He gave me a confused look. "I'd think you'd know better than me."
"I know Tanner's here, and I know he'ssupposedto be working the bulls today. I also know the PBR's been shady lately, but I'm wondering what the other riders are saying."
"We're saying," Wes called to us, proving he'd overheard from a few places back, "that if they give us what we want - the wolf pack - then we're finally going to make some money again!"
And all around us, the men hollered and cheered. Damn. That one moment proved the excitement was back. The dread that had been hovering over all of us for the last couple events? It had finally been banished.
"Now," Jackson said, "we can start bitching about the scoring not being fair, because my mentor should kick your ass this weekend, J.D."
"Yup," J.D. agreed.
Which made Jackson do a doubletake. "Really? Figured you'd talk shit."
"Naw," J.D. said. "My girl's tougher than me. She got hurt and kept riding. I got hurt and had to heal up. Means she's not rusty and I am. I'm also gettin' real old, and she keeps rubbin' it in my face."
"Careful," Gustavo said, turning back to prove he was listening in too, "we might take that wrong."
"Or right," J.D. said. "I mean, y'all have all seen her ride."
Ok, he was walking the line between hinting and innuendos, but it seemed to be working. Everyone laughed it off, worried more about moving forward in line than trying to analyze my love life. Granted, guys were like that. Well, that was the only explanation I really had.
When it was our turn, J.D. stepped up to the window with me. "Draw her first, then me," he told the woman on the other side.
"Ok, and I'll need the entry fee from both of you, plus your IDs," she replied.
I pulled out my cards and handed them over, but J.D. caught my credit card and pulled it back. "My treat today," he said, flashing me one of his crazy grins. "Trust me."
"Yes, dear," I teased.
The woman checking us in chuckled softly at our banter, but her fingers were flying. First, she ran J.D.'s card. Then, she passed our identification back, turned to retrieve the papers printing behind her, and quickly shuffled everything into two stacks.
"Cody Jennings," she said, passing me one. "J.D." He got the other.
We took our stuff, picked up our gear, and turned while scanning the pages for the name of the bulls we'd be riding. When I found mine, it wasn't an animal I knew: Like A Prayer.
"Who'd you get?" I asked.
He glanced up with a smirk. "Oh, I drew good. Don't even feel bad because I wanna win tonight. You know, for reasons."
"Who?" I pressed.
"Speed Bump," he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and turned me for the warm-up area. "And you have that knife I gave you, right?"
"In my bag," I said softly. "I mean, since you're here..."
"Nope." He shook his head to make the point. "Cody, you keep that in your boot. I promise there's one in mine, too. We're doing some real stupid shit, girl. The kinda stupid that hurts as much as a bull, get me?"
"I'll slip it in when I put on my spurs," I promised.
"Good," he said, pausing before a panel no one else was around. "And we stretch. We do it right today. Ride safe, ride smart, but you get in there and get 'er done."
"Yes, sir," I replied, grinning to show the respect was mostly a taunt.
"Now don't be like that," he shot back playfully. "Never know, maybe I like that sorta thing."
So I leaned closer to his ear. "Nope. You like being a good boy."
But before I could pull away, someone else said, "Oh, telling secrets now?"
