It had pretty much become my default emotion these days.
“Do you ever open your emails?” he asked what I could only assume was rhetorical since he already knew the answer. “You have about a dozen brand deals and a new Old Spice campaign offer.”
I understood the Old Spice. I’d worked with them before. This would be my third campaign with them, but I had no clue about the other stuff. “Brand deals?”
“Yep.”
“For what?”
“You want me to list them all?” It was clear from his inflection that was not something he wanted to do.
“Why am I getting brand deals when I’m not even on the circuit anymore?”
“Your social media.”
I’d only agreed to have social media because Kurt had promised that other than doing a few lives and some photos, I’d never have to do anything with it. Sometimes people would ask me in interviews about posts “I’d” done, but unless it was brought to my attention, I had no clue. I wasn’t even sure I knew the login to any of my accounts. “My social media?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t do anything with my social media.”
“I know. I do. Well, I hired people that do,” he corrected. “And they’ve done a good job. You have five million Instagram followers and your YouTube page blew up after…”
“After my wreck,” I finished.
“Yeah. The video’s been viewed over twenty million times and you’ve gained over a million subscribers.”
“Okay, what does that have to do with the offers?”
“You have a built-in audience. That’s monetizable.”
“It is?”
“Yes. Your career has always had an expiration date,” Kurt explained slowly, as if he was speaking to a child, which in this case I could see why he would feel like that. “You never wanted to talk about it, but I’ve been planning for this for years.”
It was true, I’d never paid attention to the business side of things. I’d focused solely on winning championships. For years, he had tried to bring up life after the rodeo, but he was right, I’d never wanted to talk about it.
“Don’t worry about any of that now. Just get stronger. Healthier. I’ll check in soon.”
The call disconnected and music once again started playing through the speakers. I tried to block out the conversation that I’d just had with Kurt. I didn’t want to think about my social media accounts or brand deals. I wanted to be back in the chute giving the nod. I wanted the adrenaline rush of riding a 2000-pound bull while he does everything in his power to buck me off. But those things were never going to happen again.
Radical acceptance. It was something I definitely needed to work on.
I pulled up in front of the duplex and noticed that the large bay windows on Olivia’s side were open. Which meant, chances were, she was home. Not that it was unheard of for residents of Wishing Well to leave their windows open even if they were out. It was a small town with very little crime. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone looked out for everyone.
It was part of what had driven me crazy growing up.
I was the sheriff’s kid and I’d watched my older brothers not get away with anything, because someone always found out and told my dad. Thank God I’d had rodeoing. If not, I think I would’ve gotten into a lot more trouble than I did.
My oldest brother Hudson was a deputy at the sheriff’s office now, but in his day he’d been quite the troublemaker. And my middle brother Hayden, who was a former Army Ranger, had also been a hell-raiser.
They’d both spent more weekends grounded than not. But I’d stayed out of trouble, because I’d had something more than freedom that I hadn’t wanted to be taken away from me. If I didn’t get good grades or got caught drinking, smoking, sneaking out, or coming home after curfew, I wouldn’t be able to compete or train.
That had kept me on the straight and narrow.
I stepped out of my truck gingerly because my body was sore after therapy. As I walked up the front path, I did my best to keep my eyes focused ahead. I still couldn’t believe what I’d seen this morning, or that I hadn’t been able to look away when I’d seen it. But before I unlocked my door, my eyes cut over to her window. I couldn’t see anything, but I could hear music playing.
As much as I wanted to knock on her door, I knew that would be a bad idea. I forced