house. His house. On the other side of the property, far from all the chaos of the planned facility, he was building a sprawling home with an enormous attached garage and a wraparound porch.
She walked a few feet over to a massive tree and leaned against it as her eyes drank in everything on the ranch in the valley below. “This really is impressive, Wyatt.”
The fact that it was everything they’d talked about when they were teenagers stuck in her throat. She couldn’t manage to remind him of the dreams they’d shared, too scared he’d forgotten. That knowledge would break her more than his departure, knowing that he didn’t remember every moment of them the way she did.
From behind her, he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. After a few moments, she allowed herself to relax against his broad chest. Just this once, she told herself, just for a moment. “I couldn’t wait to bring you here, Gigi.”
Her breath caught in her throat. No, she couldn’t let herself listen to those words, to read too much into them, to dare to believe… “Either me or another convenient, willing, warm body…right, Cowboy?”
Wyatt turned her in his embrace, pressing her against the tree. “Dammit, Gigi, no!” He bent, moving his face just inches from her. “How in the hell could you say that…could you think that? There has never—and I mean never—been anyone like you.”
Georgia’s hands flew to his face. “How could I say that? Wyatt, you left. You bailed. You promised me we’d go together and then you just disappeared.”
He moved one hand from her waist to the back of her head and into her hair. A groan escaped her mouth, and she quickly bit her bottom lip.
“Dammit, Gigi, I had my reasons, and I thought I was doing the right thing, and I was trying…oh hell.” He growled and crashed his mouth against hers.
Memories began to flood through her mind as she slid her hands around his neck. Their first kiss. Shy, a little awkward, and far too public with her father and grandparents peeking from behind the curtains.
And their last. When he dropped her off at home and she’d gone to bed, hopeful and happy and certain of their future. The kiss that had haunted her dreams for the past dozen years.
She broke free, swallowing back the lump forming in her throat. This was supposed to be business, and she’d just broken her own damn rule.
But the eighteen year old inside of her who broke down into tears when she learned of his departure had questions that needed answers. Maybe giving him just a little affection would help her unlock those secrets. Eventually. Then she could finally have closure for one part of her life. She offered a tight smile. “You, um, you said something about lunch? Because I’m suddenly starving.”
Chapter Eight
Wyatt
Thirteen Years Earlier
Wyatt tugged the heavy duffel bag out of his locker. It really was too big to fit in there, but he didn’t have a choice. He had to bring all his gear with him so he could go straight to training when his dad showed up after school. Part of the responsibility of blazing his own trail. Or so his father told him.
He finally yanked it free, hiked it up on his shoulder alongside his backpack, spun on his heel to leave, and…
Jumped three feet in the air.
“Damn, girl, have you ever heard of making your presence known?”
She ducked her head and tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. “Sorry.” She mumbled the word and shuffled her clunky combat boots. “I-I just…I just wanted to thank you. For…you know, last week and for not saying anything. Here. To anyone. Or…or whatever.”
She was beautiful. Even though she added a thick coat of makeup to pale her skin and darken her eyes, she couldn’t hide it. The dazzling hazel irises with tiny flecks of gold were sure as hell captivating. And even when they were coated with thick, matte black, her lips curved into a gorgeous smile. Although that was a rare occurrence.
Yeah, he was falling for the goth girl. Shit, this so wasn’t in the plan.
Wyatt glanced around at the empty hallway before hooking a finger under her chin and forcing her eyes to meet his. “I’m sure I don’t have any idea what you’re talkin’ about there, Gigi.” He winked before turning to leave.
A dozen steps later, a hand landed on his arm. “What…what the hell did you just call me?”
He grinned down at her incredulous expression. Yeah, she was pretty damn cute, even with all the crap on her face. “I called you Gigi.”
She narrowed her gaze, but the corners of her mouth twitched. “Why?”
Wyatt bent down, close to her ear. “Because Georgia just doesn’t fit you and Angel is only for when we’re alone.” His lips grazed her cheek as he stood up, and his chest puffed out when he saw the pink stain peeking out from beneath her makeup.
Gigi folded her arms in front of her. “First of all, I’m not some emaciated animal you can adopt from the shelter and rename whatever you want. My name is Georgia. And second, when did I agree to be alone with you?”
Getting under her skin was quickly becoming his favorite pastime. “Well, ya haven’t. Yet. But you will.” He reached for her hand and began walking backwards, tugging her with him. “Hey, you can come with me to training tonight. We won’t be alone, my dad’s driving but—”
“I-I can’t.” She firmed her stance and pulled free from his grip, wrapping her arms around herself. “I need to get home. My mom…remember?”
This time Wyatt grabbed both of her hands. “And when was the last time you did something for you, Gigi? Something other than school or helping to take care of your mom?” He dropped his voice to the tone he used on skittish colts, barely more than a whisper, in case anyone stumbled upon them in the hallway. He was fairly certain she’d launch into a tirade if she knew he was handling he
r the way he would a feisty horse, but the technique worked. “Something completely, totally, and selfishly all about you.”
Her mouth opened and closed several times before she finally shook her head. “I haven’t. My family needs me.”
He nodded. “I bet they do, and I’m pretty damn sure you do an amazing job helping out. But I’m just as sure that you need something too.” Wyatt gave her another wink and a grin. “And that something is to see the best freaking bull rider in the state of North Carolina train on Lightning Bolt tonight.”
Finally her face relaxed and she smiled. Yeah, she had one hell of a smile. “Exactly how many bull riders are in the state of North Carolina?”
“Well, that’s a damn fine question.” He slid one hand down her arm and laced his fingers through hers. “But it really doesn’t matter, Gigi, because you’ve got the finest specimen right here.”
She laughed. His Dark Angel actually laughed. If he thought her smile was gorgeous, her laugh was breathtaking. He didn’t even care that she was laughing at him; he just wanted to make sure he heard that sound a lot more often. Shouldn’t be an issue, not for Wyatt Carlisle.
As soon as they got outside, she tugged on his hand and his stomach plummeted. The tension was back on her face. His mind raced to think of something to bring back the small amount of light that had been there before.
“I, um, I should call home. Ask, ya know?”
Yeah, she should. Dumbass, he cursed himself silently. His slid his phone out of his back pocket and held it out to her. “Here ya go, Gigi.” He reluctantly released her hand and jerked his thumb over to the lamppost a few dozen feet away. “I’ll wait over there for you, okay?”
She nodded and offered a little smile before flipping open his phone. He crossed the few feet and leaned up against the cold metal, trying to keep Gigi in his peripheral vision without looking like a total creep. His dad’s dark blue truck stopped in front of him while she was still on the phone.
Wyatt pulled open the door and threw his gear onto the front seat. “Hey, Dad…” He shot a quick glance over at Gigi, nodding and smiling into his cell phone. “I kinda asked someone to come with us tonight.”
Mike Carlisle followed his son’s eyes. His brows shot up in surprise. “I’m guessing that’s your mystery guest?”
His head dropped. “Yes, sir, but listen, she’s…going through some stuff. I just…” He sighed heavily before locking his gaze with his father. “She needs someone, I think, and…”
“And you want to be that someone?”
What the hell? His cheeks felt hot? No. No way. Wyatt Carlisle may do a hell of a lot of things, but one thing was for damn sure, he never blushed. “Yes, sir.”
The older Carlisle dipped his chin and pinned Wyatt with the same penetrating stare that made him confess to force feeding his younger brother Connor a mud pie when he was seven. “How did you do on your last calculus test?”
A glacier of dread settled in the pit of Wyatt’s stomach. He swallowed a few times. Not as well as his parents wanted, not as well as they expected. Par for the course. Even if they never said it, he knew he was a glaring disappointment. Especially when he stood beside Tanner’s golden glow. “I got a C.”
Michael’s mouth pressed into a thin line for a brief moment before the tension drained from his face. He offered a quick, curt nod. “That’s an improvement. You’re going to keep that up, right?”
He damned sure was going to try, but getting the numbers, letters, and symbols to make sense in his head was harder than any challenge he faced. But he no longer had an option; it was pass or lose training. “Yes, sir.”
His father chuckled, and the heavy air dissipated at the sound. “All right, son, if you’re ready to let your girlfriend see you get your ass handed to you by Lightning Bolt, who am I to judge?”
“No way, Dad, tonight’s the night. I’m gonna ride that bull for the full eight.” Girlfriend? Was that what she was?
Just then a small, soft hand linked with his. He looked down and she lifted her shoulder as she handed his phone back to him. “They said it’s okay as long as I’m home by ten.” Her eyes twinkled beneath the heavy charcoal liner. “I get to watch the Rhinestone Cowboy at work.”
Pleasure hummed through his veins and he squeezed her hand. He slammed the front door shut and opened the back one, climbing in right behind her. “All right, Gigi, prepare to be amazed.”
Yeah, girlfriend sounded about right.
Five hours, a dinner where Gigi managed to charm the pants off his father, and many more falls than he wanted her to see later, he walked her to her front door. “Did you have fun?”
The smile she pinned him with was dazzling. “You were right, Cowboy. I was amazed. Amazed that one man could fall that many times and still be stupid enough to get back up and try again.”
Wyatt tried his damndest not to laugh. “That’s not stupid, Gigi. That’s tenacity.”
She tipped her head back slightly and laughed. “Whatever you wanna call it to make yourself feel better there, Cowboy.”
He dipped his head down and caught her lips in an all too brief kiss, fully aware of the knowing eyes of his father trained on them from the truck still idling in the driveway. “Does that mean I can call you mine, Angel? Because that would be the best damn feeling in the world.”
Twinkling eyes locked with his and she produced a coin out of nowhere, holding it up in front of his nose. “Flip ya for it?”
“Flip…you mean for you?” Intrigue and confusion went to war in his brain. What the hell was she doing?
She tossed the piece of silver in the air, grabbed it, and smacked it onto the back of her hand, covering it with the other one. “For us. Heads I’ll be your girlfriend, tails—”
“I’ll be your boyfriend.” No way in hell was he leaving this to chance.
Matte black lips curled into a smile as she spread her fingers, revealing the head of the coin. “Looks like you win, Cowboy.”
He snatched the silver disc from the back of her hand and stuck it in his pocket with a wink and a smile. “I like keeping proof of my wins.”
***
Georgia
Her eyes went from the massive beast standing beside Wyatt to the cowboy himself and then back again. “You expect me to get on that?”
In a move she never understood, no matter how many times she’d seen him do it over the past month they’d been dating, he threw his head back and laughed without dislodging his hat. “Aww, come on, Gigi. Macy is the smallest horse here that’s still strong enough to hold both of us. And gentle as a little dove.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “That thing has to weigh ten times what I do.”
His eyes washed over her charcoal hoodie, black jeans, and standard clunky boots before languidly trailing back up to her eyes. She wasn’t sure if she should feel flattered by his openly admiring gaze or offended. When a slow smile spread over his lips and he hooked a finger in her belt loops to draw her closer, she went willingly and decided to go with flattered.
Wyatt’s lips brushed against hers lightly, snaking his arm around her waist. “Trust me, Angel, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He kissed her again, sealing his whispered promise.
She couldn’t help but shiver slightly in his embrace. The irony that the stupid freaking cowboy had not only become her boyfriend, but her ally and champion trickled through her mind again. “If that thing tosses either one of us, you’ve gotta lose the hat for a week.”
A look of horror spread across his face briefly before the cocky smile slipped back into place. She’d never admit how much she loved that smile. “A cowboy ditching his hat is damn near sacrilegious, but I’ve got faith in my horses, so you’re on, Gigi.” He snuck another kiss. “But what’re you gonna put on the line when I win?”
Georgia flattened her palms against his shirt. “How about I give up the black lipstick for a week?”
He nuzzled into her neck. “No way in hell, Angel. I like when you leave reminde
rs of all the places your lips have touched. I have a better idea.”
She leaned back in his arms. “That sounds scary.”
“If you survive this, you come home with me every Monday after school and we ride.”
Her smile fell and she stepped out away from him. “Wyatt, you know I can’t. I already go with you every Friday night for training. I need to check on my mom and give Dad and Grandma a break and—”
He covered her mouth. “And you need to do something you like. I think you’ll like riding and I know damn well you like spending time with me.” He winked and she couldn’t help but smile under his hand. “Two days a week you get to be sixteen and have fun. Two days is all I’m asking.”
Georgia swallowed back the tears that threatened. She didn’t need this. She didn’t need him to care. She didn’t need him to force her to look beyond…no, she really didn’t need this, but it felt so good. Instead of speaking, she simply nodded.
The smile he gave her, the real Wyatt smile, was worth the compromise. He swung himself up into the saddle easily then pointed to the small set of two wooden steps. “Stand there and then give me your hand, Gigi. Put your left foot in the stirrup and swing your right leg over. I’ll do the rest.”
Before she knew it, she was seated in the saddle behind him and tramping down her nerves. They would be fine. And even if they weren’t, that just meant she’d get to weasel Wyatt out of his hat. She grinned as she wrapped her arms around his torso. Yeah, that’d be worth a sore backside or even a broken arm.
His hand covered hers briefly and they started out at a slow pace. She could practically feel the need to race coursing through his body and smiled a little knowing he was holding back for her. Georgia rested her cheek against his back and tightened her hold.
This stupid freaking cowboy was pretty special.
Chapter Nine
Wyatt
Present Day
Meant To Be Different Page 6
