Reckless Hearts

by Jessa Wilder

Dedicated to everyone who’s ever looked at two rivals and thought: “Why not both?”

The best riders know, it’s not a fight. It’s a dance. And the bull leads.

He doesn’t look worried. He looks satisfied. Like he’s proud of himself for getting in my head enough to almost get me trampled. Heat crawls up my neck. My ears burn. Getting distracted like that was humiliating.

Knowing he was the reason? Fucking mortifying.

I understood why she had to leave. Her dad had just died. She needed space.

I don’t give a damn. She’s real. She’s here. And I’m not letting go.

Petty? Maybe. He’s ahead of me in the rankings, but she came to me first.

She doesn’t hesitate. She runs to him. Runs.

Doesn’t know how he threw me away for the sport like our years together didn’t mean a damn thing. Like I was just some stepping stone he could crush on the way to the top. And the worst part? He walks around like he doesn’t get why I’m still pissed. Like I didn’t bleed for him too. When Callie left, I lost her. But when Mav chose bull riding over everything else. We lost us. We’ve been like this ever since. Two unmovable walls. No point trying to talk through it. Not when he still doesn’t think he did anything wrong. Maverick raises an eyebrow.

“Maverick Lincoln Kane and Colt Wyatt Lawson…” Her voice wavers, less a crack of thunder now, more a quiet plea. “How did it get like this?”

girl who used to keep us in line. The only one who could tame two reckless boys who thought they were untouchable. But we fell apart without her.

That’s why, when Maverick and Colt told me they were serious about competing, I did the only thing I could. I ran.

secrets. They’re opposites. Sun and moon. Fire and water. Yet somehow, always orbiting each other.

God broke the mold with Callie Harper. Nothing and no one has ever come close.

“Whatever’s between me and Colt stays between us. Touch him again and you’ll wish a bull stomped your goddamn face in.” Marco backs off fast, hands raised like I’m

“That’s it. Breathe, baby. Come back to me. You’re doing so well. Just like that.”