Chasing The Wild (Crimson Ridge Book 1)

“You did awesome out there, Cassie.”

I grin at the young barrel rider who is pink-cheeked and a little breathless as she hops down off her horse, having just completed her event with a personal best. She’s a little bashful, but peeks out from beneath her lashes, a hopeful look in her expression.

“Do you reckon?”

“I don’t reckon, I know.” Giving her gorgeous horse a pat, I smile wider. “The crowd ate up every second, did you hear all that noise? Loudest cheers of the day so far.”

She twists her lips, fighting the smile that wants to break free. “You’re too good to me, Layla. Best hype woman I could ask for.”

“Well, who else am I going to butter up to run and get me coffee and a donut when I’m rushed off my feet all day?”

“I got you, girl. Anytime. Flick me a text later on, and I’ll hook you up with all the sugary goods.” Cassie gives me a little wave and heads off toward her trailer.

I lean against the railing, watching over the next riders who are preparing to compete.

The energy has been high, bubbling with excitement all day. These regional rodeo qualifier events are always a lot of fun to work at because they’re filled with so much hope. The participants and competitors are often supported by a big crowd of friends and family, and the days have a festival vibe to them.

Homemade signs clutched by proud grandmas. Hats waved in the air by doting dads watching their pride and joy out in the arena. Whistles from best friends who are hollering loudly for their buddies as they do their thing.

Of course, there is always a pang of longing that hits me square in the chest when I think about my own lack of family. It’s inevitable in an environment like this, but in all honesty, I’m always so busy that I rarely think long on it at all.

Besides, I’ve got Sage arriving in less than a week. Graduation. There is a lot to look forward to…

“Layla fucking Birch?”

My head whips up at the sound of my name being called from somewhere amongst the crowd. No one here knows me, other than the competitors I’ve met a handful of times across some of the events, and the couple of other vet placement apprentices rostered on here today.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Oh my god. Kayce Wilder strides towards me with a broad grin plastered on his tanned face. As my wide eyes take him in, I see he’s dressed in chaps and the kind of shirt that tells me he’s competing.

I’m opening and closing my mouth. Eyes instantly darting just over his shoulder because if Kayce is here, is there any fragment of a chance that his father might be here also?

But I hardly get a chance to scan the milling crowd, because Kayce jogs up to me fast and intently, scooping me up in one of his big bear hugs while he spins me around.

“Ka—Kayce…” I stutter out his name as he sets me back down on my feet. “Are you here riding? I didn’t know you would be at an event all the way out here.”

It’s at least a fifteen-hour drive from Crimson Ridge. On a good day. Not that I’ve stared at the map on my phone each night, calculating exactly how long it would take for me to get back there.

He leans an elbow up against the arena railing, lifting the cream-colored hat off his head and dragging a hand through his hair, before settling it back in place.

“Yeah, I’ve had to make up a whole lot of events. Running ragged all over half the country it feels like.” Kayce beams at me. Something in his energy seems so much more settled than the last time I saw this man.

“How’s it been going for you?” I chew my lip. Everything in me is fighting with the urge to peer over his shoulder, because I’m so desperately hoping Colt might be here with him. Realistically, I know that’s impossible, mind you.

Colt wouldn’t leave the ranch to come with Kayce to a rodeo event.

Besides, I can’t exactly blurt out the hundred questions I want to ask about his dad without being a dead giveaway that he’s occupying ninety-nine percent of my brain space.

“…fucking good to be back in the saddle, man.”

Oh, god. Kayce has been talking the whole time. Hands gesturing. Broad smile flashing pearly whites.

More than one set of eyes are turning to stare at him. He’s every inch the cowboy poster child, especially seeing him dressed in his competition gear. While it doesn’t do anything for me, objectively, I can see that Kayce is a sponsor’s dream in terms of looks and charisma, if only he can get his shit together long enough to put all that talent to the forefront and quit fucking around.

Shit. All of a sudden, the image of a pregnant Chy standing in the kitchen at midnight—her threatening me to leave or else she’d out me and Colt and potentially set Kayce’s career on fire—flashes into my mind. He must be a father by now. The baby would have been born at least a couple of months ago.

“Layla, I feel like such a dick about it.”

I haven’t been paying any attention to what he’s been saying. “Sorry?” Swallowing, I try to focus on the man in front of me. My ex-boyfriend. The son of the man I’m intensely heartbroken over.

“The money. That fucking loan. I’m honestly so sorry, and I was in such a shitty place when all that went down… I never made a proper effort to apologize.” Kayce rubs a hand over the back of his neck, and for the first time ever, I see him look genuinely remorseful about one of his screw-ups. “Fuck. You must hate my guts for doing that to you. I never meant for you to find out, figured I’d have paid it off before you ever knew I’d put it in your name.”

His brow creases beneath the shadow of his hat brim.

“Umm… yeah… well, it all got sorted out with your dad then?” My tongue feels like it is too big for my mouth. I should be angry at him, I really should, but I’m just too fucking tired.

“Yeah, it’s all squared away, but, for the longest time I couldn’t figure out what the fuck the old man was going on about. He got me to work off the money I owed, after chewing me to pieces for screwing you out of money. In my entire life, I’ve never seen him go off like that before.” He chuckles and shakes his head. “Of course, I had no idea what he meant at first, then after I’d listened to him rip me a new one for an hour about opening joint bank accounts and being financially irresponsible, the penny dropped that you must have spun him some bullshit story.”

“Look, I didn’t want you guys to have more grievances between you.” My eyes drop and I scuff my boot in the dirt. “I only said that because I didn’t want to give you more of a reason to have issues.”

Never mind the fact that I went and made it a thousand times worse by letting myself fall in love.

“I’m being serious when I say, I truly am sorry. That was a black fucking time in my life, when I took advantage of you, and I made some terrible decisions from a dark place. You were always a million miles too good for a waster like me.”

That brings a little smile to my face and I point at him. “Your words, not mine, Wilder. Anyways, how’s being a dad treating you?” Is it weird he hasn’t mentioned his kid yet? It’s definitely weird. Mind you, this is Kayce Wilder after all.

Kayce barks out a laugh and nearly doubles over.

My brows knit together. What the fuck?

“Jesus. I completely forgot you wouldn’t know about all of that.”

“About what?” I scowl at him. It doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of thing to laugh about. Not considering the way that bitch threatened me and was out to sink her claws into both Wilder men.

“Man… it feels like a fever dream, but it turns out I wasn’t the father.” He gives me a wry smile.

My eyebrows shoot up into my hairline. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” Kayce cracks his knuckles, elbow leaned nonchalantly on the railing beside us like he hasn’t got a goddamn care in the world. “Turned out the baby belonged to my dad.”

There’s a high-pitched ringing in my ears.

Every ounce of blood drains from my face.

What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck.

My knees feel wobbly.

“Holy shit, Layla. I’m just joking.” Kayce starts belly laughing as he grasps my shoulder with one heavy palm.

I blink at him for a second and then promptly lose my shit. Punching his arm so hard, I hope to god it goes dead and he can’t hold on properly for his next ride. Swearing at him like a sailor. All while he’s cackling at me being a damn idiot. Eyes glistening with tears of laughter, he rubs the spot on his shoulder where I’ve wailed on him.

“You fuck face.” I spit out. “Why would you say something like that?”

The man in front of me gives me a wink, wiping the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand. “Oh, that was too fucking good. How else was I going to get it out of you? I knew it.”

“Knew what?” My stomach lurches.

“I knew there was something going on between the two of you.”

I’m back to speechless mode. My brain splinters, and my jaw falls to land somewhere on the dusty ground beneath our boots.

“Hey, for what it’s worth. Can I just say, you don’t exactly look happy, but at least you look a good deal better than my old man does.” Kayce shakes his head, smirking at me. “I don’t need—or want to know—any of the details, but whatever happened between you guys, I’m cool with it.”

“Kayce… I…” Fucking hell. Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

“Layla, we both know I didn’t treat you well. I’m learning how to not be a selfish shithead. You are much, much better off without me. My dad, while he and I might have our crap we’re working through, he’s a good fucking guy. What I do know is that he’s miserable right now, and has been since the day you took off.”

“We didn’t want to hurt you.” My heart thuds with an erratic rhythm. “Nothing was supposed to happen. Just so you know.” This seems too surreal to fathom.

“Hey, I know that whatever we had together was hella fun at the time, but we were always going to probably be better as friends. Whatever you had going on with my old man obviously meant a lot more.”

“How…?” I look at him, confused. He couldn’t possibly know anything because I know Colt would never have let a single detail slip. That man is a locked vault of emotion at the best of times.

“I might have myself a pretty face, but I’m not blind. Judging by your reaction just now, and how shit he’s looked ever since the day you left.” Kayce shrugs his shoulders and spreads his palms. “Kinda obvious, really.”

All the saliva has dried in my mouth. It’s like the Sahara Desert in the back of my throat.

Shaking my head with confusion, I stare at him. “What happened with Chy?” The wheels are spinning in my mind.

That makes him grimace. “God. What a clusterfuck. Dad was the one who helped me clean myself up at first. He’s been damn amazing, like a rock for me, even though I didn’t deserve any of it. Helped me get sober. Then, about a couple of weeks after you left, he was the one who sat me down and told me I needed to get a paternity test done.”

“You hadn’t had one done right at the start?” Eyes going wide, I whisper screech at him, looking around to make sure we haven’t got a captivated audience for this conversation.

He shudders and scrubs a hand over his mouth. “I know, alright. I fucking know. Don’t worry, Dad tore me a new one about all that, too. But the guy was so fucking solid for me. Was gonna be right there by my side through every step, no matter what, if it turned out to be mine. Helped me get my head on straight and made sure we went through the whole process.”

Fuck. My heart squeezes. My capable goddamn cowboy was probably reliving every single torturous memory of his own experience with unexpectedly becoming a father, yet he was still prepared to be there for Kayce the whole way.

“So imagine my fucking surprise when it came back that I wasn’t the father after all.”

“What a bitch.”

“Yeah. Gets even worse, mind you.” He scrunches his face, wincing in anticipation of how whatever he’s about to say next will go down. “Did I ever mention that she’s related to the Pierson brothers—my cousins.”

“You fucked your cousin?”

“Ew. No. They’re all related through a grandfather or marriage or something, but not Chy and me. Anyway, turns out she had this big plan to claim the ranch by pretending the baby was mine. The three of them had cooked it up together.”

“That’s so fucked.” I grimace.

“Yeah, man. After everything my dad had done to try and help them, too. I’m glad those pieces of shit finally got arrested for possession. It’s nothing compared to the way worse stuff they’ve gotten away with, but at least something could finally be done to get them locked up.”

“Your dad?” Colt had told me there was history there, but this sounds ominous.

“Shows what a decent fucking guy he is. It’s actually a big part of what helped me start seeing him with new eyes once he explained things to me.” Kayce lets out a low whistle. “That man spent years offering those assholes shares and partnership opportunities in the ranch. Spent a really long fucking time trying to make up for what my great-grandfather did. Knowing that the girl was left with a baby and nothing after what that prick did to her while she was just a kid herself. My dad always knew that their family line should have been entitled to some part of the ranch, even if the bastard hung himself without acknowledging anything in his will.”

Kayce shakes his head.

“Dad went out of his way to give them equal ownership, rights to the land, everything. But they wanted all or nothing, and thank fuck he refused to just hand them the ranch and walk away like they threatened him to.”

Holy shit.

“My old man has carried around all that guilt for so long. But I guess something changed. Now those fucks are in jail at least.”

It’s hard to take it all in. Although, I’m not surprised those two men ended up locked away. Sheriff Hayes alluded to the case against them being pretty much open and shut when he contacted me for a statement not long after I left Crimson Ridge.

I blow out a low breath. “Shit. Kayce. I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry?”

He waves me off. “Don’t be. I’m counting it as one of those weird fucking blessings in life. One that helped give me enough of a scare to realize what a colossal screw-up I’d been and how many terrible life choices I’d made in such a short period of time.”

The announcer’s voice blares over the loudspeaker system, the crowd cheers for whoever has just competed, and the sun bakes down on both of us with that typically fierce late summer intensity.

“So. Colton Wilder, eh?” Those blue eyes sparkle with mischief.

I groan, covering my face with my hands. “You must hate me.”

Kayce continues to grin when I peek at him through my fingers.

“Nah, Layla. I’m being one hundred percent honest with you when I say it’s cool. I’m all good. You’re one of those… what do they call people like you?” He cocks his head to one side, then snaps his fingers. “Old fucking soul people… that’s what you are… one of those old souls. Totally makes sense you should have someone who matches that for you.”

“Can I just say for the record, this is not how I expected today to go. At all.” I swear to god, this is about as far from what I ever thought a day working at the rodeo would bring my way.

A text comes through to Kayce’s phone, and he digs it out of his pocket.

“Everything good?” I ask, watching him read it quickly.

“Yeah, I gotta run. But fuck, it was awesome to see you.”

“Same for you, Kayce.”

He pulls me in for a hug and this time I wrap my arms around him in return. Not entirely sure what any of this means, but feeling somehow like it was meant to be that I ran into Kayce Wilder today of all days.

“So, you working out here now, or what?” He gestures his chin around the arena.

“Yes, and no. I graduate next week. After that, I get to start looking for proper big girl jobs.” I give him a mock salute and throw my shoulders back as he steps away.

Kayce’s smile beams wide. “That’s fucking epic. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Kayce. Good luck with your ride.” My lips roll together. I so desperately want to stop him from leaving, to ask about his dad, to find out a little more about how Colt is doing. If he’s not been great since I left—and while my heart does a little flutter to think that maybe he’s been as tormented as I have been—it still feels too raw. It shouldn’t be up to Kayce to have to be some sort of awkward go-between messenger for the two of us.

“You should call him.” He turns on his heel, preparing to head off into the crowd once more, then raises his eyebrows while looking back over his shoulder, breaking into my thoughts.

That drags a laugh out of me, and I share a wry smile in return. “Like that’s even possible. Remember… you told me yourself. No cell service. Shitty Wi-Fi.” Rolling my eyes, I prop my hands on my hips.

“Cute. But you know what I mean.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Well, at least you know where the old man will be.” He gives me a crooked grin, and touches the brim of his hat before jogging away.

“It isn’t like that asshole is ever going to leave his mountain.”