Chapter Thirteen

Owen read his text to Wreck one last time before he sent it. We got you a ticket to the rodeo tonight, if you want to hang out. I'm leaving it at Will Call for you. Hope you come out, man. Send.

Gunner and Ace and Captain might be upset if they knew he was texting Wreck, because they were still pissed that he'd tried to kill them at the river, but Owen thought there had to be something to that. How had he known they were out there? Had he been following them? Had their fighting set him off? Had he lost control of his animal? It was probably lonely being Wreck. He probably wouldn't show up, but he was a part of the Fastlanders, whether any of them liked it or not. Damon had pushed for that, and even though none of them knew the reasons for that yet, Owen had lived in the territory of the dragon and his seers long enough to know the truth would reveal itself eventually.

Wreck should be included tonight.

"I mean…I've had worse," Captain said, glaring at the canned strawberry margarita in his hands.

"See?" Owen said. "You're broadening your horizons. You're welcome."

"I would rather drink horse piss," Gunner assured them from where he sat in a camp chair near the unlit firepit.

"Your loss," Owen said, finishing the rest of his mango flavored beverage.

"You guys are so weird," Ace muttered, eyes on Gunner's singlewide, where the girls had every single light in the place turned on.

"How long does it take girls to get ready?" Captain muttered. "We aren't getting any younger."

"Patience is a virtue," Owen pointed out, "And plus look. We all get more quality time together."

Captain scrunched up his face. "I hate all of you. I don't want extra time with you."

Damn, there was truth in his voice.

"Why don't you leave then," Gunner growled.

"Captain stood up and threw his margarita can down. "Wanna go, baby brother?"

Owen stood fast and got between them, pushing Captain back. "Not tonight, boys."

"Every night!" Captain barked out, looking around Owen to glare at his brother.

"Are you already fighting?" Hallie demanded from the porch of her and Gunner's house.

"No!" Owen said, like he was getting in trouble for something. "Wait. I don't care about this." He pushed off Captain's chest. "Kill each other."

For a second, he had cared about making a peaceful Crew for Silver, but the Fastlanders were what they were. They would always fight. They would always be a disaster. It was best for Silver to adjust to the dynamics early on. Owen shook his head and looked up at Hallie, but she wasn't alone anymore.

Silver stood on the porch next to her, and oh. My. God.

She wore those little Wrangler cut-off shorts over her tanned curvy legs, the boots he'd bought her, and some shirt he didn't recognize. It was a white diamond of fabric across her torso that tied in the back with a single string, and around the back of her neck. Her hair was curled and brushed out in loose waves, and the blonde highlights in front framed her face under her cowgirl hat. Her make-up was all done up, and Owen couldn't make his body move if he tried.

She kept her gaze on him as she walked up to him, clutching a little fringe purse to her side. "You like it?"

He cleared his throat, and blinked hard, trying to jar any kind of intelligent response loose. "Like it a lot."

She giggled, and as her cheeks turned a pretty pink color, he could not believe she was his. Couldn't believe he was this lucky. Her eyes were such a bright gold, like her lioness was close to the surface, and God, he couldn't not touch her.

He slid his hand around hers and allowed himself to look her up and down as he spun her slowly. "Woman, you're somethin' else."

Hallie and Corey were done up in a similar fashion, Hallie with black boots and a black cowgirl hat, and Corey with tan-on-tan. Curled hair, make-up all done, booty shorts, and Owen was sure they had the lookers of the rodeo. Silver though? Silver was a freakin' goddess.

Fight forgotten completely, they piled into Gunner and Ace's trucks and headed into town for the final night of the rodeo.

On the way, Corey went over the names of the bull shifters with Silver, and they decided who they wanted to cheer for. They were going for the shifters, not the human riders, naturally.

He liked listening to Silver and Corey's rapport. They got along. They laughed easy. It was a natural friendship that warmed his heart and made his world seem right.

Silver deserved this. She deserved friends who would support her and have fun with her, not whatever fucked up friendship she'd had with one of Rook's Queens.

He was probably going to get Corey some kind of present next time he was in town, but he wouldn't tell her why, and he would put it off like it wasn't a big deal. What she was doing for the woman who held his heart? He internally nodded. Okay, Corey. He'd been uninvested with her being a part of the Fastlanders before, but now? She was just fine by him. Secretly, he would find ways to make sure her life was better, because that's what he'd always done. It was his way. If someone did something for him, he found ways to repay them, and Corey being kind to Silver, and opening her up even faster? Hell yeah.

"Do y'all ever stop yapping?" Captain asked as Ace crawled his truck behind Gunner's in search of a parking spot in a huge open field with rows of parked trucks and cars.

"What's your problem, man?" Owen gritted out. "Let them be happy."

"I need out of this truck," Captain said, rolling down the window like he was claustrophobic.

"What's your email, and I'll send you your ticket," Silver said, frowning down at her phone. "That way we can all do our own thing if we want."

"Just send the tickets in a group chat," Corey said from the passenger's seat, twisting in her seat to tell Silver all the numbers of the Fastlanders.

In a few moments, Owen's phone buzzed in his pocket, and sure enough, Silver had started a group chat with every member of the Fastlanders but Wreck. That was okay. He could add him later. He would leave a ticket at Will Call.

Corey posted in the group chat after the row of ticket QR codes. "Take the ticket in order of your rank in the Crew so we don't double up."

The Crew parked and piled out of the two trucks, the girls chattering like they hadn't seen each other in a year instead of the thirty-minute drive to the rodeo grounds. It did Owen's heart good to see how Silver drifted happily between conversations with the girls, and back to him, the girls again, then him. She was happy and it was feeding his animal. Inside of him, the boar was quiet but watchful. Content, even.

She was so damn pretty. Right now, he was walking right behind her, and her back was completely bare except for the straps of her little shirt. Her shorts were the high waisted kind that cinched in her hips and showed off the delicious curves of her butt, and good grief, he was a lucky man.

He wanted to have like twelve little mini-boars with this woman, and he'd never felt that way ever in his life with anyone. She kicked up his boar instincts. Silver didn't need to know that this soon though. He didn't want her to run if she found out how important she already was to him.

He had to be cool, and give her space, and let her find happiness outside of that awful Pride, and pray that happiness was with him.

The pressure was off tonight though. Tonight, he would stand by, quietly protective as Silver and the girls had fun. He would make sure she could be her exact self in a safe environment, where no one took the wind out of her sails. Silver being happy made him happy. It felt like a fuel to him. He wanted more and more of her smiles, and to hear the sound of her laughter, and to revel in the way she pitched her voice up louder when she was excited.

He didn't know a damn thing about love, but he was probably getting close.

Silver said something to the girls up ahead and dropped back suddenly to him, wrapped her arms around his waist and walked with him in stride.

Warming from the inside out, Owen slid his arms around her. "What's that for?" he asked.

"I'm just really happy to be here and I'm really proud to be beside you and everything just seems so surreal. I can't believe I'm at a rodeo!"

The humble excitement in her voice pulled at his heart. She'd been through hell. He could tell, and he was going to learn everything about that hell eventually. He would ask, and listen when she needed it. He would make sure he carried the burden of her memories with her. And he would demolish any motherfucker who ever tried to hurt her again. Silver was tough as nails, and this moment right now highlighted that. She'd been through it, and a simple happy moment walking to the ticket booth of a rodeo could draw such appreciation from her.

She didn't realize how special she was, but someday, some way, he was going to help her understand.