8. Dylan
The air is thick and hot, and with the sun, I”m breaking out in a sweat. I take off my hat and wipe my brow with the back of my hand. Hopefully, no one thinks the sweat is because of nerves.
Riding a bronc isn”t a big deal for me. However, the outcome of this one matters, as does whether or not I get to taste those sweet lips.
I glance to the other side of the ring, where Lara is on the sidelines, standing with Coco and staring right at me.
She wants me to win, even if she”ll never admit it.
Turning to the chute, I smile smugly, knowing she”s watching is all the confidence I need.
I put one boot on the chute and hoist myself up. ”Ready?” I ask the handler.
”Just about.” He points to the timekeepers. ”Have to reset the clock.”
Nodding, I jump down, lean against the chute, and glance at Lara again. Parker is next to her now and has his arm around her waist, but she”s not paying him a lick of attention. Her gaze is on me, and she”ll watch every second. And Parker will, too.
She says something to him, and he goes to the bleachers.
That”s right. Go sit and watch me win.
”All right, McClintock. Climb up,” the handler says.
I hear Uncle Malcolm and Aunt Mary cheering from the stands as the crowd claps. I remove my hat and wave it at the bleachers.
This ride can”t be over soon enough. I”m more than ready to claim my prize.
”You know about ol” Rusty, right?” the handler asks.
I look at the red-colored horse in the chutes. ”Heard about him.”
”He”s brutal,” the handler explains. ”Famous for it. Only two riders have stayed on him past six seconds.”
I grab my gloves from my back pocket and pull them on. ”You”re about to change that number to twelve seconds.”
”Don”t be so sure,” the handler says. Everyone thinks they can handle Rusty, but he”ll throw you off and won”t think twice.”
”I”m sure he”ll put up a fight.” I look toward Lara. ”But I”m feeling lucky, and I think Rusty and I are going to make a new record.”
The handler lets out a bark of laughter. ”It”s always guys like you who think they”re invincible. Just make sure you don”t land on your head, son.”
I tip my hat. ”Thanks for the advice.”
A lot depends on this bronc. I can”t mess up… especially with Lara watching.
”All right, he”s yours,” the handler says.
”Here goes nothin”.” I straddle the top rung of the shoot and lower myself onto the horse”s back. He tries to rear immediately. But he doesn”t have much room to move. I clench the rope tied around his girth, knowing his movements will worsen.
Three. Two. One.
The buzzer goes off. And the chute gate swings open.
Everything happens in slow motion.
I have a good hold on the rope as the horse bucks into the ring, simultaneously kicking and rearing as hard as he can. But I”m keeping my hold and clenching my thighs and butt as much as I can.
The electronic timer counts the seconds. One… two…
Rusty is putting up a fight, a real arm-jerker, and it takes work to go with him. Violent, fast, and savage, this horse bucks like no other.
But I”m making it those seconds.
I”ve got too much riding on this. I can”t fail. I”m not going to fail. Lara can”t see me like that. Not now. Not ever. And with my family cheering me on… no. This fucking horse is not going to throw me.
Rusty rears, paws, and blows hard. I slip but grip the rope as hard as I can until I”m sure the skin beneath my glove is bleeding. Then, the horse smashes onto the ground on all four hooves and hops like a pogo stick.
Cheering gets loud in the background. But that doesn”t matter. I”m here to win.
The horse starts to spin wildly. I keep my other hand in the air for balance and catch a glimpse of the timer.
Six seconds…
Shit!I”m going to make it.
I”m going to stay on this horse past the required eight-second buck. I almost feel Lara”s lips on mine?—
The horse bucks harder than ever, and I”m lifted. If I don”t act fast, I”ll sail right over.
I hope this works.
I squeeze my eyes shut as I come down and find my seat again. The crowd cheers again, and when I glance at the timer, it”s at ten seconds. I hardly believe it.
I jump off Rusty on twelve seconds and land on my feet in the ring. The horse runs, and the crowd goes wild. I pull off my hat and throw it into the air as the announcer comes over the loudspeaker.
It doesn”t get better than this.
Then I remember… it can get better. Much, much better.
I”m sure Uncle Malcolm and Aunt Mary want to congratulate me—my cousins, too—but they can save that for later. Right now, I have one thing on my mind. I”m going to claim my well-deserved prize, and no one”s going to stop me.
Especially not Parker.
I glance at the bleachers.
He”s still there, and I almost laugh because he has a murderous look. He didn”t think I”d win, and it”s good to prove him wrong. So good.
He”ll be jealous when I kiss Lara… but I don”t care.
Usually, I wouldn”t overstep boundaries regarding someone”s girl, but it”s different with this.
Parker isn”t good for Lara… he”s never been good for her. She belongs with me. And the sooner he knows that, the better. It”s time for Parker to hit the road and for Lara and me to be together like we were always supposed to be.
She knows it, and I know it.
I head toward her.
People are starting to come down from the bleachers, but I don”t pay them any mind. The celebration can begin after the kiss.
”Dylan! Dylan? Over here!” someone calls from the crowd.
I wave in that direction but continue my path toward Lara. She”s standing, watching me with a nervous look on her face. She knows what”s coming. There”s no denying it… I won fair and square, and there was a bet—no backing down.
”Congratulations, cowboy,” Lara says as I reach her side. ”I can”t believe you did that.”
”Told you I would.” I step in front of her and wrap an arm around her waist.
Her eyes widen as I pull her in and press my lips to hers. People are watching and making noise, but I can”t hear anything. There”s just Lara and me. Nothing exists except the perfection of her mouth.
At first, she”s apprehensive, but as we kiss, she melts.
This is always how it was supposed to happen—just her and me. I could kiss her like this for the rest of my life. She feels it, too, even if her stubborn self never admits it. There”s something here that”s more important than the rodeo and Parker. This isn”t just some kiss. This is a promise of what”s to come.
”You son of a bitch!”
Suddenly, I”m wrenched away from our kiss as a fist slams into the side of my head. I stagger sideways and fall to my knees, completely caught off guard. Lara lets out a scream as Parker appears in front of me.
”What the fuck do you think you”re doing, McClintock?” Parker shouts. ”That”s my girlfriend.”
I get to my feet and brush myself off. ”Doesn”t seem like it now.” He lands his fist again on my jaw. ”You”ve got a good right hook there,” I groan out.
”Shut the fuck up,” he cries. ”I”m going to kill you.”
I spit some blood collecting in my mouth. ”Now, why would you do something like that? Do you know how many witnesses you have?”
”Parker? Stop,” Lara screams. ”Don”t hurt him.”
”You stay out of this!” He points at her. ”He crossed a line.”
I did. I know I did.
But I can”t help but smile and let out a chuckle. ”Hey man, a bet”s a bet. And if you think I”ll let you talk to her like that, you”ve got another thing coming.”
Parker turns to me. ”You think you”re going to tell me how to talk to my girlfriend? I mean… really?”
My hands ball into fists. ”That”s right. Really.”
As Parker lunges for me, I clock him right in the eye. He staggers to the side for a second, then punches me straight in the nose. My hat goes flying. I close my eyes against the pain, and blood starts to flow freely from my nose.
I had no idea Parker had this fight in him.
”You want more?” he asks breathlessly, holding his fists up again.
I wipe the blood from my nose and chuckle. ”You can beat me all you like. But it won”t change that I just gave Lara the best kiss of her life.”
Parker”s eyes flame. He charges me, catches me around the middle, and slams me to the ground. As I brace for the next blow, some older cowboys make their way through the crowd. They grab Parker and pull him off of me.
Uncle Malcolm appears by my side and holds out a hand. ”Come on, son. You all right?”
I shrug, grinning. ”Yeah.”
Carter shows up next to my uncle. ”You shouldn”t have done that. Aren”t they together, him and Lara?”
I spit more blood. ”Yeah, but?—”
Uncle Malcolm looks at Parker, still being walked off by the cowboys, and then he turns to me. ”You put up one hell of a fight on that bronc. That”s something to be proud of.”
Carter shakes his head with a hint of a smile. ”Congrats on the win. See you back at the ranch.”
”Should probably get cleaned up first.” I nod and lick my split lip. ”I”ll meet you guys back home.”
”I”d say so.” Uncle looks back at the crowd. ”We don”t want your Aunt Mary to see you busted up like that. She”ll make a fuss.” He pats me on the shoulder, then wades through people. ”All right, show”s over, folks. Let”s get this dust off us. Let”s go home.”
Carter winks at me. ”Was it worth it?”
I chuckle and wipe away more blood. ”A hundred percent.”
Carter smiles and follows my uncle with the rest of the crowd.
As people disperse, I turn to look for Lara. She didn”t go off with Parker, did she?
I head to her trailer and look around. Coco is there, but she isn”t.
A drop of blood drips from my nose onto the front of my shirt.
I need to get this cleaned up.
I walk to the restrooms, not passing many people since it”s late. I step into the men”s room and glance into the mirror. My nose is a bloody mess, and a purple bruise is forming on the side of my jaw.
Parker has some fight in him. I”ll give him that. And I did have it coming. If someone kissed a girl I was seeing, I would punch him, too.
Turning on the water, I angle my nose under the trickling stream from the faucet. It stings like hell, but I get some relief from the cold. As the blood circles down the drain, I grab some paper towels. My nose is still bleeding, but not as much. I clean off what I can and throw the paper towels in the trash can.
Looking in the mirror, I can”t help but smile.
My face may throb like the devil, but Lara is all I can think about.
I close my eyes, reliving every moment of our kiss. I think about the velvety softness of her lips, how she felt in my arms, how she smelled like horse leather and flowery soap… I”m never going to forget any of it.
She”s the girl I”ve known forever.
The girl I grew up with and the girl I”ve always wanted as early as I can remember. And even if her so-called boyfriend beat me up, I still won. I got to kiss the girl of my dreams. No amount of busted noses or swollen jaws can detract from that.
The door to the restroom opens, and one of the cleaners from the fairground walks in. His eyes go wide as he takes in the sight of me.
”Whoa. You gonna tell me I should see the other guy?” he asks.
I chuckle. ”This is as bad as it gets.”
”There”s a first-aid tent if you need?—”
I hold my hand up. ”That”s okay. Looks a lot worse than it is.”
The cleaner nods.
”Thanks.” I turn back to the sink and splash water on my face, then watch another pink swirl descend the drain.
After the cleaner empties the trash can, he leaves.
I should get back to the ranch. Get cleaned up better there. And change my shirt, too, since this one has drops of blood all down the front.
Then I”ll visit Lara”s ranch… maybe finish what we started.