Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Sam bounced on the balls of his feet, standing across the way from Kacey, who was at the other end of the chute.
Sam had the hinge end today, which was harder than the side of the gate because he had to worry about the gate puller as well as the bull fouling himself on the gate and all the other things that could go wrong.
Kacey just had to worry about the bull coming out and hooking him or the cowboy flying off right in front of him as he came out of the gate.
It was a pretty damn good life, and Sam figured at some point he wanted to come back as a bucking bull.
He met Kacey’s gaze, and Kacey lifted his chin in acknowledgement. They were both ready.
The cowboy finally got settled, and the bull stood up. The cowboy nodded his head, and then Sam was at work, out of the gate flying open, the bull spitting out into a spin.
The trick to being a good bull fighter was knowing when to step in and when to stay back. He had to be on the ball and ready, but he had to be far enough away that he didn’t get kicked or hooked. Or interfere with the cowboy’s ride.
The bull came out of the chute clean and started going to town, bucking with a decent rhythm and finding a reasonable spin. He wasn’t as strong as some of the beasts on the exclusive bull riding tours, or what they’d show at the Finals, but this was Texas, even if it was El Paso.
So the bulls were pretty good, fresh, and eager to buck, as a rule.
The buzzer sounded, and the cowboy went flying right into Kacey’s arms.
He leapt forward, grabbing a horn, distracting the bull for a second, just long enough to get Kacey and the cowboy clear.
The bull spun around, staring at him and lowered his head and pawed the dirt, making him smile.
Okay, this part was fun. The crowd loved this shit.
He did, too. It was part of the reason he was in the game—an adrenaline rush, facing off against a creature that was bigger and stronger and pointed on all ends. It made him feel a little bit like Superman.
The bull faced him head-on. This was straightforward, solid. So he set himself, keeping himself light on his toes, but making it look like he was firmly rooted to the ground, and then made a come-on motion with his fingers for the crowd so they could see it.
The crowd cheered, the bull charged, and he held fast until the last second. Then he turned, yanking the bull’s horn slightly as he jumped to one side. Now Kacey was in on it, too, and the bull didn’t know what to do.
There were two of them, the bastard wanted to hook one of them, but he couldn’t figure out which one.
He made a couple more half-hearted charges, giving Kacey the chance to dance out of the way too, and then finally gave up and turned back toward the gate so they could let him out of the arena. The bull plodded away, snorting, getting one last flipping buck of his heels.
The crowd ate it up, cheering when the announcer said they needed to. And then it was one down and another seven bull riders to go.
When the bull riding was done, Kacey clapped him on the back and grinned. “Good show, buddy.”
Sam nodded because it had been a good day. Nobody had gotten hurt, and while the bull riders hadn’t put on the best show on earth, everybody had walked off the dirt, and there was one eighty-four-point ride.
“What’s the plan?” Kacey asked him. “You’re going to go to supper with me?”
He grinned back because Kacey knew Evan was with him. “As long as you don’t mind having supper with the hockey guy.”
“You know I don’t. I thought he was decent enough when we met at the barbecue.”
“We’ll try for the Cattle Baron, yeah?” Kacey had places he loved to eat at in each city, and Cattle Baron was a nice, simple steakhouse. Not too fancy but not rundown or anything. “Tomorrow night, I’ll be grilling, probably.”
“You need me to buy anything? Chicken or hotdogs or something?”
“You just get what you want to drink. Maybe get some beer for Evan?”
“Sure, I can do that. Corona?”
“That works.” He figured Evan probably drank fancier beer at home. He knew Boston had all sorts of lager experiences or whatever. But when in El Paso…
He signed a few hats on the way out of the arena. This wasn’t like a big fancy bull riding or even a state fair show where it was indoors, and he got to have a dressing room in the back. They grabbed their shit and took it to the truck.
Kacey stood with him as they chilled out and waited for the crowd to dissipate, bumping their arms together.
“So man, how’s Hil?”
“Still puking. Enjoying being home by herself, I think?”
Kacey nodded, giving him a wicked, shit-eating grin. “I can’t believe you brought your man.”
Was Evan his man? They were fucking around, sure, but he wasn’t sure Evan was his man, but whatever. Sam could wonder on that shit later. “He wanted to see the southwest and he’s got time, so I figured what the hell, right?”
Kacey gave him the hairy eyeball. “You telling me you two aren’t hooked up?”
He wouldn’t say that at all, so he didn’t.
“That’s what I thought. You two were setting off sparks earlier.”
Sam shrugged. “Have you seen him? Son of a bitch is hot.”
Kacey grinned at him like a monkey. “He’s bigger than a damn bulldogger. You can bounce quarters off his butt.”
“Haven’t tried that yet…” But it could be fun. Evan might not be playing anymore, but he kept himself in the kind of shape it took to play. He worked out like a fiend; Sam had seen it.
And he wasn’t going to complain one bit because he got the benefit of that.
He just grinned, and Kacey nudged him with an elbow again. “You are a dawg.”
“Nah, I’m not really. He was just—”
“You’re going to tell me he was just convenient? That it was just because he was right there? That it’s not something you’d ever do?”
Sam frowned. “I hook up.”
“Uh-huh. You have the same three guys spread across the southwest that you call when you really get desperate, and you’re traveling.
You don’t just hook up with some guy who shows up to talk about your daughter being pregnant.
It’s not like you, man.” Kacey waggled his eyebrows.
“I’m not judging. I think he’s amazing-looking.
I would climb him like a tree if I was single, but I’m not, so… ”
The thought of Kacey doing anything with Evan made Sam’s jaw clench and his shoulders come up around his ears. So, yeah, maybe he wasn’t as casual as he thought he was.
That was ridiculous, wasn’t it? He and Evan barely knew each other.
“No climbing. No humping. And every time somebody says your pregnant daughter, it makes me want to hit something.”
“Yeah, it is a little weird.” Kacey seemed more than willing to change the subject. “You said she was doing the nursery this weekend?”
“She’s starting the planning process. I think she’s going to empty the room out and paint. She has a bunch of girlfriends coming over. Her mom is coming by, and you know Mama will come and all the aunties.”
“She does not lack family, that girl.”
“True that. Apparently, the baby daddy comes from a big family, too, so he’ll have tons of people.” That suited him to the bone, assuming that ‘tons’ meant ‘usually with them’.
“You know it’s a he?”
Sam shook his head. “No, no, it’s too early for that, as far as I know. Her mom is taking her to her first ultrasound appointment while I’m gone. It’ll be down toward the end of this road trip, so if I need to just run home, I’ll be able to.”
Kacey nodded to him, waving to get Evan’s attention. “Yeah, and that’s a big event, so it’s not going to be just us. We get to mingle with the upscale bull fighters.”
He didn’t roll his eyes. “Mm-hmm. Ooh la la, we get to deal with the fancy bull fighters, and the fancy riders, and the ones who just decide to show up to ride during the day because they’ve got their card and they might as well make a little money.
This is cowboy Christmas, and that’s part of the deal, right? ”
Kacey’s nose wrinkled. “Yeah, I can’t help but wishing the normal guys got to make money. They’re out here busting their ass for pennies. The other guys have got way more cash.”
Sam didn’t detect a single lie in all that, but what was he going to do about it? He fought bulls.
Then Evan walked up to him and, it didn’t matter anymore.
“Hey, man, you ready to hit the trailer and let me change? Kacey’s thinking the steakhouse for supper.”
“Yeah, I could do steak. Sounds grand. You guys were fucking amazing.”
He beamed, because he wanted Evan to think he was fucking amazing for sure. “Thanks. It was a good night. Nobody got hurt seriously, and we did our jobs.”
“Yeah, I would rather take on an entire team of hockey players any day than one of those bulls.” Evan bumped arms with them. “Anyway, I’m ready to go back to the trailer whenever you are.”
“Let’s do it. I’ll see you at the restaurant nine-ish.”
Kacey nodded. “Perfect. I’m closer, so I’ll get there about eight-thirty and let them know.”
They went their separate ways, and Sam made a beeline for the truck, stopping about a half-dozen times to sign a hat or a T-shirt or to take a picture with a kid.
“Man, look at you. Oh, famous one.”
Sam snorted. “Like it’s not that way for you where you’re from. Nobody’s gonna know who I am there.”
“Yeah, I have to say I don’t mind being anonymous.”
Oh, Sam didn’t buy that at all, and he couldn’t help but shoot Evan a look.
“Okay, maybe a little bit, but it is kind of pleasant just enjoying you with everybody. You deserve your bit of fame, man. Those bulls are scary.”
Sam smiled because he was pleased, but he’d seen the videos of the hockey wrecks Hil had showed him. Those skates were like blades and hockey pucks were damn near like getting hit by a bus.
“So now we go and get ready?”
“I need a shower. I’m not going to supper with all this crap on my face, so I’ll get dressed up in regular clothes, and we’ll go have a beer and some steak.”
“Perfect.”
They got to the truck, and he threw his shit in the back and loaded up, sneaking a peek at Evan’s ass as he slid into the driver’s seat.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No, tell me, what?”