Page 84 of Ride Me Cowboy

“And you don’t want him to?”

“Ain’t no one who saw what it did to him back then thinks this is a good idea,” she says sharply. “I appreciate you weren’t around at the time, but if you imagine that man being rattled to within an inch of his life, bruised all over, bones poking out, talking like scrambled eggs for days, then you get the general idea.”

My stomach drops. It does sound awful. But he recovered fully, and this is clearly what he wants to do.

I consider pointing that out, trying to soften the ground for Beau a little, but this isn’t my fight, and it’s clearly a fight he’s going to have to have.

“Is he at the house?”

I shake my head and point across the fields, to where they are, in the far distance now. My eyes scan the horizon, trying to pick out the border to their property. Cole’s shown it to me, a few times, but I have a hard time knowing which bit of land is which, like Cole does.

“Right then. I guess I’ll just wait.” She turns her attention to the house. “You want a ride?”

I shake my head. “I’ll walk back.”

“Suit yourself.” She drives off, leaving a huge cloud of dust in her wake. I glance back toward Beau, wondering if he’s got any idea what kind of storm is waiting for him.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Cole

“IKNOW YOU’RE UPSET.”

“Upset?” I stare at Beth like she’s just told me the earth is flat. “I’m not upset. I’m furious. Beau is the most stubborn jackass in the whole goddamn world. What the hell is he thinking?”

I look toward the window above Beth’s desk, glancing out at Ash’s truck. She’s still in the house, having it out with Beau…who fights like he lives. Relaxed, easy going, charming. Everything she says, he has an answer for. Something flippant and humorous, accompanied by his trademark grin.

Like this is all some big fucking joke, when his life hangs in the balance.

“I get that you don’t want him to do this, but he’s a big boy, Cole. It’s his life. Don’t you think he has a right to decide how he’s going to spend it?”

“Not when it comes to this.” I draw in a deep breath. “If someone you loved was determined to hurt themselves, wouldn’t you step in?”

“I’d want to,” she admits. “And I’d probably do my best to change their mind, but at the end of the day, this is Beau’s choice.”

I clench my jaw real tight. “That’s just not how we do it.”

“How who does it?” She crosses her arms over her chest, looking at me with obvious skepticism. “You? Your dad?”

“Damn straight.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why can’t you let Beau make up his own mind?”

I turn away from her, striding to my desk and opening the laptop. “Come and see this.” I click into the folder I never go near, hovering on a file I haven’t looked at for years, because of how it makes me feel.

“Look.” I step back as it starts to play, but the volume is muted. You need to really hear it, as well as see it, so I reach across, pressing the button, and the sound of the rodeo fills the room.

Packed stands, people cheering, the sound of the bell as the chute opens and one of the meanest bulls on the circuit comes bounding out like he’s got the devil at his heels. Beau on top, stable at first, one hand on the animal, one out to his side, like he’s surfing a big, fat wave. Then there’s another noise in the crowd, the ringing of a bell, as the fans get excited. To them, this is just great sport.

Beau’s like a rag doll on this thing’s back, and the electronic clock only reads 3.42 seconds. Let me tell you, time never goes so slow as when someone you care about is on the back of a bull, trying to hit their mark.

Beside me, Beth takes a step closer to the screen. She’s mesmerized. She lifts her hands to her lips, holding them there, but she doesn’t look away, and in that moment, I feel a bolt of admiration for her, because this is damn near one of the hardest things you can see.

It’s clear Beau’s going to be thrown, even from here. His ass can’t stay on the saddle, the rhythm of the beast is all over the place. It’s like the bull’s feet are landing in lava, every time they hit the ground. Beau’s free hand almost touches the saddle, and I know what that must mean. Beau’sneverdone that before. Never come close. He’s been riding horses, then bulls, since he could walk, just about.

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