But he simply reached over to rub her back lightly. "Babe, you don't need it now, but you did back then. Just nice to know a few of us have been making sure they couldn't chase you off."
"Ty too," Tanner said.
I snuck a glance at him to find he'd glanced away. No, Ty wasn't smiling at that, but clearly it had been what he'd needed to hear. And yet, there were still a few things this group needed to know about.
"So," I said, "speaking of Ty, you should all know he's been working with Peter McClain-"
"Blue," Tanner told Cody softly.
"Yeah, the guy in blue," I agreed. "Because Peter's father owns Black Hat Ranch."
"Speed Bump's owners," J.D. told her.
I nodded. "Well, that got this weekend's stock contractors involved. They don't want their bulls to get fucked with shit scores. Since Speed Bump is competing for first place in the Unleash the Beast competition, it's important to them. A lot of money is on the line for that."
"And they're not the only contractors pissed about this," Ty added. "I don't know all their names, but Peter told me there are at least five farms calling the PBR and threatening to sue for breach of contract. Black Hat Ranch has the strongest claim, supposedly, but all of them together?"
"Which," Tanner said, "explains why the PBR gave into Chance so easily."
"Who?" I asked, not quite keeping up.
"Chance Hunter," Isaac told me. "The owner of Deviant Games."
"One of them," Cody corrected. "I guess the other owner likes to stay out of the spotlight. Rhaven said there's a whole story there, but I didn't want to push. Not with how they've been treating me." Then she sucked in a breath. "Oh! Jake!"
"Hm?" I asked.
"Are you looking for more sponsors?"
"Always?" I said, making it a question because I wasn't sure where she was going with this.
But Cody smiled, and it was the sort that made my stomach do some dumbass shit. "Then I'm going to give Rhaven your number, ok? I mean, how do you feel about voodoo dolls?"
"Me?" I asked, realizing she meant they might sponsor me. "I mean, I'm good with it, if you think you can convince them."
Which made J.D. laugh. "Sorry, Jake. Rhaven brought you up, not us."
And for a moment, I paused, thinking back to last weekend. She'd said she was there to look at the other riders, and I hadn't even thought about the fact she might be looking for more people to sponsor. I should've, but I'd been a bit preoccupied.
"Do they pay well?" I asked.
"Oh yeah," J.D. said before Cody could answer. "Better than any of mine."
"And they don't make you fight for it," Cody said. "More than that, they seem to like the rule-breaking more than the winning."
"And they're talking about paying us to fit 'deviant' into conversation in any way we can," Tanner said.
But Ty was gaping at me. When I looked at him, a wry little chuckle slipped out. "I told you to stop trying to stay in the background."
"Yeah, but if that shit about my father gets out..." I said.
"So we don't let it get out," Isaac said. "I'm starting to realize this group is pretty good at keeping secrets."
Ty just shook his head. "Nope. I think Jake needs to stop being scared of his big secret. Wasn't his fuckup, and it might just be our best weapon."
"But I don't want to fuck up Clay's life," I countered. "See, that's what's holding me back. Not Donald. The man's a prick and a half. He also has no clue Clay knows we're half-brothers. He's trying to keep us apart, hoping his secret will stay safe,but Clay knows. He also doesn't want his mother to think he's picking his father when he's really picking his job."
"Sound guy," Ty explained to the rest.
