Dakota Love Me: Tiller Brothers Book 2 (11 page)

The night was a little colder but not uncomfortable.  Georgia thought she was shaking inside because of nerves.  Dakota had already told her, he didn’t care what place he received.  Making the finals would make his sponsors happy.  He just wanted to beat his bull tonight and not worry about the score.  She admired the way he wasn’t driven to have to get first place like his brother Cody had done in the bronc saddle riding contest last year.  He wasn’t a fool, he had told her, any one of the finalist had a shot to win.  If the bull didn’t perform, it wasn’t the riders fault.  All he could do was hold on for eight seconds.  That was his goal.  She had given him a long kiss before he left her to go get ready for the event.

The fourth place contestant had stayed on the bull but only scored seventy-seven.  Dakota was up next.  She gripped Jenny’s hand.  Hers was shaking as bad as her hand.  The ride started out with the bull doing one buck but then the bull just started to run.  Dakota jumped off at eight seconds, and he looked disappointed.  The judges came over to him and talked to him.  Dakota smiled up at his family.

“What’s happening?” Georgia asked.

Cody said, “He has the option to take his score or get a re-ride since his bull didn’t perform.  At this level of competition, the bull’s got to give him a ride or they give him a chance on another bull.”

“He gets to try again, like a do-over?” she asked with a smile on her face.

“Yep.”

The announcer informed the crowd that Dakota would be given a re-ride on a different bull.  His family rose up and cheered.

She was happy he got another chance but that meant she was going to have these knots pulling at her stomach for one more ride.  She could hardly catch her breath. 

The next rider rode the bull and got an eighty-two score.  At this point still ahead of Dakota.  The current first place rider had a good score of eighty-seven and it kept him in first place.

Cody and Cameron went down to help Dakota get ready for his last ride.  Georgia kept her fingers and her legs crossed, and if she could cross her toes she would have done that.  She whispered a little prayer that he would stay on the bull and for him not to get hurt.

When the gates were swept open, from the moment it left the chute, she knew it was a different bull, meaner and intent to try to twirl around and buck Dakota off.  He was just slipping off when the buzzer sounded.  He jumped up and ran to the fence, with the bull fighters keeping the bull busy in the other direction. The family all held their breaths to see if they’d disqualified him for sliding off before the buzzer but he got the green flag from the judge.  Dakota jumped up in the air and waved at the fans, and then he looked at his family.  She could tell he didn’t care about the score; he just kept looking at her and not the score board.

It was an eighty-seven.  He was beaten out of first place by one point but she knew he didn’t care.  He’d beaten two bulls that night and she was going to have to show him some good loving tonight.  

She noticed Brad Smith behind Dakota with a sour look on his face. He kicked the fence and walked off.  During the afternoon, she had noticed Brad was one of the bull riding contestants.  When he had been bucked off, he kicked the dirt nearly throwing it up in the bull fighter’s face.  She thought to herself, he just never learns. 
What a selfish prick
.  She hoped she didn’t have another run in with him.

That night after the award’s ceremony where Dakota placed second, and after he signed autographs again, they all walked over to the sport health center so Georgia could pick up her overnight bag.  At Dakota insistence she had checked out of her hotel room early in the morning. Dakota had to go meet with his sponsors again so she just took her suit cases with her and dropped them off in her truck.  Her overnight bag she took to work.  She’d have taken it back to Dakota’s room, but she had lost his key card, probably still on the floor after she had stripped out of her clothes.  She couldn’t help blushing at the memory.

At the entrance several bull riders Dakota knew stepped out of the center.  Dakota was introducing Georgia and his family to the men. When he got to Brad Smith, Brad held his hand up in Dakota’s face.  “You don’t need to introduce me to Georgia.  I know her…intimately.” 

Her eyes flew to Dakota who looked shocked and his eyes asked the question if it was true.  She couldn’t answer in front of his family and looked down at her feet.  She wouldn’t lie to Dakota.  Brad noticed the exchange, laughed and swept Georgia up in his arms, leaning her backwards.  “Oh my little bunny, I have missed you.” And he planted a kiss on her lips.

She was in shock. Her arms flew up in the air to keep her balance and to keep from falling over.  She finally got a grip of his shirt.  She had no leverage to push him so she jerked her head to the side. When he planted her on her feet, she looked to where Dakota had stood only a moment ago and saw him stomping off into the crowd.  Cameron and Cody were looking at her and the rest of the family’s eyes were on Dakota’s retreating back.

Georgia had her hand wrapped around her truck keys.  She turned back around to Brad, tightened her fist and swung up with all her might and hit him at just under the bridge of his nose.  It sent him flying backwards with blood squirting out of his nose.  His head hit the cement and he cried out in pain.  She turned to run after Dakota, but Cody grabbed her arm.

“Wait, let him cool down.  He’s a hot head and won’t listen to you right now.  Do you need me to pick up this piece of trash and finish him off for you?” he asked.

Tears were running down her cheek.  Dr. Witting came out and saw the blood all over her knuckles and looked at Brad lying on the ground with what looked like a broken nose.

“Dr. Cooper, we don’t bloody up our patients.  I’ll speak with you later.”  He and another Doctor picked Brad up and carried him into the center.  He was swearing up a streak that he’d get even with that little bitch.

Georgia was crying hard, but she tried to tell Cody, “It’s not like it looks.”

Cody put his arms around her and Cameron smoothed her hair. Cameron whispered, “Cody can finish off Smith when he gets done in there and I’m going to go knock some sense into Dakota”

“No, Cameron, he’ll never believe me. It wasn’t like it looked. I’m so sorry I ruined his big night,” she cried.  She took off her barrel racing buckle and handed it to Cameron, “Give this to Dakota and tell him I’m sorry and I’ll never forget him.”

She ran off before either brother could stop her.  “Damn,” both brothers shouted, “come back here Georgia.”  She lost them in the crowd that was leaving the arena.  All she knew was that she needed to go home.  She ran over to where her horse was and climbed on the gate. Her horse came over and she hugged him, still crying, “Let’s go home Damian.”  It took her some time to hook up her trailer and load her horse as she was crying so hard she couldn’t breathe.  She picked up her phone and called her dad, “I’m coming home. I’m leaving now.”

“Georgia, why are you crying?  What’s wrong?”  Her dad asked with concern in his voice.

“Something happened and Dakota is never going to believe me and I’m hurting so bad. I just want to come home.”

“It’s too late Georgia…you need to get a good night’s sleep.  You shouldn’t be driving when you’re this upset.” He tried to talk her into staying until morning.

“I’m leaving dad.  I’ll call you when I stop for gas.  Don’t worry.  I’m turning off my phone so I can concentrate on the road.  I love you dad.”

Driving through the crazy Vegas traffic while pulling her horse trailer had been a harrowing experience.  It took her a little over an hour to get to Mesquite.  She cried the whole way.  It was a miracle she hadn’t gotten into an accident.  Even though it was late, she was worried because a black car had been following her the whole way, never speeding up or slowing down.   It was like she was being hunted.  Her gas tank was getting near empty so she stopped at Mesquite and got gas.  Her eyes were darting around to see if the black car was still following her. If the car reappeared she thought she could lose it in Salt Lake.  Maybe she was just imagining things, but her skin felt prickly with worry.  Many nights, Georgia had driven home alone without worrying.  She usually carried her shot gun under the front seat but had forgotten it with the excitement of her first NFR.

She was exhausted.  When she was about half way to Salt Lake City she stopped at Beaver at a gas station to use the restrooms and took a minute to call her dad while picking up some sunflowers that she could munch on and some coffee.  Usually the sunflowers kept her from falling asleep.

“Dad, I’m in Beaver.  I’m okay, don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”

“Now you’re just making me mad, little girl.  It’s a about a twelve hour drive to Casper.  I don’t want you driving all night.  Pull over and get a hotel room.”

Her shoulders ached and she rubbed the back of her neck.  “I promise I’ll pull over if I get too tired and I’ll call you.  Love you dad,” and she hung up quickly and turned off her phone.  Getting as far away from Vegas was all she thought about, maybe the hurt would go away with distance. 
Oh God, what have I done
?  She started crying again.

***

Cameron started looking for Dakota.  He knew he’d be at the nearest bar. When he found him, he was so mad he was going to plant his fist in his face.  Cody had stayed to have a little talk with Brad before joining in the search.  Cody had sent Matt to take Tammy to the hotel room.  Matt was going to bunk at the trailer.  Jared and Jenny had already gone to their room.  Everyone in his family knew what Dakota had seen hadn’t been the whole story.  It didn’t take long for him to find him in the first bar as you got off the shuttle.  There were three empty shot glasses setting in front of him and he was drinking his fourth shot.

“What’s the matter with you man?  We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Shit, you can’t be that stupid.  No you aren’t that stupid, I’m that stupid.  I thought she was different.  Got my signals all screwed up,” he slurred his words.

Cameron threw money on the table and grabbed Dakota up by his shirt and started dragging him out of the bar.

“You didn’t have to pay.  Seems if you place in the bull riding competition a lot of people buy you drinks in Vegas.  I need to find me a woman.”

“Shut up Dakota.”  While Cameron was dragging Dakota up the strip, he called Cody.

“I got him...we’re walking toward Caesars now.  He’s already drunk.  Did you take care of our problem?”

“Yeah, he’s going to be hurting tomorrow. I’m across the street, I see you.  I’ll meet you at the corner at the cross walk,” Cody said.

When Cody stomped up to Dakota he swung at his chin and knocked him to the ground.  Then they both picked him up, dragging him between them as they kept walking.

“What a jackass you are Dakota…” Cody yelled at him.

“…but she,” Dakota tried to argue.

“You want me to hit you again. Just shut up.” 

In the lobby, Cameron grabbed a pot of coffee off a waiter’s tray, and stuck ten dollars in his hand.  “Sorry man, he needs this more than who you are taking it to right now.”

At Dakota’s room, they pulled out his key card.  It was a wonder someone hadn’t stolen his wallet as drunk as he had gotten so fast, Cameron thought.  They both dragged him in the shower and turned the water on ice cold.  It made Dakota start yelling and went a long ways to getting him to quit drunk fighting with them.

They stripped off his clothes and wrapped the hotel bathrobe around him.  Cody poured him a cup of coffee, and told him in no uncertain terms to sit and drink.

After his third cup and deadly silence in the room, Dakota slammed the cup on the table.  “You satisfied now?  I was getting good and drunk.  Nothing wrong with that after you discover your whole life has just gone to hell… and damn I believed she was falling in love with me.  What a sucker I am,” he put his head in his hands and cried.

That action softened Cody and Cameron up and calmed them down.  As mad as they were with their brother, they loved him and couldn’t stand to see him hurting so much.  This wasn’t the confident man they had known all their life. 

Cody started, “You should have seen the upper cut she gave that shit hole once she tore herself away from him.  It broke his nose and knocked him on his ass.  You’d have been proud of her.  She was one mad lady. John Witting came out and wasn’t too happy with Georgia for breaking the fucker’s nose.  I’m not sure if she still will have a job after that.”

Dakota’s head flew up.  “I should have stayed and beaten him up myself…why didn’t she tell me what was going on?”

“You dumb ass, you ran off before the fireworks started and left her devastated.  She couldn’t quit crying,” Cameron chimed in.

“Anyone who watched her after you left could tell she was in love with you and you blew it,” Cameron took her buckle out of his pocket and threw it at Dakota’s chest.  “She said to tell you it wasn’t what you thought, and she was sorry, and she would never forget you.”

That sobered him up.  “What?” He reached down and picked her buckle up off the floor where it had landed.

***

“Where is she now?”  He looked around the room, realizing he was in his own room.  “Damn, she’s not here.”

Cameron looked at him strangely, “What’s her room number?  I’ll go look and see if she is okay.”