But when Jackson went to get his rope, Tanner snagged it, carried it over, and then pointed up to us as he passed it over. Jackson turned. For a moment there was nothing on his face, but when he spotted us leaning halfway over the chute before us, a grin took over.
"That's my mentor!" he bellowed.
"That's my rookie!" I called back.
And then his score posted. A rather impressive 86.5! The moment I saw it, I was cheering again, bouncing in place. Jackson punched the air in excitement, then left the area. I thought about going to congratulate him until the chute before me rocked, then clanked. A moment later, the next set of bulls started moving in.
My set.
"Ok, I'm the second of this block," I told Jake.
"You good?" J.D. asked me.
"Oh, I'm so good," I promised. "I'm having a good day, and I refuse to let them fuck it up. No more secrets, nothing left to lose, and a whole lot of shit to burn down, right?"
"Then burn," J.D. said.
"And I'm taking him over here," Ty said as he pulled J.D over to the gap above the bull gate. I knew it would give them a better view. It also meant I was suddenly alone with Jake.
"You've got three more, then a break," Jake reminded me. "Don't tense up now."
"This is just weird," I said, pulling out my glove and shoving my hand into it.
Jake made a little noise like he didn't agree. He also took my helmet and rope, holding those so I'd have both hands free. While I focused on taping on my riding glove, he watched, staying silent for far too long.
Then, "Cody, I know some things."
"The sort of things I need to hear before I ride?" I asked.
He made that noise again, the one that basically told me nothing. "Merrill feels like he's being ganged up on. He feels threatened, and that's when he gets stupid."
"Does that help me or hurt me?" I asked.
"Dunno," he admitted. "But what I do know is that while the president hates you, the judges hate Tanner - and I can only guess J.D. now too."
"Fuck," I grumbled.
"Yeah," he said. "So Ty's helping me make sure at least one of you knows."
"How do you know?" I asked.
Which made him flash me a smile. A perfectly white, slightly crooked one - with those amazing dimples he had.
"I talked to the sound guy." Then he winked, reminding me that was his brother, Mr. Merrill's "real" son.
"Which makes me think there's more to it than you're saying," I told him.
But Jake shook his head. "No. I will, however, suggest you listen to the music playing while you ride. See, I heard a songon the drive to Tennessee. It made me think of you, but I forgot about it until today."
"Will I know it?"
"Maybe." He paused to look out at the arena where Cletus was telling jokes to fill the break. "If not, I have a feeling you can find it. If you don't know the name..." And those dimples appeared again. "Text me."
"What if I prefer calling?" I asked, finding my lips curling to match.
"Oh, I wouldn't complain about hearing your voice either. Just figured texting might be easier with two men trying to listen in - and probably willing to pick on you."
"Fuck off," I grumbled, snagging my rope off his shoulder so I could give it to the chute attendant.
