That made her beam. "Timmy started school this year. They don't stay little for long, Jake. Just remember that when you decide to have some of your own."
"Oh, not sure that's in the plans," I told her, accepting my papers.
She just grinned at me, then gestured for the next man to come closer, so I moved off to the side. I was going to leave, but Rhaven lifted a finger. One more time, she passed over her card, then shifted to where I was waiting.
"I meant it," she said, lowering her voice. "Jake, when Cody wanted me to meet her there, I was honestly scared. People like me die in places like those."
"That's just wrong," I grumbled.
"It is," she agreed, pausing to sign another receipt and get her card. "I'm also signing Ty with Deviant."
"Tell him he needs the blue logo to match me." I gave her a little wink. "I mean, just so I'm not the only one who isn't in pink!" Then I looked around. "And where's your other half?"
"Braden? He's trying to get a peek of what it is you cowboys do."
"When you're done here, I can show him the gear," I offered.
And her face lit up. "Really? Ok, I don't care if he wants to see it.Ido!"
"I honestly did not expect you to be this interested in our sport," I admitted.
"Why?" she asked, sounding honestly confused.
So I gestured at her. "Your style isnotthe same as ours. You look like more of a city girl than a displaced country one."
"And I grew up in a small town in Montana. My dad taught me and my brother how to shoot cans, fish, and all the things you'd expect."
"You?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. Surprisingly, I was pretty good at it. Better at gaming. Even better at coding, but I've brought down a few bucks of my own. We were also too poor to have horses or cattle, so there's that."
"Most of us were too," I admitted, pausing when she went to pay another fine.
And that was when Braden finally returned. "Did you know they have the cattle in here?" he asked. "Just pens made out of panels, and there's dozens of them!"
"Usually about forty-five to fifty for each show," I agreed.
Which was when he saw me. "Jake! Hey, should I be getting worried about the time you've been spending with my girl?"
"Nope," I assured him. "Pretty sure your boss has rules against crossing any lines, and I do like my contract, Braden. I also just found out that Rhaven's a former country girl."
He laughed. "Yeah, I guess you could call her that."
"And the bulls," I explained, "are hauled in. They're all the top of this sport too. They start in the lower ranks, earn scores for each ride - "
"Really?" he broke in.
I nodded. "Our final score is broken in half. Fifty percent for the animal, fifty for us. It's combined for our ranking, because the harder the bull, the more work the rider put in. But those bulls? They get a score even when we don't make a full ride."
"Good to know," he said.
Which was when Jackson made it up into the line. "Good morning, Rhaven. Is it ok to call you Rhaven? I don't know your last name, ma'am."
"Rhaven's fine," she promised, moving to offer her card over one more time. "Jackson, I'd like to talk to you after this event, if you have time?"
"Uh, yeah," he said, sounding a little confused. "Sure. I mean, we always celebrate afterwards..."
"More privately," she said.
