Page 16 of Rough Stock
“Nah. Just the highlights,” Dale answered, but that was a lie. He’d read the whole thing and then call this Bergman clown back. Damn city slickers. They always thought country folk were ignorant.
That would be Bergman’s downfall. He’d just met his match.
“What are you doing?”
Shyanna looked up from the list to see Jensen standing there, hands on his hips. “I’m scratching myself off,” she answered quietly.
“No, you’re not. You’re going to stay in the event. Damn it, I told you I’d help you out,” he said, taking the pencil from her hand.
“And I told you that you shouldn’t be doing that,” she replied.
He shook his head. “I’m a big boy. I can decide what I should and shouldn’t do. I’ve got to get down to the alleys. It’s almosttime for the bulldogging event. But don’t scratch yourself, Shy, I mean it.”
“Okay, okay. Fine. You win?this time. But next time, maybe not,” she said with a tiny grin. Shit, he was an insistent son of a bitch.
She watched as he strode down the concourse and down the stairs. At the bottom, he turned and disappeared into the alleys, and she knew it would be just a matter of time before he’d be down there in the holding area astride Cobra, the big dun dancing as Jensen held him back. Then it was time for the event to begin.
The first two cowboys out of the chute did pretty well. The third readied to drop onto the steer and when he reached for the animal, it slowed to a stop and he sailed right on past it. Two more went out, both of them doing only marginally well, and the sixth broke the barrier and had ten seconds added to his time.
Jensen was up next, and he’d drawn ArtDembrock as his hazer. She knew he liked Curt?hell, everybody did?but Art was an old-timer and really knew what he was doing. Jensen was bunching up Cobra’s hindquarters in the corner of the chute, holding the sturdy horse back, moving him up and letting him turn around, then trying to settle him back into the corner again. A very young guy Shy had only seen a few times stood at Cobra’s right side, gently stroking the horse’s eye to help keep him steady and unable to see the steer in the chute.
Waiting, waiting, waiting… and then she saw Jensen nod. The calf broke from the chute, and Cobra was right there as Art kept the steer steady. Only a few feet from the chute, Jensen slipped from the horse straight onto the steer’s neck, hands expertly place on its horns, and in seconds, he’d gone for the nose and flipped it to its left side, all four feet off the ground. As soon as he stood, Shyanna glanced up at the scoreboard.
Holy hell!her brain screamed.I’ve never seen a time that low! That was incredible!All over the stadium, cheering broke out, but she was too stunned to join in. She knew he was good?everybody knew he was good?but that was beyond good. That was unbelievable. Art rode up to him, Cobra in tow, and handed off the reins. That was when Jensen turned and looked at the clock, and the look on his face was unmistakable, even from that distance.
He was stunned. That made Shyanna laugh out loud. Until that moment, he’d had no idea how well he’d done. She saw him turn and scan the crowd with his gaze until he found her, and when he did, he gave her a tiny salute and headed out of the ring. She wasn’t going down there to meet him and have all the guys know anything had happened between them. That little salute was enough.
Making her way out of the crowd, down the stairs, and into one of the alleys, she headed to the barn to get ready for the team roping event. She was almost to Rhubarb’s stall when two men stepped out of an empty stall and in front of her. “Oh, excuse me, fellas,” she said as she tried to sidestep them.
“No excuse for ya,” one of them said and spit off to the side. “Getting your little horsey ready for barrel racing?”
“No. It’s almost time for team roping,” Shyanna said, hoping they’d leave her alone.
“You need to stay out of that event. Tie-down too. Get on back to the girly events and leave the heavy-duty stuff to the menfolk,” the other man said, his glare menacing.
Shyanna tried to step around them, but one of them grabbed her arm. When he did, she rounded on him with the other fist and made a solid connection with his jaw. “Why, you little bitch,” he said, holding his face, then doubled up his fist and hit her in the jaw.
It was no love tap. She saw stars and heard bells, but she didn’t go down. Instead, she shook her head to clear out the sparkles and stood her ground. “Oh, gotta beat up a girl to feel big, is that it?”
“You hit me first, bitch,” he said.
“You lookin’ for a fight, you just found one,” the other man said and stepped up into her personal space. Before Shyanna could draw her arms up defensively, he hit her in the jaw again, a glancing blow that caught her shoulder too. Without even hesitating, she sent out a left jab that caught him in the chin, followed by a right hook that rocked his head. He spit out some blood and came after her again. She ducked and heard theswishof the air passing over her head, then came up and kneed him right in the gut. He went down like a sack of potatoes.
By that time, the other guy was waiting, and he grabbed her from behind, her arms pinned to her sides, and tried to slam her head into one of the posts that held up the barn’s overhang, but she managed to throw her head back and knock it against his. Just as he staggered a little, she felt his arms loosen around her and heard a voice.
“You hit her again and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” The sound of grunts from impact filled the small space, and Shyanna turned to find Jensen wailing on the guy.
“Hey! Stop! I had it under control!” she yelled at him. “Stop, Jensen! It’s okay!”
“No, it’snotokay!” he yelled as he threw the man onto the ground. When the guy rolled to look up at him, Jensen gave him a look that would wither dried hay. “You stay the fuck away from her, you hear me? Come near her again and you’ll be dealing with me.”
The man she’d double-punched leaned against one of the posts, rubbing his jaw. “You’ll be sorry you ever took up for the likes of her,” he growled.
“You’ll be sorry if you ever come near her again. That’s not a threat?that’s a promise. Now get the hell out of here before I have to mop you up off the floor.” It was a mess, both guys with the shit beaten out of them, and everyone had stopped to stare at Jensen and Shyanna as they stood there, Jensen gaming for a fight, and Shyanna… “Dear god, babe, you’re bleeding,” Jensen whispered, taking a good look at Shyanna for the first time. “Come on.”
“I’m fine. Really. No big deal,” she said and sat back on her heels as he tried to drag her toward the arena, but when she spoke, she noticed her jaw hurt.
“No. You’re not fine. Come with me.” He led her on a reluctant trip through the lower portion of the arena until he found a family restroom that wasn’t in use. Pulling her inside, he shut and locked the door. “Take a look.”
