Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
Destry Callahan.
I had seen plenty of women come and go through the rodeo over the years. Barrel racers, trick riders, buckle bunnies, didn’t matter. Most of them had the same look in their eyes when they saw me. Admiration or I want you to fuck me, sometimes both.
Not Savannah Gentry. She barely even fucking looked at me and damn if that wasn’t the most interesting thing that had happened all week.
I leaned against the fence with my arms crossed, watching as she moved through the arena, brushing down one of the quarter horses. She worked fast, efficient, like she’d been doing this her whole life which, if I had my guess, she probably had. I had seen her pretty ass around town before, working odd jobs, always keeping her head down. She wasn’t the type to linger or flirt like the others.
Now that she was working the rodeo, I had a front-row seat to her pretty ass and time to enjoy the view and I damn sure liked it. A lot.
She was small, stubborn as shit, and moving with a kind of purpose I didn’t see often. The women out here had one goal. Save a horse and ride a cowboy. Some folks worked hard because they had to. Savannah worked like she was trying to prove something to the world or maybe, trying to prove something to herself.
I smirked, remembering the way she’d wanted to deck my ass earlier when I took the saddle from her. Stubborn little rebel. I half expected her to punch me for helping, but she let me do it, even if it had damn near killed her pride.
I found myself wondering what else would make her give in.
“You gonna stare at her all day or you actually gonna get some practice in?”
I turned my head and caught sight of Jace, my best friend. The only person who could call me out on my shit without getting knocked on his ass. He was leaning against the fence next to me with a cocky grin on his face.
“Not staring,” I muttered.
Jace snorted. “Right. Just standing here, watching her like a lost fucking calf. What is it with you and the ones that don’t give a damn about you?”
“She’s interesting,” I admitted.
“That’s one way to put it.”
I ignored him and kept my eyes on Savannah as she finished up with the horse. When she turned, she caught me watching, and instead of looking away, she raised an eyebrow like she was daring me to say something. That shit made my dick hard. She was rebellious as fuck and damn sure didn’t give a damn about my name or status.
I liked that. I fucking liked her. I pushed off the fence and made my way over.
“Don’t you have bulls to ride or something?” she asked before I could even get a word out.
I grinned. “Don’t you have saddles to carry?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You helped once, I’ve been working hard all morning.”
“I’m sure you have.” I adjusted my hat, taking my time as I looked her over. The way her jeans fit, hugging her thighs and ass, was a nice visual. “You’re doing your thing. You work pretty fast.”
“I work hard.”
I nodded, pretending to consider that. “You like it out here?”
She hesitated, just for a second, and that told me more than words ever could.
“I like the horses,” she finally said. When she wasn’t watching me, she was watching the women practicing their runs with the barrels.
“You race?” I asked. The few times I had time to check on her throughout the morning her focus was on the barrel racers who were practicing. I figured that had to be her thing
She stiffened, just a little. “I don’t have a horse to race.”
I knew that wasn’t the whole story. If she had the skills, she could find a way to compete. She could borrow, lease, hell, train under someone. Something was stopping her. I let the silence stretch between us, watching the way her fingers curled into fists at her sides, like she was holding something back.
“You wanna race?” I asked.
She blinked up at me, guarded. “What’s it to you?”
I shrugged. “Maybe I like seeing you ride.”
A flicker of something crossed her face before she masked it.
“You haven’t seen me ride,” she said.
“Not yet.”
Her eyes narrowed like I struck a nerve. Damn her pretty ass really wasn’t fucking with me. She took a step back, shaking her head. “I have work to do.”
I let her go, but I didn’t miss the way she hesitated before walking away like maybe she wanted to stay. I watched her disappear into the stables, with a plan already forming in my head. Something about her pretty ass had my attention and my dick hard and a woman doing both didn’t happen often.
Savannah Gentry might not have been impressed by me like the others, but that just meant I had to work a little harder and I didn’t work for women. Didn’t really have to. She was holding something back, and I was curious to know what, but it would have to wait because I had my own work to do.
The practice arena already had movement and by the time I got there, a couple of the guys were already warming up. The air was thick with dust and the sound of hooves hitting hard-packed dirt.
“About time you decided to get to work,” Jace called from the fence with his arms draped over the top rail. “She shut you down, didn’t she?”
I ignored him, climbed up the chute, and carefully swung up onto the practice bull he had waiting, adjusting my grip on the rope. “You taking bets muthafucker?”
“Always.” He grinned. “You gonna last the full eight?”
I grunted. “Isn’t that the gotdamn point?”
Jace released a high pitched whistle that signaled the chute to open. The second the gate swung wide, the bull exploded forward, twisting and kicking like it had something to prove.
I leaned into the motion, gripping tightly, keeping my balance as the beast beneath me bucked and spun. The power in its muscles surged with every move while he tried to throw me off, but I stayed locked in and focused. This damn bull was not trying to take it easy on me.
Four seconds.
The dirt blurred as the bull twisted hard and jerked me sideways. I adjusted fast and shifted my weight forcing my legs to grip tighter.
Six seconds.
I felt the strain in my arms and pull in my core, but I held steady. The crowd, small as it was, cheered, but I barely heard them.
Eight seconds.
I released my grip and threw myself off just as the buzzer sounded. My boots hit the ground, knees bending to absorb the impact. The bull kicked once more before the wranglers moved in, directing it toward the holding pen.
I pulled off my glove and flexed my fingers, trying to steady my breath. Good ride. Could’ve been better.
Jace punched me in the shoulder as I walked toward the fence. “That was shit. Keep riding like that and you won’t fucking qualify.”
I grabbed my water bottle and took a long drink before replying. “You don’t need to worry about me qualifying. You need to worry about getting me a bull in the chute that can challenge me.”
“Don’t get cocky muthafucker.”
I shrugged. “Not cocky, just making a point?”
Jace laughed, shaking his head. “You gonna break her in?”
“Who?”
He gave me a look. “You know who.”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and glanced toward the stables. I wanted to do more than just break her in and that was a first. The problem was she had no interest in entertaining me or my bullshit.