Teddy and I made our way back to the stands where Emmy's cheering section had settled. When Teddy came to find me, I'd been waiting in line to grab beers for everyone, but now here I was, back and empty-handed. Maybe they wouldn't notice.
"Where are our beers, man?" Wes asked.
Damn.
"The line was long as hell." Which was true. I just hadn't stood in it for as long as I claimed.
"So?" Wes responded.
"I don't like you that much," I said. Wes flipped me the bird.
Camille and Riley hadn't been here when I left, but they were back now, along with Camille's fiancé. I couldn't for the life of me remember the guy's name, so I made it a policy to avoid situations where I'd have to say it.
I took the spot Gus had saved for me between him and Amos. Amos gave my shoulder a squeeze as I sat.
"Thanks for coming, Luke," Amos said. "I'm sure Emmy is happy you're here."
I didn't know why he'd say that. Did he know something?
"U-uh, yeah," I stammered. "Maybe."
Smooth.
Amos just gave me a lopsided smile. It made me uneasy as hell.
Before I could read too much into it, the announcer's voice blared through the speakers. Barrel racing was about to begin. Everyone in Emmy's corner snapped to attention. According to the program, she was up last.
"You know," Amos started, "the last time Emmy raced in Meadowlark was before she went to college. I've seen her race hundreds of times since then, but there's something about seeing her race in her hometown."
Amos sounded… choked up? The man wasn't afraid of feelings. He told his boys he loved them, he hugged everyone, and he let Riley paint his nails, but I didn't think I'd ever seen him get misty.
The first two racers came and went, averaging around sixteen seconds. The fastest Emmy had ever run the course at Rebel Blue was sixteen point five, so she was evenly matched here.
Two riders in the lineup knocked over a barrel, earning a five-second penalty added to their time. I knew Emmy could beat them.
Barrel racing moved fast, so it didn't take long to get to her. The rider before her approached the starting line. When the gun went off, she went right. She was fast. Her horse kicked up dirt and hauled ass, but she looked unsteady—she even clipped a barrel. She still came in as the fastest so far at fifteen point seven seconds. The barrel she hit didn't fall, so there was no penalty.
"And last but certainly not least," the announcer began. I spotted Emmy's red shirt in the arena. She and Maple were making their way to the starting line. My leg started bouncing. "We have a four-time champion and record-breaking racer, competing in her hometown for the first time in nine years, Clementine Ryderrr." The announcer extended the last "r" in Ryder, and everyone there for Emmy stood up and went wild. Most of the stands stood, too.
Meadowlark had showed up for their sweetheart.
Emmy was at the starting line, looking fucking beautiful in her brown cowboy hat, red button-down, and Wranglers. She stroked Maple's neck. Both of them looked calm.
Good.
A few seconds later, the gun sounded, and Emmy was off.
And she went left.
Why the hell did she go left? All of us must've thought the same thing, because I heard Gus voice my question out loud.
In barrel racing, the most efficient way to navigate the required cloverleaf pattern was to hit the right barrel, then the left, and then the center. But Emmy went left, rounding the first barrel tighter than I'd ever seen her do it. Dirt from the arena flew everywhere, but Emmy was in complete control.
Even from here, I could see she was focused.
She headed for the right barrel, maintaining her speed, but rounded it a little wider than the first. At this point, she was basically tied with the rider before her.
*That's my girl.*
There was only one barrel left, and Emmy was beelining for it. She didn't slow, and she didn't go wide. Holy shit. Her control was out of this world. She made it around the barrel, and as soon as she could, pushed Maple harder on the straightaway.
All of us were yelling something along the lines of "Go, go, go," and Emmy was fucking going.
I held my breath as she crossed the finish line, only starting to slow Maple after the clock stopped.
Fourteen point eight seconds. My heart stopped dead in my chest, and the crowd erupted. Their cheers were all directed at Emmy.
"Folks! Clementine Ryder remains a force to be reckoned with, sliding easily into first place and breaking her own record of fourteen point nine. What a race!" the announcer said over the speaker.
We all cheered. Amos hugged us all, Gus slapped me on the back, and even Teddy got a high five from him.
Emmy and Maple came back out into the arena for their victory lap. Emmy was beaming. Her smile was like a wild flame, and I could feel its warmth from here. She spotted us in the crowd and tipped her hat.
Amos, Gus, Wes, Teddy, and I started to leave our spots, not bothering to stick around for any of the other events. Camille, her fiancé, and Riley stayed with Hank. Teddy quickly checked in with them, making sure they were okay to help him down the stadium stairs, and told them where his wheelchair was parked.
All of us were here for one reason and one reason only, and that reason was Emmy, so we went to her.
I let Teddy lead the pack, not wanting to be front and center when I offered her my congratulations, no matter how much I wanted to be.
Damn, I was so proud of her.
When we made it down to the entry area, I spotted Emmy in her red shirt. My eyes found her before my brain could catch up.
"Emmy!" Teddy called out. Emmy looked over and started running toward us.
Wait, no.
Not toward us.
Toward me.
EMMY
I did it. I fucking did it.
After the accident, the panic, the anxiety, and the spiral that brought me home, I did it. I raced my last race in a way I could be proud of, and I was proud.
I took Maple to a holding paddock and showered her in hugs and kisses before starting toward the entry area, hoping my family and Luke would be waiting for me.
I looked around, but I couldn't see them.
"Emmy!" I heard Teddy's voice and turned toward it. There they were. My family, my best friend, and the man I could finally admit I was completely and totally in love with.
Before I knew what my feet were doing, they were running toward him.
I threw myself into his arms, both of our hats falling to the dirt.
Luke let out a chuckle as my body collided with his, but he caught me. He spun me around a few times before bringing us to a stop.
"You were a wonder out there," he said. The way he was looking at me lodged my heart firmly in my throat. Instead of answering, I kissed him while he held me, and I didn't hold back.
With my feet still off the ground, he kept hold of me with one arm and tangled the other in my hair. I didn't care that my family and nearly all of Meadowlark were watching. Luke wasn't my secret.
He was just mine.
We kissed for a second, completely immersed in the moment, before I pulled back. I smiled at him. His big brown eyes searched my face. He looked dazed, like he couldn't believe what just happened. I couldn't quite believe it, either—the race or the kiss.
"Emmy, I—"
Luke didn't get to finish his sentence, because at the same time, Gus said, "What the fuck?"
Luke lowered me to the ground, but didn't let go of me completely. He was tense, like he was ready to jump in front of a bullet.
I looked over at where everyone was standing. Teddy was smiling. My dad had this weird smirk on his face, and poor Wes just looked confused as hell.
Gus looked like he wanted to burn Luke to the ground.
"What the fuck?" he repeated.
"Look, man, I can explain—" Luke said.
"Gus—" I started.
"Shut up, Emmy."
I shrank back, and felt Luke hold me a little tighter before letting go and stepping in front of me.
"I know you're mad, but you don't get to talk to her that way," Luke said firmly. "If you want to be mad at someone, you can be mad at me."
"Oh, I am. Are you fucking kidding me, Brooks? My sister? That's who you chose to mess around with?"
"August, calm down," our dad said. His gravelly voice was stern. He didn't use that tone often, but when he did, it normally set us all straight.
Not this time.
Gus stalked toward Luke and me. Wes tried to stop him, but he shrugged him off. Luke acted fast, pushing me behind him, but not fast enough to dodge the punch Gus threw.
Gus's fist met Luke's face with a crack, and Luke's head snapped back. He didn't fall, but he did stumble, taking care not to knock me over.
This man was still looking out for me even after he just got decked by my brother.
"What the hell, Gus!" I screeched. Gus was shaking out his hand like the punch hurt him, too.
He started toward Luke again, but I stepped in front of him. Wes had made it over to us and grabbed Gus's shoulder, holding tighter this time.
"I can't believe you. I knew you were a screwup, but I didn't know you were a liar, too," Gus spat.
His words seemed to affect Luke more than his punch.
"Gus, calm down," Wes chimed in. "Let's just take a lap, okay?"
"Take a lap? You want me to take a lap when we just saw this asshole with his tongue down our sister's throat?" Gus's voice was venomous. Luke kept me firmly behind him, protecting me from Gus's vitriol. A small circle of people had gathered around us, and I knew this would feed the Meadowlark gossip mill for weeks to come.
"Gus, get over yourself." That was Teddy. She stepped between Gus and Luke, shielding me from the wreckage, just like she said she would. "Walk away before your daughter gets down here and sees you acting like a raging lunatic who just punched her uncle in the face."
The mention of Riley did it for Gus. He didn't calm down, but he didn't look like he was going to throw another punch. He stared down at Teddy, then at Luke and me.
"Walk away, son," my dad said.
"I can't believe all of you are just okay with this," Gus said bitterly, but he turned to walk away, and Wes followed. Wes would take care of him.
My dad walked over to Luke and me, putting his hand on Luke's shoulder. "You okay, kid?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Amos, I'm sorry—"
My dad held up his hand, signaling for Luke to stop. "None of that." He turned to me. "Clementine, why don't you go home with Teddy, maybe give Gus a few days to cool off. I'll take care of Luke."
"But—" I started to speak, but my dad shot me a look that told me this was non-negotiable. Teddy made her way over to me and grabbed my hand, pulling me away from Luke, which was exactly what I didn't want to do.
"Teddy, I can't leave him."
"Yes, you can. It's only temporary. Half the town is waiting for Gus to show up and hit him again, and your dad will take care of him. Let's get out of here."