Chapter 19
Bodie’s career had been important to Cole before, but now he had real focus. He had a goal. He wanted Bodie to be set for retirement.
The faster Cole helped him build that nest egg, the sooner his cowboy could retire. Not that he’d ever say that to Bodie. He’d never suggest that Bodie should stop riding without a very good reason.
And he never wanted Bodie to have that very good reason.
But whether or not Bodie won the championship this year, Cole wanted to give Bodie something to think about in the off season.
That meant that he was keeping Bodie busy when they were on the road.
A promo photo shoot this morning and now a signing at the Duggan Boots booth before the event.
Once they got back to the hotel room later, Bodie could get a shower, and then they had a meeting with FireTickets, the big reseller for the circuit, who was looking for a new spokesperson.
Cole wanted them to be looking at Bodie.
Bodie was charming and warm, talking to all the fans, making the older ladies blush and giggle, and the men chuckle.
That charm was Bodie’s superpower. It came naturally, and Bodie just liked people. He liked their kids too. And when it came to promoting boots, he seemed to completely understand the assignment. Avery couldn’t have been more pleased and was always on time with the checks.
It made his job easy. That part of it anyway.
The rest of this job was a little harder—looking after Bodie, staying aware of the time at the booths, the time until Bodie’s first ride, whether Bodie had eaten anything, making sure his cowboy drank water.
If he was going to keep Bodie running, he had to make sure Bodie was healthy too.
Bodie took a thousand pictures and gave a ton of hugs, then they were moving again, Bodie slamming back a bottle of water. “I like that.”
“Water is good. You’re on in thirty minutes. I stashed your gear in the locker room, number seventeen. Your lock is on it.”
“Good deal. I’ve got a good feeling about tonight. Maybe I’ll ride for ninety-five and get a check.”
“Hey, Champ!” someone called, and Bodie waved.
“You’re going to rock this arena. It’s got great vibes.
” He worried all the time. He worried the most from the minute Bodie left his sight to get ready to ride until the last round was over.
That was another thing he wouldn’t tell Bodie, not right before a ride for sure.
His job was to talk the cowboy up. Give him confidence.
Yell like a lunatic from the stands. He could feel sick and clasp his hands tight to keep them from shaking when Bodie wasn’t looking.
He worried, though. Every time he had to watch Bodie ride, he was queasy and convinced Bodie was about to crash.
But Bodie seemed to land on his feet, or close enough. He was strong and had great balance. Cole knew about these things intimately.
“I wonder which beast you’ll draw today.”
“Who knows? I’m hoping for something that spins into my hand.”
“Fingers crossed.” That would make the ride easier, and easier on Bodie. “You know I’ll be in there shouting like a fool. Me and Alfonso’s mother.” She was a hoot. She cheered for her son and everyone else’s.
“I’ll be listening.” Bodie winked at him. “Have a good one, now. I’ll see you after my ride. Then it’s… the ticket folks?”
“Yep. The ticket folks.” He lowered his voice. He was never sure whether it was a good idea to be overheard. “Good ride, baby.”
“Thank you. I’ll be listening.”
He knew it. Bodie always heard him.
He crossed behind Bodie as they parted, sneaking a little touch, fingers pressing into Bodie’s lower back for a quick second. He hated that moment. That little exchange before he sent Bodie off to ride and he was left alone and worried.
He had to wonder how Bodie felt, but he thought he knew. Maybe one spare thought before focusing and getting his mind in the middle where it should be.
Cole headed straight for the corn dog vendor to eat his feelings. He tried to eat carefully when he ate with Bodie, but he made up for it when he was on his own.
The arena was hopping. The riding was already underway, and he walked in at the tail end of a great ride. It was a rider he wasn’t too familiar with so he pulled out his phone and made note of the name. It never hurt to investigate.
The league was growing by leaps and bounds, and Bodie was on fire right now, so he could sell this. It was best to concentrate on work during this time, it kept his mind busy and kept him from focusing on the dangers of this sport.
“Hey, Cole.”
“Hey, Laurie. Did Doug ride yet?” He took his seat next to the wife of another rider. He knew just about everyone to some degree, between Rocky’s buddies, Bodie’s friends, and all the time he’d hung around the tour.
“He bucked off. He’s having a hard season, you know?” She sighed and shrugged. “He just needs to get his confidence back.”
It was true. Doug hadn’t hit a solid ride in weeks. He was young though, hopefully it was just a matter of time. “He’s healthy. He’ll get it back. He needs to get out of his own way.”
“You know it. He just gets all tense and then it’s all over.” She shook her head, chewing on her bottom lip. “Do you think Bodie would talk to him? Give him some advice? It would mean the world.”
“I’m sure he’d be happy to. I’ll ask him for you.
For Doug.” Bodie would never say he knew everything, but he’d been around the block on this one and giving a guy a hand up seemed right up his cowboy’s alley.
“In the meantime, you just keep making sure he knows you believe in him.” Rocky always said that what a rider needed came from inside, but knowing someone was in your corner on the outside went a long way.
“Yeah. You know… we just found out we’re having a baby…”
Oh. Oh, damn. Talk about pressure.
Doug’s rough go of it made sense now. He’d talk to Bodie for sure. He turned to look right at Laurie and gave her his best big smile. “Congratulations! That’s amazing.”
“Thank you.” She blushed bright pink. “You’re the first person not family that I’ve told. It makes it more real, you know?”
He chuckled. “I’d say this is pretty damn real. Bodie is going to be so happy for you guys.”
Kids. They were a cowboy thing.
Huh.
He didn’t let his mind wander too far in that direction; the poor guy had only just agreed to move in.
Still, he knew that some of the married guys had families, and they seemed so happy…
He had to wonder if Bodie would be happy being a father.
He had to wonder if he would be…
He stopped himself right there. With wondering. He’d just wonder for a while.
“Do you know what you’re having yet, or is it too early?”
“It’s still too early, but I know Doug wants a Doug Jr. We’ll just have to see what we’re given, right?” She rolled her eyes, grinned. “I wouldn’t mind either way.”
“Every guy wants a junior. It’s just a guy thing.” He winked at her. “Until the girl comes along and steals his heart. Don’t worry, he’ll be happy too.”
“He will. He says he wants whatever it is to look like me, so…” She beamed at him, and it felt amazing to see her so proud, in love.
“That’s great. He’s a good one. I’m sure—oh. Hang on.”
There were only a couple of riders that might challenge Bodie for the big title and one of them was up.
Jose tended to ride right before Bodie did, and here he was again.
He was on a nasty bull, Big Bernie was a monster, and he did this twisty thing in the air that landed plenty of guys on their asses.
Bodie was up in the chutes, arm in the air as he warmed up, moving up and down with an unintentionally sexual motion. At this point, Cole knew his lover wasn’t watching or listening, he was totally in the zone.
He was glad for that because Bodie probably didn’t register all the cheers when Jose cleared his eight seconds and landed more or less on his feet. That was going to be a big score. Maybe not big enough, but big.
Bodie went to load, dropping down onto the bull and tightening his rope. Tomas was pulling rope for him, and one of the Abbott twins was holding Bodie’s vest, mouth moving ninety to nothing.
He felt his stomach knot up and he forced himself to breathe as he watched, eyes laser focused on Bodie. “You’ve got this, cowboy,” he whispered.
Jesus, this just never got easier.
The bull went up, front hooves actually leaving the chute, and for a second, he swore he could see Bodie slide back behind the bull.
“No!” He stood up, and then he saw it, one of the Abbotts yanking Bodie up and out by his vest. “Shit.” He huffed out a breath hard. “Shit, Bodie. Dammit.”
He stayed on his feet, unwilling to take his eyes off his man or even move until he knew Bodie was okay.
Bodie was talking to the chute boss as the stock contractor tried to get the bull settled back down in the chute.
He crossed his arms, waiting. Bodie looked fine, and he suspected that the chute boss was making sure of that.
Meanwhile, the bull didn’t seem like it wanted to cooperate.
This was tough, he knew, it fucked with Bodie’s concentration.
His rhythm. But he was just going to have to wait and see what happened.
Finally, they turned the bull out into the arena and Bodie was resetting for his ride.
Dammit.
He was hoping it would be done by now.
He kept his eyes on the cowboy. He didn’t want to be looking elsewhere if Bodie happened to look for him. “Good ride, cowboy, you’ve got this!” he shouted. He wanted Bodie to hear him.
Bodie shot him a thumbs-up and a wicked shit-eating grin. Okay. Okay, Bodie heard him.
Bodie was ready.
Now the son of a bitch just needed to cover his bull.
He sank down slowly into his seat, trying to breathe as the whole thing started over. Tomas on Bodie’s rope, and whichever Abbott twin who was talking so intensely he was red in the face.
“It’s so hard to watch.” Laurie sighed softly and shook her head. “Have you ever tried it?”
“Riding? Hell, no.” He laughed. “Hell, no. I am not brave enough.”