‘I’m not scared.’
I can tell she means it. And hell, she’s right not to be afraid. These things are just a bit of fun, nowhere near as mean as the real deal.
My shoulders tense anyway when I turn back to fully face her. Just the thought of something happening to Bailey sends a shiver down my spine. ‘Fine. I’ll be with Buck, so just give me a signal if you want it to stop.’
She nods, taking a step onto the air-filled flooring and bouncing, laughs, turns back to me, smiling, so my abs clench. She is so goddamn beautiful. ‘At least I know it won’t hurt to fall.’
I nod, not able to dredge up even the hint of a smile. ‘Be careful how you land, when you come off. You’re best to keep your arms tucked.’ I show her what I mean.
She rolls her eyes. ‘I’m going to befine,Beau. You climb on the live version of this every week, multiple times a week, but you look like you’re sending me off to certain death or something. Chill,’ she adds with a wink.
I don’t ‘chill’. I move to the bull, hand on its fake head as she comes to the side. ‘Okay, leg over,’ I say, and the smoking look she throws me tells me everything about where her head’s at.
‘Not now, Bailey James,’ I growl. ‘Concentrate, you hear?’
She opens her mouth to say something, clearly thinks better of it, and scrambles onto the bull easily enough. ‘Hold here.’ I pull the rope between her legs, ignoring the rush of blood through my body. She grabs the rope and I shake my head. ‘Not like that.’ I put my hand over hers, shifting it slightly. ‘Don’t want you breaking that pretty little wrist, or you won’t be able to write all those nice things about me.’
Her lips flicker in a smile, but otherwise her face shows fierce concentration. ‘What else?’
‘Try not to tense up—move with the bull. Think of yourself as an extension of it—every time he moves, you let it reverberate through you, like you’re sort of one line.’
Her eyes bore into me, and she nods.
‘Keep this hand out and up,’ I say.
‘Wouldn’t holding on with both hands be better?’
‘That’s against the rules,’ I tease back, then sober. ‘But do whatever you need to feel safe.’
‘No, I want to do it properly.’
Admiration rolls through me. ‘Don’t look down, it’ll knock your balance. You wanna look here,’ I gesture between the bull’s ears then glance over at Buck. ‘We’ll start you off nice and slow.’
‘Start me off slow, if you want,’ she says. ‘But don’t treat me like a baby. I want to know what it’s like. I want to feel whatyoufeel each week.’
A thousand emotions riot inside me. Pride in her, adrenalin at the thought of her wanting to know what I feel when I’m out there, protectiveness that makes me want to toss her over my shoulder and take her upstairs instead of letting her do this, give her something better to ride than a mechanical bull. And to get my brother’s goddamn hat off her head and replace it with my own.
‘Okay, Bailey, you ready?’
She smiles at me slow and sweet, then nods. ‘Let’s do it.’
I step back reluctantly, off the padded flooring and across to Buck at the controls. ‘Slow, Buck,’ I say, gruffly. ‘It’s her first time.’
He nods once then hollers to Bailey, ‘You ready, ma’am?’
Bailey nods, concentration on her face. Behind the ropes, the Donovans have all lined up to watch. ‘Go, Bailey,’ Beth calls out, clapping her hands together.
‘You’ve got this,’ Mackenzie calls, in a distinctly un-Mackenzie-like burst of positivity.
Cole and Austin are grinning like idiots. Only Caleb has the sense to look pensive, watching with the same intensity I feel.
‘Okay, do it,’ I tell Buck. He moves his hand to the controller, starting her off on the easiest setting, so she rocks back and forth gently for a few seconds, before shooting a frown at me.
‘Is that all?’ she calls back. ‘A baby could handle this.’
‘I’ll take it up a bit,’ Buck says, though in a way where he’s asking for my approval, and I really don’t want to give it. But Bailey shoots me a warning glare so I lift my hand to the control, cranking it a little myself, keeping my eyes on her the whole time.
‘Keep looking straight ahead,’ I remind her. ‘Eyes front.’
