Chapter 31
T he following morning, an explosive Op-Ed was published in not just the Texas Chronicle, but other syndicates nationwide.
It was titled “The Price of Privilege” and was a scathing dissection of both Stan Wilfred Senior and Junior.
It outlined all the evidence that Calypso had gathered and handed over to the cops, as well as some allegations she couldn’t back up without better proof but would be enough for the Court of Social Opinion.
Although she was careful to leave out the WbrP in her article, it was impossible to avoid the fact that the Wilfred’s had a large, powerful role in the sport, and the taint of their nepotism could be evidenced for decades in the past. Controversial judging.
The sidelining of riders who got on the bad side of Senior. Payoffs to throw rides.
It was all laid out there for the world to see and it shook the sport to its core.
Antony had called me and told me that he’d worked it with the prosecution, so that my statement would be put in as evidence and I wouldn’t have to personally testify against Junior, which was a relief.
But in the days after the release of Calypso’s article, dozens of women had come forward to make accusations against both Junior and Senior for sexual assault.
With Senior on remand without the possibility of bail too, there was no one to drag them out of the mess they’d made.
Alfred Wilfred had publicly come out and disowned them completely, tears welling in his eyes.
I believed him too, and couldn’t say I blamed him. Can you imagine finding out that your entire line was rotten?
Needless to say, Calypso got fired. Matty quit with her, so there were no interviews post ride after the event on Friday night.
As I stepped up to the chute, the electricity in the air tonight was something wild and almost violent.
The crowd was bumper despite the bad press over the last week.
Hell, maybe because of it. But the untamed vibe was going to make the bulls and the riders restless, and I wanted to get my ride out of the way as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, both Dylan and Branch rode before me.
Dylan rode another eight, finding his groove with his helmet which made me breathe easier when he came off hard.
But he was quickly on his feet and scrabbling away toward the rails.
I didn’t think I’d ever be able to watch them and breathe at the same time, but at least I understood the risks. Understood the need to ride.
Branch was only two bulls in front of me and I gripped the rail where I stood now.
Everyone except the stock contractors had their eyes on Branch’s ride.
If he rode a good score on this one, he was in the World Championships in Vegas.
He was a contender for the big prize pool.
We tried not to talk about it specifically, didn't want to jinx it, but I could see the tension in his shoulders from here. Branch was always quick in the chute. He once said he was there to do a job, and it didn’t help by fucking around and riling up the bull.
“Next up is Branch Watson. He made quite an impact his rookie year, and he's been having a great run of successful rides this season. I think he’s a real contender, don’t you think, AJ?
” The announcer called over the PA system.
“Damn straight he is, and mark my words, we are looking at the next World Champion right here. He’s got the strength and the style, and I think he’ll go all the way. ”
Branch was oblivious to their words though as he rubbed his rope, and within fifteen seconds of getting on the bull, the gate was swinging open and the bull was bursting out.
His bull was one of the rankest in the series this year, and it took skill to ride him.
But if Branch could stick this? He’d be number one.
I watched, my lungs burning from holding my breath, as the bull did a combination of low turns and high kicks guaranteed to dismount a rider. But Branch wasn’t just any rider, he’d hit his groove and he was fucking beautiful to watch. When the buzzer sounded, I couldn’t help myself.
“Yes!” I whistled, screaming with the crowd that was on its feet. “Branch! Woo!” I jumped up and down, waving my arms and generally pissing off my bull. I calmed down and gave Piledriver a pet on the head. “Sorry, big guy. But even you have to admit that was exciting,” I said to the bull.
The scoreboard showed a perfect 91 and I fully lost my shit.
The guys around me chuckled and cheered along with my craziness and I resisted the urge to run after Branch and kiss the hell out of him. He looked up at the chutes and pointed to me, and I grinned like a lovestruck lunatic behind my helmet.
The rider beside me was up, and I took a moment to calm myself and refocus.
This was my ride and although I wasn’t even close to being in contention for the World Championships, I still focused on every ride like it was the most important of my career.
I wasn’t here for a gold buckle, though I wouldn’t be sad if I got one.
I was here to prove to myself that I could make it with the best. If I cracked the top thirty, I would call it a win for my rookie year.
“You ready, girl?” An old cowboy yelled over the crowd, and I grinned. He didn’t say it in a derogatory way, didn’t seem to care that I was actually a girl. He just wanted me to hurry the hell up and couldn’t remember my name.
“Sure am, you grizzly old bastard,” I teased back, and his answering grin had a gold tooth flashing in the strobelights.
I climbed over the rails and he gripped my vest. I passed my rope to a guy to thread under the bull and settled myself on the beast's back. He seemed pretty calm, though the flies were crawling over his head. He knew his job and so did I. I slapped his neck a few times. “Let’s make it a good one tonight, hey? Can’t let the guys show us up.
” The rope guy handed me the tail of my rope and I passed it up to a guy on the chutes.
He pulled it tight as I shifted the handle around a bit further.
I’d ride it a little to the left, because this bull liked to spin in that direction and I didn’t want to be across my body.
Running my glove up and down to warm up the rosin, I grabbed the tail and twisted it over.
I was as ready as I was ever going to be.
“Let’s get it,” I yelled to the bull and nodded at the gateman.
The gate burst open and the bull came out firing on all cylinders with a buck so high I swear I was in line with the judges.
He came back down hard and I clenched my thighs to hold on.
When he jumped again I was ready for it, leaning back a little, my arm up but not too across my body. Up, down. Up.
My rope shifted a little on the down, and that's when I knew there was trouble.
Somehow my hindbrain found Frankie, and the panic in his eyes told me he saw it too.
On the way back up, my rope snapped, coming away with my hand uselessly, and then I was airborne.
I was flying up over the ass of the bull, who was spinning so when I came back down, I was on his horns.
The force of the impact knocked my helmet off, sending it flying one direction as my body went the other.
The ground came up to meet me as I landed on my back, my head slamming into the dirt.
The eyes of the bull bearing down on me was the last thing I saw as a body covered mine and then it was lights out.
I came too with a gasp. White walls and beeping hospital monitors disorientated the hell out of me, but a firm hand on my arm had me turning too quickly, the pain in my head intense. My skull felt like it was going to split open if I didn’t hold it together with my palms.
“Hey, Beautiful. It’s okay. You’re fine.”
The groan that left my lips bordered on pathetic, but I settled a little at the sound of Beau’s voice. “My head doesn’t feel fine.”
“That’s because Piledriver lived up to its name,” Frankie said from my otherside. I looked around the room and noticed they were all here.
Dylan came over and kissed me so gently, I could have been a soap bubble and I wouldn't have popped. “We gotta stop meeting like this, Baby Girl.”
I looked at Frankie. “My rope…” I remembered it coming away with my hand.
Branch growled in the corner. “It was cut. The police are investigating, but they pulled in the ropeman who said it was Mitch.”
As in Junior’s friend Mitch? He hadn’t been happy about me still being in the circuit after Junior got kicked off, but seriously, was he pissed enough to try and kill me by bull? “I don’t understand.”
Beau brushed the hair from my face. “They think he was paid off by Stan Wilfred Senior. They’re investigating anyway.
Vanessa called, apparently Nathan saw your wreck on television.
You’ve had the best neurologists in here, and they say you’re going to be fine.
Antony is also hiring a private investigator to ensure that the investigation is all above board and not swept under the rug by the WbrP.
“Neurologists? How long have I been out?”
Frankie let out a long, shuddering breath. “Three days. Despite your helmet, the impact from the bulls head with the force of your fall meant that your brain swelled. They put you in an induced coma until it went down.”
I noticed his arm was in a sling. “What happened?”
“The bull didn’t want to share its toy.”
Dylan snorted. “Frankie covered your body with his and took a horn to the shoulder. Tore a ligament. Show off.” He was laughing, but I could taste the very real fear in the air. “They’ve created a fan page for him now. The teens are gushing about him all over social media.”
Frankie blushed and I grinned. I remembered the heavy weight of a body on mine just before it all went blank. “Francisco! You could have gotten really hurt.”
“ Querida, if you think I was going to stand by and watch you get trampled by a bull, we need to get that neurologist back in here because you are crazy.”
A nurse pushed open the door. Her eyebrows lifted when she saw me sitting up in bed. “Oh, you’re awake.” She gave the guys a disapproving look. “You should have buzzed so we could get the doctor in here to judge her neurological responses,” she told them disapprovingly.
Beau looked contrite. “Sorry, Ma’am.”
The nurse huffed and strode out, muttering about pretty cowboys with no good sense. “I don’t think she's a fan,” I teased Beau.
He grinned back. “Oh, I don’t know. Branch broke out the dimples and that down south, ‘aw shucks ma’am’ drawl of his to get her to let us all stay in the room with you.”
The Branch dimples were hard to resist. I couldn’t say no to them, that was for sure.
I gripped Beau’s fingers and squeezed. “I’m glad you were all here when I woke up.”
Branch lifted the fingers of my other hand to his lips. “There is no other place we’d be.”