𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥

"𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥." -𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘺𝘯𝘦

#ᴘᴇɴɴᴇᴅʙʏɴᴏʀᴀ

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝘪𝘵."

𝙃𝙪𝙙𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙒𝙮𝙖𝙩𝙩 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙙,
𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚.

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

—before the left competition grounds. She was going to say something and stopped, and now it’s all he could think of.

“If that’s not it, then we maybe we should talk.”

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

—before the left competition grounds. She was going to say something and stopped, and now it’s all he could think of.

“If that’s not it, then we maybe we should talk.”

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

“Well, actually..”

His eyes diverted from the road in front of them to link with hers. He wanted to say so many things.. yet he just wanted to listen to what was on her mind.

“You seemed like /you/ wanted to talk. Listen Jess..” —

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

— He took a deep breath, turning to face her in the bench seat slightly.

“I get it if you’re not comfortable with the idea of living on the ranch. I just wanted to help if I could.”

He didn’t want to step on her toes but his brain had also been going nonstop since—

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

— six-pack that the gas station clerk looked the other way at and let him buy. She didn’t drink back then, he wondered if she does now.

As she settled next to him, his eyes combed her over, taking in her movements and how she steadied herself before to him.

“Ready?”

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

He was… confused?

His hand ran through his hair after removing his hat and stayed at the back of his neck.

“Jess I wasn’t trying to-“

He cleared his throat and motioned to his truck parked feet away. He didn’t want her to think she was only a fuck. To be honest—

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

—hat on the dash.

“You remember how to drive this old thing, right?”

Like a movie their past flashed before his eyes. Back then he knew he’d never have a chance, and even now he doubted it highly. Hudson could remember her driving through the old fields as he crushed a—

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

—her head before a competition. Granted, he knew she could take any of these folks and run with her trophy, and the money.

“Just you and me.”

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

“Want me to kick his ass?”

The words may have sounded as if they were trying to pull a small laugh from her, but he meant it. He’d been wanting to do serious damage to Jimmy since they were kids. Always such a stuck up piece of work. Thinking he can have —

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

—feeling of fire rose in his gut and his hands became clammy. It’s not like he was trying to run away with her, though he would. And it’s not as if he didn’t want her to compete, since he knew she’d win. But this constant state of fight or flight she was in was no way to have—

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

—once more.

“You okay? He's a fuckin’ dead oak log if I’ve ever seen one,”

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

As Hudson rounded the last stall he spotted Jimmy’s hand specifically, touching Jess. Without drawing much attention, he planted his boots then made a hastily b-line for Jess and Sugar.

“Well look what the shit wagon dropped.”

Jimmy’s eye roll was about as dramatic as his—

[𝘏𝘶𝘥𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘥 @TippingHisHat]

—his lips, his free hand moving to lightly grasp Jess’ ankle that sat steadily in the stirrup.

“So I guess that makes me /her/ keeper.. huh Jimmy?”

His under-his-breath mumbles guided him away before Hudson turned to look at Jess, releasing her ankle and patting Sugar—