He dragged a hand across his jaw. “I know. I just…there’s some stuff I’m not ready to face back home, you know?”
“Like what?”
Shoving his hands in his pockets as we waited for the elevator to arrive, he clenched his jaw hard and stared straight ahead. “So. What brought you all the way out here? I doubt it was that you couldn’t go another minute without hanging out with your big brother.”
I took off my hat and ran my fingers through my hair. “I know I should be thankful for the reality show. Ever coming to us saved our asses, and I get that. But, damn is it hard to have cameras in my face every damn day. They want me to be on the show now. Like really on it. They have a whole storyline they want for me. It’s good money, but Clint and Buck already don’t take me seriously as it is. If I do this shit, they’ll never think I’m enough.”
“What kind of storyline?”
I sighed. “They want me to fall in love with a contestant. The ratings were through the roof for Buck and Penny, and she wasn’t even a contestant on the show. I think they’re banking on Ryker Ranch wedding specials for the foreseeable future. You’re smart not to come back, they’ll rope you into one too.”
He chuckled as the doors opened and we stepped inside. “Doubtful.”
“That’s what Buck said. He’s getting married in six months.” At least both Clint and Buck were happy and in real relationships. “Next it’s me, then Sera, and if you come home, they’ll figure out a way to construct some love story for you.”
“They can try. Won’t happen.”
We stood in the elevator as it descended to the hotel lobby. Only a six-hour drive from Sunrise, I didn’t really understand why he would choose not to come home and see his family when he had two days between his competitions. But Sam always was a little distant from all of us.
“It’ll be good to kick back and catch up without some big event keeping us distracted. We can blow off some steam.” I stared at myself in the mirrored doors. I looked a lot like him, except my hair was the same straight blond as our mama’s. The rest of them got dad’s dark, curly locks.
“Yeah, it will.”
“Thanks for getting me a room on short notice.” God, I felt like a kid suffering from a case of hero worship, but I’d always looked up to my champion bull rider brother. From the time he started winning at local rodeos when I was little, he’d been my idol.
He shrugged. “Course. You’re my baby brother. I wasn’t gonna make you sleep in your truck, and I sure as shit wasn’t gonna share a bed with you.”
After we exited and made our way to the upscale hotel bar, I realized in any other circumstance, we’d be completely out of place in our boots and jeans. But tonight, the five-star hotel was packed with sponsors and bigwigs attached to the bull riding circuit, and everyone wanted a piece of my brother.
Sam glanced over his shoulder at me as yet another suited man with polished boots approached him. “I have to go talk to this guy. He’s one of my biggest sponsors.”
Honestly, I didn’t give a rat’s ass if he had to schmooze. Sure, I wanted to hang out with him, but I wanted something normal for a little while more than anything. “I’m good. Go do what you’ve gotta do. I’ll grab a drink and find someone to make my night a little prettier.”
He laughed and winked. “Stay out of trouble.”
“Oh, I’m always in trouble, Sammy.”
As he greeted his sponsor, I made my way to the bar and a whiskey. This place was full of men with money and women who could smell it on them. It wasn’t my kind of bar. Fuck, it wasn’t Sam’s either. But he made a ton off of his sponsors, and I wasn’t going to ruin that for him just because I was a fish out of the damn water.
“What’ll you have?” the pretty bartender asked, smiling and batting her lashes.
“Bourbon, neat.”
“Anything else?”
I shook my head and ignored her smile. “Just the bourbon. Keep ‘em comin’.”
The crowded bar was buzzing with the noise of multiple conversations happening at once. But at least I wasn’t on camera or watching everyone move on without me.
I was three bourbons deep when my brother sat beside me. “You good?”
Chuckling, I tossed back the last of my drink. “Golden. Want one?”
Sam shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.” He waved the bartender over, and again she was all smiles and fluttering lashes. “Club soda with a twist of lime, please, ma’am?”
She blushed and nodded, leaving and returning with his drink almost immediately.
“You make your sponsor happy?” I asked.
“Sure did.”
Holding up my empty glass, I clinked mine with his.
“How’s Mama doin’?” There was a faraway look in his eyes, and I wondered if he was missing life on the ranch more than he was letting on.
I shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Ever and Penny are really helping her a lot. ”
“She still watch?”
“Every single time she can.”
“I don’t want to hurt her by not coming home. You know that, right?”
“Honestly? No. It’s been years. You only stayed two days after Dad died. You’re like a ghost.”
“I don’t mean to be.”
“Doesn’t change the fact. We don’t need you on the ranch, but Mama needs you.”
“I know. Fuck, man. I’m sorry. I’ll do better.”
I clapped my hand on his shoulder. “Good. Now, let’s find us some company tonight. I didn’t drive all the way up here just to sit in some fancy bar.”
He laughed. “This isn’t really your kinda place, is it?”
“It’s not yours either.”
“There’s a dive bar two blocks from here. Wanna go? They’ve got a mechanical bull.”
“Fuck yeah, I do.”
Hazel
The warm, heavy air of the Horse & Cow was thick with the scents of hops and fried food. There wasn’t a single thing wrong with it. In fact, I loved everything about the place. This was the kind of bar Quinn would never be caught dead in. It spoke of blue-collar, hard-working, rough and tumble men who weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.
“Wow,” I whispered, taking in the wood-paneled walls and the beams supporting the ceiling that looked like whole trees. Bar-height tables were strewn haphazardly throughout the space, seemingly with no rhyme or reason to their placement. And the place was busy already. Cowboys outnumbered the regular guys two to one, drinking beers, laughing together, revving up for the night.
“Right? I like to come here when I get bored with the usual suspects.” Erin smiled and sauntered to the bar. All eyes were on her leather-clad ass, and I couldn’t help but laugh. She commanded a room without even realizing she was doing it.
Coming back to my side with two whiskey sours in her hands, she smirked. “You’ve been spotted.”
I followed her gaze to see two handsome cowboys looking in our direction. One with a slight hint of dark stubble covering his jaw and black curls mostly hidden by his cream-colored hat. He was polished in a way the other wasn’t. His clothing crisper, newer, boots shinier. The other man had me bringing my drink to my lips and taking a long gulp. Electric attraction sparked between us when our eyes met. He was more handsome than any man I’d ever seen in my life. Rugged, chiseled, but beautiful all the same. His hair was long, tied back at the nape of his neck, but the color of warm caramel shot through with gold.