Page 41 of The Cowboy's Downfall
The mechanical bull sat on a protective pad in case the rider fell off. Nix operated the control panel next to the pad, while Miles got on the bull first to demonstrate how it was done. He called out what he was doing with his hands and his hips as Nix made the bull gyrate and bob. Nix made the kids laugh by increasing the speed and bucking intensity in an obvious attempt to unseat Miles, but Miles, a world champion, took it as a personal challenge and refused to give in. He threw up his hands in victory when Nix finally brought the ride to a stop, and the parents surged to their feet in a standing ovation. Montanans took their state sport seriously.
The rule was that the kids had to wear full protective gear whenever they rode, not so much for safety at this stage, but to get them used to having it on. The first few boys weren’t beginners and managed to stick their whole ride. The next boys were new and didn’t last long, even with the setting on slow. Up came Taryn. She fastened her helmet and mounted the bull with the determination of a cavalryman headed for war. Miles helped her position her left hand under the strap attached to the bull, then showed her how to hold her right hand in the air. Shauna bit her lip. Taryn looked so tiny, especially next to the boys.
The bull started off slow—slower, it seemed, than it had for the boys. Taryn said something to Miles that Shauna didn’t catch, but he nodded to Nix, and the bull picked up speed. Taryn stayed on. The bull began to dip deeper, and Shauna held her breath, and still, Taryn stayed on. Long seconds passed. A few boys cheered her on. A few more didn’t appear to like what they saw—not all of them were okay with having a girl in their ranks.
“Time,” Nix called out, and the bull slowed to a halt. Miles helped Taryn dismount. Her legs wobbled a little, but when she took off her helmet, her wide smile spoke volumes.
Shauna’s anxiety eased and she started breathing again. Hallelujah. Taryn had found an activity she was good at that didn’t involve criminal charges and bond money. Shauna was never going to understand the appeal of death-defying sports, but the look of pure joy on her sister’s face was enough to earn her support.
Taryn turned to Nix as if about to ask what he thought of her ride, but he’d moved on to the next rider and his expression revealed nothing. Taryn’s face fell, but then Remi was there. He said something to her, and just like that, she was smiling again.
Shauna gave up. She couldn’t understand what was going on in Taryn’s head. Was she trying to use Nix against Remi? Remi against Nix? Because she wouldn’t put it past Taryn to lie about her relationship with Remi the same way she’d lied about Nix, although what she might gain from either story was anyone’s guess.
Two hours later, Shauna had seen enough of mechanical bull riding to last her a lifetime. Not much wonder the other adults looked bored. The clinic was done for the day, however, and she hadn’t figured out a way to get Nix alone.
She stayed in the stands until everyone else left, pretending to check her phone messages, then entered the concourse that encircled the arena, where businesses set up booths during rodeos. Today the concourse was empty—the concrete floor bare, and the steel walls exposed.
As she lingered in front of the wide double doors, undecided as to whether she should give up and leave before she began to look desperate, and to let him make the next move, he emerged from the arena and spotted her waiting for him.
He walked toward her, a smile in his eyes, and her heart started to pound. It only took one look from him and all she could think of was making full body contact.
“Next week we’re putting the older kids on real bulls,” he said. “The smaller kids will ride steers. Taryn’s small, but she’s old enough that we’re going to let her decide for herself.”
“How about if she sticks with the mechanical bull?” she suggested, without any real hope.
“As if that will fly. Have you met your sister?” Nix’s smile warmed her. It wasn’t the smile of a man who didn’t want her to call him again. Quite the opposite, in fact. “I can’t make it tonight,” he added quietly, dashing her hopes. “We’re moving cattle on Monday, and a bunch of us will be repairing fencing this afternoon and tomorrow to make sure the new pasture will hold them.”
She couldn’t hold back her disappointment. She’d worried and waited all week for this, only to find out at the last moment that she’d worried and waited for nothing. Never again. He might be okay with last-minute arrangements, but it wasn’t for her. She liked to plan.
She opened her purse, withdrew the cell phone she’d purchased as her contingency plan, and passed it to him. “It’s already set up and my number’s programmed in. Since I can’t call the bunkhouse”—and yes, she had to get that dig in because she still wasn’t positive what that was about—“why don’t you text me the next time you’re free?”
Chapter Twelve
Nix
Herding cattle withfour-wheelers wasn’t as fun as it sounded. Nix would get them headed where they needed to go, then a few would lose interest or their sense of direction and head into the trees.
Dodging rock, tangled scrub, and lodgepole, and getting mired in the mud while chasing them down made the day drag on forever. He leaned into the shovel for the third time that day. The mud was thick as half-dried cement. He was wet and cold and in a bad mood. Falls were short in Montana and winter was sending out feelers.
If he wasn’t so mad about the cell phone Shauna bought him, he might have gone after her to sort out what he suspected was a slight misunderstanding. Maybe more than a slight one.
The bigger issue for him was the damned phone, however.
Shauna outclassed him. That he could live with. But she outearned him too, and that stung his pride. She’d handed him the phone as if it was nothing to her. As if he was on call, on demand, and at her convenience. Bought and paid for. This must be how sex workers felt.
The longer he stewed about it, the angrier he got—with himself, mostly. What was it about him that attracted women who liked to take the wheel? Why was he attracted to them?
Because he was going to text Shauna and set up another service appointment. Just as soon as the sting went out of his pride.
He sent a silent apology to Remi. It wasn’t the nose hairs they were both being led by. Most men were stupid when it came to women and sex, and he was no different, even though he had experience behind him that should have smartened him up.
Being with Shauna had changed things for him. Even though he’d known his marriage was over, a part of him had always felt married. When he’d spoken his vows, he’d meant them to last. He didn’t feel that way anymore.
And he had Shauna to thank for it.
He strapped the shovel to the four-wheeler and spun his way out of the mud. He’d give it another day or so before he sent her a text. He’d set the time and the place. And then he’d give her back her damned phone. He’d get one for himself when he could afford it.
He waited until Wednesday night to send her a text. When he did it was brief. “Church yd. Sat 7. Leave panties home.” He threw that in to see how she’d react.
