Page 19 of Buck This
She glanced back at Raven, but she was just watching the bull riders with a soft smile on her lips.
“I guess it’s okay,” she told him. “How did you get back here?”
“I bought the ticket checker a couple beers. Some city slicker said it would work.”
She snorted and rested her feet on the railing.
“What’s wrong?” he asked after a couple of minutes of quiet.
“With me? Nothing.”
“Mmm, I can hear lies.”
“Well, that seems unfair. I love lying.”
He took a sip from a bottle of water. “That’s another lie. You’re probably terrible at it.”
“You don’t know me,” she said softly, eyes on the bull that was being loaded in the chute nearest to their box.
“That bull is named Justified,” he said, pointing at the bull. “He’s good, but he always pulls to the right when the gate opens, and the riders have figured that out. It’s getting harder for him to buck them because he’s holding onto old habits.”
“Why don’t you tell him that?” she asked.
“I don’t know him.”
“But you know how he bucks?”
“I know how all the bulls buck.”
She frowned. “How?”
“I study my competition. Them and the riders.” He took another sip of water.
“I like the baseball cap,” she complimented him before she remembered he hated compliments.
He grunted, but she didn’t know what it meant. Maybe that was a cowboy’s way of saying ‘thank you,’ she didn’t know.
“Listen, can I ask you something?” he asked.
“Uhh, I think they’re all still signing autographs.”
“What? No, I’m not asking about Quickdraw and his herd. I need to talk to you about something else.”
She sighed and crossed her arms. “Why does this sound like a break-up speech? I told you, I don’t expect anything. We made out. It was fun. The end.”
“The end,” he repeated softly. He cleared his throat and ran his hand down his facial scruff, then pulled her chair closer to his. “Listen, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind hanging around here for the next couple of days.”
Whatever she’d expected him to say, that wasn’t it. She parted her lips to say something, lost her words, and then closed her mouth again. She tried again, “Are you okay?”
“I hate when people ask me that.”
“Okay, noted, but you are very hot and cold, and I must admit, I’m having trouble keeping up.”
He swallowed audibly and gritted his teeth so hard, his jaw twitched. “What?” he demanded, looking over into the next box.
She hadn’t even noticed they were staring at Buck This until he popped at them. One of them had a camera up, like they were taking video.
“Hey,” she said, patting his leg. “Switch me spots.”
