Page 11 of The Singer and the Silent Type

“See the man in the green shirt? He’s just going to sit on the bull’s back and hold on for as long as he can. The bull is going to be ornery, but he’ll barely feel the weight. Then the rider gets thrown off, and the bull gets led away.”

“So the bull doesn’t get hurt?”

“No. Only aggravated.”

“What about the rider? That must hurt when he gets thrown off.”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “That’s part of the sport. They train for it, but everyone knows they might break something on the way down. They signed up for it, so I guess you get what you get.”

As the announcer counted down the start of the first bull ride, I looked down to where Lorena was holding my hand. Her fingers were crossed. I knew that she was kind hearted, but for her to be wishing so hard for the health of a total stranger made me realize once again how unbelievably lucky I was.

The second the giant bull was released, he tore around the ring dramatically, making the entire crowd scream with delight. Lorena’s mouth was open in an O as if she were paralyzed in terror. When the rider was thrown off, he rolled away expertly, and the bull was smoothly corralled back into his pen.

“See?” I said gently, nudging her shoulder. “They’re experts. Nothing to worry about.”

Lorena smiled at me with relief, then seemed startled, digging in her purse. It was the first time I’d seen her pull out her phone, and it was a relief she wasn’t addicted to it.

“Hello?” she answered. Her eyes suddenly grew huge, as she nodded. “Alright, I’ll be right there.” Turning to me, she said, “Where is the barbeque area?”

I pointed to the south end. “The red tent is food, the blue tent is the band, so you might be able to hear them setting up. It’s facing away from the animals so they’re less likely to be startled.”

“ Iris needs me for something.”

“Okay,” I said, standing up.

“No, that’s alright,” she said quickly. “She probably just needs a hand – I’ll bet she’s checking on the food. I don’t want you to miss anything.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah – I’ll probably be back in just a few minutes,” she smiled.

My gut reaction was to go with her, but I also didn’t want to crowd her, or seem too overprotective. It was one of the rare times in my life when I second-guessed my gut instinct. “All right then, see you in a bit,” I said. I could tell that she was thinking about kissing me goodbye, but there were even more people we knew around by now.

As she walked down the bleacher steps, my eyes instantly gravitated to her sculpted legs and the sway of the incredible curve of her ass. I tried to pay attention to the excitement in the main ring as they announced who was going to ride the next bull, but all I could think about was inviting myself in for a proper goodnight kiss when I drove Lorena home.

Chapter Seven

~ Lorena ~

Although I had really wanted Cody to come with me, I was desperate not to seem like one of those helpless girls who needed their boyfriend’s attention at all times. It was enough that he was already fixing my house, and introducing me as his girl.

As I walked

along the path, I smiled to myself thinking about that. He called me his girl already. That lit me up on the inside in a way I’d never felt before.

As I found Iris between the red and blue tents, I saw a band setting up. According to the program, they were going to play as soon as the events were over, when people came over to this area for food.

“Lorena, thank goodness you’re here,” she said, grabbing me by the elbow and leading me straight over to the stage.

“Does someone need help serving the food?” I asked, confused.

A man in a shiny western shirt with a big steel guitar came over to the edge of the stage. “Lorena, this is Bobby.”

“Hello,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Iris says you’re a hell of a singer,” he grinned. “We’re in a bit of a pickle, darlin’. My wife usually sings backups for us, and solos on a couple of songs. But she just called me from the doctor – her morning sickness got worse, so she’s on bed rest for a week.”

“Oh my goodness – is she all right?”

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