Authors: Carolyn Brown
“Good Lord, Rye,” Colleen said. “Boots and jeans don’t make her riding material.”
Austin shot a look at Colleen. “I’d love to ride the bull.”
“Better not eat first. You’ll have trouble keeping it down,” Colleen said.
“Why don’t you join us for supper and watch me ride? I’ll bet you a hundred dollars I can stay on it for the full ride at top speed,” Austin said.
Colleen reached across her mother with an outstretched hand. “You are on, lady.”
“You ever ride the mechanical bull before?” Rye asked.
Austin shook her head. “But I’m taking a hundred dollars from your sister tonight. You want to bet against me, I’ll take your money too.”
Rye shook his head from side to side. “No bets from this corner of the house.”
The opening ceremonies ended and the bull riding began. First the men rode. Two of them managed to stay on the full eight seconds and had a total of eighty points each. The third judge, the one on the back of the bucking chute, had to break the tie with his points on both of them. Austin could smell the excitement in the rolling dust from the middle of the arena, the bulls’ snorts and kicks, and the tension that lasted eight seconds on the clock and eternity in real time.
“It’s a good thing I never went to one of these before now. I’d be one of those groupie girls like in that movie,” she told Rye.
“You mean like Rosalee?” Colleen asked.
“Colleen!” Maddie exclaimed.
“Well, she was. Remember when she used to call the house and even stalked him?”
Austin smiled even though she was so jealous she could have bitten nails. “I might have had to whip her cute little ass if I’d been a groupie back then.”
“What makes you think it was cute?” Colleen asked.
“Must’ve been cute if Rye looked at it,” Austin shot back at Colleen.
The announcer’s voice stopped any more talk. “And now coming out of chute six on Lucifer, the biggest, meanest bull in the great state of Texas, is Gemma O’Donnell. If this girl don’t land the big silver buckle at the PBR rodeo this winter, I’ll be one surprised cowboy. Give it up for our own Texas cowgirl, Gemma O’Donnell.”
The crowd went wild, whistling and stomping the bleachers until Austin was sure the real Lucifer wrapped his long tail around his ears to keep out the noise.
When the gates opened, Austin sucked in a lung full of air and held her breath. When the bull rolled to one side, his nose practically touching his tail, with all four feet off the ground, she let it out in a whoosh. With one hand up in the air, Gemma leaned back and kicked the bull to make him work harder. Three seconds into it, Austin was on her feet. Five seconds and she was yelling as loud as Colleen and Rye. Eight seconds later a rider went out to help her get off the animal which was still pitching and bucking.
“Let’s hear it again for a near perfect ride,” the announcer said.
Gemma hopped down off the horse and raised both hands until she heard the points. Then she settled her hat and headed around the edge of the arena to sit with her family. It took several minutes to get there because she had to stop along the way for hugs and pats on the back.
When she reached the family, Rye wrapped her up in a bear hug. “You done good, sister.”
“Was there ever any doubt? I had a visit with Lucifer beforehand. I told the sumbitch if he didn’t get out there and be the meanest critter in Texas I was going to drown his sorry old speckled hide in the Red River at the end of the season.”
Raylen and Dewar were off their game that night. Neither of them did a bit of good on their broncs but they both declared they’d do better the next week.
“Okay, you want to stay and watch it to the end or go over to the club and get something to eat?” Rye asked.
“I want to eat but first I’ve got a bull to ride,” she said.
Gemma looked at Colleen, who explained.
Gemma grinned as big as her brother. “I’ve got twenty out that says Austin can stay on it the full eight seconds.”
“You put that kind of trust in me?” Austin asked.
Gemma nodded. “If you say you can ride it the first time out, then I reckon you got your reasons for saying so. Don’t make me lose twenty dollars. How much did you bet, Rye?”
“I didn’t.”
“Chicken!” Gemma said.
“I don’t have a doubt in the world that Austin can ride that bull. Hell, I’ll even let Colleen operate the machinery so we know there’s no favoritism. She’ll give her the hardest ride possible so if Austin stays on Colleen can’t do anything but pay up with a smile,” Rye said.
“You got a deal,” Colleen said from three feet behind them as they headed toward the club.
“Ride first. Eat later.” Austin hoped like hell her training at horseback riding, ballet lessons, and skiing paid off.
“You sure you’ve never been on a mechanical bull?” Colleen asked.
“Cross my heart.”
“Then what makes you so stupid?” Colleen asked.
“Maybe I’m just looking forward to a trip to Cavender’s Western Wear Store in Nocona on your hundred dollar bill,” Austin replied.
Maddie, Colleen, Gemma, Austin, and Rye all headed for the bull without stopping to lay claim to a table.
“Mind if I borrow them spurs?” Austin looked at Colleen.
“Be glad to loan them to you. You know you get extra points for spurring him or for drinking while he’s bucking. Want me to get you a beer?”
Austin nodded. “Longneck. Coors. Now Gemma, you tell me the rules.”
“They’re the same as the arena. Eight seconds. One hand up all the time. One hundred points possible. If you get a perfect score you get three free pints from the club. Your choice of beer. We’ll have two judges, neither of which can be Rye, or me, since I’ve got a bet on your ass. So I’ll find a couple of waiters to judge.”
Gemma motioned for a couple of waiters.
Colleen returned with the beer and a pair of gloves.
Austin rolled up slightly on her toes and wrapped an arm around Rye’s neck.
“Kiss for good luck,” she said as her lips met his in a crashing hot deep kiss right there in front of Colleen. “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’ve had lessons in horseback riding, ballet, and skiing plus I’ve ridden something meaner and tougher than that bull.”
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yep, and to top all that off, I’ve ridden a helluva sexy cowboy and stayed on more than eight seconds,” she whispered in his ear.
“You’d better get ready to give up that hundred dollar bill,” Rye told Colleen.
“There’s never been anyone stay on the back of a bull eight seconds when I’m running the controls. Don’t expect one bit of sympathy,” Colleen said.
Austin wrapped the rope around her left hand and held on. She held the beer in her right hand and settled onto the back of the mechanical bull. She took a long swig of the beer and yelled, “Okay, let her rip.”
Colleen moved the control from bottom to top in two seconds and Austin spurred, swilled beer, and rode the ton of metal for the full eight seconds, putting on enough of a show that the waiters were clapping and whistling by the time it was over. When it stopped, she crawled off, hoped her stomach didn’t spew the beer all over Rye when she got to him, and held out her hand to Colleen, who promptly laid a hundred dollar bill in it.
“You cheated. There’s no way you have never ridden before,” Colleen grumbled.
Austin shoved the bill down into her bra. “Never have. Never been to a rodeo until tonight. But I’ll be honest. I watched close and I’ve done a lot of skiing and horseback riding. And when I was younger I took ballet and gymnastics. It’s all a matter of balance.”
Gemma patted her on the back. “Shit, girl, you ought to be riding the real thing.”
“No, thanks. Doubt I’d ever get back on that one. He was pretty dang tough. Did I get enough points for my three pints or not?”
One of the waiters handed her three tickets. “Darlin’, I’d let you ride anything I’ve got any night of the week.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve got my own personal cowboy that I have trouble keepin’ up with.”
Rye drew her close with one arm and kissed her on the top of her head. “You were damn good. I don’t think you needed any lessons from me, though,” he whispered.
“I was damn good but it was the kiss that brought me good luck. My stomach is starting to settle. I could eat a steak the size of a turkey platter.”
“Whoever is feeding this woman better have a big bank account. She always could out eat any hired hand Verline had on the place,” a woman said from behind them.
Austin spun around to see Pearl right behind her. “Pearl! What are you doing here?”
“Checking out the hot guys in tight jeans.” She laughed and hugged Austin tightly. “Hell, girl, you did better than me on that bull and I been tryin’ to tame him for five years.”
“Want to have dinner with us?”
Pearl was a short woman with shoulder-length curly red hair worn the same way she did when she was fifteen. She was slightly top heavy with a tiny waist and rounded hips. She had full lips and green eyes with golden flecks dancing in them.
“I’m here with a friend. Can’t exactly say it’s a date like you’d think of a date but he’s picking up the tab for a beefsteak tonight. Introduce me to… oh, my God, is that you, Colleen?”
“It is. Haven’t seen you in a helluva long time,” Colleen said.
“Old home week,” Rye said.
Austin laid a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “We’re going to find a table. I’m hungry and I just stayed on that bull for eight seconds. Come around the watermelon farm and see me sometime.”
“Aunt Pearlita told me you’d inherited the place and had given up your fancy job to run it. Tell the truth, I wasn’t even shocked. Is the phone number still the same at the house?”
“It is. Call me,” Austin said.
Rye led her away to a table with Maddie and Gemma right behind them. Colleen lingered behind with Pearl to play a few minutes of catch-up.
“Tomorrow night we eat before rodeo because I’m not riding and because right after Tracy Lawrence is going to perform and I’m dancing the leather off of a bunch of good lookin’ cowboys’ boots,” Gemma said.
“And what do we do all day tomorrow?” Austin asked.
Rye raised an eyebrow.
“Harry Hines Boulevard,” Gemma said.
Rye groaned.
“You can go play golf with your father or shoot the breeze with your buddies here at the club. We are shopping,” Maddie said firmly.
“What time and Harry who?”
“It’s this amazing string of stores where we buy purses, jewelry, and bling-bling clothes for the season. You can get anything from swords to lingerie,” Maddie said. “It’s actually a street, not a place but that’s what we all call it. You’re going to love it.”
The elevator was full so Rye and Austin decided to take the stairs up to their hotel rooms. The kissing started on the stairwell. By the second floor Austin was backed up to the wall with her arms around his neck. He had a handful of jean-covered butt cheek in each hand and was wishing they’d taken the elevator. When they reached the third floor she was panting. By the fourth he was laughing and had her black silk bra hanging out of his hip pocket like a flag. His shirt was unbuttoned and pulled out of his jeans.
At the top floor her belt was undone and the top button of her jeans opened. They looked both ways for family traffic before they rushed into his room and tore the rest of each other’s clothing off. Austin had doubts that they could have sex anywhere but in Verline’s house but evidently it was okay in the hotel because no one called, the bulls didn’t get out, and neither Wil nor Ace needed a place to get in out of the rain. It was one of those fast and furious sessions like the night she’d wrapped her long legs around his body and he’d taken her up against the kitchen wall.
“Whew!” Austin exclaimed as she pulled the sheet up under her arms. The cold air coming from the ceiling right above the bed chilled her sweaty body.
Rye slipped one arm under her and one over her. “Which was better? The concert or this?”
“Oh, honey, there’s no comparison. Tracy Lawrence is good. Sex with you is damn wonderful.”
Before he could say another word his cell phone lit up and started ringing.
Got that one past you, didn’t I, Granny?
she thought.
You must’ve been planting watermelons out on heaven’s back forty and didn’t realize the rodeo and concert was over.
He looked at the clock. “If that’s Gemma at two o’clock in the morning, she’s in big trouble. Yes?” Rye answered the phone with one word that had ice hanging from it. He listened intently forever in Austin’s time then said, “I’m so sorry. I’ll take care of it. You take care of that child and call me tomorrow when you know more.”
Chill bumps popped up on her arms and she dreaded hearing the news. “What?”
“One of Kent’s boys fell out the window in his bedroom. They have no idea what he was doing but when he fell he hit his arm on a big rock right below the window. They took him straight to Nocona but it’s a compound fracture and they sent him to Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. Kent was calling from there. They’re taking him into surgery and Kent won’t be able to do chores in the morning. I’ll have to leave really early,” he explained.
“I’m not sleepy but I will be at that time of the morning. Let’s go now. Besides, the traffic will be horrid early in the morning.”
“You sure?” Rye asked.
“Absolutely. I’ll leave a message for Gemma and your folks at the front desk. Without traffic we can be home in a couple of hours, maybe less.” She hopped out of bed and dressed as she talked.
“It makes sense.”
“I’m going back to my room. I’ll have my things together in fifteen minutes and meet you in the lobby. We can be home before daybreak.”
Sure enough, when he stepped out of the elevator she was at the front desk checking out and leaving a note for Gemma. Traffic was light and they were through the congested part of Dallas in record time. When they turned back to the west in McKinney it thinned out even more. They were on the south side of Montague with home about half an hour ahead when Rye saw the red, white, and blue lights flashing in his rearview mirror.