AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’ll be great at it, Ryan.”
The hesitation in his friend’s voice had Ryan coming to his feet. “Joe? Something wrong?”
“I was hoping I could talk you into finishing this season with me.”
“What?” Ryan asked, switching the phone to his other ear. “What happened to Dallas?”
“When Dallas replaced you he was on fire, but he broke his leg earlier this week when we were doing practice runs. Snapped his femur when he dismounted and landed wrong. We desperately need you back, man.”
Finish the season? Put his school on hold for a little longer than anticipated?
Put Piper on hold?
“How soon would you need an answer?”
God, was he even contemplating this now that he was within reach of everything he’d wanted for his retirement? School, ranch...Piper.
“By tomorrow at the latest,” Joe told him. “It would just be for a few more months. Then you can be out for good. You know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t really need you.”
“Why can’t you ask someone else?”
Joe sighed. “I need the money, Ryan. I’m afraid if I don’t win this championship we’re going to lose our ranch.”
Guilt weighed heavy on him. For a cowboy to lose his ranch, well, that was like taking the breath from his lungs. Ryan knew Joe had fallen on hard times recently with personal issues back home and there was no way Ryan could ignore his friend.
But this was a big step and one he’d really have to consider.
“I wouldn’t have called if it hadn’t been an emergency,” Joe told him.
“I know.” Ryan sighed. “Let me call you back.”
“I knew I could count on you.”
“I haven’t said yes, yet.”
“You will.”
Joe disconnected the call and Ryan tossed the phone onto the tack box. Back on the circuit. It was like a drug pulling at him and he hadn’t even realized he’d needed a fix. That craving for the adrenaline rush, the instant gratification of being part of a team, of winning, of conquering that damn bull that no one else could.
Every aspect of rodeo had always given him a high like nothing else...made him feel like he could do anything, gave him bragging rights that made him feel as though nothing could hold him back.
Ryan blew out a breath, cranked the heavy metal music even louder and headed outside to stack the hay bales. A little manual labor was what he needed to think, to really focus on what was best for him at this point in his life. But how could he focus on what was best for him when he now thought of himself as a team with Piper?
The late-afternoon sun beat down on him and Ryan reached behind his back and stripped his shirt off, hanging it over the post. Even though it was November, the weather was a bit on the warm side and he’d already worked up a sweat.
He pulled the worn leather gloves from his back pocket and slid them on and went to the stack of hay bales. One after another he tugged, tossed and stacked into the barn. In no time he’d gotten a good sweat worked up and his muscles were screaming. Unfortunately he was no closer to the answer Joe needed.
He’d been so confident when he’d decided to leave the circuit. He’d won nearly every championship, experienced the traveling, the ups and downs, broken bones and mouthfuls of dirt after being bucked. He’d been interviewed and flashed all over the television and every other media outlet.
When he’d walked away, he’d left knowing he’d dedicated years of his life to working, playing and living hard.
Ryan had left knowing the time had come to move on to another chapter, to settle down. Piper was a perk.
If Joe only needed him for the end of this one season, there would be no harm. Ryan hadn’t exactly set a date for the school opening and he’d definitely be back by summer seeing as how it was only November. He’d be back by early spring at the absolute latest.
But was the choice to go just selfish on his part? Maybe a little, but he wasn’t committing to staying on again or coming out of retirement. He was helping a friend in a desperate time. He knew Joe and Dallas had been winning and were close to the championship. If Ryan didn’t step in and help Joe, all his friend’s hard work would be for naught.
Ryan truly felt the pull, and not the pull to thrive on that adrenaline rush, but the pull to help his friend, to be able to do everything in his power to get that championship for him.
Another bale stacked and Ryan turned to see Piper holding the water hose, aiming it directly at him. The song in the background switched to Metallica’s “The Struggle Within”...fitting for the abrupt turmoil.
