Chapter 34
Knox
Ihear the eight-second whistle for Trey before I jump down off the chutes to go grab my gear.
I’ve seen Trey’s legendary crowd hype performance before, and I have a feeling he’ll go all out with Jessie here tonight.
I don’t know what was decided during their weird stare-down, but he was hyper-focused behind the chutes tonight.
The crowd roars as the announcer gets them to stomp their feet in the grandstands.
I buckle my chaps, throw on my vest, and head for the alley.
My bull is at the back, so I start getting my rope on him.
I take extra time making sure I like how it’s set.
The bull I have is one I can win on, but he’s also known to be mean.
I refuse to ruin Kacey’s birthday by getting wrecked out.
I’ll ride him, then make a good dismount, and hightail it to the barrel or nearest gate.
I’m trying not to read too much into the fact that Kacey didn’t tell me this was her birthday trip. Jessie clearly didn’t know it was a secret, so maybe Kacey just forgot to tell me. I plan to rope Jessie into helping me get her flowers and a gift, even if I can’t be there in person.
The longer this goes between us, the more I’m realizing just how much I’ve fallen for her.
And I’m slowly trusting that she’s in this for the long haul.
All the late-night phone calls after rodeos, and encouraging text messages, I’m pretty sure she hasn’t missed a single ride that’s been on TV.
She might not be ready to verbalize her feelings for me, but she’s showing me every day.
I finish setting my rope and grab my helmet.
Trey is back at his gear bag, stripping out of his vest and blue chaps.
“I’ll be up to pull your rope. You have a birthday girl to impress.
” He smirks at me. For all his joking around, I know he’s happy for me.
Driving overnight to the ranch, offering to drive after rodeos just so I can put all my focus on her when we talk.
He might be a shithead sometimes, but he’s a good friend.
I climb down in the chute, and Trey pulls my rope up so I can warm the rosin. I hear the announcer going over the bull’s stats and mine. The clown stands on his barrel, hyping up the crowd as I take my wrap. They play "Gladiator" by Zayde Wolf as I call for the black muley and the gate flies open.
He turns back into the gate to the right.
I angle my hips and shoulders, then throw my free arm over my head as he kicks.
He steps ahead and throws his head to the outside.
I know if I make too big of a move, he’s going to well me.
This bull might not have horns, but I know he has a reputation for clearing an arena.
I square up when I climb over his shoulders on the next rear, but he beats me around his next corner.
I manage to catch up at the last second using core strength alone.
One reason I workout so much isn’t just to keep from getting injured, it’s to buy myself a second chance to get back in the middle of a bull’s back when most guys would have gotten bucked off.
He makes two more rounds before he gets smart.
He gives a big jump forward and I’m nearly too late setting my hips to my rope, then he turns back to the left.
He thinks he’s smart, anyway. Joke’s on him—I love bulls that turn away from my hand.
I keep my free arm low; he doesn’t feel welly this direction and I’m feeling confident in my seat.
I pick up my outside foot and raise it as high as I can, then drop it back down at the exact moment his front feet hit the ground.
This is known as spurring. It’s not meant to hurt the animal, piss him off, or to break his spirit.
It’s to show the judges that I am in complete control.
This bull is good, but it doesn’t matter what he does, he can’t throw me.
The whistle blows and I grab my tail, breaking the bind and I step off on my feet.
Lucky enough, I’m only four feet from the fence so I can make a quick getaway while the muley bull tries to run down the bullfighters.
I step up on the panels and sit on the top rung, letting the twinge in my ribs fade.
I take my helmet off and watch the bullfighters do their thing. They’re letting the bull get inches from them and stepping around them like “Psych! Not going to get me today,” they’re having fun with him. These guys are some of the best in the world.
After the bull leaves the arena, I climb down and pick up my rope, which got thrown right in front of the bleachers where Kacey is sitting. I grab the rope and look up to find her in the crowd. Our eyes meet and I mouth the words “Happy Birthday” and give her a wink.
Her face turns red as Jessie smacks her knee, saying something to her, and it makes me smile.
“We saved the best for last and he’s going to be this year’s champion bull rider with 87 points,” the announcer bellows.
I head back behind the chutes, do my interview, and quickly pack my bag so I can meet up with Kacey. I’ve never seen Trey pack so fast. Normally, he has to clean all his gear and pack it perfectly, but today, he just tossed everything in his bag.
“That interaction with Jessie must have you all sorts of worked up. You never pack this fast,” I tell him as I fold my chaps up and toss them in my bag.
He’s shoving the last of his gear in his bag and zipping it up. “I am not worked up. I figured we were in a hurry, it being Kacey’s birthday and all.”
“True. Would you mind hanging with Jessie for a bit so I can get some time with Kacey?” I tuck the corner of my vest in and finish zipping up my bag.
“Oh, you’re going to owe me big for this one.” He raises a brow, trying to conceal his shit-eating grin.
We both throw our bags over our shoulders and walk out the gate. “Yeah right, pretty sure you don’t see spending time with Jessie as a burden.”
We make our way over to the small set of bleachers the girls were sitting on.
“You did great,” Kacey says. I drop my bag as Kacey runs up and wraps her arms around me. “Best birthday present ever.”
I look into her sea green eyes. “Thanks, sweetheart. I’m glad you think so, since I don’t have anything else for you. A warning might have been nice.” I grin at her as I hear Jessie try to smother a laugh.
“What about the diamond ring in the truck?” Trey chimes in.
He’s such an idiot.
Thankfully, Kacey ignores him. “Getting to see you so close to my birthday is all I want.” She runs her fingers through my hair at the base of my neck. I give her a quick kiss and she releases me.
We head back to the truck and load our gear bags.
Trey grabs three beers out of the cooler and hands one to Jessie.
“Birthday girl?” he asks, holding up the last beer.
She glances at me.
“We all know Knox isn’t drinking,” Trey reads her mind.
“No thanks, one of us has to drive and Jessie has taken full advantage of her day off,” Kacey tells him while still looking at me like I might disappear.
I hold out my hand to her. “Take a walk with me?”
Kacey takes my hand and looks over at Jessie. “You good here?”
“Yeah, yeah, I promise I’ll be nice,” Jessie assures her in a tone that doesn’t sound assuring at all.
Trey pulls out two lawn chairs for them. “You don’t have to be nice; I like feisty women.”
“Let’s go before the fight starts.” I pull Kacey toward the horse barns right as I hear what sounds like a lawn chair getting shoved over and Trey laughing.
We hold hands and walk until we round the end of the third barn in the row. Kacey pulls back on my arm and gently pushes my back up against the barn wall. “How long until you need to leave for Calgary?”
“I have a little while and I want to spend it with my girlfriend,” I tell her as I run my hand up to the nape of her neck, threading my fingers in her hair.
She loops her arms behind my lower back. “Girlfriend, huh?”
“I mean, I thought that’s what this was. You gonna tell me I’m wrong?” I challenge as I start planting kisses all over her face and neck, causing her to giggle and squirm.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s what this is, boyfriend. But seriously, how long, Knox?”
I lean my head back and sigh. “Thirty minutes. It’s a long drive and we never know how long it will take to get through border security.
” When I look back down at her, she’s watching my jaw.
I didn’t even realize I was flexing it. I want more time with her, and it’s frustrating I can’t have it.
“If it wasn’t the Calgary Stampede, I’d turn out and spend the day with you. ”
“Absolutely not. That’s not the mindset I want you to have. You need to go, and you need to win.” Her tone is firm, she means business.
“I know. I just miss you and it’s your birthday.
” I lean my forehead against hers. “I don’t want the fact that I miss your birthday, or you have a big roping and I’m not there to support you, to affect our relationship.
We don’t even know when we’ll see each other next,” I tell her honestly.
It’s hard not to let my thoughts run right to every reason that would cause her to resent me and eventually end this relationship.
She moves her hands up to my face and forces me to lean back and look at her. “So?”
“So?” I repeat, confused by her response.
“So, we don’t know when we’ll see each other next.
So, you’re not visiting on my birthday. I never said I needed you there for my birthday, ropings, or anything else.
You’re the only one thinking these thoughts.
You were honest with me in June. I knew what I was signing up for, and I’m not going anywhere.
If I have an issue, I’ll tell you.” She holds my gaze, making sure I see the honesty in her eyes.
“I don’t know what I did right, but getting to call you mine is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” I press a soft kiss to her lips. With her reassurance, I can take my first full breath since this night started. She’s trying so hard to trust me, I have to do the same for her.
“Now that we have that settled,” Kacey says smirking and running her hands down my chest, “how would you like to spend the next twenty-five minutes?”
“It’s your birthday—well, almost—what would you like to do?” I ask with a wink.
We spend the next twenty-five minutes making out like high schoolers.