Open the Gate
CASH
SEPTEMBER
“Cis for ‘Cool’, the coolest of them all!
A is for ‘Adorable’, in love with him, you’ll fall!
S is for ‘Sexy’, cuz he’s so fuckin’ hot!
H is for ‘Hell Yeah’ go give it all you got!”
I repeated the cheer, chant, mantra, whatever the hell you wanted to call it over and over as I went through my ritual to get in the zone before the rodeo.
I’d like to say I wasn’t a superstitious man, but I’d be lying.
Certain things just worked, and now they’d become habit.
Didn’t matter if they made no sense or looked crazy as hell. They worked, so I was sticking to it.
Mama was in the box seats with Dad, Walker, and Ollie, so I had to improvise by bringing back some of the older stuff. I hadn’t done the cheer in years, in fact, the last time I’d done it, it’d been heck yeah and freakin’, not hell yeah and fuck.
I wondered what Ollie would think of all this. Would she think me an idiot? I mean…she had stayed after the pump up track, so that had to count for something, right?
Ryder shook his head but couldn’t stop the grin from slicing across his face. “You know, it’s a wonder you ever got laid… Let alone that you were able to convince damn near every girl you ever met to crawl into bed with you at least once.”
Mav snorted from his spot across the way as he tossed a roll of athletic tape from hand to hand. “Most of them didn’t have to see this.”
“Keep talkin’ shit,” I blew out between breaths as I did my squats. “It only makes Big Daddy stronger.”
“If Big Daddy’s head gets any bigger, he’s gonna need a new hat,” he joked.
I stood up and favored him with my brightest smile and motioned for the tape. “Big Daddy might need a new hat after tonight, anyway.” I winked at him as he tossed it to me.
“What does that mean?” Ryder quirked an eyebrow.
The weight of Mav’s gaze was damn near crushing as he settled it on me. “Means he’s plannin’ on doin’ somethin’ stupid.”
Always thinking the worst, that one. Though it isn’t like I hadn’t given him every reason to feel that way. But stopping me from doing what I wanted was like trying to get a bucking horse not to buck. It was in our blood.
“Plannin’?” I laughed, unrolling and ripping off strips of tape to wrap around my right arm. “Big Daddy doesn’t plan things. Big Daddy just puts himself in the zone so that good things can happen to Big Daddy. For Big Daddy.”
“Say ‘Big Daddy’ one more time…” Mav warned.
I flashed him another smile, but Ryder stepped between us. “Speakin’ of plans…” he said. “Your mom ain’t here to do up your chaps. What’re you gonna do about that?”
I paused taping up my arm and snatched my pink rhinestone encrusted, cow-hide covered chaps before flapping them for dramatic effect.
“Well…” I grinned. “Someone’s gotta do ‘em. Especially since I can’t have my lucky light now. It’s part of the whole thing.” I leveled Mav and Ryder with a knowing look. “So, who’s it gonna be?”
Maverick scowled and shook his head. “I ain’t putin’ your fuckin’ chaps on you.”
Ryder’s hands shot up in a placating gesture. “Don’t look at me.”
“Someone is,” I replied, nodding back at the both of them. “I did see Kelsea Karkoula bouncin’ around out there. She used to do it for me sometimes.”
“You would, too.” Ryder scoffed, rolling his eyes in disbelief. “You’d risk war with Ollie to have Kelsea put your chaps on you so it didn’t affect your dumb ritual.”
“The ritual’s part of—”
“Shut up,” Mav snapped. “We aren’t puttin’ your fuckin’ chaps on you.”
While Maverick and Ryder were knelt down behind me lacing up my chaps, I repeated the cheer over and over in my mind, reliving the words my dad told me from my first bronc ride years ago.
“Keep your eyes open. Keep your mouth shut. Ride the fuckin’ horse and then you can act like a jackass.”
He didn’t know he was a part of my ritual, he’d probably make fun of me til the end of time for it, but his gruff voice and harsh words were my anchor to the ground in the chaotic moments before my rides.
‘Big heads can float away,’ he’d told me once. “Don’t ever be afraid to be who you are, but always keep your eyes—’
“Open.” I said calmly.
‘Keep your mouth—’
“Shut.”
‘Ride the—’
“Fuckin horse!”
‘Jackass.’
My eyes fluttered open, landing on Maverick and Ryder who stared at me like a lizard had just crawled out of my mouth. Unbelievers, as Mama would call them.
“Your royal chaps are affixed, your highness.” Maverick made a mock bow, but there was a glint in his jade eyes. “Shall we wipe your ass for you now?”
“Nope!” I crowed. “Big Daddy never loses anything right before a ride. Not even shit. Not even spit. I need all of it.”
“Well, that’s the first fuckin’ thing he’s said all night that makes sense to me.” Ryder removed his cowboy hat and ran a hand through his hair before righting it once more. “He is full of shit.”
“Listen to me, Cash.” Mav’s words were rough, impossibly low as he got right in my face and held my eyes captive with his own.
The brim of his hat pushed mine up and away from my head, and the grip he had on my shoulders was just a touch away from being punishing.
“This ain’t no different from any other ride.
This is just another win for you. Just another horse.
No different. Don’t get distracted. Get out there and ride that sonovabitch! ”
But tonight was different.
Tonight would be the first time my little she-devil was here to watch me ride. Which meant there was a good chance it might be the last time.
The extra pressure didn’t make me nervous though. It made me determined.
She was gonna see me smoke this ride. She was gonna see me do what I did best. I didn’t know how to make a girl like her fall in love with me, but I was gonna keep tryin’ until I found somethin’ that worked.
Because like tonight, she was different. And though I hardly knew her, something told me she was worth it. I’d ride a thousand broncs, one right after another, each one ranker than the last… If it gave me a better shot with her.
Despite only knowing her a couple weeks, the spark, the connection I felt with her was unlike anything I’d ever felt.
Which I understand I said a lot. Trust me, I did.
But no normal girl just ran into a burning barn to help out after days of only knowing me.
No girl had ever heard my pump up track.
No girl could manage to sit in that box section with Mama and match her fire for fire.
But Ollie could. And I’d be damned if I let her slip through my fingers.
“When do we start livin’?” Ryder asked, shouldering Maverick out of the way, bringing me right back into the present.
They both complained about my rituals, but here they were playing their parts.
“When they open the fuckin’ gate.” I tugged my hat back down and turned to strut towards the pens. Maverick and Ryder in step behind me.