lips and squeezed her hand in his. “Please tell me you still love me,” he whispered. “That I’m not too late. I know you planned to come home and get over—”
“Stop.” Her mind spun in circles. “Just stop. Of course, I still love you. Are you crazy? I’ve loved you my whole life. How could I stop in two weeks?”
A smiled cracked over his face.
“And I’ll even wait for you, too,” she hurried to say. She didn’t want to hold anything back. And she wouldn’t mess up this second chance. “We can do the long-distance thing. Or I’ll move to Missoula. I’m going to start my own stock contracting company. I can do that from anywhere.”
Confusion wrinkled his brow. “I don’t want to do long distance. Are you not hearing what I’m telling you?”
She stopped talking. What had she’d missed?
“I’m moving back to Birch Bay, Jewel. Actually, I already have. That’s why I was so late getting here. I quit school, and I moved all my things back home today. I’m going to sink or swim with my wood carving.”
She blinked, unsure she’d heard correctly. And then she heard Nick’s name being announced. “Rolls is up!”
She turned back to the arena just in time to see Nick give the nod. This was it. Either she lost the Double B right now, or an inkling of hope could remain.
The clock counted up, and Rolls bucked. But Nick held on.
Bobby slipped his hand down to clasp hers, and she gripped it as if she’d drown without his touch. And she just might. She loved this man. And though he had yet to say it, she was pretty sure he loved her, too.
At seven point nine seconds Nick lost his grip, and she groaned right along with the crowd. Her shoulders hunched forward. The bonus had just kicked in.
“There was one other thing I came here to tell you, Jewel.”
She looked over at Bobby, the impact of her loss grounding her. Everything but Bobby blurred. Movement in her peripheral vision seemed to shift into slow motion.
“We can’t go with either of your options,” Bobby said, and she nodded robotically. She got it. She’d lost the Double B.
“I know,” she forced out. “You’re selling to Easup. You just made a lot of money.”
“No. We’re not selling to Easup.” Bobby didn’t look away, and she scrunched her eyes as her brain tried to catch up with his words. He wasn’t making sense. “But we did create an option three,” he told her.
The words took a minute to sink in. But when they did, a flicker of hope flared deep. She stood a little taller. “An option three?”
Was their option three something that would allow her to remain a part of the Double B?
She held her breath. “What is it?” she whispered.
Reaching for her other hand, Bobby turned her so that she faced him head on. And the most joyful look shone back at her. “Mom is splitting her portion of the business between us kids. Three ways. But neither Brady nor Brooklyn want to stay in, Jewel. They want to sell to you.”
She replayed the words to make sure she’d heard them correctly, and then her heart rate sped up. “They do?” She bit her lip in anticipation.
“Yes. But I’m keeping my third.” Bobby’s eyes grew serious. “I’m not ready to give up Dad’s legacy. That said . . . I’m hoping that if I’m a silent partner, you’ll still consider buying us out. Two-thirds for you, one for me. You’ll have complete control.”
Fireworks exploding inside her couldn’t have been more shocking. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.
“It’s really mine?” she said.
“It’s two-thirds yours. If you want it. But it does come with one stipulation.”
She nodded. She could handle whatever stipulation they might have, because doing so would mean she got to keep Rolls and Death. And all the other bulls she’d been a part of. It would mean that she wouldn’t have to start all over.
Staring up at him, almost too excited to form words, she asked, “What’s the stipulation?”
“That you let me love you.”
Her heart squeezed at the words. And then the most amazing feeling of warmth spread through her.
“That’s all I ask,” Bobby went on. “That you let me love you. I’m going to work on my art, live in Mom’s apartment until I can talk you into getting a place with me”—he squeezed her hands tight—“and I’m going to love you for as long as you’ll let me, Jewel.”
Her tears