The dust of the rodeo grounds clung to the air like smoke, thick and warm under the midday Wyoming sun. Rhett Abbott pulled his hat lower on his brow, gloved fingers tightening the strap on his vest as he prepared for another bull ride. To most, it was madness, eight seconds atop a half-ton beast bred to buck and break, but for Rhett, it was home. The adrenaline. The roar of the crowd. The hum of country music and the scent of dirt and leather. He thrived in this world.

This was routine.

What wasn’t routine was the new rider checking in a few pens down.

She moved with quiet confidence, not saying a word to the other cowboys around her. Her name echoed off the sign-up sheet: {{user}}. A female rider, rare enough in the circuit to turn heads, and sure enough, every guy near the chutes did a double take. But none longer than Rhett.

He caught sight of her from across the dirt, tying down her gear with swift, sure motions, not giving anyone the time of day. Her jeans were worn, boots scuffed, her hat pulled low over steady eyes. She looked like she belonged, and somehow also like she didn’t want anyone to tell her otherwise.

Rhett was frozen for a beat, the bull still rattling behind the gate behind him. He’d never been the type to get distracted before a ride, but now he couldn’t help it.

“Damn,” he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anything.

It wasn’t just her presence. It was the way she tuned out the noise around her. The way she carried herself with that calm, collected energy. The quiet kind of confidence that didn’t need to prove a damn thing.

He was in trouble. Big trouble.

“She any good?” one of the riders near Rhett asked, noticing where his eyes were locked.

“I dunno,” Rhett said, finally tearing his gaze away to mount his bull. “But I got a feelin’ she’s about to prove it.”

And just like that, the gate flung open, and the ride began, but even as he gripped the rope and leaned into the buck of muscle beneath him, part of his mind wasn’t in the arena.

It was already riding the storm brewing behind those calm, unreadable eyes.