The Bull Rider's Plan

by Jeannie Watt

  Chapter Twelve

  “I’ll pay your admission,” Jess said as they waited for their turn to join a group on a cavern tour.

  “Darned right, you will.” Emma tipped up her chin and narrowed her eyes at him. “And remember your promises.”

  They’d discussed the matter at length and Emma had made it clear that she wasn’t claustrophobic or afraid of the dark. But she’d never been in a cave and wasn’t certain she liked the idea. Jess had taken care not to press her. In fact, he’d let the matter drop and then, out of the blue, Em had agreed.

  “If I embarrass myself by freaking out, you’ll be there.”

  Promise number one. “I will.”

  “And if I start pushing my way through the crowd to get out, you’d better be my blocker.”

  A slightly different take on promise number two, which had been to get her back to the surface as quickly and quietly as possible. “Will do.”

  Jess paid and they joined their group and their teenage tour guide. The two-mile hike from the lodge to the cave entrance seemed to go a long way toward calming Em’s nerves, and when it was time for their small group to descend into the caverns, she seemed perfectly at ease. Right up until the tour guide made them promise not to disturb the bats.

  She gave him an accusatory look. “You did this on purpose.”

  Jess reached out to take her hand. “I did not.”

  She squeezed his fingers, then slipped her hand free, but the feeling of easy camaraderie remained. They made their way down ridiculously steep stairs into a world of stalagmites and stalactites, darkness and dampness. And Jess felt his breathing start to go shallow.

  Oh, no. Was he claustrophobic?

  Maybe it was the narrow staircase that seemed to hang out over dark nothingness that made him uneasy. Meanwhile, Em moved smoothly down the stairs, craning her neck to see what was ahead of them. Once they hit solid ground, the guide started to speak and Jess tried to focus, but found that instead he was wondering how much all the rock above them weighed. And what happened if the earth decided to shift?

  He started sweating, despite the cool temperature.

  “Look at that, Jess!” Emma pointed out a beautifully colored stalagmite. Or was it a stalactite? He was too focused on survival to ask.

  “Wow.”

  She turned a frowning look his way. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Totally.”

  One eyebrow arched up, and then she turned to follow the group. Jess walked immediately behind her, doing his best not to think about tons of earth. They were in a huge space that people had visited for over a century. The walls and formations were awe-inspiring. And so was the thought of hitting daylight.

  “Are you all right?” Em asked a few minutes later.

  “No.” He didn’t even try to lie. “I’m not a cave person.”

  Em turned toward him, and even in the dim light, he could read more concern than amusement in her expression. “Really?”

  “Really.” He felt better because of the confession. “How long until we get out of this hellhole?”

  “Shouldn’t be too much longer.”

  “Please don’t lag too far behind,” the guide called.

  “Oh, don’t worry about me lagging,” Jess muttered as they caught up with the group, which was stopped at a formation illuminated by rainbow lighting. Emma leaned her shoulder into his as the guide droned on and Jess closed his eyes. Focused on breathing and the firm warmth of Emma’s shoulder.

  “I’m right here,” she murmured when they had to squeeze between two pillars before emerging into a larger room.

  Jess didn’t say anything, but he appreciated the fact that she was there, giving him something to focus on besides dying.

  The tour continued, and when they eventually hit the sunlight, about five days later, Jess let out a relieved breath. “Finally.”

  Emma bit her lip as the people in their group moved around them. Didn’t come close to laughing, even though he could now read nothing but amusement in her expression, and he appreciated that. “Maybe I can plan the outings in the future.”

  “Yeah.” Although there wouldn’t be any outings for the remainder of the tour. The schedule was tight. “And right now, I’d like to get in the truck and drive.” His spelunking days were over.

  They walked back to the parking area, both lost in their thoughts, Jess dealing with the fact that he’d just discovered a previously unknown phobia and Em...? Who knew? He’d just given her a lot of ammo and she’d chosen to do nothing with it. Yet.

  “Hey,” he said as she unlocked the truck door. As she glanced back at him, the wind caught her hair and she caught it on one side of her face. “I...uh...appreciate you not laughing at me.”

  “I’m laughing on the inside.”

  But she wasn’t. He was certain of that. “Although—” he said slowly, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck “—it might have been better if you did.”

  She didn’t pretend not to understand his meaning. Not that long ago, before this crazy attraction had taken hold, she would have laughed her butt off.

  “I’ll work on that. But...” She started to smile, worked to keep her lips from curving. Lost the battle. “You should have seen yourself. All wild-eyed and... I don’t know...” She bit her lip. “I would have blocked for you.”

  “If I’d been sure of the way out, I would have let you. I had no idea I was claustrophobic.” He kicked the toe of his boot into the dirt. Smiled a little as he met her eyes, then his expression sobered. “Kind of makes me wonder what other issues I have that I don’t know about.” Obviously bulls weren’t a problem, but what about surviving a future that didn’t involve a safety net? He thought he was okay with that, but he’d thought he’d be okay with caves, too.

  “Whatever they are, you’ll deal.”

  “You know that I don’t like surprises.”

  “You don’t like them, but you can handle them. You handled the cave. You can handle taking the plunge into pro bull riding.”

  His eyes narrowed. “How’d you know what I was thinking?”

  “How could I not know?” Emma spoke on a note of amused weariness, a faint smile playing on her sexy mouth, then she leaned back against the truck and looked at him in a way that made him feel like he was the younger of the two. “You and I...” She dropped her gaze as her voice trailed off. Cleared her throat.

  For one charged moment, he thought she was going to say something unexpected—something he was pretty sure he wanted to hear—but instead she looked toward the road. “We’d better get going.”

  “Yeah.” The atmosphere had changed and now Emma was all business when he was still thinking about taking her by the wrist and pulling her a little closer, leaning in and kissing her. As a thank-you, of course. Nothing else.

  Right...and he’d be signing up for the next cave tour just as soon as he possibly could.

  * * *

  JESS HAYWARD COULD face a raging bull without blinking, but being in a cave had seized him up.

  Unexpected.

  Equally unexpected was the fact that, other than the potential for bat attack, Emma loved every minute of the tour. And the bats had been kind of cute all huddled up on the walls and ceilings of the cave. As the tour went deeper into the cavern system, there’d been no bats at all. Just one freaked-out bull rider trying to hold it together until he saw sunlight.

  Emma didn’t want to be touched by the fact that Jess was not only weirded out by being underground—he’d been up-front about it. A guy who’d ridden bulls with broken bones, who didn’t blink when he drew the roughest man killer on the circuit, who had raced out of his camper, tripping over his pants, thinking he might have to fight a bear instead of bats, had confessed his fears the second time she’d asked. Remarkable for a chin-up,
hide-the-pain kind of guy.

  Emma was impressed.

  As a friend.

  She needed to keep that small fact front and center. They were friends. Nothing more.

  When he’d asked her earlier how she’d known what he’d been thinking, she’d almost told him that she felt closer to him than to any guy on earth. True or not, that would have been a mistake. They were walking a thin line and she had to do her best to stay on it.

  She turned on music and they traveled without talking. Jess watched bull riding videos on his phone, and Emma debated what her life would be like when she returned home. There would, of course, be a showdown with Selma, and she was going to have to stand up to her stepmom—explain that she was going to live her life her way. Selma wouldn’t listen, Emma would have to explain again...

  Maybe if her father had stood up to Selma a time or two over the years things would be different, but her dad was the retiring sort. He didn’t like confrontation and was appreciative of his wife, who met the world head-on, so he didn’t have to.

  Her dad was her dad. A gentle soul who only wanted to ranch and tinker in his shop. Selma was as protective of him as she was of her children. It was an odd relationship that worked amazingly well, and since it worked well for him, it seemed that Emma’s dad believed it worked equally well for his kids.

  “You want to catch a meal tonight?”

  Jess’s sudden question brought her back to the present and Emma shook her head without looking at him. “Concession stand burger will work for me.”

  “Probably won’t be anything open until tomorrow.”

  “I’ll hit my junk food stash.”

  “I’ll buy.”

  She looked at him then. “It’s not the money.”

  “Then what?”

  “I...just want a night to myself.” She did. Things were going well between them right now—why chance having another upset before his next ride?

  He narrowed his eyes at her before saying, “All right.”

  He shifted his gaze forward and Emma did the same. It was best for both of them if he focused on his ride instead of going out with her—even for a quick dinner. Things had a strange way of turning around on them and she wanted him to be 100 percent into his game.

  “You know that you’re not distracting me.” Jess was no longer watching the road. A quick sideways glance met his gaze.

  She brought her eyes forward again. “That’s what you told me.”

  “And that’s what you need to believe. Dinner with me isn’t going to hurt anything.”

  Emma’s mouth opened to ask him how he knew what she was thinking, but caught herself and closed it again. “Agreed. But I still want a night to myself.”

  “Consider it done.” He spoke flatly, telling her that he didn’t believe her, but he wasn’t going to push. Much. “You should eat better.”

  Torn between exasperation and irritation, Emma gave him a deadly look. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender and she gritted her teeth together as she pulled into the rodeo grounds.

  Now she felt even better about spending the night alone.

  * * *

  JETSAM WAS A brindle half-Brahman bull with turned-down horns and a look of malice in his eye. As he was squeezed into the chute, he kicked sideways a couple of times, making the rails ring. Jess gave the animal a once-over, then climbed up on the rail and started working his rope onto him. Jetsam gave him a long baleful look and tossed his head as Jess balanced over him, a foot on each rail and slid down into place, his spotter keeping a hand on his vest in case Jetsam took exception to having a rider on his back. Chase pulled the rope, allowing Jess to adjust his grip.

  For the first time in weeks, he felt the calm. Felt himself slide into the moment, blocking out everything except for the bull sweating and twitching beneath him. The gate swung open and Jetsam slammed into action. Jess was with him and stayed with him, countering the bull’s every move, staying deep and square, absorbing the shock of the pounding spins and kicks through his feet. When the buzzer sounded, Jess looked over his free arm and started to swing his leg over the bull’s head when the animal twisted and reared, snagging Jess’s leg just as he released his grip. Jetsam gave a mighty toss of his head and Jess flopped through the air, landing hard on his side before the bull butted him, rolling him into the dirt.

  The next thing he was cognizant of were hands under his arms, lifting him as he staggered first to a knee and then to his feet. As his head cleared, he caught sight of Jetsam trotting out of the arena, tail high, none the worse for wear. He gave the animal a weak salute as he and the bullfighter headed toward the rails. Jetsam had been good to him, giving him his first decent ride in weeks. His turnaround bull.

  At least Emma could now get over the idea that she was jinxing his rides.

  The medics quickly checked him over, even though he assured them he hadn’t hit his head, and released him, then he headed toward the truck where Emma was pacing. Her chin lifted as she saw him heading toward her, favoring his bruised leg and holding one arm close to his side. Somehow she didn’t seem to be as excited as he’d thought she’d be.

  “Did LeClair win that one?” he asked in a satisfied voice.

  She let out a breath. “He did not. If you hang around tonight, you’ll get the check.”

  “They’re mailing it to me.” He cocked his head. “Everything okay?”

  She gave a slow nod. “It is. Now.”

  He frowned at her as he realized she was referring to his post-ride dust-up with the bull. “I’m fine. My vest took the brunt of it.” He even wore a helmet, which wasn’t required of him, because he was born before 1994.

  “I know.” She spoke matter-of-factly, telling him that she did indeed know. It wasn’t as if she was a rookie to the industry. She was aware of the risks of bull riding.

  “What’s the deal, Emma?” She gave a small shrug. “You’re not back to that jinx thing, are you?” Because he wasn’t going to have her taking responsibility for his failures.

  She glanced down, keeping her mouth stubbornly shut. He was about to demand that she tell him what was going on, when she brought her gaze back up. “Having a bull randomly kick at you, or throw a hook, is one thing. But seeing a bull roll you on the ground, and then come back for more? Like he was going to take you out? That’s...unsettling.”

  Her voice broke ever so slightly on the last word, making him want to wrap his arms around her, hold her close, show her that he was fine. But that was breaching the rules of the pact, so instead he worked up a smile and said, “You should have seen it from my angle.”

  Em made a face at him, but her heart wasn’t in it, and he once again felt the urge to pull her against him. Hold her. Break their stupid rules.

  Instead he said, “Look, Em. I like traveling with you, but if I have to worry about you worrying about me...that’s a distraction.”

  She considered his words, then cocked her chin at an angle. “I’m all right.”

  He didn’t think so.

  She glanced toward the highway, visible on the opposite side of the rodeo grounds. “We should hit the road if we’re going to get any miles behind us tonight.”

  “I think we should stay here until morning. We can still make the rodeo.” It might be close, but they’d get there before his event.

  “Why?”

  “I’m sore and you’re rattled.”

  Her mouth opened, as if she was going to deny being rattled. He cocked an eyebrow and she closed her mouth.

  “Give us both a break, Em.”

  “All right,” she said flatly. The parking lot was clearing of spectators and many of the competitors had already packed up and pulled out. Soon they’d have the place to themselves. “I guess I wouldn’t mind an early night.”

  “And let me buy you
dinner instead of raiding your junk food stash.”

  “My stash is almost empty.” She rolled a rock under her boot. “All that’s left is the semi-healthy stuff.”

  “We’ll hit a store, replenish your stash, then grab a burger at the café on the edge of town. Get up early and drive.”

  She frowned at him, her mouth twisting sideways. “Anything else on the agenda?”

  “No. That’s pretty much it.”

  The wind gusted as he spoke, knocking his hat sideways and lifting Emma’s hair, blowing it around her face. She pushed it back with an impatient hand as Jess righted his hat.

  “Storm coming.”

  “Another reason not to drive tonight.” Jess reached out without thinking and tucked a few stray strands of silky red hair behind her ear. He’d just broken the pact, but Emma didn’t seem to notice.

  “Good point,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind a burger. And a beer...as long as you’re buying.”

  He smiled. “Just give me a couple minutes to change and I’ll see that you have both.”

  * * *

  BY THE TIME they returned to the truck and Emma had rolled out her sleeping bag on the rear seat and propped her pillow up against the door, she was mentally exhausted. Jess knew her too well, and even though they’d kept conversation light during dinner, as per the rules of their pact, he’d watched her closely. Read her.

  She did not want him to know how deeply affected she’d been by the terrifying conclusion to his ride, but since she’d already given herself away, she’d worked hard for damage control. Jess had laughed at the stories she told about Selma and her brothers, and shared a few Tyler stories, but she felt as if his reactions were merely a cover for what he was really doing, as in, figuring out what was going on with her. Why she’d been close to breaking down when she’d met him at the truck.

  She’d like to know that herself.

  Emma rolled over and pulled the sleeping bag closer, clutching the soft nylon under her chin. Her heart had stopped when Jess had been tossed through the air after his attempted dismount. And then when the bull went after him...