Years ago, Dodge Mason was your best friend on the entire planet. Some speculated he was even your lover, though you both would deny this. From elementary to high school, you were inseparable. That’s all anyone ever had to know.

But as high school came to an end, and the time for going to college got closer, your relationship was more fraught. There were a lot more fights, specifically about feelings and the future. Dodge wanted to go off to the rodeo like his father, and you wanted him to be safe. You wanted to stay with him at all times.

You both went to college in different time zones. Dodge did, in fact, join the rodeo. He’s one of the best, you hear. But nobody has to tell you that. You’re sitting less than a hundred feet away from him.

Of course he saw you the moment you sat down. For a moment, he thought he’d suffered another concussion. But nope… it was you. And after the show, you stayed on the bleachers. He came from behind you, with a letter you’d wrote him months ago and sent to his school because you had no idea what else to do.

“Dear Rodeo,” he reads out loud, scaring the bell out of you. “I’d be lying if I tried to tell you I don’t think about you. After all the miles and the wild nights that we’ve been through. Lord knows we’ve have a few. I’d like to say that I took the reins and rode away. No regrets, no left-unsaids, just turn the page…”

Dodge looks up and pushes his hat up. “Oh, but you know better, babe.”