Chapter 20
When Cody and her guys left the bar, I'd also headed home for the night.
Well, my latest home. It was a shitty little room on the first floor of this fucking hotel - not a suite like Cody and her guys had - but I didn't care.
I was on the back side, with an atrocious view and hardly any traffic in the hall outside.
I'd initially planned to make it an early night and finally catch up on a little sleep, but when I'd come out of the shower, I'd found a light blinking on my phone, letting me know I had an unread message.
Swiping, I saw my "little" brother's name on the screen.
Clay was only three months younger than me, but he was the approved child.
I was supposed to be the secret.
Oh, and if my father ever realized Clay had figured it out?
Yeah, that would not go over well, but according to my brother, I looked a little too much like Donald Merrill.
The same nose, mouth, cheekbones, and build from when the man had been younger.
Clay had said he'd been sure a time traveler had walked into the convention center the first time he'd seen me - so he'd asked.
I'd answered, and now the two of us were actually something like friends.
His text had been short, sweet, and right to the point.
Clay:
Find me in the morning.
I hadn't responded. I'd also been too wound up to fall asleep easily, but a little Home Shopping Network on the television had my eyes drooping quickly. The sound of country music blaring out of my phone this morning had me getting up, ready to do it all over again.
When I got to the arena, I got the impression some of these boys had ended up celebrating last night. They looked like shit now, and yet the chatter was back. There was a soft hum in the air that wasn't quite the same cocksure bullshit I was used to, but it sounded damned good to my ears.
"Yeah," a guy was saying as I fell in line behind him, "Cody's not only in, she's pushing Ty and Renato. Only ones refusing to play along are Austin, Eli, and Derek. So far as I care, they're just digging their hole deeper. I mean, those are the same ones who jumped Cody, aren't they?"
"Just Austin and Derek," I corrected, making one of them flash me a smile. "Eli wasn't in on that."
"Jake!" He reached out to slap my arm like we were old friends. "So, we're making sure the guys who weren't at the bar are good with doing it again."
"And hopefully we won't have to keep doing this too long," I said.
"But Cody's got us covered," the guy told his friend. "I guess we've got some backup funds now, just in case we can't get to the next event. She's got Jake covering that part."
I didn't even care if Cody was getting the credit. In truth, I liked it. She'd gotten shit on hard when she'd shown up on the Tough Enough series. To see these new riders accepting her so easily was not something I wanted to screw with.
Then the guy sucked in a breath, clearly remembering something. "Oh! And Cody's standing in for J.D. as the head American while he's out."
"Isn't she a rookie?" his buddy asked.
I chuckled. "J.D.'s rookie. Trust me, she's the heir apparent. She also has his ear - whether she wants to hear it or not."
"There's that," the guy said just as the line moved, letting him take his turn at the counter.
Surprisingly enough, they seemed ok with this.
I'd figured there'd be more bitching about throwing rides, but evidently it was different if we all did it.
I also hadn't expected these guys to toss out Cody's name as a reason to keep striking, but it made sense in a way.
She'd proven she didn't quit unless she had to.
And this mess certainly made us all feel like we didn't have another option.
The way they'd all jumped on this made me think the top-name riders weren't the only ones pissed about the change in bullfighters.
Then again, if Renato got a career-ending injury, he had a new family to go home to.
He had the money to comfortably shift into a new phase of his life.
Ty was the same, and I couldn't say I was that far behind.
These guys? They'd just end up as the losers. One more name to be forgotten in the list of men who hadn't made it big in bull riding.
Eventually, it was my turn at the counter.
I hurried through my own check-in, dropped my bags in the warm-up area, and turned back around to explore a little.
Around here, somewhere, there would be a set of stairs.
Each one of these arenas was a little different, but the sound booth was always up at the very top, and I knew my brother expected me to show up.
Well, I was here, so now I just had to find him.
I'd just located the stairs that led up there when I spotted the last person I wanted to see: my father. His back was to me and his arms were crossed over his chest like he was chewing someone's ass out. I was about to turn the corner when a tall, lean woman moved closer, allowing me to see her.
She wore black. Her combat boots, her jeans, and even her tee were black, but not like J.D. or Cody. No, this reminded me of Renato's wife a bit. Hell, even this chick's hair, eyeliner, and lipstick were black! But when she turned a bit more, I recognized that bright pink logo on her shirt.
It was the same crazy doll-thing Cody wore, and that definitely looked like the sort of person who'd work for a video game company. Curious, I moved a little closer, hoping to listen in without getting myself in shit - just as everything blew up.
"Look," my father snarled at this woman, "I don't need some tranny bitch trying to tell me how to run my shows!"
The look that woman gave him was the sort that would've made J.D. proud. "Mr. Merrill, that term is an offensive one. I'd prefer you simply call me a woman."
Yeah, her voice was husky in a really nice way, but maybe my father wasn't wrong about her.
Granted, he'd use the worst term he could, but whether this woman was trans or not didn't really change the fact she represented a sponsor, and those sponsors kept our sport running.
He'd just been bitching about that exact thing yesterday!
"You go tell Mr. Hunter," my father growled at her, "that he can send a real representative..." And he braced up, stepping into the woman's face threateningly. "...because we represent good family values here."
"Sir…" the woman tried.
"You think my attitude is bad?" Donald sneered. "Just wait until you meet the riders. Oh, they will fuck you up, boy, and don't you think I'll stop them."
My feet were moving before my brain kicked in. "Hey!" I snapped, storming forward to put myself between them. "Step back, Mr. Merrill." And I glared in my father's face. "Or I will make you step back."
And he turned his rage right on me. "What are you doing back here, Jake?" Pointedly, he looked around us.
"Was about to head up to the sound stage and make a request," I told him. "I also think this little lady looked like she needed some backup, and in case you missed the memo, we're gentlemen here in the Pbr."
"She's not a damned lady!"
"She is today," I said, the words coming out completely without inflection, making it clear that was no longer up for debate.
"His funeral," my father grumbled. "And you? Jake, you'd best be on the back of a bull today."
"Already got my draw," I assured him, neglecting to mention I had no interest in climbing on.
But it was enough to make my father feel like he'd won. So, with a huff of annoyance, Mr. Merrill turned and marched back towards the warm-up area. Behind me, the woman let out a breath that sounded a little too relieved.
"Ma'am?" I asked, turning back to her. "I'm sorry about him. Mr. Merrill isn't exactly the friendly type."
"I'm getting that impression," she said with a little smile. "Jake, hm?"
"Cunningham, ma'am," I agreed. "I also recognize your shirt. I'm assuming you're one of Cody's new sponsors?"
"I am," she said, that smile growing. "Rhaven, from Deviant Games. So, do you have any empty space on your vest, Mr. Cunningham?"
I chuckled. "It's just Jake, ma'am, and not a whole hell of a lot.
Got some on my chaps, though. The right sponsor could probably convince me to change things up next year, because I'm not planning on retiring any time soon.
" I glanced back, making sure my father had kept walking only to find he was well out of sight.
"I have a feeling it'll be easy to tell who might be open to sharing a sponsor with Cody pretty soon.
If I was you, I'd snag J.D. Adkins first, though. "
"Good to know," she said with a little smirk on her dark lips. "But for the big question, how safe - or dangerous - is it for me back here?"
I hummed, letting her know I really didn't want to answer that. "Depends on how good you are at throwing down, if I'm honest. Most of the guys are fine. It's the handful who aren't that would worry me."
She nodded her head slowly. "Good to know, because I'm not that good at the physical fights."
Which gave me an idea. "How are you with the publicity sort?"
"Oh, I'm good with the media," Rhaven assured me. "Deviant also has a few connections there. Why?"
I shifted a little closer, dropping my voice. "Because right now, the only thing people are hearing about professional bull riding is that a man died this weekend. Now, it's a tragedy and all, but they aren't hearing why. They also aren't hearing how we riders feel about it."
"Now, that's interesting," she said.
I nodded. "Yeah. Know what's even more interesting?
That girl you sponsored? She's as media savvy as they come.
Cody Jennings has a way of hitting the right tone at the right time.
She's tough enough - pun intended - but not trying to be a man and pissing people off.
" And I stopped with a grimace when I realized what I'd just said.
But this woman laughed. "Jake, you're fine. I know what you mean."
"I've just never met a transgendered person before."
But she made a little noise. "It's trans person, transgender woman, or some variant. The word is an adjective, not a verb, so you can't make it past tense."
I rocked my head in something like a nod. "I'm not sure what that means, ma'am."
"No -ed ending," she clarified.
"Gotcha," I said. "But my point was that Cody's good at this."
Her eyes narrowed. "You seem pretty good as well." Somehow, she made it sound like a taunt.
All I could do was duck my head in an attempt to not laugh in her face. "Yeah, and I'm not the guy you want. Ty McBride and Renato Vieria are, though. I also have a feeling they'd be more than willing to give Deviant a shoutout if you can get them a platform."
"Oh, I think I might be able to do more than that," she assured me. "But I have a condition, Jake."
"What's that?"
"If I can pull this off, you step up too."
I wanted to tell her no. For years, I'd been keeping my head down to avoid my father's wrath. I worked behind the scenes best, but she was right. Doing nothing wasn't helping me anymore, and this? It might just be the push my father needed to change his mind.
"Ok," I decided. "If everyone else agrees, I'll say something. Just be prepared for me to get a little stage fright."
"I hear alcohol and adrenaline both help with that," she told me. "Thank you, Jake. I think I'm going to head up to the stands and start picking a fight. That man made a big mistake when he called me a damned tranny." And she offered her hand.
I clasped it, aware her palms were a bit bigger than I'd expected, but I didn't flinch away. She seemed as much like a woman as every other, and considering I had no interest in talking her out of her clothes, the rest didn't matter.
"I think he fucked up bad this time," I told her. "Now make him pay, ma'am."