"Good luck," Tanner grumbled. "Man, J.D., we both know it's not going to be that easy. I also wouldn't change a damned thing. Just real hard to come out when we're not in the spotlight."
"I'm riding in Nashville," I promised. "My mama's gonna have something to be proud of."
"I thought she didn't watch the shows."
I just gave him my crazy grin. "Normally, no, but she always comes to Nashville. It's tradition now, and my mama is gonna see her boy on that bullpen at the end. If I'm lucky, Isabella will come too."
"Your little sister, right?"
I nodded, pleased he really had been paying attention to me. Well, or at least to the ink on my body, but that counted. I'd let him trace those words a few times, and not just to make surehe knew my mama and sister's names. Naw, just because I liked him touchin' me.
Or her.
Orus.
"What?" Tanner asked, making me realize I was starting to smile all dumb-like.
"Oh, was just thinkin' about how you learned their names." I let my eyes flick over his body, but a sudden burst of intense music made both of us forget all about that talk.
Our heads snapped up, our eyes hit the chutes, and our bodies tensed. A big yellow-and-white bull came out hard. The boy on its back had his chin tucked real nice and pretty, and his arm was waving hard. I clenched as he leaned back too far, but then he caught himself and, using his free arm, pulled himself back up.
Then the bull switched to spin the other way. That boy wobbled real bad, but he was sticking. His legs were down, hanging on. Yeah, that was a Cody trick, which meant he'd been listening to the girl outscoring his ass.
I jerked my chin that way. "I think Cody might be someone's mentor."
"That Jackson up there? The Canadian one?"
"Yep," I agreed, leaning forward a bit. "I think he's gonna stick all eight."
"And that's Pumpkin Spice," Tanner said. "That bull likes to put his head into the riders."
"Fuck."
The buzzer went off, proving me right, and we both stood. We couldn't help it. Like we were sharing a mind, Tanner and I pushed over to the rail, hanging on to it for a little support. The boy on the bull pulled at the tail of his rope to get free. The bull kept bucking, tossing Jackson up the moment his rope was slack - and then he crashed down into the dirt.
"Run!" Tanner yelled.
Jackson's head snapped up, proving he'd heard. Shoving a hand into the dirt, he pushed off and started running, but the bull had seen him, and it wasn't one of the little ones. When three-quarters of a ton of bovine came charging, it was an impressive sight, and the thing was behind this boy so he couldn't watch his own back.
"Left!" Tanner barked out.
Jackson juked like some damned football player, spinning off to the side as Pumpkin Spice flew past. The kid didn't give the bull a chance to turn back either. Naw, that boy sprinted again, making a wild leap up the wall right in front of us.
I reached, intending to pull him over, but Tanner was faster and stronger. My boyfriend hooked a hand on the guy's belt, his other on Jackson's vest, and pulled. I managed to scoop his feet, getting them over the rail real fast, just as the bull slammed into the wall, making all of us stumble back.
"Fuck me," Jackson breathed as he pulled off his helmet. "Damn, Tanner, I fucking miss you!" Then he leaned in and slapped Tanner's back nice and hard. Next, he jerked his chin at me. "Ribs still fucked?"
"Yeah, a bit," I admitted. "Just be glad I wasn't the one trying to pull, cuz I can't."
"But you're still walking," he reminded me. "And there's a real cute blonde back there talking about how proud she is of you for healing up." He winked, then turned to wave at the cameras as his scores were called out.
Tanner and I stepped back, trying to get out of the shot that was up on the big screen, but it wasn't enough. Over by the chutes, a whole crew of cowboys started cheering. It was enough to make Jackson chuckle.
"Pretty sure that's not for me," he told Tanner, and then jumped back over the rail so he could retrieve his rope.
"Hey!" I barked. "Don't let them give you no shit, rookie!"
"Yes, sir!" he called back before turning to the bullfighters who were milling about, looking a little lost. "Where's my rope?"
