Lainie checked out the backside of the figure. The contestant number was pinned below his shoulders. Number one. He’d entered the bull riding competition that fateful day as the number one bull rider in the world.

Her gaze fell to the memorial plaque. It read:In memory of Jason Arthur Capshaw—

son, husband, father, friend—a bull rider to the very end.

We miss you. We’ll never forget you.

Lainie didn’t bother to hold back the tears. She cried silently. Her grief was almost worse now than in her childhood, as she faced everything she’d lost.

“Lainie.”

She wheeled around.

Hank stood in the shadows.

He held open his arms. She ran straight into them. Her sobs escalated. Hank merely held her tighter. He kissed her crown and murmured, “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”

Twenty years of grief poured out of her. Through it all, Hank stayed strong and steady. Holding her. Soothing her. Being there for her in a way no other man ever had. Once the storm of emotions subsided, she looked up at him.

The tenderness in his eyes as he gently wiped away her tears almost sent her into another sobbing fit.

Lainie managed to hold it in. Her throat was raw from crying. Her voice was an unrecognizable rasp. “How did you know?”

“Tanna called me. She was worried sick about you.”

She couldn’t be mad at her friend for knowing exactly what she needed. “Did she tell you all of it?”

“Yes. I won’t chew you out for not calling me. This time.” He twined a curl around his index finger before pushing it behind her ear. “When Tanna told me you were coming to Cheyenne . . . I couldn’t get out of Omaha fast enough. I didn’t want you to deal with this alone, Lainie. Kyle’s mom picked me up at the airport and dropped me off.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Just an hour.” His thumb wicked the tears from her cheeks. “I was prepared to stay all night if I had to.”

“What if I’d chickened out?” She swallowed hard. “I had a devil of a time getting out of my truck.”

“I know. I watched you struggling. It about killed me, but I let you be until you needed me.”

Take a chance. Tell him.

“I’ve come to realize I need you all the time, Hank, not just once in a while.” Before he spoke, she blurted, “Cheyenne was just a pit stop on my way to Muddy Gap.”

“Why?”

“Because I quit my job. But as I was driving here, I began to worry.”

“Worry about what?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was coming to you because I had nowhere else to go. You’re not a last resort, Hank. You’re my first choice.”

“Lainie. Darlin’, I love you. Love you like crazy. I tried to tell you before but you didn’t want to hear it.”

“I wanted to hear it. God, I wanted to hear it more than anything. I didn’t tell you how I felt when you were in the hospital because I didn’t want you to think I’d said it out of pity. After the attack I worried that you tried to say it to me out of pity. That’s why I asked for time to think. Not for me, for you. I wanted you to make sure I was who you wanted.”

Hank lifted a brow. “Good Lord, woman, you’re a bossy little thing. How is it that you get to decide how I feel about you?”

She blinked at him. “What?”

“Don’t you know I’ve been half in love with you since I saw you helping an elderly lady find her way back to the stands? I fell the rest of the way in love with you after you started traveling with us and I got to know you.”

“I thought you’d say you fell the rest of the way after we slept together.”

He flashed her that sinful smile again. “Oh, I definitely fell in lust with you. But lust fades. What I feel for you won’t. I believe that with all my heart, Lainie.”

“I do too. When I realized I loved you, it scared me. For the first time I understood why my mother walked away from the rodeo life after my dad died. For all her faults, she loved my father. After she lost him, she needed to start over.”

A beat of silence passed between them.

His eyes searched hers intently. “Did you pick me over Kyle because you couldn’t see yourself with a bull rider? Or because you didn’t want to repeat the path your mother had taken?”

“No. I chose you because I love you, Hank. Bullfighter, garbage man, it doesn’t matter. I want to be with you.” She smiled. “If you’re willing to take on an unemployed med tech.”

“I’ll take you on anytime, anyplace, baby.” He touched her cheek. He couldn’t seem to not touch her, just another sweetness about him she loved. “So you quit, huh?”

“Yeah. My mom advised me to sue everyone in sight, but her husband is a lawyer, so I’m considering the source.” She smirked. “Besides, I want to be done with it. Really and truly move on this time. Getting caught up in legal battles isn’t the way to do it.”

“I agree. I made some threats to Bryson that in hindsight I ain’t proud of. After all the garbage that’s happened with the EBS . . . I’m taking this as a sign to go back to full-time ranching. To be honest, I’m looking forward to moving on too.”

“Not even part-time bullfighting with the CRA?”

“Nope. It’s time to let Celia chase her dream, now that I’ve found mine and she’s standing right in front of me.”