Chapter 4 #2
Jensen was up next, and he’d drawn Art Dembrock as his hazer.
She knew he liked Curt―hell, everybody did―but Art was an old-timer and really knew what he was doing.
Jensen was bunching up Cobra’s hindquarters in the corner of the chute, holding the sturdy horse back, moving him up and letting him turn around, then trying to settle him back into the corner again.
A very young guy Shy had only seen a few times stood at Cobra’s right side, gently stroking the horse’s eye to help keep him steady and unable to see the steer in the chute.
Waiting, waiting, waiting … and then she saw Jensen nod.
The calf broke from the chute, and Cobra was right there as Art kept the steer steady.
Only a few feet from the chute, Jensen slipped from the horse straight onto the steer’s neck, hands expertly place on its horns, and in seconds, he’d gone for the nose and flipped it to its left side, all four feet off the ground.
As soon as he stood, Shyanna glanced up at the scoreboard.
Holy hell! her brain screamed. I’ve never seen a time that low!
That was incredible! All over the stadium, cheering broke out, but she was too stunned to join in.
She knew he was good―everybody knew he was good―but that was beyond good.
That was unbelievable. Art rode up to him, Cobra in tow, and handed off the reins.
That was when Jensen turned and looked at the clock, and the look on his face was unmistakable, even from that distance.
He was stunned. That made Shyanna laugh out loud.
Until that moment, he’d had no idea how well he’d done.
She saw him turn and scan the crowd with his gaze until he found her, and when he did, he gave her a tiny salute and headed out of the ring.
She wasn’t going down there to meet him and have all the guys know anything had happened between them. That little salute was enough.
Making her way out of the crowd, down the stairs, and into one of the alleys, she headed to the barn to get ready for the team roping event.
She was almost to Rhubarb’s stall when two men stepped out of an empty stall and in front of her.
“Oh, excuse me, fellas,” she said as she tried to sidestep them.
“No excuse for ya,” one of them said and spit off to the side. “Getting your little horsey ready for barrel racing?”
“No. It’s almost time for team roping,” Shyanna said, hoping they’d leave her alone.
“You need to stay out of that event. Tie-down too. Get on back to the girly events and leave the heavy-duty stuff to the menfolk,” the other man said, his glare menacing.
Shyanna tried to step around them, but one of them grabbed her arm. When he did, she rounded on him with the other fist and made a solid connection with his jaw. “Why, you little bitch,” he said, holding his face, then doubled up his fist and hit her in the jaw.
It was no love tap. She saw stars and heard bells, but she didn’t go down. Instead, she shook her head to clear out the sparkles and stood her ground. “Oh, gotta beat up a girl to feel big, is that it?”
“You hit me first, bitch,” he said.
“You lookin’ for a fight, you just found one,” the other man said and stepped up into her personal space.
Before Shyanna could draw her arms up defensively, he hit her in the jaw again, a glancing blow that caught her shoulder too.
Without even hesitating, she sent out a left jab that caught him in the chin, followed by a right hook that rocked his head.
He spit out some blood and came after her again.
She ducked and heard the swish of the air passing over her head, then came up and kneed him right in the gut. He went down like a sack of potatoes.
By that time, the other guy was waiting, and he grabbed her from behind, her arms pinned to her sides, and tried to slam her head into one of the posts that held up the barn’s overhang, but she managed to throw her head back and knock it against his.
Just as he staggered a little, she felt his arms loosen around her and heard a voice.
“You hit her again and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” The sound of grunts from impact filled the small space, and Shyanna turned to find Jensen wailing on the guy.
“Hey! Stop! I had it under control!” she yelled at him. “Stop, Jensen! It’s okay!”
“No, it’s not okay!” he yelled as he threw the man onto the ground. When the guy rolled to look up at him, Jensen gave him a look that would wither dried hay. “You stay the fuck away from her, you hear me? Come near her again and you’ll be dealing with me.”
The man she’d double-punched leaned against one of the posts, rubbing his jaw. “You’ll be sorry you ever took up for the likes of her,” he growled.
“You’ll be sorry if you ever come near her again.
That’s not a threat―that’s a promise. Now get the hell out of here before I have to mop you up off the floor.
” It was a mess, both guys with the shit beaten out of them, and everyone had stopped to stare at Jensen and Shyanna as they stood there, Jensen gaming for a fight, and Shyanna …
“Dear god, babe, you’re bleeding,” Jensen whispered, taking a good look at Shyanna for the first time. “Come on.”
“I’m fine. Really. No big deal,” she said and sat back on her heels as he tried to drag her toward the arena, but when she spoke, she noticed her jaw hurt.
“No. You’re not fine. Come with me.” He led her on a reluctant trip through the lower portion of the arena until he found a family restroom that wasn’t in use. Pulling her inside, he shut and locked the door. “Take a look.”
Spinning to look in the mirror, Shyanna almost fainted. Her jaw was ridiculously swollen and there was blood running down her face. “Where’s that blood coming from?” she asked, and her voice sounded weak and far away in her own ears.
“I don’t know, but I’ve got to find out.
Hold still.” Jensen tore off a generous wad of paper towels, wet them, and went to work.
“You’ve got a little laceration on your head.
Here,” he said as he took her hand and put it on the paper towels where they rested on her scalp.
“Hold this and press it. I’ll be right back.
Lock the door and don’t open it until I come back.
Understand?” Shyanna nodded. “I’ll only be gone a minute.
” With that, he disappeared out the door and she locked it behind him.
She leaned against the sink, dazed, and tried not to think about the blood she could feel drying on her cheek.
A couple of minutes later, there was a knock on the door and she opened it to find him bringing in a small bucket.
As soon as the door was locked again, he drew out a handful of ice, buried it in another wad of paper towels, and said, “Let’s get this on your jaw. ”
When the ice touched her jaw, Shyanna saw stars again. God, it hurt, not as badly as it had when she’d been kicked in the face by a bronc, but it still hurt. “I’ve got to get done here. Team roping will be starting.”
“You’re not doing team roping. You’re in no condition,” Jensen announced, taking the paper towel full of ice and pressing it on her jaw again.
“I have to. I can’t let my score go. Don’t you see? That’s what they want. That’s why they did this. And I can’t give them that. I can’t just let them take that from me.” She knew she was right. That’s why they’d come after her, to keep her from riding, and she couldn’t let that happen.
“But you can’t. I don’t think the ring steward―”
“I’ll just stay away from him until it’s too late to turn me away,” she said. “Are you riding with me?”
Jensen just stood there staring at her and for a split second, Shyanna thought he was going to say no.
When he finally did speak, he just grabbed her hand.
“Come on. Let’s go get this over with,” he ordered as he opened the door and held it for her.
She tossed the paper towel and the little bit of ice left in it into the trash can on the way out and headed toward the barn.
She grabbed Rhubarb and saddled her while Jensen went to get Snowman. By the time she got the horse ready, the other half of her roping team was outside the door, waiting for her. They filed into the queue at the chutes, with Shyanna keeping her head down so the other riders couldn’t see her face.
The team right before them headed toward the chutes and when they were gone, the steward made his way to Shyanna and Jensen. “You two about ready for … What in the world happened to you?” he asked when he caught sight of Shyanna’s face.
“Couple of cowboys decided I shouldn’t do this event, and they tried to give me some reasons that I couldn’t. But here I am,” she said, a sudden weariness sweeping over her.
“Have you been seen by the association medic?” he asked.
“No, and I haven’t been seen by the paramedics over there either. Jensen here patched me up as best he could,” she said, nodding toward the tall man on the big Appaloosa. “Didn’t have time for formal doctorin’. I’ve got an event to ride.”
“Well, good luck, but you should’ve known you’d get treated this way,” the man told her.
“Nobody should get treated this way,” Jensen said as the chute hands motioned for them to move in.
“That’s not reality and you know it,” the steward called after him, and Shyanna’s gut twisted. Nobody wanted her there―nobody but Jensen.
“You ready?” she asked him when they were each in their side of the chute.
“Yeah. Can you do this?” he asked her without a hint of a smile on his face.
“Yeah. I can do it. I’m fine.” Rhubarb stomped her feet and shifted around, and Shyanna worked to keep her calm. Snowman was really, really keyed up, and she wondered if Jensen would be able to hold him back and keep him from breaking the barrier. “Anytime you’re ready, I’m ready.”
“Then get ready,” he barked back. In seconds, he nodded, and the calf broke from the chute, both horses hot on its trail.