Simon’s Uncharted Intimacy: Curvy Woman Second Chance, Unexpected Villain Kidnapping Seeking Revenge, Protective Hero Firefighter Dirty Talk Romance (The Holliman Brothers Book 4) by Jean Marie

Author:Jean Marie [Marie, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-08-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The familiar scent of dirt, horse, sweat, and fertilizer filled my nose as Simon led me through the rodeo grounds. Sabrina sat on his shoulders, her new favorite perch, and his hand stayed firmly in mine.

As I looked around, I took it in. There weren’t many differences from when I was here last. The corrals were all in the same spots, same size, and even the same old metal bleachers sat to the side. Stepping through the entrance gates was like stepping back in time to when I hadn’t been an abused woman.

Back then, I’d been right out of college with a law job I adored and Cocoa to keep me company while we chased my second dream.

It was different now, but for the first time in years, the rush of freedom, the rush of exhilaration, hit. I was back.

As if reading my thoughts and the ache twisting hard in my chest, a familiar voice shouted from where the barrel racers gathered, preparing for their time slot.

“Is that Andrea ‘Bolt’ Veran I see?!”

Simon pulled up short, turning as my old friend Bryan breezed over, his lips pulled into a massive grin. He stopped in front of us, taking me in with assessing eyes before flicking a glance to Simon too. His grin only grew when he trailed up to Sabrina as well.

“And you’ve got a daughter too! We all wondered where you went all those years ago, but I see now. You found yourself a stud and settled down, nothing wrong with that. The rodeo can be taxing on family life and it doesn’t surprise me you chose them.”

As he kept up a steady babble, I sank into the rightness bubbling in my chest. It’d been years since I talked to Bryan, his wide smile not changing aside from the addition of stubble coating his cheeks. The glimmer in his eyes and the open friendliness was exactly how I remembered.

He offered a hand to Simon without missing a beat and my boyfriend took it, shaking easily.

“Glad to see our Bolt found someone. You look good for her,” Bryan said, shooting a smile to Sabrina as well. “And you look exactly like your mother, little lady. You gonna be following in her footsteps and becoming one of the best barrel racers of your generation?”

Sabrina tipped her head, most of that not sticking, but one thing did. She looked at me with wide eyes. “Mama, horsey?” She pointed to the other barrel racers and I nodded, heat scorching my cheeks at the raised brow Simon leveled on me.

Right, I hadn’t mentioned that to him yet.

Ignoring the warmth, I explained. “I used to compete in the country rodeos when they came to town. Nothing big—”

Bryan snorted, cutting off my attempts to downplay it.

“Bolt, might I remind you of the time you smoked those city slickers three years in a row.”

My flush came back and I grumbled, “I remember just fine, but I didn’t compete because I cared about the medals and you know it.

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