Chapter Thirty-Four
Vanessa
I watched yet another rider get thrown around the five-second mark and turned toward Dad, starting to feel a bit impatient as I waited for Trethan to ride. “Is this normal?” I asked him. “I’ve never really been interested in bull riding before, so I don’t know, but it seems like a lot of people are getting disqualified.”
“It’s an amateur competition,” he reminded me.
“Still. You’d think more than a handful of riders would have made it longer than eight seconds. Or you’d think that the organizers would change the minimum amount of time. At this point, they’re hardly going to have enough guys to give prizes to.”
Dad snorted out a laugh. “They’ll have plenty of guys,” he said. “We’ve got five guys who have already made it over eight seconds. And they’re each going to get three rides to prove themselves. It’s not over yet.” He paused. “Anyway, it’s been a good day of rodeo. I don’t want to jinx it, but at least no one’s been seriously injured yet.”
I hummed in agreement, even though I knew that meant Trethan’s odds were worse. I regretted agreeing to this plan. I couldn’t stand between Trethan and his dream of being a bull rider, but I would feel horrible if he got injured when he was doing this just to get me the money for the gallery.
I swallowed hard and tried to take my mind off it. “Dad, you don’t mind that Trethan and I are seeing one another again, do you?”
He was quiet for a moment. “I want you to be careful,” he finally said. “You know Trethan’s history, maybe better than I do. I’d hate to see him go down that path again. He was in a bad place when you left, you know.”
“He told me,” I admitted, watching him bounce on his toes on the edge of the pen. “I don’t plan on leaving again, though.”
Dad whistled softly. “You’re really serious about him, are you?”
I rubbed at my wrist. “I don’t know,” I said, but I was sure he could hear the truth in my voice. I glanced over at him. “We haven’t talked about any of this, though. We haven’t even really said if we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now or anything like that.” I shook my head and then grabbed at his arm. “Look, there he goes, he’s mounting up.”
I bit my lower lip, watching as Trethan, seemingly impervious to nerves, waved out at the crowd and then tipped his hat in my direction. Then, the buzzer sounded, and the bull burst out of the pen and into the center of the ring.
“That’s it,” Dad said under his breath, watching Trethan move with the bull.
I didn’t know enough about bull riding to know if he was doing better than any of the other riders, but he was staying on the thing pretty well, and I supposed that was something.
My breath caught as he fell forward over the bull’s head. The bull bucked backward and tossed his head, and Trethan went flying off to one side, looking as limp as a rag doll. At the last second, he collected himself and rolled with the impact, coming up in a crouch. He assessed the movement of the bull and then darted off toward the edge of the ring, jumping up high on the wall.
Then, his eyes found mine, and he flashed me a thumbs up.
I swallowed hard and looked toward the scoreboard. He had hit his scoring time, and the judges were nodding approvingly.
Ninety-two.
I stood and cheered before the score even registered in my brain. Dad clapped and whistled as well.
I slipped out of the stands and ran down to where Trethan was. He swept me up into his arms and kissed me. “Hey, darling,” he said as he set me back down on my feet. “What did you think of that?”
“You’re amazing,” I gushed. “You’re in the lead right now, right? So, what happens next?”
Trethan shrugged one shoulder. “Now we do it all over again,” he said. “Everyone gets two rides. Same order for the next round. But for the third round, it’ll just be the people who have managed to put down a score already, myself included.” He grinned cheekily at me. “So, what did you think? I look pretty sexy out there, huh?”
I giggled and pushed at his shoulder. “I guess so,” I told him, rolling my eyes as though I didn’t care one way or the other.
Trethan raised his eyebrows at me. “Well, if you didn’t think so, I’m sure there was a whole line of girls who did,” he teased, looking around as though his fangirls might suddenly appear.
I made a face, fighting back a stab of jealousy. “Oh,” I said quietly.
“Hey,” he said, running his hands up my arms. “Come on, Vanessa, you know that’s just a joke. I’m not looking at anyone other than you. Why do you think I told your father we were together?”
I nodded. “I know that,” I said. “But I also know that you probably could get someone better if you wanted to.”
“No, ma’am,” he said, shaking his head. He stroked my hair. “You’re my high school sweetheart. Nothing sweeter than that.”
I smiled at him, still feeling uncertain. I tried to change the subject. “So, if Dad knows that we’re seeing one another, maybe you could come over for dinner tonight? I imagine that all that riding probably works up a pretty sizable appetite.”
“Hmm,” Trethan murmured, tugging me toward him. “And what were you thinking of making?”
I shrugged. “The weather’s pretty nice, so maybe we could grill up some steaks. I seem to remember you always liked my mom’s pasta salad, too, and I came across the recipe for it the other day. And maybe some mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. A real post-rodeo celebratory meal.”
“That sounds really tasty,” he said, bending down to kiss me. “Definitely a celebration.”
“Maybe a little pie for dessert, too,” I suggested.
“Not sure I need that,” Trethan said, bending his head down for another kiss. “This is sweet enough as it is.” He nipped at my lower lip, his hands coming up to cup the back of my head.
I giggled and glanced toward the ring, where people were starting to ride again. “I should quit distracting you, I guess.” But I was reluctant to pull away from him.
“This’ll all be over soon,” Trethan told me, his hand coming up to brush back a lock of hair. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve already put down the best score of anyone, so as long as I can hang on to that lead, we’ll have that prize money in no time.”
I took a deep breath and forced a brave smile onto my face. “You’re enjoying yourself, though, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” he said, seeming sincere. “I really, really am.”
“I’m happy for you, then,” I told him. I kissed his cheek. “Go on. Make me proud.”
“Thanks, darling,” Trethan said, going to line up for his second ride.
I made my way back to where Dad sat in the stands. He put an arm around my shoulders as I sat beside him. “I know this can’t be easy for you to watch,” he said. “You’ve never really been a rodeo girl.”
I shook my head. “It’s such a dangerous sport,” I said. “But I can’t tell him not to do it.”
“You don’t think that he’d listen?” Dad asked, sounding curious.
I frowned and shook my head again. “I think that he would listen,” I said. “But that’s just the thing. It wouldn’t be fair for me to ask him not to do this just because I’m nervous for him. He let me go off to college, even though it really hurt him to do so.”
“I don’t think the situations are exactly comparable,” he said, shaking his head. “You going off to college may not have been the best thing for your relationship with Trethan, and he might have let that affect his life in negative ways, but you weren’t doing something dangerous or something that you might regret.”
“You think I should tell him to stop doing this?” I asked in surprise.
“I’m not saying that,” Dad said. “But if the two of you are really going to be together long-term, it sounds like there are a lot of conversations that need to happen at some point. Just a thought.”
I ducked my head. “Yeah,” I sighed. “I asked him to come over for dinner tonight, by the way.” I glanced over at Dad, trying to gauge his reaction. “I thought maybe we could have a cookout.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” he said, smiling at me. He shook his head. “Although perhaps I should still be feeling upset at the fact that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me that you were back together with your high school sweetheart!”
I laughed. “Sorry about that,” I said. “I’m glad that you’re okay with it, though. That means a lot to me.” I glanced down toward Trethan, who watched the current rider intently. “Means a lot to both of us, probably.”
Dad followed my gaze, smiling fondly. “He’s not a bad guy,” he said quietly. “He’s been dealt a pretty shit hand in life, but he’s proven that he’s man enough to pull through adversity. And I know that you wouldn’t settle for a man who was less than perfect for you.”
I blushed and ducked my head. “Thanks, Dad,” I said quietly.
“But if I hear the two of you going at it in the stables again, I’m not going to just walk away next time,” Dad continued seriously. “That’s my place of business, you know.”
I gaped at him, feeling a hot blush come over me. There was nothing I could say in response to that one, though. I ducked my head and nodded. “Yes, sir.”