Colton was tightening his glove with his teeth. “I can do better. Let’s go again,” he said shortly, breathing hard.
“No, you need a break,” Dean said, glancing longly at his own horse. “We need to practice too.”
Colton had already made it back to the chute. “I want to hang on for sixteen seconds.”
“Are you crazy?” Jimmy asked as his horse appeared beside me. “Dude, come on. You can’t risk any damage before Armillo.”
“If I can do sixteen, eight will be nothin’,” he said stubbornly, climbing up the gate.
The boys were still throwing their objections, but I could see by the look in Colton’s eyes that there was no talking him out of this one.
Dennis finished readying the horse for him. “Sixteen seconds and then you’re done. No more practice today, deal?” Colton opened his mouth to protest, but Dennis held up his finger. “Deal?”
He nodded, getting into his position.
“Is he always this stubborn?” I leaned over to ask Jimmy.
Jimmy laughed quietly. “Allegra, I don’t know if you remember the answer I gave in your interview when you asked if I give my siblings any advice on rodeoing.”
I strained to think and let a smile cross my lips. “You told me Colton was too stubborn to take any advice.”
He shrugged with a smug look on his face. “I tried to warn you.”
“Your dad tells me you’re thinking of retiring,” I said without thinking.
Jimmy looked melancholy at Colton. “I’ve been trying to decide for years when the right time would be.” His eyes wandered to his wife, who was spinning her horse in a tight circle. “There was never a right time, but my kids are starting to grow up. I’ve missed enough of their childhoods.”
“That’s a big sacrifice.”
He shrugged again. “AnnaJane sacrificedsomuch for me and my career. It’s time. Besides, I’ve seen how hard it is for my dad to avoid his pain. I want to retire before I can’t give my kids a piggyback ride.”
I tried not to think about his final sentence. “You’ll work for your dad when you retire?” I assumed.
“Yeah, most likely,” he said, a little sad. “I’ve spent my whole life focused on gettin’ to the rodeo, I never thought about what to do when it was over.”
I gripped Gracie’s reins tightly. “I’m sorry, Jimmy, I didn’t mean to bring it up.”
He shook his head. “I’m excited to get to see my wife and kids every single day. Sure, I’m leavin’ behind a lot, but I also have so much to look forward to.”
Alan snapped the gate open, and Colton was off like a rocket.
“I’ve seen how hard it is for my dad to avoid his pain.”
I could barely watch as the horse did everything it could to try to get Colton off. She jumped and kicked and spun untilIwas tired. His body was jerking hard, back and forth, catching a rhythm. The first eight seconds went by quickly, but the second half was excruciating.
Colton had sweat flying off his hair, his hands were visibly shaking, and he looked exhausted.
Finally, right when I thought I was going to throw up out of anticipation, Jimmy yelled, “TIME!”
I snapped the reins and rode as fast as I could to get to his side.
Colton was gripping the saddle with all the strength hehad left. Last time, he’d simply swung off his horse, not needing me to grab him off. This time, I would have to do the heavy lifting.
I reached behind his belt, helping balance as he lunged toward my horse.
Whether his depth perception was off or he was just too tired to care, I wasn’t sure. But Colton barely brushed the back of my saddle before dropping to the dirt, face-first.
“Colton!” I screamed.
