Chapter 39
"Daddy!"I yelled as soon as I reached the walkway around the arena. Then I lifted my arm to wave.
"Feel like a fish going up stream," her father called back, angling his body to get between all the people leaving. "C'mon, guys, just lemme through."
"Hey!" Ty roared, making people look. "Let the family through!"
The Wrangler patch on his vest, the logos on his sleeve, and the chaps still on his legs made it clear that Ty was a bull rider. A few people turned to look, but his words had the power that mine hadn't. Dean Jennings found a big enough gap to slip through, weaving his way over to the cordoned-off stairs that led behind the chutes.
"Thank you, son," he told Ty as we headed down into safety.
But behind the chutes wasn't calm and quiet. One of the lower-ranked riders was pitching a fit, slinging his gear around and cursing a blue streak. Ty steered us away from it with a shrug. With two days left of the event, I was a little curious why that guy was so upset, but it didn't really matter. Then, around another corner, a gaggle of girls was fawning over a few of the guys.
We kept going until we reached our gear. I started putting my bull rope away and my dad leaned against the panel beside me. For a moment, he just watched the backstage antics with a look in his eyes that proved he missed it. Then he scooted a little closer.
"So, I'm guessing you have a room for the night?"
I looked up, completely confused. "You said you didn't want to get a hotel until afterwards."
Dad cocked his head and just looked at me. "Yeah, my room. Pretty sure that no bull rider wants to spend the weekend with their parents. I'll stick around long enough for you to get your stuff out of the truck, then I'll be back tomorrow for the next show. So long as you have a room, that is."
"I'll make sure she does," Ty promised.
And I knew exactly how that sounded. "Dad," I tried to explain.
But he cut me off. "Don't care, kiddo. You can buy it yourself, let these boys fight over who's going to buy it for you, or save a little money by sharing a bunk. Ain't none of my business, and I'm not gonna ask. All I need to know is if you're good."
"She's good," Ty promised. "There's a few of us making sure of it, so even if one of us steps out of line, we'll always be outnumbered."
Dad chuckled. "Well, that's not how we did it back in my day."
"You didn't have J.D. back in your day." Ty shrugged, but the way those two looked at each other had me convinced there was some secret they were sharing that I wasn't a part of. "And Hannah's been talking about female empowerment, which means she's got Renato's balls in her fist, and he's my best friend. Cody's good, Mr. Jennings. I give you my word."
"Coulda started with that last part," Dad told him. "Now, when you two get your things together, drive over to my truck. I'm gonna let it warm up a bit and cool off the inside." And he stepped closer to offer me his hand. "I'm real proud of you, honey."
"I got bucked off, Dad," I reminded him.
"And walked out on your own two feet. That last part's the only bit I care about. Just remember, you don't wanna have a hangover tomorrow, so go easy on those margaritas, ok?"
"Beer," I promised, "and just two."
"That's my girl." He leaned around me and offered Ty his hand. "You let those friends of yours know that I used to castrate cattle before I worked on diesels. Pretty sure I can still cut off a pair of balls if she says I need to."
"I'll make sure they know. And we'll be there in about half an hour, maybe less."
But when my dad walked away, we both looked at each other and had to smother our laughs. Sometimes, he was such the stereotypical father that it was adorable, but I was pretty sure his threats weren't working as well as he wanted. Ty didn't exactly seem scared or intimidated.
"I like him," Ty finally said, but he was still grinning. "I also believe him, but he loses a little something when he all but tells you to go sleep with whatever cowboy you have your eye on."
"My dad..." I tossed my hands up and let them flop back to my sides. "All my life, he's told me that I can do anything the boys can, I just might need to fight harder for it. And ever since last weekend? I dunno."
"He's proud of you," Ty told me. "He understands what this means to you, he feels like he can help, and he's trying really hard to be a man of his word, so he's treating you the same way most of our dads treated their sons."
"Just go fuck?" I asked.
The sly smile that took over Ty's lips said I'd just shown my hand. "Well, if that's what you wanna do. But yeah, Cody. When I got caught with a girl in my back seat, my dad bitched at me about condoms, not purity. My sisters, though? Oh, completely different. He said that boys don't get pregnant, so it wasn't a big deal, never stopping to think that we're the reason that girls get pregnant. That if we knock a girl up, we're stuck with the child support for eighteen years and a kid out there who deserves a father."
"Because y'all get all the fun, and we get all the responsibility, right?"
"Pretty much," he agreed. "So, I'm trying to take a page from your dad. See, there's this girl I like, and I was hoping she might be willing to spend the night with me, but I'm not going to have a tantrum if she has another, um, friend that she wants to hang out with as well."
"Yeah," I said, bending over to take off my spur. "Ty, can we talk about that?"
"Yep."
"No, I don't mean here and now. I mean tonight, when there aren't so many people trying to check out the girl rider?"
He nodded his head. "Still a yes."
"And maybe check on J.D. before we go pick up my stuff?" I added.
He moved behind me to unfasten the buckles on my legs. I sucked in a breath when his hands moved down the inside of my thigh, then hurried up with the second spur strap. Ty just casually moved to the other side, so that when I stood straight again, all I had to do was release the buckle at my waist.
"Ok," he told me, hiking his gear onto his shoulder. "We're going to load all of your stuff into my truck so you don't need to worry about it. Riding gear stays there, clothes go up to my room. I'll get you a key, so if you decide you want to crash somewhere else, all I ask is that you text me so I don't think you got beat down by those assholes from last week, deal?"
"Sure," I agreed. "But I was planning on staying with you tonight. Like, even before we got here."
"Cody," he said, grabbing my arm before I could step away. "This doesn't come natural to me. I'm a jealous fucker. I like to win, and all my life, I've thought of women as the prize. J.D. tuned me in real good, so I might be a little over the top, but that's only because I need to tell myself this as much as you, ok?"
I quickly nodded, showing him I understood. "We need to check on J.D.," I reminded him. "And Tanner."
He dropped his arm over my shoulder and turned me the right way. He had a bag of gear in his right hand, I had mine in my left, and the other riders were quickly heading out. Probably to find the closest bar, but I wasn't really in the mood to drink tonight. With a no score today, a contract to turn in tomorrow, and all the stuff Ty had been saying - never mind J.D.'s kiss a few days ago - alcohol would be a very bad idea.
But the walk to Sports Medicine was short, and we heard J.D. before we even got there. He was railing at the top of his lungs about how he was just fine, didn't need a full exam, and that a hot bath would work just as well as physiotherapy. Ty stopped me just before we walked into the room.
"See if you can convince him otherwise?" he asked softly.
I nodded, then pushed open the door. "You still in one piece, J.D.?"
He grinned at me, but was sitting there in just his briefs. "Well, now if I'd known you were coming, I woulda dressed up, Cody."
"You shy?" I teased. "Because I'm pretty sure all the bits are covered."
He grunted, proving he wasn't impressed. "They wanna keep me here for a couple more hours to make sure I didn't break shit when I rolled."
"You were knocked unconscious," I reminded him.
He shrugged. "Snuck in a nap."
So I pointed my finger at his face. "You gonna be ok when I say that? When your rookie thinks that she doesn't need to get treated, because she learned from her mentor that a real bull rider just walks it off?" Then I lifted a brow.
J.D. just sighed and closed his eyes. "That's a low blow, babe."
"That's the catch with leading by example: you can't just say it, you gotta do it. Now choose, J.D., because I don't like the docs much either. If you can get up and walk away, then when I take a hit, I'll be doing the same thing."
He looked over my shoulder. "Ty, help me out, man?"
"I'm with her on this."
"Seriously?" J.D. groaned and flopped back in the soft chair he'd been placed in. "I'm icing my knee, isn't that good enough?"
"That the one you busted up three years ago?" Ty asked.
"Not helping," J.D. told him.
"Kinda am," Ty shot back. "Look, if you can pull my head out of my ass, then I can pull yours from yours. Get checked. Get treated. Do the physio. All it means is that you'll ride better tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure that the cheap women you like to find at those bars won't notice that you're not there."
J.D. quickly looked up at me. "Cody, that wasn't why I wanted out."
"No?" I asked. "Have some big plans for tonight?"
"I just..." He looked at Ty again. "I was thinking about picking up a few beers and just having a quiet night in my room. Figured I could invite a friend over."
"I kinda did the same already," Ty told him.
J.D. nodded. "Well, you can come too, Ty. For the beer, I mean. I'm kinda not feeling up to going out tonight, so I'm gonna go ahead and do the physio and get the full check-up. Figure I'll be back in about two hours. I'm in the Marriott, too. Room 421."
"We're in 444," Ty told him, then he groaned. "I am. Was going to let her use a bed for the night if she wanted."
"Good," J.D. said. "Give her a massage, too. She got slung pretty good by Without Ado, and her back'll be stiff tomorrow. I'm out of commission, so I'm counting on you."
"Can do. Text me when you're in the room, and we might come over with the beer."
I watched the whole exchange closely. Yeah, those comments were definitely weighted. Neither of them was staking a claim on me, both of them seemed to know what was up, and they were trying to be cool about it. But that was the confusing part. I couldn't be sure if I'd just been friend-zoned in a big way, or if this was really as good of a deal as I hoped.
Then again, that's what I wanted to talk to Ty about when we got to his room. I needed someone to stop talking nicely about this and just lay it out there. I needed someone to be willing to jump to a few conclusions, put themselves out there, and just figure out where the lines were in this crazy rodeo the three of us were playing.
I had a funny feeling that the person putting themselves out there? Yeah, that was going to be me. Well, if I could ride a bull, then I could deal with telling a bull rider that I thought a couple of guys were sexy enough to chase. After all, I was supposed to be acting like the boys, right?
So why was I so nervous about this?