Page 106 of The Hearts We've Broken
The uproar from the crowd was deafening, but I smiled thinking about the energy in the arena.
“Quite a comeback, Tucker.” One of the other bull riders nodded at me.
“Thanks, man, but it’s not over yet.” I tried to be humble, but I knew I wasn’t going to buck off today. I was determined. My season—despite the injury—had been on a steady climb since Houston, and I wasn’t going to let it drop off now.
I’d proven to the press and fans that I was in this. Despite the doubt and the odds, I was climbing back up the world standings.
Now, the only person I had to prove anything to was myself.
Maverick and I had been almost neck and neck, but I’d pulled through to land myself in the number one spotgoing into the short go. Which meant my ride would be the very last one of the night.
Colter and Reid won the team roping, as expected, and Jake placed sixth in the tie-down roping, so he still cut a check.
Now it was down to bull riding.
“I hope you’re not tired yet, folks. Hang in there with us, because it’s the event of the night, what you’ve all been waiting for. The bull riding.”
The bullfighters for the night were introduced, and rock music blared through the speakers as the first bull rider climbed into the chute.
I didn’t pay much attention to the other rides, only focusing on my surroundings when a score was announced, like keeping a running scoreboard in my mind of what I would have to beat tonight.
The first few riders scored in the lower eighties, and a few in the middle got close to ninety points.
Maverick gave me a fist bump before we parted ways to get by our respective chutes. He’d ride first, then me.
The announcer read off Mav’s stats then the stats of the bull he was riding.
“Let’s go, Maverick!” the announcer cried out as Maverick nodded, and the bull burst out of the chute in a fury.
He moved gracefully with the bull, matching its kicks and spins with expert finesse.
When the eight second buzzer went off, I was already up on the platform, ready to climb into the chute.
As the announcer called out, “Ninety points!”a wave of anxiety washed over me.
I straddled the top of the chute and took a deep breath as I lowered my knees onto its back.
“Our final performer of the night,the matchup of the night, is one you are not going to want to miss! Don’t get up from your seats quite yet, ladies and gentlemen. This bull has an eighty-three percent buck-off rate. Many a cowboy has tried to best him, and many have failed. He goes by the name of Play Your Cards Right!” The announcer paused for effect. “Let’s see if our cowboy, Mikey Tucker, can ride this old boy to victory!”
Music played in the background, but I only focused on the task at hand as I ran my hand up and down my rope until the rosin was sticky. One of the other bull riders was pulling my rope, and Maverick had run over to offer encouragement.
This time, when I wrapped the tail end of the rope around my hand, I ran it between my pinky and ring finger. This was it. This could very well be one of the most important rides of the year, and there was no way I was going to buck off.
“Let’s go, boys,” I gritted out as I nodded, and the chute gate flew open.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
juniper
The camera zoomed in as Mikey’s bull exploded out of the gate, whirling around on the television screen as it attempted to throw him off its back.
My hands had the edge of the couch in a death grip as I watched on the edge of my seat.
“Come on, Mikey,” I said under my breath.
Dust flew around the arena as the bull kicked up dirt, and for a moment, the camera only picked up the silhouette of the beast and his rider.
Mikey’s arm waved in the air as he kept his balance and flowed with the bull’s movements.
