Chapter Thirty-One
Trethan
A few weeks after starting to train with Larry, I was doing markedly better. I caught my breath and then spun to look at my latest time. I stared in disbelief for a moment and then gave a whoop and a celebratory fist pump. “I did it!” I cried, hopping down off the fence. “I made it over eight seconds!”
Larry nodded at me, but he didn’t seem nearly as excited.
I groaned. “Look, I know there’s still plenty to work on,” I told him. “My form could still use some work. My form could always use some work. And, it’ll be different when I actually ride into the arena. I’ll have to contend with the crowd, and I’ll have to contend with my nerves. It’s going to be more challenging, and I’m going to have to beat the other competitors, not just beat the clock. But for one second, can’t you just shut up about all of that and tell me that I did a good job?”
“You’d let it go to your head if I did,” Larry said dismissively. “Anyway, eight seconds might be good enough for this competition, but it’s all amateurs. If you want to start riding against the pros, we’re going to have to get you even better than that.”
I shook my head. “I mean, riding against the pros would be incredible,” I said. “But that’s not why I’m doing this. If I can bag that ten grand, I’m investing in this art gallery that a close friend of mine is trying to open.” I had to hesitate a moment, wanting to call Vanessa my girlfriend, but I didn’t think Larry noticed.
Larry shook his head. “All this for a girl. Figures.” He looked toward the ring, where the handlers were just now getting the bull lassoed and led away. “The other thing to keep in mind is that this isn’t the most difficult ride you’ll ever take. We’ve been working with Tarv because he’s just a training bull.”
“Yeah, but look how much better I’ve already gotten,” I said. “When we first started training, I couldn’t stay on for half as long as I do now.”
“You’ve got potential,” he admitted finally. “Whoever this girl of yours is, she’s sure got you determined to win. I will say that I’ve never seen someone as ready to pick themselves up for another go as you’ve been. Now, whether that makes you stupid or strong, I don’t know.”
I laughed. “Thanks,” I said, deciding to take that as a compliment. I had the feeling that was as close as Larry was ever going to get to one.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said dismissively, waving me away. “Get out of here. That’s all for today. I know you’re eager for another go, but Tarv needs a cooldown, and I need to get some actual work done around here.”
I looked around the ranch, which was slowly but surely coming together more than it had been a few weeks ago when I’d first started coming there. “Can I help you out with anything?” I asked. “You know, I work over at the Lazy J.”
“I know,” Larry said. “I’ve asked around about you. Probably know more than you think I do. Wanted to see what kind of trouble I was getting myself mixed up with.”
I grimaced but forged ahead. “Well, if you talked to John about me, he’s the owner of the Lazy J, and he could tell you how good I am around a ranch.”
“You angling for a job or offering to help out?” Larry asked, sounding amused, but he waved away my answer. “Get out of here,” he repeated. “You’re looking exhausted enough without my giving you any extra work to do.”
I ducked my head, but I had no response to that. “See you tomorrow,” I said, giving a quick wave as I headed toward my truck. Larry just grunted in response.
I called Brent as I drove home. “Hey man, how’s it going?” he asked.
“Pretty great, actually,” I told him. “I just managed to stay on the bull for eight seconds!”
I could hear the confusion in Brent’s voice when he answered. “What are you doing giving the bull at the Roasted Bison a spin this early in the afternoon?” he asked. “And why are you calling me about it instead of preening to Vanessa or something?”
I laughed. “I’m not at the Roasted Bison,” I told him. I parked the car out in front of my building and ran a hand back through my hair, looking out down Main Street. “With how busy I’ve been over the past few weeks, I forget that I haven’t told you what I’ve been up to.”
“You haven’t,” he said, and I could hear a bit of reproach in his voice which made me feel instantly guilty. He’d called a couple times, but I barely had time to relax. I’d just texted him in response.
“Sorry,” I said sincerely. “I’ve been busy.” I yawned. “And exhausted.”
“What are you doing, anyway?”
“Remember how I always wanted to ride bulls?” I asked. “Well, I’m actually getting into that. There was this guy down at the Roasted Bison a few weeks ago, this guy named George. He’s trying to put together an amateur competition to promote his new riding school. Got the sponsors already lined up and everything.”
“And what, you just decided to go ahead and enter the competition?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “You know those things can kill you, right?”
I snorted. “You sound like Vanessa,” I told him. “No, I didn’t just sign up. But I was talking to George about it, and he was telling me how good it would be for his advertising if he had this underdog that he was able to train up in time to win the competition. He’s got me training for free with Larry Cobb, the instructor at his riding school, and I’m getting good at it. I got eight seconds today, and that would mean that I was eligible to win the competition. There’s still a lot more to be done, but I’m really starting to get somewhere!”
“Wow, man,” Brent said. “I don’t really know what to say, but that’s great. I mean, it sounds kind of fishy as well if you ask me, but I’m not there so I don’t know. I guess you probably know what you’re doing.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, man, I was expecting you to be excited,” I said.
“I am,” Brent insisted. He snorted. “So, I guess the reason you’ve been ignoring me for two weeks is bullshit?” he joked.
I laughed. “Seriously, I’m sorry about that,” I told him. “How’s Helena going, anyway? You making any progress on getting set up there?”
“Yeah, it’s actually been really good for me,” Brent said, sounding really happy for the first time in ages. “The clinic helped me find a house with some other people who used to have drug problems and who know what I’m going through. We’ve got a totally clean house, no booze or anything. It was really rough at first, but it’s getting better. I’m getting used to it. I’ve got a job, too.”
“Oh yeah? Doing what?” I honestly couldn’t even imagine Brent doing any sort of work; he’d never done anything except drug dealing.
“It’s nothing fancy,” he said. “But I’m working as a waiter at this local restaurant. Pretty decent pay, especially with the tips.” He snorted. “I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if everyone just sees how badly I need the money, or if I’m actually doing a good job of acting friendly, but I get some serious tips.”
I laughed. “You were always a funny guy,” I said. “You always had charisma. That’s what made you such a good salesman.”
“Thanks,” Brent said, but he sounded surprisingly un-sarcastic when he said it. “Now all I need is to meet a hot chick who wants to be with me.”
“How’s the scene for that in Helena?” I asked.
There was a slight pause. “It’s tricky,” Brent finally said. “I’m fully clean. Totally sober. And I’m trying not to go out to bars because I’m afraid that’s going to lead me right back to where I was in White Bluff. But I’m not really sure how to meet girls if I’m not out at bars. There’s this one girl, Maggie, that I work with, and we get along pretty well; we have similar senses of humor. But she’s a nice girl. If she knew the kinds of things that I’d been up to, I don’t think she’d want anything to do with me anymore.”
I grimaced. “That’s rough,” I said. “What kinds of things do you get up to when you’re not working, anyway?” It sounded stupid to say, but Brent never had any hobbies other than getting stoned and playing video games.
Brent laughed. “Figuring out what to do with myself has been kind of weird,” he said. “You’d laugh if you knew the stupid things I’ve been doing.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“My counselor at the local drug clinic here in Helena has signed me up for all sorts of classes at the community college,” he said. “Obviously I’m the one footing the bill for them, and I wouldn’t actually be signed up for them if I had protested enough about them, but I still don’t really know what’s going on.”
“You’re going to community college?” I asked, surprised to hear that.
“Well, we couldn’t all find our passions at the ranch up the road in White Bluff,” Brent said.
I shook my head. “What are you studying anyway?”
“At the moment? It seems like a little bit of everything. She has me in a goddamned painting class.” He paused. “I’d drop out of it, but Maggie saw my paintbrushes sticking out of my bag at one point and got really excited and told me all about her passion for art, so I don’t know, man, I just... haven’t dropped it yet.”
I laughed, still trying to join this new side of Brent with the image of Brent that I had in my head. “Sounds like things are going well,” I said.
“What about you?” Brent asked. “How are things going between you and Vanessa? To be honest, I thought that maybe you weren’t talking to me because you’d broken up with her or something.”
“Can’t break up with her since we technically aren’t dating,” I pointed out. I sighed. “Things are going really well, but we still haven’t really talked about what we’re doing. Anyway, I don’t really feel like I could date her at the moment, not properly, not the way that she deserves. I don’t have much to bring to the table. She has a college degree, and her dad owns the ranch that I work on. This bull riding competition could change all of that, though.”
“Because then she’d know what a real cowboy you are?” Brent asked, sounding amused.
“No,” I said, grinning. “Because if I win this thing, I’ll get ten thousand bucks in prize money. And I’m going to invest every penny of it into the art gallery that she’s trying to open.”
Brent whistled lowly. “Wow,” he said. “That’s a pretty romantic gesture for you.”
I snorted. “It’s not really romantic; it’s just what needs to be done,” I said, shrugging and feeling embarrassed despite the fact that Brent was my best friend and obviously already knew that I was in love with Vanessa still, after all these years.
“Not to stress you out, but you are the most driven guy that I’ve ever met,” Brent said quietly. “I’m serious. Despite the drugs and everything else. And seriously, good luck at the competition. I’m sure you’ll do an amazing job at it.”
I stared at the wall for a moment, trying to process that one. “Thanks,” I finally said thickly. “Just. Thanks.”