Chapter 4
“Uncle Bodie! Uncle Bodie! Catch me!”
He held his hands open, not even sure which baby was hollering his name, but he’d catch, one way or the other.
Little Ann-Marie Lafeve landed in his arms with a thud, and he swung her around.
“Hey, baby girl. Where’s your daddy?”
“He’s signing. I hate signings.”
“All right. Does he know you’ve run off?”
Patrick had lost his wife a year ago, and Ann-Marie was on the road with her daddy twenty-four seven.
“No. No, I don’t want to sit like a lady.”
“Oh, me either, but let me call him, okay? And you can hang with me.”
She hugged him tight.
“Something you forgot to tell me, Jimenez?” Cole Bates gave him a wave and headed his direction. The man stood out in a crowd even when he was trying to fit in. His boots were a little too dressy, his jeans a little too slim-fit, but hell if he didn’t pull it off anyway.
“Hmm?” What? Oh, Ann-Marie. “Hey, this is my girlfriend, Ann-Marie. She is seven and a half and is on the lam from her daddy, who is signing at the Cooper Tire booth.”
“Oh… very nice to meet you, Ann-Marie. You caught yourself a cowboy, huh?”
Ann-Marie giggled. “I’m not his girlfriend. I’m just a girl.”
“Cooper Tire… Lafeve? I saw that he landed them. Nice gig.” Cole stuck out a hand. “Good to see you again.”
“You too. I need to call Miss Thang’s dad before he panics. Two shakes.” He grabbed his phone and dialed Patrick.
“Tell me you have her.” Patrick was damn near in hysterics.
“I have her.”
“You rock. Are you—”
“We’re fine. Text when you’re done.” He hung up and smiled at Cole. “How are you today? Interested in an ice cream?”
“Why not? It was a long flight. It shouldn’t have been, but it got off late, and the lady next to me told me twice how handsome I was. Twice that I heard anyway; I was trying to hide in my headphones.”
“Is he handsome, Uncle?”
He gave Cole a once-over—pretty green eyes, a hint of silver in the dark hair, well-built. Yeah. “Yes, ma’am. He is.”
Cole shook his head, and he caught a hint of a blush. “If you’re going to butter me up, I guess I’m buying. What’s your pleasure, Ann-Marie?”
“Strawberry-strawberry-strawberry.”
“I think she wants strawberry.” Cole chuckled.
“She’s got good taste.” Bodie walked them over to the concession stand. “I’ll have a Diet Coke. I intend to have a steak at supper.”
“Good choice. It’s going to be a steak sort of discussion.” Cole ordered for them, including a single scoop of butter pecan for himself. “When Miss Ann-Marie goes back to her daddy, Brent Ayers is here from Duggan Boots and wants to meet you. Do you think you’ll have time before you ride?”
“Absolutely. I always have time for a sponsor.” He knew what side of the bread his butter was on. He didn’t fuck around.
“Perfect. I didn’t make any promises since you and I haven’t had a good talk or signed officially, but I didn’t want to lose the opportunity.” Cole handed Ann-Marie her ice cream with a smile. “Here you go. I hope you like strawberry.”
“Strawberry!”
“Girl, what do you say?” he asked, and she blushed.
“Thank you, sir.”
“You’re very welcome. I hope you love it.” Cole smiled at her reaching for his Coke. “This is for you. Not as yummy as ice cream, but a nice caffeine kick.”
“I’m holding out for a steak and a cauliflower mash and a huge salad.”
“I like salad!” Ann-Marie licked her ice cream cone.
“Me too!”
“I’m glad I’m not on a diet.” Cole winked at him. “I don’t remember the last time I willingly ate a salad.”
“Really? I really love them. I mean, not always the healthy ones, of course…” Caesar salad especially. God, croutons were good.
Cole took a bite of his ice cream. “This has nuts in it. That’s good for me, right?”
“Milk. Nuts. Totally health food.” He was willing to go along with that. No question.
“We’re going to work well together.” Cole grinned and took another bite.
“Baby girl! I told you to sit; you can’t just wander off.” Patrick jogged up to them. “Bodie, man. Thank you so much.”
“Of course, man. She found me right away. Next time, holler at me.” He shook Patrick’s hand. “I’ve got your back.”
“I looked away, and when I looked back—”
“Uncle Bodie’s friend bought me ice cream. He doesn’t like salad.”
Cole snorted, and he and Patrick shook hands. “Cole Bates. You’re Patrick Lafeve. Pleased to meet you.”
“Mr. Cole. Pleased. I’m a bad father with a ton of exceptional friends.” Patrick shook with him. “Come on, Ann-Marie. I need to do a couple of things before the event.”
“Yes, sir, Daddy, sir!”
Bodie rolled his eyes at Patrick, winked at Ann-Marie. Lord save that little family.
Cole shrugged. “You look like an excellent father to me. Good meeting you, and good luck tonight.”
“Thanks. See you, bud. I owe you two or three thousand.”
“Any time.” He smiled at Cole. “So, how are you doing? Enjoying Nashville?”
“Mostly. I’ve been here a few times. It seems more crowded than I remember.”
“It’s a busy event, yessir. Not as big as Vegas or Dallas, but a good one.” He liked riding here a lot, and he had a good record here, winning four out of six, so far.
“Let’s find Mr. Ayers.” Cole finished his ice cream and threw out the cup. “So, you’re expecting to do well here, I assume?”
“I never ride expecting to suck, but yeah. I like this arena.” And he was as superstitious as any athlete.
“Think of something you like about Duggan Boots. I don’t guess you own a pair by any chance?”
“I was fixin’ to stop by the booth and try some on. I’ve heard real good things about the lace-ups and how they support the ankles.” He hadn’t been about to buy a pair, but he knew about them, and he could say nice things.
“Perfect. Very nice.” Cole gave him an approving nod. “Brent, you got a minute? I found Bodie.”
“Well, well. Pleased, Jimenez.” Brent Ayers grinned at him and stuck out a thick-fingered hand. “You ready to ride?”
“Always. Pleased to meet you, sir. Do you have yourself some good tickets?” He put on his best smile but didn’t go overboard with the friendly.
This part was always a little tricky.
“I do all right, up by the sponsor’s booth. Cole says you’re on board with him now, and Cole hasn’t ever steered me wrong. Are you interested in Duggans at all?”
“I was just telling Mr. Cole here that they have a great reputation for supporting the ankle. I had it on my list to try some lace-ups on.” La la la. Warm and a little aw-shucks, but not too much. La la la.
“That they do.” Ayers sized him up a little. “What’s your size? I’ve got a pair of black ones here—let’s see what you think.”
Cole hung back but he could feel him and Ayers were being watched. The man was working, probably thinking up a contract right now. He could have himself his first sponsor before the night was out.
“I appreciate it.” He sat down, stripping off his own boot, thanking God he’d had the foresight to wear nice socks.
The boot fit well, was plenty big in the toe box. He laced her up, stood. “What do y’all think?”
Cole came over, nodding at the boots. “They look sharp.”
“They fit you nice. You should take that pair and try them out—not tonight of course, but when you don’t have money on the line. See what you think.”
“That is very kind of you, Brent,” Cole said.
“Are you sure you don’t mind? That’s a huge kindness.” He switched out for his riding boot again, wiping his hand on his handkerchief before shaking Ayers’s hand again.
“You bet. Wear them in a little while Cole and I talk, and maybe you’ll be wearing them while you sign at my booth in Oklahoma City. We’ll see.”
“Well, I appreciate it. I hope to hear you cheering for me tonight.” He’d be the one riding for ninety.
“I will do. Good ride, cowboy. Cole, call me tomorrow.”
Cole shook Ayers’s hand. “You know I will. Thanks again. Bye now.” Cole gave a quick wave and steered him away.
He carried the boot box, feeling a little gobsmacked, but pleased. Hopefully, Cole was too.
“That went well.” Personally, he thought that was the understatement of the century, but Cole sounded pleased. “Do you have any hard limits? Like, for example, I tell everyone my clients don’t sit for ad campaigns without a shirt on. Anything you can think of?”
“I don’t do anything public that would embarrass my granny.” He figured that was a decent rule. Safe for him and his family and, most important, his future. “I’d like to avoid anything about tobacco or gambling.”
“Sure. I will avoid tobacco, casinos, the lottery. And anything that would embarrass your granny is already a limitation in my standard contract. I’ll talk to Ayers tomorrow, then send you a contract to read.
You should ask all your questions; nothing is too small or stupid.
I’m happy to go over every single word with you.
This is your livelihood and your future, and you should understand it to the letter. ”
“Okay. I can do that.” Bodie winked, trying to lighten things up. “I do know how to read.”
Cole snorted, grinning. “Good on you, cowboy. I’ll congratulate your mother when I see her.”
“Oh, she’ll appreciate that. She has two brilliant daughters, you know…” He winked over at Cole, grinning wide.
“Ha. Parents, am I right? You got somewhere to stash those boots before you ride? You want me to go put them in my car?”
“Do you mind? I walked down from the event hotel.” It was a gorgeous evening, and he had wandered down, exploring where to have supper.
“I couldn’t get a room there; it was sold out. You go ahead, I’ll put this away and find my seat.”
“I got a suite from the league; you want my second room? You can have it.” He didn’t mind. It was sitting empty.
“Fancy. Let me think about it, thanks.” Cole gave him a nod.
“Sure.” He handed the boots over. “Have a great event. Cheer loud.”
“Count on it. Stay on that bull.” Cole gave him a smile and a goofy wink.
That was his job. He waved and headed back into the arena, jogging down to stand near the chute.
Lord have mercy, he did love this event. He nodded to some of the guys’ wives, grinning at the babies, then went hunting his friends.
“Hey, cowboy! What’s going on with you?”
“Living the dream.” He waved and headed over. Lord, he was ready to ride.