Chapter Four

Boone

The crowd was loud, louder than it had ever been. The announcer's voice boomed over the speakers, and a crackling echo of my name sounded that felt too far away, as if it wasn't real. I gripped the rope tighter, my knuckles white, and my heart pounded in my chest. The bull beneath me shifted, and my muscles tensed, ready to explode. I could feel its power; the deep rumble of its breathing was like a train engine about to burst through the gate.

Mother's Devil. This bull had been the bane of my existence.

I exhaled, trying to calm the surge of adrenaline that coursed through my veins. This wasn't my first rodeo, but something about this moment felt different. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Ready, West?" the gate man called out.

I nodded, not trusting my voice. I gave a small nod, and before I had time to rethink anything, the gate flew open.

The bull launched forward like a rocket, muscles rippling under its skin. I held on, leaning back, focusing on my rhythm. One jump. Two. The crowd became a blur of sound and color, everything narrowing down to just me and the bull. My grip tightened, legs clamping down, but the bull was strong, stronger than any I'd ridden before. It twisted hard, its body a violent wave beneath me.

Then it happened—too fast to even process. My left hand slipped and the rope burned my palm as I lost control. The bull's body jerked sharply to the right, and before I could adjust, I was airborne.

I hit the dirt hard, the impact sending a shockwave through my body. I tried to move, but I couldn't. I tried to breathe, but my lungs wouldn't cooperate. The bull's hooves thundered beside me; the ground vibrated with each pounding step. I heard the distant shouts of the clowns trying to draw it away, but all I could focus on was the pain—a sharp, searing pain shooting through my back.

I couldn't feel my legs.

"No...no...come on..." I tried to move. Tried to stand, but my body wouldn't obey. Panic set in. I could hear voices, someone shouting my name, but it all felt like it was happening underwater.

My world started to fade.

Suddenly, I gasped and sat up sharply as my breath came in ragged heaves. Pain seared through my back, ripping me from the dream and slamming me into reality. I was drenched in sweat, and my heart raced like I'd just been thrown from that bull all over again.

I tried to steady my breathing and blinked in the darkness of the room. It took me a minute to remember where I was. The mattress beneath me was just a makeshift bed I'd set up on the floor until my box spring and frame were delivered in a few days. The blanket was tangled around my legs, and my pillow was drenched in sweat. My back...

Damn. The pain was real, even if the bull wasn't. I rubbed the small of my back and winced as I got to my feet. The old injury, the one that had ended it all, was reminding me that some things never fully healed.

I stood and stretched gingerly, trying to shake off the dream. The room was cold. Sleep wasn't going to happen now. It was barely five in the morning, but I was awake. Fully awake, like I'd never even closed my eyes.

I walked over to the window and looked out at the still pitch-black night. The world was still, just a couple of streetlights shined out front, and the shadows of trees and the dark silhouette of the river out back.

I needed to move and shake off the lingering remnants of the dream, so I headed downstairs. My bare feet padded against the wooden floor, echoing in the silence of the house. The kitchen was quiet as I flicked on the light, and the harsh brightness made me squint.

Coffee. That would help.

I fumbled with the machine, grabbed a mug and filled it with the strong, black brew once it finished. The steam rose, warming my face as I took a sip, but it didn't do much to calm me from the dream.

I pushed open the back door and stepped out onto the porch, the cool morning air hitting me like a slap in the face. The stars were still out, faint but visible, and the river shimmered faintly in the moonlight. I walked down to the shore, feeling the cold grass under my feet as I made my way closer to the water. I sat down on an old log and stared out at the river, listening to the soft lapping of the current against the shore. My thoughts drifted to Dolly.

Seeing her again after all these years… Damn, it had done something to me. I didn't expect it, didn't expect her to still have that hold on me. But the moment I laid eyes on her, it was like being back in high school again.

We'd been kids then, thinking the world was ours and nothing could ever touch us. But life had a way of throwing curveballs, of taking everything you thought was certain and flipping it upside down.

And now… Now, it felt like everything was flipped upside down again.

I took another sip of coffee and stared into the dark water. It had been a long time since I'd let myself think about her like this, about what could have been. What should have been, but seeing her… It had stirred up a lot more than I thought it would.

We weren't kids anymore. Hell, we were different people now. But for some reason, when I saw her, all those old feelings, the ones I thought I'd buried deep down, had come rushing back like a flood.

The bull-riding accident might have ended my career, but losing Dolly all those years ago? That had taken something else, something deeper.

I closed my eyes, letting the sound of the river fill my ears, and tried to quiet the storm in my head. But no matter how hard I tried, the memories and feelings kept circling back to her.

I was back in Magnolia Grove, and what was I supposed to do now?