The Bull Rider’s Return

by Joan Kilby

  O-kay. He smiled a slow grin. This weekend was turning out to be full of surprises. He leaned over and squeezed her forearm. “When it comes to fun, I’m your cowboy.”

  Chapter Five

  Saturday morning Ricky raced ahead of Kelly up the aisle and along the bleacher to the middle of the stands. They’d come early to get a seat near the chute where the cowboys would burst out on the bucking broncs and bulls. “Over here, Mom!”

  “I’m coming.” She followed, juggling drinks and her tote bag. The air was redolent of the earthy smells of corn dogs and popcorn, sawdust and horses. Ricky had hardly been able to sleep last night he’d been so excited about watching Cody compete today.

  The sky was clear blue with the promise of another fine, warm day. More people were arriving all the time, the stands filling with families, the old and the young, all chattering excitedly. Country music played over the loudspeakers and there was a carnival atmosphere.

  Kelly was determined to enjoy every minute. Soon enough the weekend would be over and she would have to buckle down to regular life. Cody had made it very clear that he was focused on rodeo and not looking for a girlfriend. Meanwhile she wanted stability and to plan for the future. Fine. But in the short term Cody seemed as interested as she was in having a good time together.

  What that would actually entail remained to be seen. Maybe nothing would happen. When they’d parted last night after the picnic Cody had only said a casual ‘see you soon.’ To be fair, he’d had a long day and wanted an early night so as to be well rested for the competition. But still, she’d hoped for something more concrete about when they would see each other next.

  “Good morning, ladies and gents,” the announcer suddenly boomed. “Let’s give our rodeo queens a big round of applause.”

  A gate opened in the fence. Cowgirls in colorful satin shirts, big hair and loaded with bling entered on horses moving at a canter. Carrying flags, they paraded around the perimeter and then the lead horse cut away from the circle and one by one the women made their way to the center of the ring and lined their horses up. The crowd cheered and applauded.

  Ricky was looking in the other direction. “There’s Cody!” he said, excitedly. “Hey, Cody!”

  Sitting on the rails next to the chute, Cody was talking to an official in a suit jacket and a black Stetson. Cody wore black-fringed chaps and a contestant’s bib over a padded vest and a red shirt. Hearing his name being called he looked up and spotted Ricky waving at him. He grinned and waved back.

  Kelly’s heart beat faster as she rose in her seat to wave. He looked mighty handsome. Remembering his fingertip brushing her arm yesterday in the park caused a shiver to run over her skin. Like a rodeo rider, she craved excitement. So it wasn’t really surprising that the sexy cowboy drew her like a moth to a flame. She was long overdue for some lovin’ and he was sex on two firmly muscled legs.

  The rodeo queens trotted out through the exit and Kelly’s heart rate slowed to normal. She reminded herself sternly that it was okay to be attracted but that whatever happened between her and Cody would only be temporary. She stifled a sigh. Even if she only got to dance with him tonight she would be happy.

  The announcer came back on, his voice booming over the loudspeakers. “Our first bareback contestant is one badass cowboy. He’s a real rough rider, competing in both the bareback bronc and bull-riding events.”

  Cowboys were moving purposefully around the chute, loading a muscular dapple gray with a scruffy mane into the narrow opening between the rails. Cody climbed the rails and straddled the chute.

  “We hear though that he’s a real sweetheart with the ladies,” the announcer went on. “And so he should be. Hailing from Sweetheart, Montana, out on Thunderbolt, give it up for Cody Starr!”

  Cody slid agilely onto the bronc’s back and jammed a heavily gloved hand into the handle on the rigging.

  Kelly’s heart kicked up again, this time from a thrill of fear for him. He nodded to another cowboy and the gate swung open. The horse exploded out of the chute, leaping high to land spine-jarringly on four stiff legs before kicking its back legs out and twisting. Cody leaned way back, his legs forward on the horse’s neck, spurring him on.

  Kelly’s heart was in her mouth as he flopped like a rag doll atop the bucking horse. Next to her, Ricky was screaming encouragement to his hero. Overhead, a digital screen counted the seconds. Six…seven…eight. The buzzer went. As the crowd cheered his successful ride, two cowboys on horses waiting on the sidelines rode alongside the bucking bronc and pulled Cody off and to safety.

  Kelly turned to Ricky. “Was it a good ride?”

  “Yeah!” Ricky said, beaming from ear to ear. “He didn’t slip off the side or anything. He kept his hand up the whole time and he kicked hard. He’ll probably get eighty-five at least.”

  Kelly chuckled. All those days cooped up in the house sick, unable to play outside with the other kids, had turned her little boy into a rodeo expert. “Do you want to see the other bareback riders or should we go say hello to Cody?”

  “We should watch and see what his competition is like.” Ricky pointed at the board. “Look, he got eighty-seven!”

  The next contestant was being introduced and came out of the chute. Within seconds the cowboy had been bucked off and was disqualified. A sympathetic murmur went up from the crowd. The contestant after that rode well and lasted the required eight seconds but from Kelly’s inexpert and biased perspective, half the time he looked as if he was about to slide off. The next one didn’t kick as hard as Cody, according to Ricky. Another cowboy’s horse barely bucked at all. Sure enough, none of the other scores equaled Cody’s although a couple came close.

  “He won!” she said to Ricky when the last cowboy fell off one second shy of the finish point. She leaped to her feet. “Cody won!”

  “No, Mom,” Ricky said, pulling on her sleeve to get her back in her seat. “He’ll go into the short round tomorrow. And the last guy will get another chance on a different bronco.”

  “But Cody’s going to win, right?” she said.

  “Prob’ly,” Ricky said loyally. “But don’t jump up and down. You’re embarrassing me.” He glanced around to see if anyone was watching.

  “Oh, you’re such a little old man,” she teased and started tickling him, which only made him protest louder.

  “Excuse me, is this seat taken?” A woman with short dark hair indicated the empty seats on Kelly’s other side. She had a boy in tow who looked about Ricky’s age.

  “No, go ahead.” Kelly moved her empty food tray and made room. “They’ve just finished the bareback riding.”

  “Oh, darn, I wanted to see that but we were signing David up for the kids’ campout tonight.” The woman smiled across at Ricky. “Are you going?”

  Ricky glanced up at Kelly, stricken. “Mom, we forgot about the campout. Can I?”

  “We’re just visiting,” Kelly said to the woman. “Is the campout just for locals or can any child go?”

  “It’s for all kids between five and ten years old,” she replied. “I’m Trish by the way. And this is my son, David.”

  “Kelly and Ricky.” Kelly leaned back and Ricky sketched a shy wave at the other boy.

  “The sleep-out is fun,” Trish went on. “They roast hot dogs over a campfire and sleep out under the stars as if they’re on a roundup. The Rotary Club does a great job of running it. David loves it.”

  “Last year we told ghost stories,” David said. “It was cool.”

  “Can I go, Mom, please?” Ricky almost quivered with the intensity of his desire.

  Trish smiled slyly and added to Kelly, “Moms and dads get a night off.”

  “Well…” Here was her chance to kick up her heels and take Cody up on the promise implicit in his sexy smile. A sense of anticipation fizzed through her as she speculated on how the weekend would play out.

  “Someone at the rodeo desk over by the concession will be able to sign you up,” Trish said. “Ricky will nee
d to be at the park behind the hospital at five o’clock. Bring a sleeping bag for him.”

  “We’ll register you after the last event, okay, Ricky?” Kelly said.

  He responded with a loud hooray. She smiled, happy for him, but a little wistful as well. Aside from his stays in the hospital, he’d never spent a night apart from her, not even for the usual childhood sleepovers. He was growing up, gaining his independence. That was as it should be. It was time she stopped hiding behind her son and made a life of her own.

  “Are you going to the steak dinner and dance?” Trish asked Kelly.

  “I haven’t made any plans yet.” She didn’t know why she was waiting for Cody to make the first move. There was no reason she couldn’t invite him to the dinner. She was out of practice at this dating thing but there was no time like the present to jump back in feet first.

  “If you don’t have anyone to go with, you’re welcome to sit with my husband and me,” Trish said. “We like to get there early and snag a table.”

  “That sounds fun,” Kelly said noncommittally. “Is your husband competing in the rodeo?”

  “He’s too old for it now but he used to compete in calf roping and the saddle bronc.” Trish added with an arched eyebrow and a lift in her voice, “Is your guy in the rodeo?”

  “He’s not my guy, but we’re here to watch Cody Starr,” Kelly said. Remembering Cody’s wish not to have her mention what he’d done for her, she added vaguely, “We met him in Reno back in June and well, he’s become a friend. A family friend.”

  Light dawned in Trish’s brown eyes. “No way! Are you that Kelly and Ricky? I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the front page of the Marietta Gazette this morning. Cody Starr gave your son a heart operation,” she said, marveling.

  “It’s in the newspaper now?” Kelly said, dismayed. He wasn’t going to like that. But why was it so hard for people to believe that Cody would do something good?

  “Mom,” Ricky interrupted. “Can we go down and say hi to Cody now?”

  Kelly glanced across the arena, trying to pick out the lean figure in black but she couldn’t make him out. “I don’t know, Ricky, maybe he’s busy. We don’t want to distract him.”

  Ricky waved the program. “He’s not in another event until bull riding at the end.”

  “All right then.” She could ask him about dinner tonight. Kelly gathered up their belongings as Ricky scrambled past her to get out. “I’ll see you later,” she said to Trish.

  Trish touched her arm. “It’s none of my business but…”

  “What?” Kelly said, tense.

  “Cody has a reputation…”

  “For being a great guy?” she said, a hint of challenge in her voice.

  “Love ’em and leave ’em,” Trish said dryly.

  Tight-lipped Kelly turned away. Trish was right, it was none of her business.

  Ricky practically dragged her by the hand down the stands and around to the back of the chute to where the contestants were waiting for their turn, or checking their order in the lineup at the table manned by officials.

  She and Ricky had to stop and wait while the horses from the bareback event were being moved out of the corral next to the chutes and over to another enclosure. The large animals jostled each other, heads high, the whites showing in their eyes.

  “Keep back,” Kelly said to Ricky, pulling him away. “These animals are wild. You don’t want to get kicked.”

  “They’re not wild horses,” Ricky explained patiently. “They’re just not saddle broke.”

  “I don’t care. Stay away from their hind ends.” They might not be wild but they were unpredictable. She didn’t trust them.

  Then the horses passed and Kelly got an eyeful of a wild, unpredictable animal of the two-legged variety. Cody was smiling down at a cute little redhead in tight jeans and a bright blue shirt. While she watched, he reached out and tweaked the woman’s braid.

  Kelly froze, unable to bring herself to approach. Even though she wasn’t interested in anything serious with Cody she couldn’t help the stab of jealousy at the unmistakable warmth and closeness between Cody and this other woman. Cody was only talking to the woman, she argued with herself. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions. But her self-talk didn’t help. Kelly’s chest began to hurt. Her legs refused to move.

  “Mom,” Ricky said. “There he is. Let’s go.”

  “He’s busy,” Kelly said and held Ricky’s hand tighter so he wouldn’t run to Cody. “We’ll come back another time.”

  Or not. She felt deflated. Cody was so charming, no wonder she’d been sucked in, like every other woman in his orbit. Shades of Ricky’s father. After months of intimacy, when he found out she was pregnant, he’d first ghosted her on social media and then left town and disappeared without saying goodbye. Worse, he’d disappeared from Ricky’s life.

  Cody still hadn’t noticed her even though they were standing only yards away. True, his face was partially averted but he was so absorbed in the redhead that he wasn’t noticing anything else. What was going on? Was he asking the woman out for tonight? Whatever, she would feel uncomfortable going up to him now and interrupting their intimate chat.

  “Come on, Ricky.” Turning on her heel, she walked away, head high and back straight.

  She couldn’t say she hadn’t been warned.

  *

  “Do you know that woman with the little boy?” Emma said, nodding past Cody’s head. “She looked like she was waiting to talk to you but now she’s leaving.”

  Cody turned to see Kelly’s retreating back and Ricky gazing back over his shoulder, crestfallen. “I’ve got to go. Are you staying tonight?”

  “No, I’m heading back to Sweetheart. Alex is taking me out to dinner for my birthday.” Emma touched Cody’s arm. “Your family is worried about you. You need to call them.”

  Ah, so that’s what this was really about. Emma’s detour to Marietta on her way home from a sustainable crop conference in Billings wasn’t merely a desire to wish him luck in his competition. “I’ll call them when I have something to say.” Seeing her dismay, he added, “I appreciate the concern but not their interference. Happy birthday.”

  He hurried after Kelly and caught up with her just as she and Ricky were about to climb into the stands. “Kelly, wait. Hey, Ricky.” He high-fived the boy.

  “Congratulations on a great ride.” Kelly’s expression was impassive with not a drop of the sassy humor he’d come to expect from her. Not a hint of a dimple.

  “I didn’t see you back there,” he said, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.

  “You looked like you were busy,” she said stiffly.

  Did she think he’d been flirting with Emma? “My sister-in-law was passing through town and stopped to wish me luck.”

  “Ah, your sister-in-law.” Some of the rigidity went out of Kelly’s demeanor. “That was nice of her.”

  At this boring adult conversation, Ricky drifted over to the pen where the calves were being held for the tie-down event.

  “Emma’s married to my half-brother Alex,” Cody went on. “I’ve got two other brothers, too, Will and Garret.”

  He didn’t know why it was so important that Kelly believe him or why he thought she’d be interested in his family. There were plenty of less complicated women at the rodeo he could hook up with. But for some reason, he wanted Kelly to go on believing in him.

  “You’re lucky to have a big family,” she said. “It must be nice.”

  “They’re okay but they have a tendency to interfere.” He was listening to the announcer with one ear. The barrel racing was due to begin soon. After that was bull riding. “Sorry, I’ll have to cut this short. I don’t want to miss my event.”

  He shifted his weight, needing to be on his way but not wanting to leave her like this. They’d talked about having a good time together but he wasn’t used to planning his social occasions. Yesterday’s meeting in the park was unusual for him. Ordinarily he just went along to the bar or the
dance and hooked up with someone there.

  “Of course.” She moved a step back.

  “Do you want…” he began.

  “I was wondering…” she said at the same time.

  “You first,” Cody said.

  She took a deep breath. “Do you have plans for tonight?”

  For a moment he didn’t know what to say. He took his hat off and pushed a hand through his hair. “Some of the guys were talking about drinks at the Graff Hotel but I’m open to other suggestions.”

  “Do you want to go to the steak dinner and dance with me?” she asked in a rush.

  “The dance, right.” He was surprised at how relieved he felt that she hadn’t written him off and how much he did want to tie down an evening with her.

  “Is that a yes?” she asked, frowning and studying his face, trying to figure out his reaction.

  “No…” He busted a wide grin. “That’s a hell yes.”

  *

  Cody made his way back to the chute where the barrel racing was wrapping up and preparations were underway for the bull-riding event.

  The good news was that for his ride he’d drawn his nemesis, Baby Huey, and Cody had a score to settle with the bull. The beast was notorious on the rodeo circuit for bucking off even the most experienced cowboys. Cody had ridden him twice before. So far it was Baby Huey 2, Cody 0.

  He’d drawn last ride. He hated the waiting, preferring to get it over with. The other contestants paced the dusty yard, full of nervous anticipation. Dean Maynard talked too loudly to cover his nerves and took swigs from his hip flask. Cody stood behind a horse trailer, away from the others and closed his eyes, going deep inside himself, calming himself with long, slow, deep breaths.

  When the cowboy before him went out, Cody headed back to the chute and climbed the rails. The acrid scent of hide and sweat and dust filled his nostrils as Baby Huey was loaded into the narrow confines, snorting and stamping.