No, this was the work of my mother.
I stared at the image of the brown-haired beauty who was bent down and nearly eye level with Blayze. His cowboy hat damn near covered his face, and Lincoln smiled from ear to ear.
Shit, her eyes.
Even if Ty hadn’t told me, I could tell just from this picture that they were green. A green I’d never seen before. My gaze dropped to that pretty little pink mouth. Then my chest did some weird-ass flutter as my eyes moved up and locked on hers. There was something in those eyes, something that called to me in a way I’d never experienced before.
I was drawn to this woman—and that both scared me and annoyed the hell out of me. More so the latter.
She was beautiful, there was no doubt about it. No wonder my kid had wanted a picture with her.
The idea that my brother Ty might hook up with Lincoln bothered me. More than it should have. Why all of a sudden am I jealous of my brother being near a woman I had never even met?
“Brock! You’d better get your ass moving before Dirk climbs into that chute and on that bull.”
Pulling my eyes away from the screen, I pushed the phone back into my pocket and quickly jogged back to the chutes.
The damn TV camera was in my way as I pulled on Dirk’s bull rope.
“Remember, you’ve got a left-hand delivery. He’s gonna wanna turn away from you. Be ready,” I said.
Dirk hit his hand to get it tight in the rope. “Got it.”
“Be ready for him to change directions. He’s known to fade.”
“Got it,” Dirk replied again.
I knew he was moments from the nod, so I didn’t say another word. I let Dirk get into his head.
He gave the nod, and the gateman pulled on the nylon rope, letting the beast free from the cage.
“Get it!” I shouted as I watched Dirk get bounced around. “That’s it!” I cried out. “You’ve got it!”
The bull swung to the left, catching Dirk off-balance, causing him to go down the well. My heart stalled, and I knew I was holding my breath. He got hung, and I watched as the bullfighters attempted to get his hand out of the bull rope.
“Get him out,” I whispered, even though I wanted to shout it.
The bull swung around, and Dirk’s body swung with it. He looked like a rag doll being tossed about. I flinched when I saw the bull come down on him. I closed my eyes and sent up a quick prayer.
After I opened my eyes, my prayer was answered.
His hand finally got free.
“Fucking finally!” I shouted and jumped down, making my way around to the gate where they would bring Dirk through. My heart raced in my chest. I saw him walking, so that was a good sign.
As he walked toward me, he stumbled.
“Shit!” I cried out, making my way to Dirk.
One of the members of the medical team grabbed him. “You okay, Dirk?” he asked.
Dirk’s eyes met mine, and he smiled slightly. “Perfectly fine. Just another day on the job.”
I knew he was lying. He wasn’t fine, but like all of us, he had his poker face firmly in place.
He walked past me and winked. “Find me a blonde. I’m going to need a distraction from the shooting pain going up my side.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Sex is what you’re thinking about right now? How about the fact that you just missed the eight seconds?”
He groaned and then said, “When don’t I think about sex, Brock?”
“I’ll have Cord pick out a girl and send her your way!” I called out.
Lifting his hand, Dirk gave me the finger.
I smiled as I shook my head. He was going to be just fine.
Chapter Five
LINCOLN
The knock on the window startled me, and I bent down and saw Ty and Blayze. I hopped off the stool and called out for Kaylee.
“Kaylee, Ty and Blayze are here.”
She didn’t answer, which meant she had her headphones on and was working.
“Come on in, y’all.”
The screen door opened, and they walked in.
“What are ya doing, Miss Lincoln?” Blayze asked, his big blue eyes gazing up at me. I smiled and dropped down to be at his eye level. I’d met Blayze the other day when I had stopped by the Shaws’ house to give them something I had found in a closet. Blayze had been a little charmer, even after falling out of the tree, and he’d put on a brave face when we all knew he was hurting.
The next day, when he and Stella stopped by to officially welcome me as a neighbor, and Blayze asked for a picture with me, my heart melted. Of course, it helped that he told me I was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. My new little neighbor was charming his way right into my heart.