“Relationship?” Tate laughs. “If that’s what this is, maybe you should have made sure your girl ate.”
Gray rushes forward, my food barely tossed to the side fast enough for me to grab hold of him, keeping him from colliding with his brother. “Gray, look at me.”
His chest heaves as he stares at his almost clone. But slowly, his gaze finds mine. “I—”
“It’s not a big deal. You two need to stop this bullshit.” My narrowed gaze drifting from one Garrison brother to the other.
“River.”
“I’m not done. It’s fucking fast food, Gray. Your brother didn’t even ask; Joy did. So sit your ass down and eat some of my fries or go take a walk. We don’t need either of you worked up before you pickup tonight.”
Gray sends one more glare Tate’s way before dropping to the couch and pulling me onto his lap. “Better?” he grumbles.
“Eat something.”
With more force than necessary, he snatches the fries from the cushion beside us, feeding me two before taking one for himself.
These two men are the biggest mess I’ve ever seen.
***
Amateur night is longer and more exhausting than the competition nights.
Gray had been right. No major injuries so far, but I’ve seen countless riders for abrasions and hard falls. The worst was a calf roper who got his entire cheek scraped by the rope while trying to wrestle the poor little cow. I’m no plastic surgeon, and I doubt he’ll see one, so he’ll have a nice scar to show for his efforts.
I’ve been at the gates watching those brave enough to ride the bulls try and fail. We must be ten into the lineup, and not a single one has made the eight.
“Hey,” Joy appears beside me.
“Done with the horses?”
“For now. I’ll have to get back in there at the end of the night.”
“Hopefully, some of the guys stick around and help out, so you don’t have to stay too late.”
She only shrugs, leaning her forearms against the metal bar in front of us. “So, any idea what all that was about today?”
She doesn’t have to say the blow-up between the Garrison brothers. It’s no secret they act like they loathe each other’s existence, but why Gray would get so pissed about cheap food seems over the top.
“I wish I did. Those two need to work out their issues.”
I can only shake my head, replaying those few minutes. “My thoughts exactly. Gray’s reaction was a bit… much. And it didn’t help that Tate had to be an ass in return.”
“No. It didn’t,” Joy agrees quietly.
“Speaking of Tate… what is going on between you two?”
Joy goes silent, but her eyes betray her. Seems that both of us have it bad for those Garrison boys. “Nothing, really.”
I only nod, a smirk pulling at my cheeks as they call the next rider.Old ManWilber.
“Is he really going to ride a bull? He has to be like a hundred by now,” Joy gasps.
“I’ve known the man my whole life. He and Gran are still good friends. Wilber Crawley does what he wants.”
Joy’s eyes only go wide as the chute gate opens, and the bull kicks up in the air. Battle spins and jumps, changing directions and damn near crashing his face into the ground with his landings, but Wilber hangs on. That right arm high in the air at a perfect ninety-degree angle, cackling like a hyena the entire time.
Chancing a glance at the clock, it’s only been six seconds, but it feels like we’ve been watching for hours. When the buzzer sounds, the crowd howls.
