8 Endless Seconds

Prologue

“Come on, Shiloh, hurry up. Quit dragging your feet!” Cash, my older brother, scolds as we walk through the crowd at the arena.

Cross is my best friend. One day we are going to be rodeo’s best team roping duo.

Cash has taught us everything he knows. Cash team ropes too, but with the big age gap, he ropes with his best friend, Beau.

He still helps us with our form sometimes, and when Cross isn’t around, he will heel for me.

Mamma was really hoping I’d barrel race like her, and it’s fun, but I like hanging with the boys and roping more, so it fell into my lap with how much time we all spend together.

“Boone!” Mamma says as she spots Daddy leaning up against the fence, talking with a reporter.

He looks our way, smiling at her, holding his hand up to the reporter, and before he makes his way to Mamma, I run into his arms, jumping into them. “Daddy!”

He catches me with ease, kissing my cheek, making my cowgirl hat push backwards before he says, “Hey, darlin’!”

Mamma walks over, smiling, with Cash at her side as he leans over, kissing her.

“You gonna win again, Dad?” Cash asks with excited eyes.

“I’m going to try,” Daddy replies.

“I can’t wait to watch. Which one are you riding, Daddy?” I ask.

He looks over his shoulder at the pen of bulls before he says, “I don’t know yet. I gotta make my draw.”

“Be careful, Boone. I love you,” Mamma says, kissing him before Daddy puts me down, pushing my hat down over my eyes, and I laugh, pulling it back up to look at him.

“Y’all make your way to your seats, and I’ll see you after. I love all of you.” He smiles.

Right before we leave, Uncle Tuff walks up, picking me up from behind. “Well, Shiloh, I swear you’ve grown three inches since I saw you last week,” he says, tickling me as he holds me in his arms, and I giggle, squirming.

Uncle Tuff and Daddy have been friends for as long as I can remember.

He says he doesn’t ride anymore because he tore his cuff, whatever that means.

Instead, now he enters the bulls into the bull rides.

I think he said it was called a Pbr stock contractor.

Him and his wife, Lucy, make a good team running bulls.

“Uncle Tuff, put me down,” I laugh. He puts me down, and I look back up to Daddy, trying my luck. “Daddy, can I just sit with Uncle Tuff in the chutes? I promise to not get into any trouble.”

“Trouble is your middle name, Shi,” Daddy says, leaning down to my level before he says, “But I let Cash stay with Tuff last year, so I reckon it would only be fair if you were able to stay down here this year.”

“Oh, come on, Dad,” Cash protests. I’m sure he expected the same privileges this year.

Uncle Tuff puts a VIP necklace around my neck, and I jump up and down excitedly. I fully expected him to turn me down.

Mamma turns to Uncle Tuff, pointing at him. “You keep an eye on her, you hear?”

Uncle Tuff picks me up, looking at me, then back at Mamma before he says, “Yes ma’am.”

“See ya after, baby,” Daddy says, kissing Mamma as she and a disappointed Cash walk off to their VIP seats.

After Mamma walks off, I look back to Uncle Tuff curiously and ask, “Hey, where is Cross?”

He chuckles. “He had to sit this one out. He's at home with Aunt Lucy.”

I roll my eyes because, well, I want my best friend here with me. It would be more fun, but oh well. I got my way by getting to sit closer while Daddy rides. Beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.

“All riders to the first chutes. Show’s about to begin,” the announcer calls, and Daddy puts his black felt hat on and zips up his vest, looking down to his attire.

He has on a pink pearl snap that I insisted he buy because pink is my favorite color and he never says no to me, and his black chaps Mamma got him as an early Christmas gift.

Looking up at me and Uncle Tuff with our shared green eyes, he says, “How do I look? You think I’m ready, Shi?”

“Go get ‘em, Daddy!” I say, reaching out to hug his neck. He hugs me back, kissing my cheek before he walks off.

“Come on, Shiloh, let's head back,” Uncle Tuff says as he carries me off to a spot off to the side of the chutes, more out of the way. It’s not exactly in the chutes, but it's a lot closer than the seats Mamma and Cash are at, and when Daddy is done, I can run to him faster to congratulate him.

The lights go dark around us as we lean on the rails, and the announcers are loud over the speaker with their introduction, and the crowd goes wild when the fire on the ground outlines the letters Pbr in the dirt.

The middle of the chutes open as two flag girls make their way through, running their horses around the arena with a spotlight following them. I smile, looking up to Uncle Tuff.

After the girls are done, the cowboys make their way through the middle of the chutes, through the dirt, to line up to draw their bulls.

Making their way down the line, I start jumping up and down when they finally make their way to Daddy.

“Ladies and gentleman, your favorite cowboy is here to defend his world champion title for the fourth year in a row. If he wins tonight, that will make him the first cowboy in Pbr history to win a world title four years running. Introducing Boone Hillard,” the announcer shouts, and the crowd erupts with cheers as Daddy smiles, waving his hand, looking over to me, tipping his hat.

He puts his hand in the bag, pulling out a chip and handing it to the announcer.

“Boone, you drew Down Right Dirty as your bull tonight. This bull has yet to be ridden for the entire 8 seconds since he has been on the circuit, folks. He’s right up there with Red Rock.

This will be a sight to see if you can pull this off, Boone. ”

I look up to Uncle Tuff, smiling, and I see his smile falter as he swallows, but he quickly schools his features, looking down to me with a half smile that doesn’t quite settle well in my stomach, so I ask, “Is that bad, Uncle Tuff?”

“Nah, sweetie, it’s okay. Just a hard bull, but I know your Daddy. He's got this,” he assures me, but something in my tummy tells me it’s not as okay as he’s making it out to be.

As the night lingers on, we watch the riders stay on and fall off. It’s exciting down here being so close to the action. I see now why Cash was so disappointed. This is our third time in Vegas, and even though Mamma says it’s not for kids, everyone here treats us as if we are family.

“Boone Hillard, you’re on deck, my friend!

” The announcer says, and I hop on the fence with Uncle Tuff.

As the chute opens for the other rider, my eyes are glued to Daddy, who is settling in on his bull, who seems agitated already.

As he runs his hand up and down his rope, he glances up to me with a smirk and winks.

He adjusts himself on the bull, and Dirty jumps up in the chute, rearing up, and I clutch the railing so tight, looking over, that my knuckles are white. Daddy holds tight as the bull makes its way back down in the chute.

“Ladies and gentlemen, in chute number two is your favorite cowboy, Boone Hillard. He’s riding Down Right Dirty, and he needs a score of 92 or higher to win tonight.

Now this bull, as we said, hasn’t been ridden for a full 8 seconds yet, but if anyone can make it happen, Boone is the cowboy I’d bet my money on. Let’s ride.”

My tummy is all in knots still. I’m never nervous to see Daddy ride. This feels different, and I don’t know why. Maybe it was the look on Uncle Tuff's face when Daddy drew his bull, but something has me feeling uneasy.

Daddy looks to Mamma in the stands, winking to her and Cash, then back to me before he winks, saying, “Okay, boys, let's go.”

The chute opens, and the white and black speckled bull pulls left hard, bucking as Daddy shifts his weight with him, holding tight, his hand above his head, spurs soft on the sides. One.

Dirty pulls right hard, bucking high up in the air. Two.

Pulling his head down low and bucking high, then back down. Daddy holds tight. He lurches forward a bit, but his form is solid. Three.

Dirty jerks right, then left, spinning as he bucks and dips. Four.

I look at the timer. There are four seconds left, but it feels like a lifetime. I look at Uncle Tuff, and I hear him whisper under his breath, “Come on, Boone, you got this, man. Come on.”

I smile, looking back as I hear the buzzer sound and the crowd cheers loudly, but something is wrong. Daddy isn’t off the bull.

His hand is stuck in his rope as the bull continues to twist and turn.

He is still holding steady, but my heart is pounding, and I realize now I’m holding my breath.

Dirty bucks and thrashes, and he slips off the side, unable to keep his balance with trying to get his hand loose.

The rodeo clowns rush to the sides as best they can, and the pickup man tries to get beside the bull, boxing him in to get to him.

“DADDY!” I scream, climbing the fence, and I feel Uncle Tuff grab me from behind as tears cloud my vision. “DADDY!” I scream again.

His hand finally comes loose, and he lands under the bull, who is bucking over and over, trampling him underneath.

The once roaring crowd goes silent, and my world slows down. I squirm, trying to break free of Uncle Tuff's grasp, screaming as he shields me in his chest, trying to hide the fact that my daddy is laying lifeless in the arena.

8 seconds… that’s all it took… for my world to completely shatter. 8 endless seconds.