Page 55 of Taming Bull

“Good boy?” Matt spat. “Fuckin’ beast is eating my goddamn leg! Get him the fuck off me!”

Matt was still a flight risk who needed to be brought to justice, but parents were surrounding us in a concerned circle. Figuring nobody would let the bastard get far, I said, “Let him go, Brahma.”

The dog looked at me.

“Release?” I tried.

He unlocked his jaw and took a step back, sitting like he was awaiting further instruction. Regardless of what happened here today, I planned to give him all the dog treats his round little belly could handle. He’d earned them.

“Good boy, Brahma,” I said again.

Matt looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “He’s not a good boy! He fuckin’ bit me.”

Kids were joining us now. One gasped at his dropping of the F-bomb.

“Language,” a parent chided.

Matt flipped off the parent and shoved me away. “Get off me so I can at least see how bad the wound is.”

I sat back on my heels as he doubled over to yank up the leg of his jeans. The bite marks were bleeding, but they didn’t look deep enough for stitches.

“Look at this!” he shouted. “I’m gonna sue your ass and have that mutt put to sleep.”

“Like hell you will,” one dad said. “Plenty of witnesses here who saw you try to kidnap that kid.”

“My son,” Matt corrected.

“Restraining order,” Tina countered.

“Oh, come on,” I groaned, looking over his leg. “I’ve hurt myself worse biking, you big baby. Maybe you shouldn’t lay hands on your wife if you don’t want my dog sinking his teeth in your leg, a-hole.”

A few of the parents snickered and I mentally patted myself on the back for throwing out the zinger.

The cops arrived and busted up our little party, asking questions and taking statements. Tina thanked me and patted Brahma on the head. I handed her the business card I’d been walking over to give her, and she promised to give Ladies First a call.

Matt demanded an ambulance, but one of the officers treated his leg, rolled his eyes, and stuffed the blabbering wimp into the back of the police cruiser instead.

An officer took me and Brahma to the shelter and waited as I retrieved Brahma’s shot records to prove he didn’t have rabies or any other contagious diseases. The officer took a picture of the shot records and my ID, went over my statement again, and told me not to leave town for a while in case they needed me to testify. As the cop was pulling away, Bull arrived.

He parked, ripped off his helmet, and looked me over, his expression full of concern. “What the fuck’s goin’ on? Everything okay?”

Happy to see him, I hurried over and gave him a kiss. “Yep. Just me and Brahma being heroes and shit.”

His eyebrows rose in question. “You’re not hurt or in trouble?”

“No. I told you, we saved the day. Come on in, I’ll tell you all about it,” I said.

“Actually, I was hoping you’d come with me.” He held out the second helmet. “I have a surprise to show you.”

My heart kicked up as I eyed him. “What is it?”

His expression told me nothing. “I told you, a surprise.”

He knew I lived for surprises. “Will I like this surprise?” I asked.

He shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Only one way to find out.”

Excited, I tried not to squeal in delight as I herded Brahma into the house and gave him a couple of treats with the promise of more. Then I hopped on the back of Bull’s bike and put on my helmet.

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