Chapter Nineteen
Brady
It was sad to say goodbye to Ryan. I was used to him coming and going like that, but he’d been good company. And he’d changed his mind about Sloan. At first he’d told me that she was far too materialistic for me. But after the dinner at my house, he said there was something about her that went beyond the exterior. The two of them actually got along really well, and by the end of the evening Ryan had taken her in as his new sister. I was glad that Ryan had seen another side to her. At least I knew I wasn’t imagining it.
I invited Grant over for coffee that morning, and the three us spent some time catching up before Ryan had to leave.
“This is so weird,” Grant said. “The three of us here in Wyoming together.”
“Yeah, we just need Ian and Reed, and all the brothers would be together again,” Ryan said.
“Ha! I don’t see that happening.”
“Hey, never say never,” Grant said. “I didn’t think I’d ever be living here. And here I am. Strange things can happen. It’s good to see you again, Knuckles.”
Ryan chuckled. “Same to you, Patriot. Hey, I hear you also got a shotgun shoved in your face when you knocked on Brady’s door.”
Grant rolled his eyes. “Brady, you really need to stop doing that.”
“And you guys need to stop knocking at my door at unearthly times in the morning.”
After the coffee, I said goodbye to the guys and made my way over to Sloan’s hotel. It was the day of the rodeo, and I was feeling excited and a little nervous. I’d never taken someone with me before. I hoped she was going to enjoy it.
She was waiting outside when I arrived, and I smiled at the sight of her. She was wearing light blue jeans and a small yellow shirt, which she’d tied at the waist. She had on brown boots and a cowgirl hat.
“I’m loving this look,” I said to her as she hopped in the car.
She giggled. “I’m really getting into it now, hey. I’m going to miss dressing this way.”
“Come on; you’ve got to keep it up in New York. I promise you; you’ll start a new trend.”
“I’m just not sure it will feel the same,” she said and sighed. “So, are you excited about today? I am. I woke up so early because I couldn’t sleep. I mean, I never thought I’d actually ever go to a real rodeo.”
I liked her enthusiasm. “I’m excited. And I’m glad you are too. You’re going to love it. I used to go all the time to watch before I got into it myself. It’s such a fun crowd to be in. They’re very supportive.”
“You most definitely have my support today. I’ll be screaming the loudest.”
I chuckled at the thought. “I’ve never had a cheerleader before,” I said. Especially one as pretty as you.
When we arrived, I decided to take her backstage first to show her around and to introduce her to some of the other guys. I saw Trace and took her to say hello. Trace’s eyes lit up at the sight of Sloan. Then he went pale, and I thought he was going to faint. For a man that spent a lot of time hanging around beautiful women at clubs, he didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. I tried not to laugh at the sight of him.
“Trace, I’d like you to meet the lovely Sloan. Sloan, this is my rodeo partner, Trace.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Trace,” Sloan said and stuck her hand out.
Trace took her hand. I could see him trying to find his voice. “Sloan Hill. Wow, I never thought I’d see the day. It’s a pleasure to meet you too. You’ve come to watch the rodeo?”
She nodded. “I have. I’ve never been to one before.”
“You’re going to love it.”
“Come on, I’ll show you around some more,” I said. Then I looked at Trace. “See you soon.”
He stood there, mouth agape as we walked off, and I laughed.
“It must be so strange to leave people speechless the way you do,” I said. I couldn’t imagine what that feeling must be like. It must be quite powerful.
She just shrugged. “It’s got nothing to do with me as a person. They’re only speechless because they’ve seen me on the big screen. So it’s not very real. And they get over it pretty quickly.”
I sensed frustration in her voice, so I decided to change the subject. Instead, I took her around and showed her all there was to know about rodeo.
“Oh, look at the bulls,” she said. She stood in shock. I could almost feel her trembling beside me. I’d been around these animals for such a long time that I’d forgotten how menacing they could be to someone that wasn’t used to them. Especially to a city girl.
I laughed. “Come on; I’ll introduce you.”
“I’ve never seen one up close before.”
“And you’d never ridden a horse before you met me. A lot of firsts. Aren’t they incredible, though? This is the one I will be riding.”
“Wow, he’s huge. I had no idea they would be like this. I mean, I knew they’d be big, but I didn’t realize that they’d be this big.”
“I know what you mean. They’re very different up close. I thought the same thing. But you get used to them.”
“I’m not sure I could get used to something this big. Also, he looks awful mean. Are you sure you want to ride this one? It was obvious that Betty was a nice horse the moment I saw her. But this guy looks like he wants to fight. Why don’t we take a walk around and look for a bull with a kinder face?”
I chuckled. “I can’t do that. He’s the one that’s assigned to me. And trust me, none of them have kind faces. But that doesn’t mean that they’re horrible. They’re just a little scary up close is all. But don’t worry. He’s a good bull to ride. I’m used to him by now. I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“I sure hope so,” she said.
“Okay, so it’s the team rope first. I’m with Trace. Would you like to go into the crowd or do you want to watch from somewhere closer? I have a place I can take you where nobody else will be.”
“Close would be great,” she said, and I could see her visibly sigh with relief at the idea of being alone.
“Okay, come with me,” I said.
I took her up into the stands where only the staff members are usually allowed, and I found a seat for her. This way she’d get the chance to watch me without everyone looking at her for a change. I could see that she was grateful for this. I was starting to realize how difficult it was for her sometimes, and how much she often craved normality. Even in this small town, there were so many people that kept following her and taking her picture. It was better now that she didn’t dress as much like a celebrity anymore, but I knew she still got recognized a lot.
I made my way back to Trace, who couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful Sloan was and how lucky I was to be spending so much time with her. He was practically drooling while he was talking about her. I told him that he would have to get a grip and concentrate on the rodeo if he wanted to do well.
“I can’t man, I can’t stop thinking about her,” he said.
I groaned. “You are impossible. Come on; you’ve seen beautiful girls before. I know she’s famous, but she’s still just a person. Okay, how about this . . . she’s there in the stands right now, about to watch us. So, make sure that you do everything you can to impress her, okay?”
He chuckled. “Okay, you got me there. I better not make a fool of myself. Come on,” he said as he stood a little taller, “Let’s get out there and show her what we can do. We’ve got this.”
Trace was better than usual that day, and so was I. It was clear that we were both trying to show off in front of Sloan, and thankfully it had worked. We took first place in the team rope and beat our competitors by far. I was elated that she had seen us do so well. I would’ve hated it if we had failed miserably in front of her. Afterward, I went to check on Sloan, and she squealed with delight and told me how exciting that had been.
“I’m glad you liked it. Trace was showing off big time for you,” I said.
She smiled. “Only Trace?”
“Yeah, just him. I’m always that good,” I said and chuckled. “Anyway, I have to go. I just wanted to come up and see how you were doing. It’s the bull riding competition next.”
She pulled a face. “That bull better be nice to you.”
“He will be.”
As I was turning to go, she called me back.
“Yeah?”
She pulled me closer and gave me a small kiss on the cheek.
“For good luck,” she said.
I grinned at her and walked out. But as I walked away I had to stop and catch my breath. What was going on with me? Why did that one small kiss on the cheek feel so good? I was starting to behave like Trace, and I had to physically shake my head to stop thinking about her. I walked out and saw Trace waving at me.
“You look lost,” he said to me.
I smiled. “I’m fine. Just thinking about the competition.”
“You look like you’re thinking about something else. Or should I say, someone else,” he said and grinned.
“A little,” I admitted.
“Come on then; it’s my turn to get your head in gear. Shake it off. You can think about her later. This is not the time for you mind to wander. Get out there, get on that bull, and show her what you’re made of.”
I laughed. “And so,” I said, “the student becomes the teacher.”
I climbed onto the bull and made my way out. I wanted to look for her, but I knew that it would only disorientate me, especially as I didn’t have the time to do anything but ride the bull. So I did my best to concentrate on what I was doing. I’d done this a million times before, but this was the first time that I’d had so much on my mind too. I held onto the bull and listened as the crowd cheered me on. I was doing well, and I could almost feel Sloan smiling down at me.
Then, just as I imagined her smiling face, I could feel that something was wrong. I was losing control of the bull. I tried to concentrate on what was happening, but before I knew it, my body was in the air. The bull had thrown me off. I landed down on the sand with a thud, and it took me a while to realize what had happened. I knew that I needed to get up and get out of there the moment I saw the bull running toward me. But before I had a chance to get up, he’d made his way right over to me, and trampled on my arm.
I felt a shooting pain run up my arm, and I cried out in agony. Everything seemed to blur around me, and I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. But judging from the reaction coming from the crowd, I knew that it was bad.