Rocky Mountain Cowboy (44 page)

“Be optimistic.” It was all Becky would say, and Jenny let the matter drop. The last rodeo event of the day was the bull riding, and because the prize money was so large, it was the event everyone had been waiting for. Jenny again thought about descending to the staging area where Hawk had recently reappeared, but she decided she could see better from where she was. By the time a half dozen cowboys rode the various bulls that had been selected, she was a nervous wreck.

Seeing men’s bodies thrown around like rag dolls, up in the air, down hard onto the ground and nearly trampled under the hooves of the immense animals, made her wish she could go down and drag Hawk away before he got on one of the beasts. It was bad enough watching strangers do this, but not someone you loved. Becky saw her agitation and reassured her Hawk had done this enough to be a veteran. It didn’t make a difference. When they announced his name as the next rider, she wanted to put her hands over her face and not watch. Instead she sat forward on the bleacher bench, her hands curled around the cold metal edge until her knuckles whitened.

The
big gray Brahma was the bull no one wanted to ride, but as luck would have it, Hawk drew the animal So far, only two men had managed so far to stay on their bulls for the full eight seconds.

The announcer made sure the audience knew this particular bull was the meanest of the bunch
. He reminded the crowd that the score to beat was a 90. This was the animal who could beat the score, if the rider, Hawk in this case, managed to ride it to the whistle. Everyone in the stands clapped and cheered, while Jenny wanted to scream. The animal was nearly kicking apart the sides of the chute he was caged in. Hawk had to wait beside the enclosure until it calmed down enough for him to climb up and ready himself over the huge creature.

Jenny watched him tug his hat down tight on his head, climb the rails, and settle over the bull, his long legs spread-eagle, st
raddling either side of the chute. He must have felt her trepidation, even across the distance that separated them, because he looked up, gave her a crooked grin, then a thumbs up signal. She sent him back a silent prayer and touched her lips to softly blow him a kiss. Off to the side of the staging area, she saw Cindy Caldwell waiting and watching, frowning as she caught their exchange.

Finally, Hawk eased himself onto the animal’s broad, humped back. Several cowboys, including Scott, stood over the top of the chute to assist him get situated. Once he was on, he wrapped the thick bull rope
that circumvented the bull around his hand, adjusting it between thumb and fingers until he was satisfied with the fit. That one handhold and his legs were the only things that were going to keep him on the two thousand pound monster.

Jenny sucked in a deep breath when he raised his free arm high into the air and nodded
once to indicate he was ready for the gate to be opened. It swung hard against the fence. Cowboys scrambled out of the way, and the bull exploded out. Hawk only needed to stay on for eight seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. Immediately, the bull started kicking and bucking furiously, trying to get rid of its rider. Hawk was tossed around on top of it like a gyrating crash dummy, his arm flung high and wide until it looked like it would surely be pulled from its socket.

Then the bull rose straight up into the air and
back down, with a force that must have rattled Hawk’s teeth and shaken the ground beneath it. From that incredible maneuver, it went into a wild spin, first in one direction, then abruptly into another. It was almost beyond comprehension that an animal that size could move with such agility and speed. But even more mystifying was the fact that a man could remain atop such a devilish whirl. It was just as amazing that Hawk rode the bull’s momentum with such finesse and fluidity. Jenny was terrified, but so proud of him that tears glazed her eyes.

Finally, mercifully, the eight second
whistle blew. The spectators went wild, clapping and cheering loudly, excitedly, sensing a possible winner. But Jenny held her breath. Hawk still had to jump down or be ejected from the dangerous animal without injury.

With amazing agility, he leaped off the bull
’s back and rolled in the dirt toward the fence. Two rodeo clowns, one in a barrel, immediately rushed over to distract the Brahma. Hawk pushed to his feet and started to dash to the safety of the fence. The big, humped-back bull had other plans about its rider’s escape, though. Changing its direction on a pivot, it dropped its horned head, and charged Hawk’s retreating figure.

Jenny stood and screamed his name. The two rodeo clowns ran at the bull to distract him, one waving a red blanket and the other still in the barrel. The bull ignored their antics and went after Hawk. Just before he leapt onto the fence, the bull caught him on the left shoulder with the tip of his horn. The momentum of the head-butt slammed him into the fence, then lifted him
high into the air against it. Hawk grabbed the top rail on his way down on the other side and was immediately caught by Scott and another cowboy who held onto him to prevent him from falling back into the arena where the bull waited. Furious at the loss of his prey, the Brahma slammed sideways into the metal rails. Despite his friends’ grasp, Hawk fell onto the ground, onto his back. But at least he was no longer in the arena.

Jenny didn’t even remember coming to her feet, but she was still standing when it was over. People around her had also come to their feet, but began to sit down when Hawk dropped over the fence. The announcer was talking about the ride, praising it. The points were soon awarded and announced over the speakers.
Hawk had earned a hard-to-beat 92. People cheered and clapped again, but no one said anything about what condition the rider was in.

Behind the arena, a tight knot of cowboys formed a circle around Hawk. Jenny couldn’t see him any longer. Sick with fear, she started to ease past the people between her and the aisle. Becky grabbed the stadium blanket and followed her.

She hurried down the steps of the stands, then around the circular arena, to the back staging area. There were so many people milling around, she got a little lost in the crowd. Becky came up beside her and pointed toward a parked ambulance.

“That’s where they would have taken him,” she indicated. “Go. I’ll check in with Scott. I see him over there.”

Jenny just nodded and zigzagged through cowboys who parted for her. Ten feet from the emergency vehicle, she finally spotted Hawk. He was sitting on the rear bumper, angled so that his back was to her. He had taken off the fitted padded vest he had worn for the bull riding. From the rear, his pretty blue shirt was stained dark with a huge patch of blood. The EMT was standing in front of him, but so was Cindy Caldwell. And the damn woman was unbuttoning his shirt and removing it.

Hawk couldn’t see her, but both the EMT and the blonde were facing her and looked toward her as she skidded to an abrupt halt to stare at the trio, blanching, probably to a linen-white, when she saw the exposed, bleeding wound on Hawk’s left shoulder. Clutching his vest and shirt in her hands, Cindy sent Jenny a venomous glare that clearly told her not to approach. The EMT dismissed her after a moment, and began cleaning the wound. Hawk’s smooth bronze skin was torn in a long jagged gash. No doubt it would need stitches, but it wasn’t so deep as to have struck bone, thank God!

Relieved, Jenny released the breath she’d been holding. Cindy leaned in to Hawk, curled her long red nails around the back of his neck, and pressed her lips to the hairline at his temple, all the while keeping her eyes narrowed on Jenny.

Hawk didn’t seem to be paying her much attention, but he didn’t push her away, either. Jenny took a step back involuntarily. Cindy lifted her head, placed a proprietary hand on Hawk’s uninjured shoulder and sent her a small smile that was clearly dismissive and gloating.

Jenny couldn’t bring herself to engage in a confrontation with the woman. The fear of being humiliated before the man she loved made her turn and walk back the way she had come. She knew she was being a coward. But no matter what she told herself, she just wasn’t sure about Hawk’s feelings for her, definitely not enough to challenge Cindy Caldwell for his attention. It all came back to the fact that if the man really wanted to get rid of his so-called ex-girlfriend, he would, instead of constantly allowing her to cozy up and hang around him, usually with her hands all over him.

And whatever Hawk had wanted to tell Jenny, he probably wasn’t going to say it in front of his lover of fifteen years. She’d been hoping he was ready to make some kind of commitment, personal or business, to her. Apparently not.

Okay. So what! Big deal! She’d handle this setback, too, damn it! She decided to go home. It had been a long, tumultuous day, and she was exhausted from the chaotic assault on her emotions.

By the time she got within sight of Becky and Scott, she was fighting tears. Disgusted with her inability to prevent them, she yanked open her purse and pulled out her sunglasses. The sky was getting darker and more threatening by the moment, and here she was wearing dark glasses. How inconspicuous was that? Shit! Keep the anger coming, she told herself. It would get rid of these blasted tears and keep her head up.

Becky stopped her, perceptive as always. “How’s Hawk?”

“Being taken care of,” Jenny answered succinctly. “It looks like he’ll be okay.”

“Scott said he won the five thousand. No one else stayed on for the allotted time or scored as many points as he did.” Becky leaned out around her to look at the ambulance behind her, in the distance.

“Great! He’s good at scoring points.” Jenny couldn’t conceal the edge of bitter sarcasm that tinged her words. Her friend narrowed her eyes and peered more closely at her, probably trying to see what was going on behind her dark glasses. “Look, I’ve got to go,” she rushed on before anymore inquiries could be made. “I’ll call you in a day or two, and we’ll arrange a time to go look at that shop with the realtor.” She gave Becky a quick hug and Scott a nod. “See you both later.”

Becky watched her go, looked toward Hawk, finally saw Cindy Caldwell, then looked at her husband. “Let’s go ourselves,” she said with a tug on his hand, her words laced with contempt. “Otherwise, I’m going to march over there and say something to your friend that ends the friendship! Men can be such undeserving, thoughtless, insensitive, stupid idiots!”

“Hey!” Scott followed his wife, but looked back over his shoulder, bewildered. “What’s up? What happened?”

Jenny spotted her shiny red Corvette and nearly ran to it. Snowflakes were beginning to fall, tiny crystals that dusted her jacket, her hat, her eyelashes. Tucking her head to avoid the havoc of them swirling in the wind, she was startled when her progress was suddenly cut off. Steve Walker stepped into her path, caught her arm, and turned her abruptly into the opposite direction.

“Hey! Steve!” Jenny ground the balls of her booted feet into the gravel to stop him from dragging her along. “What are you doing? I was headed home.” He looked at her with a mixture of regret and impatience, then slid his arm around her shoulders and jammed something blunt and hard into her side. “Steve?”

“You should have stayed in L.A. Jenny.” With a hard shove, he gave her a push in the direction he wanted her to go. “Now, I have to insist you come with me. This way. No trouble now. I don’t want to hurt you, or anyone else if you try to cry out.”

“What the hell are you doing, Steve?” she demanded as she looked down to see a handgun pressed against the side of her waist.

“Why didn’t you just stay the hell out of that damn half-breed’s problems? Come on!” he insisted in a low threatening growl that carried too much desperation. “My truck is over there.” Just as they reached the driver’s door, a furious gust of wind blew her black hat off her head. Jenny gave a little cry and started after it, but Steve yanked her against him and pulled open the door to his truck. “Leave it and get inside!” With his hand on her back, he shoved her inside.

Bewildered but certain she was in danger, Jenny started to scramble to the other side of the bench seat to escape via the passenger door. A huge male figure blocked her exit. Seated against the door was one of the men she had seen at the Cattlemen’s meeting, then again outside Brad’s office, in town. He was the younger of the two
; the one with the weightlifter body and the personally menacing stare; the one Hawk had warned her about a week ago.

He smiled. She tried to back out the way she had been pushed in. Steve quickly slid in after her, thwarting that effort, too. His companion grabbed her and yanked her hard against him. She fell, off balance, onto his chest.

“The name’s Joe, Missy,” the big man laughed, sliding a beefy arm around her to keep her locked against his massive chest. “We’re going to spend a day or two together— just the three of us. So, be a good girl, and maybe I can make our time together pleasant.”

The way he began touching her hair and face made Jenny cringe. She struggled against him. Steve started the engine and turned to Joe furiously. “Let her go, damn it!”

“Shut up, Walker! If I’m going to babysit, I’m going to enjoy it.”

“Not while I’m around. Now, get your hands off her! You want me to pull outta here, do as I say.”

The second Joe released her, Jenny scrambled to the center of the seat. Even wedged between the two men, it was safer than being sprawled atop the big gangster so he could play with her. Lord, what did they want with her? And where were they taking her? For a couple of days, no less! Were they kidnapping her, for heaven’s sake? Why?