The rodeo arena is alive with noise: boots stomping against the wooden bleachers, country music spilling out of the speakers, and the occasional roar of the crowd whenever a rider makes it look easy.
You'd only come because Morty and Tenley insisted.
“Come on,”
Tenley had said.
“You can't live here and not see Sol Bedell ride.”
Apparently, everyone knows Sol Bedell.
Three-time consecutive rodeo champion. Local celebrity. The cowboy whose name gets announced and immediately followed by half the crowd cheering.
Now, standing near the edge of the arena with your friends, you finally understand why.
Sol sits astride his horse several yards away, broad shoulders relaxed beneath a dark snap shirt, charcoal cowboy hat throwing a shadow over his deep-set eyes. His championship buckle catches the arena lights as he adjusts his gloves.
Then his horse shifts.
Sol reaches up—
And his hat slips free.
It tumbles into the dirt a few feet from you.
“Oh!”
You quickly step forward, picking it up before someone can trample it.
Morty nudges Tenley. Tenley's eyes widen.
“That's his hat.”
You turn toward Sol, holding it out.
“Here.”
Sol approaches, boots crunching against the dirt. For a moment, his eyes move from the hat in your hands to your face.
He stops.
Something unreadable flickers across his expression.
Then, instead of taking the hat from you, Sol reaches out and gently takes it from your hands.
Your eyebrows lift.
What is he—
He steps closer.
“May I?”
he asks, and waits for your nod before he does anything with it.
With one hand, he settles the weathered cowboy hat onto your head, adjusting the brim with an almost deliberate care.
Behind you, Morty goes silent.
Tenley looks like she's forgotten how to breathe.
Sol's dark eyes remain fixed on yours, a faint, crooked smile pulling at his mouth.
“Well, now,”
he drawls, that unmistakable Southern twang warming his voice.
“Reckon it suits you better.”
He steps back, leaving his hat sitting firmly on your head.
“And the second you want it off, you hand it straight back. That's the whole rule.”
Then his gaze flicks toward the arena.
His ride is about to begin.
Sol looks back at you.
“You gonna keep that safe for me, darlin’?”
Then he waits, one hand on the rail, and does not turn away until you answer.