Chapter 2
Verge
Taking a long pull on my cigarette, I let my eyes linger on the spitfire who just ran into me.
The guy she is with has his arm slung over her, but she pushes him away laughing, and the wind catches her blonde hair as he pushes her back playfully.
She puts her hair behind her ear, looking back at me with those green eyes, but when she realizes my eyes are still on her, she quickly averts her gaze back down to her boots.
My mom and I were close, and her passing hit me hard.
She was the hardest working woman I knew.
She was always up from sunup to sundown working our little ranch in Colorado.
She was a real cowgirl, not the ones you see at concerts and bars, and she worked her ass off and supported me in whatever I wanted to do.
Ever since I was about five, I wanted to ride a bull, and she made it happen.
Putting me in the best bull riding clinics, to buying mechanical bulls, you name it, she funded it.
Don’t ask me how she did, but the woman made it happen the best she knew how.
Her goal in life was to make my dreams come true, and she sure as shit did, and I miss her every fucking day.
My dad left when I was three, and I couldn’t even tell you what he looked like or whether he was alive or dead. According to my mom, he was indeed an asshole as well, so I suppose the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I don’t try to be an asshole. It just comes naturally, I reckon.
I was joking, well, at least I was trying to, when she ran into me after she paid her entry fee.
She was, in fact, looking right at her boots when she collided into me.
I assume my tone and demeanor suggested otherwise, though, so I just stuck to the cocky, your right, I’m an asshole vibe with how hostile she was.
She was captivating. Her green eyes and long blonde hair and spitfire attitude intrigued me.
I like a girl who has some sass to her, and I’d be interested to cross paths again and have a little fun.
Am I looking for a relationship? Absolutely not.
I just want to make it to the top, but that doesn't mean I can’t have some fun and keep things casual, right?
I don’t need some girl stressing or worrying about me 24/7. No. I refuse to change who I am for anyone. Bull riding makes me happy. Am I denying it’s dangerous? Absolutely not, but it’s who I am, and if my mother taught me anything, it was to never change who I am, and I won't.
To add to my luck, the bank also took the ranch my mom owned.
Well, I thought it was paid for, but when she got sick, she got behind on payments that I didn’t even realize she needed help with.
I wasn’t able to keep up with the money owed with how already behind she was, and by the time she passed, it was too far gone for me to even consider saving.
Foreclosure is a bitch, that’s for sure.
Not to mention they sold off nearly all of her assets in the estate sale.
The only thing I have left of hers is the diamond ring she had in her jewelry box that was apparently her mother’s. She always wanted me to give it to a girl, but like I said, I don’t think that’s in the cards for me, but having it makes me feel close to her, so I keep with me.
After my continuous bad luck, I decided it was a time for a change of scenery.
I knew my mom had a twin sister out here in Wyoming, Aunt Kate, and she married Uncle Clark.
We were all pretty close when I was a kid, and after Mom passed, Aunt Kate insisted I live with them and welcomed me with open arms. It was hard for me to swallow my damn pride and even come stay with them, but shit, I had nowhere to go.
I’m twenty-three, and all I have to show for it is my clothes, rodeo gear, a few buckles and trophies, and my truck.
Can we add a piece of shit to my resume while we're at it? I probably should get a real job, but rodeo is all I’ve ever known, and I don’t know how to change that, so here I am living recklessly, hoping I win some money to get me by until the next one.
They have a son named Beau and a daughter named Aria.
Aria barrel races, and Beau team ropes with Cash.
I’ve never met Cash, but I hear he is the son of the famous Boone Hillard.
It kind of shocks me that Cash doesn’t ride bulls, but I suppose seeing your dad get killed by the sport will do that to you.
I remember being 8 years old watching it on TV. Hell, I even had a Boone Hillard poster in my room at one point. He was my fucking hero and still is, honestly.
Making my way up to the entry office, I pull out my wallet, saying, “Moring, Verge McCoy, bull riding.”
The lady smirks. She's older, with yellowish blonde hair, and she looks at me over her glasses as she writes my name down, taking my money before she says, “Good luck, Verge.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I say, tipping my ball cap and walking back to the trailer to meet Beau and change my clothes.
Looking around the rodeo grounds, I finally spot Beau pulling his horse out of the trailer.
He apparently entered online, but I wasn’t really sure how to do all that, so I’ll just stick to the old-fashioned way of walking up to the stand and paying my dues.
I really need a win tonight if I want a chance at traveling with him to the next show.
He and Cash are neck and neck in the team roping with some team they call the dynamic duo, whatever that means.
It’s apparently some couple, a guy and girl, who apparently really kick ass at team roping.
I don’t really keep up with the team roping stats, though.
He just told me on the drive over. I only got here two months ago, and last week was an off week for the rodeo circuit, but now we are in full season considering the NFR is in December.
I’ve been hitting up any and every rodeo in the PRCA to keep my points and even doing Jackpots in between to keep in shape and honestly just for the extra cash.
Eventually, I plan to drop the all-around rodeos and just do the Pbr circuit, but one step at a time, and right now, with only a truck to my name, I can’t be picky.
Beau was nice enough to let me come with him, so beggars can’t be choosers.
Aria kind of does her own thing. She barrel races, but right now she's still a senior in high school, so it’s not quite a lifestyle for her yet.
“You get everything squared away with your entry?” Beau asks, tying up his bay horse, Carmen. Beau is 27 but acts fifty. He's an old man at heart, and he treats me more like his kid than he does his younger cousin. I don’t mind it, though. He's a good guy.
“Yeah, all good, thanks,” I say as I open the door to the tack room looking for my bag. Finding it, I take off my ball cap and grab my Stetson, putting it on before I hear him say, “Verge, come here. I want you to meet Cash.”
Looking at my stuff, I decide to just leave it all in the tack room considering bull riding is the last event of the day, anyway.
Shutting the tack room door, I make my way over to Beau, who is now standing at the trailer beside us that, to my surprise, has three horses tied up to it.
One dusty blue roan, one chestnut, and one buckskin.
Why does Cash need three horses? I think to myself, but then shrug it off, thinking it’s not really any of my concern.
“Cash, this is my cousin Verge. He just moved here about two weeks ago. I think I told you he’d be coming with me,” Beau says to Cash, leaning over the blue roan’s back, looking down to Cash, who is picking out the buckskin’s hoof. He then drops the horse's leg, standing looking over at us.
Shit, he looks so much like Boone Hillard, if I didn't know he was, in fact, dead, I’d swear it was him who was looking right at me.
“Hey man, nice to meet you,” he says, holding out his hand.
I shake it firmly before I say, “ You too.”
“So Verge is gonna be traveling with us this season if it’s okay with y’all, Cash. All his stops are within ours,” Beau says.
Cash opens his mouth to answer, but before he can, a voice sounds from behind us, “You’ve got to be shitting me.”
I turn around to see none other than the girl from the entry office and her little sidekick. I smirk, thinking to myself, The dynamic duo.