Page 52 of Catch Me, Cowboy
Shelby’s teeth were tightly clenched together as she waited for his smart ass move to give him some payback, but no. The buzzer rang, the pickup men closed in, one of them reaching for the flank strap and the other moving into position for Ty to grab hold and dismount. Once Ty’s feet were on solid earth, Shelby let out a very long breath as she closed her eyes and allowed her head tip back, coming to rest on the post behind her.
“You okay, sweetheart?”
She opened her eyes to see the woman, whose program she’d sneaked a peek at, turned around and frowning at her.
“Fine. Just… relieved.”
“Is that your young man?”
Shelby just nodded because right now, she felt pretty close to throwing up. This was even worse than it had been before.
*
It had beenone of those magical rides where everything—abso-fucking-lutely everything—came together. He knew as soon as his feet hit the dirt he’d be in the high eighties. Scooter Do, the little bay mare, had done her part and then some, and he’d answered her every challenge.
He felt like hugging the mare, but instead he saluted her as she loped by on her way out of the arena, then slapped his hat on his leg to shake out the arena dust and headed for the fence.
“Ladies and Gentlemen!” The announcer roared. “You saw it here, at the Seventy-Eighth Copper Mountain Rodeo! Mr. Ty Harding’s comeback ride and what a ride it was. Ninety-one points! That’s a nine followed by a one, ladies and gentlemen. The score puts Ty firmly in the lead. Let’s show him how much we appreciate him sharing his comeback with all of us here in Marietta!”
The crowd continued to cheer and Ty waved his hat again and then slipped through the man gate.
He walked away from the arena, intent on getting to his truck when he could sit and process what had just happened, when someone called his name. He turned and saw his father walking toward him with Buck Creighton, a former bareback bronc rider and reporter forRough Stock World, the online rodeo magazine.
Son of a bitch.
It was all he could do to not turn and head the other way.
“Helluva ride, Ty!” His dad slapped him on the back and Buck gave an approving nod.
Ty briefly met his father’s gaze. “I’m… surprised to see you here.”
“You didn’t think I’d miss your comeback ride, did you?” He jerked his head toward Buck. “I figured people in the rodeo world would be interested, too.”
Ty held out his hand to Buck. “Good to see you. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, it has.” Buck had interviewed him after his two championships and they’d bumped into each other on the circuit. “Your dad called and mentioned that you had an entry at the Copper Mountain Rodeo. I’ve never been, had a free weekend, so decided to drive over from Boise and watch.”
“Hope you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Nice little rodeo. Now…do you mind if I ask you a few questions for the magazine?”
Ty shook his head and avoided looking at his dad, who no doubt thought he had made a brilliant maneuver. “Not at all.”
“So this comeback ride… it went well.”
“I’m pleased.”
“You were a late entry. No press about the ride.”
“I had close to a year off and that last wreck had kind of ruined me—to the point that, as you know, I announced my retirement. I wasn’t certain that I’d healed enough to resume my career, so I thought I’d start with a hometown crowd—you know…people who are familiar with me and would have my back win, lose or draw.”
“I think most crowds are like that Ty. You have a lot of fans.”
“Thank you.”
“You have a decent lead in the standings, but that can all change tomorrow. How are you feeling after today’s ride?”
“Confident. My head’s in a good place.”
