Read Online Used (Unlovable, #1) (Unlovable Series) by Lynetta Halat - Free Book Online Page A

It’s fitting. He seems noble.”
    He nods toward Indy. “I see you’ve got your own version of Trigger there.”
    I laugh and nod, giving her a pat down. “She does look like Trigger, but prettier, huh Indy?” She gives me a whinny and tosses her head. She has that same golden coat with a blonde mane and tail like the horse Roy Rogers made famous. And Liberty is a larger version of her. Me and palominos go back a long way.
    “Wanna head up one of the small trails?” Ransom asks.
    I try for nonchalance, even though my heart is about to beat out of my chest at the thought of being alone with him. “Sure, but is your stallion gonna mind his manners with my mare?”
    Ransom laughs lightly. “Yeah, he’s pretty calm. And I don’t think Indy’s in heat or he’d be prancing around for her as we speak, wouldn’t you boy?” He thumps Knight’s neck. “He’s older, but still has a way with the ladies,” he says with a wink at me.
    I don’t respond because my mouth’s gone dry imagining Knight’s owner having his way with the ladies. Scratch that—one particular lady. He could have his way with me any day. Where the hell did that come from?
    As he spurs Knight into action, Indy and I follow.
    For several minutes, the trail is narrow, and I ride behind him, studying him quietly and thinking through things. Last night, Greer had me pretty shaken on my belief that I can’t commit to something more with him. I came to college seeking a change. I thought I could find someone to hang out and forget with. Someone who’d leave his feelings out of it like I do. But, what if, accepting everything Greer has to offer may be the change I need?
    The burning question now, though—is it too late for there to be an us ? I always hoped that, when I felt strong enough for a real relationship, Greer would be the one. Then I went and caused us both so much pain. Would he really be able to handle us just picking up and moving forward? Was I good with that? None of it could be erased, but could the hurt lessen with time?
    When the path widens, Ransom slows Knight down until Indy and I are next to them. He strikes up an easy conversation about school and the different titles I won over the years. He asks me about all the records I set. It’s funny because each time I give him a fact, he nods like I’m confirming it for him—like he’s long since known the answer. Our conversation flows easily. He asks how I’ll be getting to all the competitions, and when I tell him I’ll be driving my horses and myself since my mom runs our ranch, he frowns at me. I backtrack and assure him that she’ll probably attend some of them, just not all. No one really needs to be privy to the ugliness that is my home life.
    And that’s enough about me. “How’d you know you wanted to be a bull rider?” I ask.
    “Ah, I don’t know that it was so much a want as a need. It ate at me until I did it. Now it’s got such a hold, I can’t imagine doing anything different. I always loved everything about rodeo, but there was just something special about watching bull riders get ready to take on the beast. And the high I felt when they hit that eight second mark?” He shakes his head, seemingly with reverence. “It was indescribable. Is indescribable. Anyway, my dad took me to rodeo a bunch when I was a little kid. It was our thing.” He looks pained for a minute, making me sense there’s more to that story.
    I’m curious but don’t want to pry. To distract him, I offer up my secret desire. Changing the subject, I tell him about my sheep-riding dalliances of days long ago.
    He gets a kick out of that. “Mutton Bustin,’” he laughs lightly. “I can see you holding your own.”
    “I did,” I brag. “I wanted to be a bull rider when I was little,” I add. Still long for it .
    “Oh yeah?”
    “Yep, like I said, I used to ride sheep at junior rodeo, but that’s as far as I got. Barrel racing is as close as I can get to that kind of high. I