Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Connor

A drenaline was still pumping through my entire body after that ride, and all I could think about was getting to Ivy. I hadn't felt this good after a ride, this exhilarated, in years. It almost felt like it used to when I was younger. When I still loved rodeoing more than anything. When I'd had an incredible ride and the high stuck around for hours afterward.

Back then, the rodeo grounds were the only place I could imagine being, basking in the accolades of the people who'd come to watch me. I thrived on the back slaps and congratulations. On the buckles and the purse, knowing I'd taken home more money in those eight seconds than some people did at their jobs for months. Back then the sponsors used to chase after me, kissing my ass for a chance to work with me. It was good to be Connor Bennett, the best bull rider on the circuit.

This was the closest I'd come to feeling the high of the old days, and she was the only reason. I knew she'd been in the stands watching me, and the need to impress her had been the driving force that had been missing for longer than I could remember.

I sat up on that fence earlier and scanned the crowd until I spotted her beautiful face. I memorized where she sat with our friends so I could find her again after the buzzer sounded, and when I spotted her on her feet yelling and whistling for me, my dick stood at attention, beating against my fly in time with my heartbeat as if to say mine, mine, mine . I couldn't remember the last time I'd had someone in the stands shouting for me, cheering me on the way she had. My parents tried to come to any rodeo I was at in Texas if it was close enough to Cloverleaf, but that was different. Not even Amber cheered for me with as much enthusiasm as my wild butterfly.

Amber had been too busy acting like she was some kind of fucking celebrity, the queen of the circuit or some shit, using my name for clout. She had loved me when my reputation had gotten her what she wanted. Same with Dusty. As long as he could brag about his young protégé, I was his favorite person. A streak of bad luck years back had changed their tune fast.

After that, I'd learned to block out the noise. Even when I found my footing again, I dulled the crowd. I did what I came to do, and I left. Sure, I put on a show that nothing had changed, that I was still the same old fun-loving, good time guy, but it wasn't the truth anymore. Hadn't been for a long time.

"Great ride, man."

"Hell of a good time watchin' you up there."

"You blew Grimes out of the water."

I gave my thanks to the other bull riders who stuck around to congratulate me as I wound my way through the crowd with one destination in mind. I needed to get to her.

I cleared the hallway that led down to the locker rooms and stepped out into the sunshine. It took no time at all to the find that beautiful rose-gold hair and the smiling sapphire eyes that went with it. She stood off to the side, leaning against the fence with our friends. I wanted to run right for her, scoop her up, and plant my lips against hers. But I couldn't do that. At least not yet. I was still playing her game. Pretending to be friends. Like I didn't want more.

Like I didn't want fucking everything .

"Hey," I said as I got closer, calling my crew's attention. Zach smiled, offering me a back-slapping hug. Raylan slapped my hand before yanking me in for a shoulder clap. Lennix and Rae hugged me in congratulations, all of them incredibly excited for me. It felt good to win this one with all of them here to see it, but I was most excited for Ivy's reaction.

"That was incredible!" she squeaked, lifting on her tiptoes with her hands balled in front of her before she launched herself at me for a full-body hug. "Oh my God, that was so cool! Seeing you in person like that? You were amazing up there!" Her eyes glittered as she pulled back to look at me, and I made sure to keep my hands on her hips to keep her close for a few more seconds, not ready to let her go or break contact yet.

I smiled big, putting those dimples on display because I knew how much she liked them. I was fighting dirty, and I didn't feel the slightest bit bad for it. I fully intended to use every tool and weapon in my arsenal to win her back. If the past few weeks had taught me anything, it was that Ivy was it for me. I was never meant to be with Amber, not for the long run, because this wild redhead was supposed to be my endgame. I realized it when I watched my friends together and discovered that I watched Ivy with the look on my face that Zach wore whenever he looked at Rae.

"Thanks, butterfly," I said softly, the pads of my fingers pressing deeper into her hips. Christ , I wanted to kiss her.

She looked gorgeous today. Just like every day. She was dressed for a rodeo in bootcut jeans that hugged her ass to perfection, and a burnt orange tee with the image of a cowboy riding a horse with a lasso above his head printed on the front. She'd been complaining about her tits for weeks, bitching about how much bigger they were getting, and damn if they didn't make my mouth water with the way they stretched out that shirt. Her boots were cute but functional, made for walking so her feet wouldn't end up aching by the end of the night. She could have been wearing a burlap sack and she still would have been the most gorgeous woman here.

"You hungry, sweetheart? I thought I might take you around to some of my favorite booths."

Her eyes rounded as she exclaimed, "Yes, I'm starving ."

Lennix's mouth dropped open. "How is that possible? You've had a funnel cake, a bag of popcorn, a liter soda, and three fried Oreos all since we got here. Not to mention the turkey leg you were gnawing on like a freaking cavewoman."

I laughed as Ivy shot her friend a scowl. I'd noticed my woman's appetite had really picked up the past couple weeks. She'd gone from barely being able to keep anything down to eating me under the table. And what the hell did it say about me that I found the idea of watching her eat a whole damn turkey leg sexy?

She'd put back on the weight she lost from all those weeks of being sick, but other than that—and her boobs, of course—her body still wasn't showing any outward changes. I found myself excited for the day when she finally started to show so I could finally see signs of my baby that she was carrying. I wanted to watch her belly expand as my baby grew inside her. Christ, just thinking about seeing her like that made me hard. Who the hell would have guessed that I'd have a breeding kink?

I cast Zach a silent look, my shoulders sagging with relief when he read what I was trying to communicate.

"It's getting late. I got a new gelding arriving at the ranch early tomorrow, so I think we're gonna hit the road."

I didn't miss the way Ivy's face fell, and it made me want to crow with victory. "Oh. Okay."

"You can ride home with me if you want to stick around a little longer," I told her. When I found out our crew was coming with her today to watch me ride, I'd ask Zach to make sure she didn't drive herself. First, because I'd recently discovered Ivy was a terrible driver. And second, because it would give me an hour alone with her on the ride back to Hope Valley.

As quickly as her face had fallen, she perked right back up. "Yeah, okay. Let's do it."

We bid goodbye to our friends, and once they took off, I held my hand out to Ivy. "Come on, wild woman. Let's get you fed."

Walking through the rodeo grounds hand in hand with Ivy felt like we were on our first date. We'd had countless meals together in the past when I'd swing by the lodge on her lunch hour to take her for a picnic in the field of wildflowers she loved so much, but this was different. I felt like I got to show her off like this. I was proud to have her on my arm as we bounced from one carnival booth to another. I spent twenty bucks on a stupid game where I had to shoot a cheap water gun into a stupidly small hole to win her a stuffed pink unicorn she'd squealed over.

The thing was ugly as sin, but watching her carry it around, clutching it to her chest like her most prized possession, made warmth bloom in my chest. The way she'd smiled at me when I finally won the damn thing made me feel like the luckiest man on the planet. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do to make her smile like that every day.

I took her to some of my favorite food tents, loading up on anything she thought looked good, so by the time we sat down at an empty picnic table, we had a paper boat of loaded nachos, two corndogs slathered in mustard, chili cheese tots, sausage on a stick, street corn, and a caramel apple.

I let out a sigh of relief when we finally sat down. I would have been happy to walk laps all around the fairgrounds if it made her happy, but I'd tweaked my knee earlier when I jumped off that bull, and the damn thing was throbbing like a bitch. If I'd been smart, I would have headed home to ice it and pop a couple anti-inflammatories, but as long as Ivy was having a good time, I'd swallow down the pain.

She sat down on the bench across from me and popped a nacho into her mouth, chewing slowly as she studied me.

"What?" I asked with a small chuckle as I loaded my chip with jalape?o slices and tossed it into my mouth.

"How has your knee been doing since you hurt it last year?" Her tone was conversational, but I couldn't help but feel she was digging for something.

"It's fine," I said as I scraped a glob of mustard off one of the corndogs and bit into it, using our food to hide the fact her question had caught me off guard. "All better."

"Really?" She cocked her head to the side, her pretty blue eyes scrutinizing me from across the table. "Because it kind of looked like it was giving you a little trouble when you hit the ground earlier."

Fucking hell . Who knew the woman was so damn observant? I lifted the plastic cup of beer to my lips and drank deeply, giving myself a second to come to terms with the lie I was going to stick to. "It was nothing, just a little tender is all. I'm perfectly fine."

She worried her plump bottom lip between her teeth. "You sure?"

I reached across the table and took her hand in mine. The difference in size between her small, delicate hand and my large, rough one never failed to amaze me. "I'm sure," I told her. "You don't have to worry about me."

I meant it too. I knew my knee was fucked up, and that any doctor in their right mind would tell me I shouldn't be riding anymore, but I couldn't stop now. Not when I was so close to the World Championship. Not when I still had something to prove to the people who'd given up on me.

It was on that thought that a voice spoke up, taking the great evening I'd been having and flushing it right down the toilet.

"Well isn't this cozy."