The Bull Rider Wears Pink (10 page)

Chapter Seven

The bull Cassidy drew was big,
close to fifteen hundred pounds. Plus, he was accomplished with a ninety
percent buck off rate and an average score of forty-two. But his name was Daisy
Rose and he had pink tips at the end of his horns so Cassidy decided he wasn't
intimidating. She even gave him a pat on the head like she did Kevin when he
was a boy.

“You sure you can ride him?” Her
son, who wasn’t much of a boy any longer asked. He pushed his cowboy hat back
and rubbed his head. “You know Mal went up against an entire bar of brown coats
in episode two of Firefly and one of the guys was at least three times his
size.” Kevin glanced at the bull again. “Daisy's probably ten times your size
and you're not Mal and this isn't a television show so you probably won't win.”

Cassidy was really glad Kevin had
the ability to separate fantasy from reality because she had been getting
worried about that. Except she wished Kevin wasn't sharing his observations
with her right now. “I appreciate your concern,” she told her teenage son, “but
this bull isn't a brown coat.” All the parenting books had recommended
validating your child's feelings no matter the time or place. “Thanks for the
warning,” she added weakly.

Daisy Rose snorted and backed her
butt against the gate. The entire chute shook. Kevin moved slowly away from the
fence. He shoved his hands in his pockets. “You sure you should do this?” he
asked again. “Dustin Nance broke his elbow getting bucked off this same bull
last week.”

“That's not going to happen to me,”
Cassidy replied brightly. She refused to jinx herself, no broken bones allowed.
What was up with Kevin? Last time it was the coccyx and now it was elbows. Then
again, maybe this wasn’t about superstition, maybe her son was genuinely scared
for her. She knew it was important to encourage him to share his fears but she
still wasn’t sure if this was the right time.

The bull snorted as if laughing at
her impromptu parenting dilemma. “If you've got any other worries,” she
suggested deciding anytime was the right time, “may as well lay them out now.”
She gestured toward the saw dust covered floor.

Except Cassidy wasn’t expecting
Kevin to take her up on the offer and was surprised when he did. After all she
had to ride in five minutes. “You know,” he began as he folded his arms over
his chest, “I was starting to feel a little less mortified about your presence
in my life.” He pointed at her and snapped his fingers. “So, don't screw up out
there and get yourself hurt.”

Cassidy eyed him for a moment.
After getting demoted to
embarrassed
she was back to
mortified, that was a bummer. But rather than call him out on his choice of
words, she decided that the proper response was to be touched. In his own
lopsided way he was telling her he was concerned.

Given Kevin’s reservations, Cassidy
wondered if she should compete today. Would it spare his feelings? Probably
not, he would just find something else to be upset with her about. She finally
had a chance to ride with the men. To prove to her brother and everyone else
who doubted her, she was as good as them. She wasn't going to screw this up and
Kevin didn't have to worry.

After working all that out in her
mind, she started to climb the fence. Then, she threw her leg over the rail. “Kevin,”
she directed, even mortified he could still help her, “Get Daisy's attention
while I climb on.” Usually the cowboys assisted each other in the chutes, but
none of the men were willing to help her. Hopefully with time, they’d get used
to her presence at the rodeo and that would change.

Matt Dillinger, the bull's owner
was standing nearby watching Cassidy's unconventional mounting method. Since
Rachel had worked with Dillinger on animal rights issues, Cassidy knew he'd
call her out if she treated his bull badly which she didn't have any plans to
do. She was using a properly padded rope.

“I think you're going to need help
tying that rope,” a voice Cassidy knew intimately yelled at her. No, it wasn't
John Risk—thank goodness, because she refused to think about him and what they
did in his room earlier that day. It was someone even better than John when it
came to bull riding. “We don't want anything to happen to Mr. Dillinger's bull.”
Logan
tipped his hat at the man and Dillinger nodded back.

“Hey, Logan,”
Kevin shouted as Daisy snorted and pawed at the ground. “How do you get a bull’s
attention?” Even though he wasn't happy with all this, Kevin was genuinely
trying to help. Cassidy appreciated the effort.

“Step back, Kevin,” Logan
directed using his best John Wayne voice which Cassidy never liked. But at that
moment, she really didn't care how her brother talked, because he had gotten
over his prejudice concerning her riding with the men. “I'll take it from
here,” he told the boy.

Cassidy smiled as she hovered above
Daisy Rose. Finally, she was in good hands. Well, except for John's hands that
afternoon, but again she wasn't thinking about that. Plus it sounded weird in
relationship to her brother.

As soon as Logan
got the rope in place she would ease onto Rose's back. First her knees, then
she’d slide her legs down until she was straddling the animal.
Sort of like she'd been straddling John earlier in the day.

Damn it, she'd be riding a bull is
less than four minutes. Why did she keep thinking like that? She was pretty
sure the cowboys didn't contemplate sex before their eight seconds in the ring.
She glanced at Logan,
then again maybe he did.

Daisy Rose kicked the gate again
pulling Cassidy's thoughts away from her afternoon of delight. Dear Lord, the
animal was strong. Cassidy looked down and watched the muscles roll and bunch
on its back. Panic was a word that applied to women like Ms. Goodwin and that
buckle bunny Kelly Proctor, restrained alarm was the best way to describe the
way Cassidy was feeling.

She could control this. She had to
control this. She just needed to get her mind off sex. But not just any, old
sex—earth shaking, heart pounding John Risk lovemaking.

“Careful with those spurs,” Logan
advised with a glance at Mr. Dillinger. Rachel and the baby had joined the man.
All three were watching closely.

“I know how to get on a bull,”
Cassidy snapped at her brother. Yelling at Logan or any of her other brothers
always made her feel better. He needed to understand she was up against a lot
here and she didn't want him questioning her every move. Justifiability, he got
his back up.

Logan
looked at her from under the rim of his cowboy hat. “Do you want my help or
not?” He started to climb down the rail.

When they were teenagers Cassidy
would have said no. Thrown a few cuss words his way, maybe even kicked some
dirt on his boots and walked off. All those actions completely against her best
interests—even considered careless. But now they were adults and Cassidy had
learned impulsive
behavior
didn't get one very far, she
decided not to escalate the argument. She just wished she had remembered that
hard earned lesson a few hours ago, maybe she wouldn't have had unprotected
sex.

Before Cassidy had a chance to
chastise herself again for sleeping with John in such a dangerous way, he
showed up. He smiled and shook Dillinger's hand but ignored Rachel. “Make sure
you get that rope tight,” he told Logan stepping up to the
chute. “We don't want the lovely Cassidy Cooper breaking any of her assets out
there.” He squeezed Cassidy's arm.

“Which assets of hers are you
referring to?” Logan
asked John suspiciously. For a moment he stopped tying the rope and studied the
preacher. “I didn't think assets like hers interested you,” he added.

“It would be her unique
individuality, intelligent banter, and playful personality.” John said all this
without hesitation, plus he added a smile. He wasn't rattled by Logan's
conjecture. Then he winked at Cassidy, adding fire to an already smothering
flame.

Logan
's
eyes shifted between Cassidy and John.

Cassidy could feel her face grow
hot and quickly pulled her attention away from the preacher with the sexy back
side. Instead, she looked at Rachel who nodded encouragingly. Cassidy could do
this. She knew she could do this. She just had to get her mind back on the bull
riding. She glanced at the clock, three minutes until her ride.

But her brother, who seemed to have
forgotten all about the animal, stood to his full height on the rail. He pushed
his hat back as he looked down at John. “I know what you two are doing,” he
said loudly. “You're flirting with each other which
is
completely inappropriate at this time and place.” He put his hands on his hips
and told Cassidy. “I've done a lot of stupid ass things before my eight seconds
in the ring, but never that.”

“We are not,” Cassidy protested.
Then she decided her objections were meaningless. She pushed on Logan's
shoulder. “Get that rope tied and stop looking for things that aren't there.”
She could hear the crowd stomping their feet. “I've got to ride,” she told her
brother. Ten thousand people were waiting for her, the biggest crowd ever.

John threw her an air kiss over the
top of Logan's
head.

Cassidy gave him the finger.

“Jesus H. Christ, Cassidy,” Logan
said not missing a thing today. The man must
of
had a good
night of sleep and eaten his Wheaties in the morning. “I've never seen you give
a guy the bird unless you're got feelings for him.” Logan
swore again. “You're going to get hurt if you keep this up,” he warned pointing
at John. “He's not worth a broken ankle or cracked ribs.”

“And this is my life,” Kevin told
anyone who would listen. “Most self-respecting teenagers would be mortified by
all this, wouldn't they?” At the same time Kevin was moaning about the disgrace
his existence had become, the announcer was saying something about a female in
the house tonight. His words rolled off his tongue in a used car salesman sort
of way.

Cassidy needed to get away from her
whiny son, obnoxious brother, righteous
sister-in-law,
and inappropriate on too many levels to think about, ex-boyfriend. Even if it
was only for eight seconds, she needed the break to clear her head. She eased
herself down onto the bull. Daisy Rose shifted his weight as she
centered
her hips behind the animal’s shoulders.

“Watch those spurs,” Logan
warned. “You'll send this critter running into the next state if you poke him
in the chute.” Logan
held up the end of Cassidy's bull rope. “Warm the rosin,” he directed her.
Cassidy rubbed her gloved hand up and down the cord.

Kevin moaned, “Jesus, Mom, could
you just stop?”

Cassidy ignore him and refused to
let her eyes drift toward John.
Too much insinuation there.

Logan
pulled the rope tighter and Daisy pressed her left flank against the rail
squashing Cassidy's leg. It hurt but Cassidy breathed through the pain. Getting
out of the chute was sometimes the toughest part of the ride and today it was
particularly excruciating.

“Keep your fingers parallel with
his backbone,” Logan
directed as he pressed the rope against the animal. Cassidy placed her hand
into the handle, palm facing upward, pinkie along the bull's vertebrae exactly
the way Logan
told her.

“Stay in your seats, folks, no
going out for concession because we've got ourselves the first girl bull rider
in the history of the rodeo,” the announcer announced. His voice reaching every
nook and cranny of the arena, the people in the parking lot could probably hear
him.

“I'm a woman,” Cassidy muttered. It
was going to be an uphill battle to make the rodeo more user friendly for
everyone to participate she reminded herself. After a tug on the rope and a nod
of her head at Logan,
Cassidy
signaled
the gate man.

Daisy Rose crashed out of the chute
with a roll to the left and a buck to the right. Cassidy gripped, twisted,
turned and tried to keep her hips even and left hand in the air. But before she
knew it she landed on her back in the dirt with Daisy's rear hoof inches from her
forehead. Then his huge head, rose
colored
horns and
all, came down almost goring Cassidy in the stomach. But she was able to roll
over and do a fast crawl away from the animal's deadly dance.

When she got to her knees, she
realized the crowd was laughing at her and the announcer was saying something like,
“Every bull rider has an embarrassing fall once in their career. It's part of
the sport.”
Again, his voice reaching out into the parking
lot.
The rodeo fans continued to laugh, even little girls and elderly
ladies. “Let's give Cassidy Cooper a hand,” he suggested. “This is her first
time in the big league and it's too damn bad she had such an unfortunate wreck.”

Cassidy didn't know what he was
talking about. Why was he calling it a wreck? Yes, she fell and that stunk, but
all bull riders fell and she knew she had another chance. In the scheme of
things, even though she broke her own personal record, it wasn't terrible
because she wasn’t hurt.