Page 14 of Austin
Chapter Four
Almost two hoursafter Austin had handed her the pass to the bull-riding event, Kristen was still chewing on his remark about life separating the winners and losers. She’d failed, yes. But failing wasn’t the same as being a loser.
Youaccused Austin of being a loser.
It was clear now that he wasn’t—he’d simply had a different vision of success. One that differed radically from her own. But…was bull riding a real job? He had money, yes. But did he have stability?
Do you have either of those things?
Kristen was getting tired of being heckled by her own inner voice, so when the house lights dimmed she sat up in her seat and focused on the dark arena. She’d been to a lot of rodeos as a kid and not one of them had started in darkness.
The music began—a deep thrumming that made the floor vibrate beneath her feet—and spotlights swirled over the crowd as the announcer welcomed fans to Reno, Nevada! Flames ignited on either side of the arena, traveling in long straight lines until they branched out and then the letters AEBR burst into flames.
Kristen’s mouth dropped open. The Copper Mountain Rodeo in Marietta needed to think about doing this. Very impressive. And even more impressive were the bull riders now striding through the manmade smoke and fire to take their places along the flaming lines. There was something primal about the smoke, the fire, the men about to risk their lives in an attempt to stay on a bull’s back for eight long seconds, and, as the music reached a crescendo and the fans cheered, Kristen understood why Austin did this. The feeling of power and anticipation was overwhelming. And the bull riders themselves…these were guys who’d fight wolves and then catch you something to eat for dinner. Alpha guys.
The kind of guys she avoided like the plague because they intimidated her.
But watching them stride out of the arena, walking shoulder to broad shoulder, the long fringe on their chaps flapping with each step…maybe she was succumbing to alpha fever. Temporarily.
As soon as the lights came up, a crew gathered around the far chute. Moments later the gate swung open and a bull exploded out, spinning violently to first the right and then the left as the crowd cheered. The rider released his grip at the horn, did half a flip and landed in a heap in the dirt. A split second later he was on his feet, racing for the rails as two bull fighters distracted the black and white bull.
“T.J. Casey setting the bar on Ignitor, ladies and gentleman. Eighty-nine points!”
Eighty-nine was a decent score. Austin had his work cut out for him.
Kristen sat back in her seat, only to come forward again for the next ride. And the next. The pace and the energy were crazy. A rider named Cody was up and Austin was announced on deck. Kristen realized that her hands were clenched into tight fists and she made an effort to relax.
He was her ride to Salt Lake City, not her husband or boyfriend. But regardless of who he was, she wanted him safe. Wanted all of the guys to be safe. No one had made eight seconds since T.J. Casey had ridden the first bull out and Kristen wondered if any of them would.
The gate opened and the crew fell back as a giant midnight black bull reared out of the chute, throwing his head back and just missing Cody’s face. Less than a second later the animal hit the ground with all four feet and then launched himself into an epic series of spins.
The whistle blew and the rider released, kicking a leg over the bull’s massive head and landing on both feet. The crowd erupted and Kristen was right there on her feet with them.
Oh yeah, she was definitely coming down with alpha fever.
And hopefully she’d be fully recovered by the time she met Austin at the north door of the venue following the event.
*
Life has away of separating the winners and losers.
True enough, and Austin hoped karma wasn’t going to bite him in the ass for pointing that out to Kristen. Hard Landing, his draw for the evening, rolled his eye and flicked an ear as Austin eased into place just in front of the flank strap. He handed the tail of his rope to Gage to hold tight as he worked the rosin in.
“You’ve got this,” Gage muttered.
Austin nodded. He did have it. Once the rosin was warm, he slid his hand into place, finished his wraps and gave his glove a couple pounds. Gage pulled the rope tight and then stepped back as Austin slid forward, almost on top of his hand. The sharp scent of bovine sweat stung his nostrils as he took a deep breath, then nodded. He loved this moment. Lived for this moment, when anything and everything was possible.
The gate opened. Hard Landing reared and then launched into an explosive twisting buck, bringing his ass up over his ears. Austin pushed deep into his feet, held his center as the bull slammed back to earth, then reared again, twisting his body sideways, rolling Austin away from his hand. He corrected before the bull started a series of body-jarring spins. Gritting his teeth, Austin fought gravity and managed to keep from being sucked down into the well before the bull flipped his center of gravity and spun the opposite direction, jerking Austin hard on each jolting landing.
Hard Landing’s hooves slammed into the ground, tossing up dirt as he whirled. The horn sounded and Austin released, allowing the bull’s momentum to toss him free. He landed, then automatically rolled into a ball as Hard Landing took a pass at him with his blunt-ended horn before the bull fighter intervened.
Having made his point, Hard Landing flicked his tail and trotted to the gate as Austin got to his feet.
“Ninety-four points!”
If he’d had a hat, he would have thrown it in the air. Instead he raised a hand, acknowledged the crowd, then crossed the arena to sit out the next six rides.
No one came close to his score.
