Page 41 of The Undercover Cowboy

The buzzer sounded, signaling Finn’s successful ride. He hopped off and greeted the crowd with a wave of his hat. But then the bull pivoted and charged as Finn’s back was turned.

“Look out!” Dolly screamed along with a hundred other people.

The bullfighters dove in, trying desperately to distract Windbreaker. Dolly saw Taylor Keating sprinting toward Finn and the oncoming beast. Taylor leaped in front of Finn, waving his arms wildly and shouting at the top of his lungs to draw the bull’s attention away from the bull rider. Dolly struggled to breathe as Windbreaker’s massive form bore down on the two men. Taylor grabbed him by the horns and twisted his head.

Finn used the distraction to run for the fence and with the help of Nash and another bull rider, Finn leapt out of harm’s way. Taylor dodged and weaved around Windbreaker’s aggressive lunges, his movements balletic yet precise. It was as if time had slowed down, each second stretching into an eternity.

“Crap, crap,” Dolly said, realizing belatedly that she wasn’t getting all of this. She had been distracted. She snapped the camera back up and hoped to be able to splice together a thrilling reel for the fans.

The other bullfighters leaped into action, surrounding Windbreaker and trying to corral him away from Taylor. His movements were a blur of agility and daring, his every step calculated to evade Windbreaker’s horns.

Marty Kreeger, the wrangler, galloped in on his horse and tossed a rope on Windbreaker, but missed.

In a split second that felt like an eternity, Taylor made a daring move, sidestepping the bull at the last possible moment. Windbreaker thundered past him, and Marty’s second cast got Windbreaker and he was able to hustle the bull toward the exit chute. As the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, a wave of relief washed over Dolly that no one had been hurt.

She pushed her way back to where the cowboys hung around waiting their turn to ride. Finn already had a beer in his hand and his arm around a buckle bunny.

“Are you okay?” Dolly asked, hoping her voice sounded light and not showing the trace of fear. It had been bad enough feeling this way when she watched LeAnn ride. She hadn’t been expecting it with Finn.

Finn gave her a nod, a faint smile touching his lips. “I’m fine. Thanks to Taylor.”

“Yeah, he did good.” Maybe Loretta’s heart was safe with him after all. Unless she watched him square off against a two-thousand-pound bull. That might give Loretta a heart attack.

“At least you stayed on,” Nash said, putting his arm around Dolly and securing her to his side. It felt good to be held and that Nash still wanted to hold her, even if he knew she was full of shit.

Taylor came back while the rodeo team was setting up for the next rider. “Are you okay?” he asked Finn.

Please let him not be involved in anything, Dolly thought.For Loretta’s sake.

“Yeah, thanks to you. I appreciate the help out there.”

“It’s my job,” Taylor said.

Dolly wasn’t sure what to say. It would be weird if she thanked him too and Taylor was making it a point to not look at her. His ears were tinged with pink too. She bet he was embarrassed that she had caught him and Loretta making out.

“Well, I’ve got to get prepped for the next ride.” Finn clapped a hand on Taylor’s shoulder and walked back to the chute area after giving the girl on his arm a kiss and a swat on her ass.

When Taylor went to follow, Nash cleared his throat. “Wait a second, Taylor. Got a question for you. I’ve been meaning to ask you. I saw you buying something yesterday. What was it?”

“Uh…” Taylor seemed shocked by the question. “It was nothing,” Taylor said, trying to brush off Nash’s inquiry.

Nash arched an eyebrow, his gaze piercing. “Didn’t look like nothing. What was in the bag?”

Taylor shifted uncomfortably, glancing around as if looking for an escape. “It’s just something I picked up for Loretta.”

Dolly’s curiosity piqued. “For Loretta?”

Taylor nodded, his jaw tight. “Yeah, just a little surprise. She said that she liked turquoise and one of the guys said his sister made jewelry down in Mexico and he could get me a good deal.” He looked at Dolly for the first time. “I don’t make a lot of money, and I wanted to get her something nice. Hector said it wouldn’t turn her neck green, so I went for it.”

“Hector Ortiz?” Nash said.

“Yeah, you want me to hook you up with him?”

“I’d like that.”

“It won’t be much of a surprise,” Taylor said. “Now that Dolly knows you’re going to get budget jewelry.”

“It’s the thought that counts,” Dolly said. “And I’m sure that Loretta is going to love the necklace because it came from you.”

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