Thrown: Studs in Spurs, Book 6 (14 page)

Slade wore a smug smirk. “Riley already saw you hit the dirt, Skeets. Live and in person. It’s not gonna be a surprise to her.”

“What? No, I don’t care. It’s not because of Riley, I just thought—” Crap. The more Skeeter protested, the more it sounded like what Slade had accused him of, not wanting to look like an idiot watching himself buck off over and over again in front of the girl he liked.

“Leave him alone, Slade. Before his head explodes.” Mustang wrapped an arm around Skeeter’s shoulders. “Come on, kid. Let’s get to work.”

They walked up to the dreaded barrel Slade had strung between four posts while Skeeter and Mustang had finished up with the stock this afternoon.

“All right, Skeets. Spurring drill. Why do we do this drill?”

Skeeter rolled his eyes. Apparently Mustang was taking his role as instructor very seriously. “So we can spur better.”

Mustang nodded. “Yes, you’ll spur better because this is going to build your muscles and help your coordination.”

“And repetition will imprint it into your muscle memory,” Slade added. “You need these motions to become second nature. When that bull moves, you need to react without having to think about it.”

“Right.” Mustang grabbed two of the ropes supporting the barrel and waited while Slade grabbed the other two. “Okay, kid. Hop up. You’re gonna do two sets of twenty-five to start.”

Hating this with everything in him, Skeeter hoisted himself onto his belly across the barrel and then swung one leg over.

“You really should be wearing a helmet for this.”

Skeeter let out a sound of disgust at Slade’s suggestion. “It’s a barrel.”

“Your head harder than steel?” Slade cocked a brow.

“Just pull the damn rope.” Skeeter had been trampled by a one-ton animal until he’d had a lacerated liver, fractured ribs and contusions to both lungs, and they were worried about him getting hurt on a freaking practice barrel?

“Another damn.” Mustang bobbed his head and grinned. “I’m impressed, Slade.”

Slade nodded with a smile. “Thank you. I try.”

“All right. Get ready. Here we go.” Mustang yanked the ropes down, sending the barrel into motion.

On the other side, Slade coordinated his movements to work opposite Mustang’s. It made the barrel rock and imitate the up-and-down motion of a bull bucking. It was nothing like riding a real bull determined to buck off the rider. Bulls didn’t just move up and down. They spun and twisted and dropped, but Skeeter had to admit it was a workout. By the time they’d counted out twenty-five repetitions of him bending and unbending his knees to lift his feet high and let them drop low, he was starting to feel the fatigue in his leg and stomach muscles.

He was breathing pretty hard when they finally stilled the ropes and the barrel stopped moving so he could rest between sets.

“Not as easy as you thought, is it?” True or not, Mustang’s cocky observation did nothing to help improve Skeeter’s attitude about riding this damn barrel.

“Then maybe you two need to get on up here. I thought we were all working on our skills here?”

“Oh, we will. When Chase gets his ass here after he’s done visiting his girl in California, he’s going to kick our butts. He’s got a full schedule planned. Running, stretching, calisthenics.”

“Yoga,” Slade added with a grin.

“But in the meantime, you finish your second set here,” Mustang continued. “Then us veterans will get on and show you what it’s supposed to look like.”

Skeeter scowled. His form was perfect. Cooper had always said it was. Said he was a textbook rider. Then again, he obviously hadn’t ridden perfectly in those last nine rides he’d bucked off.

Cooper’s voice echoed in his head from all those many years ago.
First we do some work on the barrel. Then we get on a bull.

“All right.” Skeeter nodded. “I’m ready. Let’s get this done.”

They took turns doing different exercises for about three quarters of an hour until Skeeter’s muscles started to feel a little more wobbly each time he threw his leg over the barrel and hopped to the ground.

Skeeter had just completed another set of the spurring exercise, which was apparently Mustang’s favorite torture for him, when the sound of a screen door slamming caught Skeeter’s attention. He glanced at the house.

“Hey, guys. Supper’ll be on the table in ten minutes if you want to wash up first.” Riley stood at the back door shading her eyes with her hand against the glare of the sun low on the horizon. That was a sight he didn’t mind seeing at the end of a hard day.

“Okay. Thanks, Riley.” Mustang turned back to Skeeter. “You get a reprieve for the rest of the day, kid. Let’s wash up and then we’ll look over those videos during supper.”

A reprieve. Yeah, right. So far today Skeeter had driven from Arkansas to Mississippi, helped Riley clean the attic, tended to the bulls and worked on the barrel. It sounded like a full day to him, though he had a feeling when all the rest of the guys arrived and they all started to train seriously, things would get even harder.

Chapter Eleven

“The four of you are really going to sleep in Mustang’s trailer? Isn’t it kind of cramped in there?” Riley asked.

“Eh, it’s fine. We’ve done it before.” Mustang waved off her concern. “There are enough beds.”

“It’s pretty roomy inside.” Skeeter had checked it out after Mustang had arrived.

“It is.” Slade nodded. “And we have a pact that all we do when we’re in there together is
sleep
. If anyone wants any private time, they have to go elsewhere or wait for the other couple to be out.”

“Oh. All right.” Riley’s cheeks pinked. Skeeter smiled at how cute she looked when she blushed.

“We wouldn’t mind the occasional use of your shower though. The girls complain there’s not enough water pressure in ours to rinse their hair properly.” Slade rolled his eyes. “I never had that problem myself but…”

Jenna backhanded Slade where he sat next to her on the porch swing. “Don’t make it sound like I’m high maintenance. You don’t have any hair compared to me and it’s always under a hat so what do you care what it looks like?”

Sage nodded her head. “And besides the hair, it is pretty near impossible to shave your legs in that tiny stall.”

“Well, that’s reason enough for me right there.” Mustang turned from his girlfriend to where Riley sat. “Miss Riley, can our ladies please use your shower so Sage’s leg stubble doesn’t make me bleed in bed at night?”

That earned Mustang a slap from his girl as well, but all he did was grin. “Only teasing. I love getting you riled up, Little Bit. You know that.”

Sage rolled her eyes but it didn’t deter Mustang from gathering her up in his arms.

Mustang planted a kiss on Sage’s cheek and then glanced across the porch at the other couple. “Hey, Slade. Why don’t you and Jenna stay here and enjoy some cake or something for eh, I don’t know, about half an hour or so while Sage and I go make sure the beds are made up in the trailer.”

“Yeah, sure. The beds.” Slade cocked a brow as Mustang stood and pulled Sage to her feet.

Mustang grinned at them. “Night, all.”

“Night.” Sage could barely get the words out as Mustang pulled her toward the trailer.

As they disappeared into the night, Mustang whistling the entire way, Slade shook his head. “There’s no stopping him when he’s in that mood. Best to just let him go.”

“You think it’ll truly be half an hour?” Jenna let out a snort. “That man has no concept of time and I’d like to get to bed sometime before midnight.”

“It better only be half an hour. I’m tired. Between the drive and the heat and then the workout…” Slade knocked his hat back a notch. “I’ll give him thirty-five minutes because I’m feeling generous and then I’m going in. Ready or not.”

Jenna shook her head. “You can’t go in there.”

“Why not?” Slade asked.

“Because Sage would be appalled if you walked in on them. You can embarrass Mustang all you want, but not that poor girl too.”

Slade scowled. “So what am I supposed to do?”

“In thirty minutes I’m going to call their cell phones and warn them that you’re coming in in five minutes.” Jenna stood. “And while I’m waiting, I’ll put together a frittata for the morning. Riley, that way all you’ll have to do in the morning is pop it in the oven. It should keep even these hungry guys satisfied until lunch.”

Riley stood. “You don’t have to—”

“I want to. And I want you to sit right there and relax. I can handle it. If I need anything I’ll call.”

Riley sat back down. “Okay, if you insist—”

“I do.”

“Then thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Jenna reached for the handle on the screen door.

“Hey. Wait one minute.” Slade frowned at Jenna. “When do I get my private time with you? Mustang got his with Sage.”

Jenna glanced back at Slade. “You play your cards right and I’ll let you take me for a tour of the barn tonight.”

Slade’s eyebrows rose comically high. “Really? My city girl is interested in the barn?”

“Your city girl needs to research a scene for her next book, and I’m thinking I could use some firsthand experience in the hay.” She shot him a smile and disappeared into the house.

Slade was out of his seat as if his ass had been set on fire.

“Where are you going?” Skeeter wouldn’t put it past him to go and interrupt Mustang early, in spite of what Jenna had said.

“I’m going to get that barn ready for some action.” Slade waggled his eyebrows. “She thinks she wants a roll in the hay, but I know her. The minute she feels actual hay touch that city-born ass of hers, she’s going to change her mind. I’m not gonna let that happen. There any horse blankets in that barn, Riley?”

“Yeah.”

“You mind if I borrow one?”

Riley’s brows rose. “Uh, no. Go ahead.”

Slade tipped his hat. “Thank you much.”

The moment Slade was out of sight, Riley glanced at Skeeter. “Wow. They’re um…”

Horny. Inappropriate. The worst chaperones on earth? Until sitting here with Riley, Skeeter hadn’t realized just how sexual the guys, and even their girls, got. This was pretty much the norm with them, and he’d gotten used to it. Riley wasn’t used to it.

Skeeter couldn’t come up with a word to complete her sentence so he just said, “Yeah. I know. Sorry about them. You gotta realize, these guys are separated from their girls for weeks at a time. When they do get together again, it’s kinda like they’re on their honeymoon, I guess.”

“It’s okay, Skeeter. I understand. I think it’s cute. Jenna and Sage are lucky girls. Their guys really love them. I can see that.”

Mustang and Slade loved their girls, but they also loved sex. Always had. The difference now was that they were monogamous and kept the sex to one girl each. Before, back a couple of years ago, that definitely had not been the case. Skeeter kept that to himself.

“I guess they’re not the model chaperones I’d promised the preacher they’d be, huh?”

Riley laughed. “What Pastor Porter doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Interesting response. Not what he’d expected from Riley. Maybe she wasn’t as embarrassed as he’d feared.

“So how long have they all been dating?” she asked.

“God, it’s got to be about two years now, I guess. Slade starting dating Jenna first. And it was the season Mustang got injured and was out for a while that he started up with Sage. That was the same year I was in that major wreck. That bull sure did a number on me.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Her voice was soft. “I was still in school so I wasn’t traveling with Dad yet, but I saw it on television. I was so worried for you. It looked horrible. I remember I even called him because the announcers didn’t have any information on how you were.”

“Eh, I recovered pretty quick.” Skeeter dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand, but the fact she’d been worried enough about him to call and check stuck with him.

“I’m glad for that. When you got hung up and the bull was bouncing all over you…” Riley blew out a breath. “It was horrible.”

“I didn’t think of it until now, but that bull was one of yours, wasn’t it?” Skeeter let out a laugh.

She groaned. “Yes. Don’t remind me.”

Maybe working out on the Davis bulls would be the best thing for his career since it seemed for years now, long before his slump, he hadn’t been able to keep his ass planted on them.

“Riley, it wasn’t the bull’s fault. I’d tried using the suicide wrap figuring it would keep me from losing my rope, but it’s called that for a reason.” He laughed. “I didn’t lose my rope, all right. But I couldn’t get out of it when I needed to. Dang bull was just trying to shake me off and get away. He couldn’t help stepping on me.”

“Still.” She shook her head. “Promise me you’ll never do that suicide wrap again.”

He smiled. “I promise you. And I already promised my mom and Mustang since he was the one who showed the wrap to me. So we’re covered. Haven’t used it since, and never will. Good enough?”

“Good enough.” Riley nodded just as Jenna pushed through the screen door. “Okay, the breakfast is in the pan and covered and ready to go in the oven tomorrow morning. Where’d Slade go? Is he bothering Sage and Mustang?” Jenna planted her fists on her hips.