As the bull ran the kid down, about there, dusting the kid's pumping legs with hot breath, a freaking clown in a cowboy hat popped out of a barrel, waving a flag in the bull’s face as it raced by.
“What the f**k?” I squinted to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.
The bull caught the movement—since it almost got stabbed in the eye—and slowed, confused. Chase the man running, or figure out what the hell is up with the cowboy clown guy,, hiding in a freaking barrel in the middle of a rodeo. I would have a tough time with that one, too.
“He’s there to distract the bull and keep the rider safe. There are three of them,” William said to my right, eyes riveted to his bull.
“Okay, but, how come this is the first time I am seeing one? Where have they been?”
“Popping up and down. Walking around. Helping out. You probably didn’t notice because of your A.D.D., like your friend said.”
“Oh ha ha. Everyone’s a comic.”
Adam turned to a smiling William. “Well, he showed well.”
“Yeah, he did. What a relief! I’m sure the bull got some good points on that ride, short as it was.”
“Why does he need points?” I asked, thinking of heading for a beer.
“If the bull gets a good score, he’ll get promoted to higher paying rodeos. This bull’ll hopefully go all the way. They all will, knock on wood.”
Adam knocked on the post in front of him. Which was metal.
Rolling my eyes at his idiocy, I knocked on my wooden head to level out his folly.
“Jessica,” JP said behind me.
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”
“Good one,” he said without conviction. “We gotta go.”
“Where?”
“Home. Apparently Dave has a date. I don’t know where he found her, but he apparently has one.”
“Ty hasn’t ridden yet!” Candace exclaimed. Then turned bright red.
I snickered at her before taking stock in the situation. I wasn’t totally into this rodeo thing, but I was totally into this Greek God thing.
“We can take ‘em home,” Moose said out of nowhere.
Adam studied Moose for a second, trying to glean information telepathically, before shrugging, “Yeah, we got room between us. For you, too, JP. If you wanna hang on?”
“Thanks, but I gotta go. My wife is wanting me home soon.”
“Good call. You don’t want to piss her off—she’ll withhold the sex.” I leered at JP.
Candace giggled. Apparently sex talk made her giggle. Which was better than what it did to me, which is make an ass of myself.
Everyone else was looking at me with very different expressions. Moose looked bashful. Phil surprised. Adam with a smile that infused his eyes. William wasn’t looking at me at all, but the bit of his face I could see had a cockeyed grin.
JP was trying for angry, but was like a drunk trying to act sober. He couldn’t keep it together.
“You know it’s true, Mr. Hormones. You all do!” I said as I pointed to everyone. “They’re married. It’s legal by Texas law!”
Chapter Seven
After the guys had left and Candace and I got beers, I was made to hurry back, nearly spilling my newly acquired prize, because Ty was up.
“You really have a jones for that guy, huh?” I asked, shaking beer off my hand.
“No, it’s just… well, he asked me to wish him luck.”
“You guys are so going to do it.”
Candace giggled as we walked alongside the trailer. As we neared I could hear William say, “Ty’s on Big Blue.”
Moose rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Here we go.”
“Is Big Blue b-bad?” Candace asked between clenched teeth, standing next to Moose.
“He ain’t as mean as some,” Adam moderated.
“Is the bull meant to be that still?” I asked with a hush to my voice. Everyone was braced, like they were waiting for an explosion. The bull could’ve been a statue it was so still.
“Yup,” William said, eyes once again riveted. “He’s not the worst of the five, but he is a villain. He is cool in the chute, but when that gate opens...”
“Ready for it, Ty. Ready for it, man!” Adam said in fierce whisper.
The gate burst open and the bull went charging out. Where most of the cowboys thus far had looked like loose limbed dolls badly glued on, Ty was an extension of the bulls body. When the bull jumped with both feet off the ground and bucked, Ty threw his body to compensate, hand in the air, legs braced, body keeping balance. Each jerk had Ty acclimating. Each landing had him shifting. Toward the end of the eight seconds, though, he was starting to unravel. His form was slipping as the animal won over with power and finesse.
“Get on ‘im, Ty!” Adam yelled.
Ty was leaning dangerously to the side, his body taxed. Adam and William crowded to the gate, knocking Candace and me.
They didn’t notice my scowl.
Moose grabbed us easily, now on child watch, and stood right behind us without his eyes leaving the arena. Ours were glued there as well.
The bull did a twist to the side with four feet in the air, landed on two feet, twisted again as the other two came down. Ty somehow got his body back on, and was trying desperately to cling to the jeering animal, but the slide off had started. He was losing purchase. The question was, could he make it to the buzzer?
Two more seconds. Try scrabbled on the bull’s back with all he had. One—goal!
Everyone cheered. All things considered, it had been a good ride. I turned to Candace with a high-five at the ready.
“Oh God!” Candace said through clenched teeth, trying to see around William.
Dumbly, I turned back toward the melee, catching Ty sprinting at the side of the arena. His hat flew off as he pumped his fists, trying for every ounce of speed he possessed. Good thing, because the bull was right on his heels, gaining every second.
Ty reached the gate about the same time as the bull. Instead of climbing up and over, like I would’ve done, in sheer brilliance he jumped off to the right at the last second. The bull smashed into the gate where Ty would have been, scraping against metal instead of flesh.
“Oh my God. Thank God!” Candace cried, fanning her face. She turned to me. “Did you see that?”
I nodded, ashen. “Close call.”
“Ty’s no novice!” Adam exclaimed with a merry bellow, clapping Moose on the back.
“Did you guys see my score?” Ty asked excitedly a moment later. He looked like a dust monster, covered in the stuff from head to toe. His face was sweat and dirt, his eyes bright. He was kind of hot, actually.
Candace nearly fainted, apparently thinking the same thing.
“You are some f**king arse, you know that?! I nearly wet myself when that bull was going after you!” I yelled at him, throwing my hand up for a high five.
Ty broke out in a loud laugh. “All under control, darlin’,” He said, giving a drawl to the last word. He met my high-five as he winked at Candace, and went over to William.
“Your bull is a son-v-a-bitch, you know that Davies? Hard one, that!”
William tore his expression away from me, making me wonder what line I’d crossed with him this time. “How was it compared to practice runs?” He asked Ty, wiping his palms on his jeans.
"Good, about the same." They wandered off toward the trailer, talking shop.
Worried I'd be caught stalking with my eyes, I turned back to the rodeo.
After a few more mediocre rides, and one more beer, it was time for William’s third bull. Apparently this one had a “green” rider on it. None of the boys thought an inexperienced kid should be riding something as fierce and unpredictable as one of William’s bulls, but there wasn’t much they could do about it.
As the rider was getting onto the bull, which was a nasty affair because the bull was impatient and moving around in the gate, a tall man strutted up to William like he owed the world. He was about the same height as William, with the same broad shoulders and wavy black hair. The way they stood, and their appearance, gave me a sneaking suspicion they shared D.N.A.
I was too far away to eavesdrop effectively, and then I couldn’t even stare, because the bull burst out of the chute in fury with the helpless rider on its back. It jumped higher than any bull yet. The power of this one was unmistakable. If it weren’t for the bull rope, the cowboy would’ve been sent into orbit while doing air-splits.
The bull landed and immediately bucked up again with all its feet off the ground. Then, in the air, it kicked all four feet to the side and kind of twisted its body in a rolling motion. All the boys and Candace sucked in a breath and leaned forward on the gate. Their expressions were awe and horror both. The cowboy was completely off balance at this point, and was obviously going to be thrown off as soon as the bull landed.
Sure enough, a moment later the poor kid was heading fast, face-first into ground. Half way to the face smash, his upper body jerked around, caught by the still anchored hand. The bull jumped again. The cowboy now airborne, legs useless, working at the rope, desperately trying to get free.
The clowns rushed in, looking for an opening with which to help.
As the bull jumped and spun, the trapped cowboy was whipped along with it, his weight nothing to the strength and power of the massive animal, not slowing it down in the least.
I clutched Candace.
The body of the kid was flung into the gate, loose-limbed, helpless. His limbs made sickening dull thuds as each hit the gate, ringing through the gasping stands, stopping hearts. His loose hand tried feebly to block his face from harm as the side of his torso clanged off metal, then was bashed by the thrashing bull.
“Get him away!” I half yelled, wringing my hands.
Into the air again, body flung forward this time, falling lifeless, defenselessly over the two hard, blunt horns. His hand finally ripped free, his body landing in a heap at the bull’s feet.
I sighed in relief. But it was short-lived.
The bull bent to him immediately. With its big horns, it ground the cowboy into the packed dirt, butting at him, trying to do damage. The mighty swing of its head went high as it moved forward, now stomping the lifeless shape.
I stared in mute horror, hand on my chest, the other hand loosely covering my mouth. I wanted to walk away. I wanted it to be over, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to leave him. As weird as it sounded, I didn’t want to turn my back, thinking that if I could at least bare witness, nothing worse would happen.
The clowns were trying to distract the bull with all they had, putting themselves in harm’s way to get the bull to leave the cowboy. Out of the corner of my eye I saw William hurriedly releasing two dogs from a large crate. The dogs were small to medium sized, and looked like cattle dogs. Blue Healer if my memory served.
The dogs took off into the arena like phantoms, one target destination in mind. The first one to reach the bull started barking, jumping up to nip the bull near its balls. The second went after its heels, distracting, but also directing.
The bull was on its second gouging of the lifeless form littered across the ground, when the irritating presence of the dogs cut through its territorial haze. The animal gave a mighty snort, pawing at the ground, unsure what to do with sharp teeth nipping at its foot or belly.
The clowns, getting a window, stepped right into the bull’s face, doing everything they could to work with the dogs underfoot and direct the bull away. It was enough. All the confusion, all the interference, had an effect.
“Oh…” I couldn’t finish the word as the breath noisily escaped my lungs.
Our arena was unnaturally quiet as the paramedics rushed onsite. The broken shape on the ground out in the arena was completely still. Parents were sprinting to the lifeless form.
I had to turn away.
It was a strange thing, getting on an animal that could do that to you. Why would someone flirt with that much violence? Why would they call this a sport when it could go so horribly wrong?
I wanted Lump to organize the people in the arena so the kid got the best care he could. Or Jane to explain why it looked way worse than it did. Or even Flem to start yelling swear words, lead me away, and tell me some gross jokes. Anything but this utter destitution, watching violence while being an outsider, with no one I trusted to lean on.
I have never missed a group of people so much in my entire life.
I found myself wandering away, tears threatening to break free. The past event reminded me of how much I didn’t know about my new home, the culture of my new home, and I needed to regroup. Badly.
As I was aimlessly rounding the trailer, I ran directly into William, both of us trying to careen to prevent a collision. Surprise lit up his face until he took in my helplessness. His hassled expression melted into concern.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
I nodded. Keep it together!
I did not want to break down here. I wanted to get my shit together, tuck it all away, and have a cry later on.
He nodded once, but didn’t seem convinced. He grabbed something from beside the trailer and ran back to the arena.
Relieved he didn’t try to play awkward super hero with the strange girl having a meltdown, I wandered toward the horses. Music notes floated on the still air and wound their way to my ear, somewhat soothing. I followed them to their source, a small, battery powered boom box, and sat next to it on a rock. I tried to clear my mind, but images of the cowboy, flopping around like a doll in the hands of a naughty child, punched my memories.
Cue waterfall of tears.
I let my head fall into my hands. Let the tears come. Not that I had a choice.
As I was racking with sobs, my eyes squeezed tight, hot tears making trails down my cheeks, I felt two strong arms wrap around me, pulling me in to an equally hard body. I let them, knowing who it was by the smell. I put my head against his chest and couldn’t stop myself from tearfully heaving.