Page 14 of Just Hold On

Chapter 13

I didn't quite makeit back to my gear before someone noticed me. Standing by Ty, I'd been fine. I could think of a million and one reasons for that, from the guys thinking I was just his girlfriend to him threatening anyone who tried crap. Mostly, it was just him. I was pretty sure that someone as well-known as Ty McBride probably had a little hero worship from the other riders, and that did half the work for him. I certainly wouldn't just walk up to him, at least. Well, not before last night.

But me? I wasn't that impressive. Not yet. I turned the corner into one of the side alleys where the bulls were calmly munching their hay and came face to face with another rider. His vest proved he wasn't just some flunky, but that was my only hint. His face wasn't one I recognized.

"Excuse me," I said, moving around him, but it wasn't going to be that easy.

He turned, using his body to block half the aisle. "Cody, right?"

"Yeah." If he knew my name, that meant the gossip was already running rampant.

"Heard you started a fight between Austin and J.D."

I glanced behind me, looking for an easy way out. "Yeah. Guess that's what happens when you mess with me."

The guy chuckled, but it didn't sound as nice as I'd hoped. "This means you're fucking J.D. now? That how you convinced him to stick up for you, or is that why you're doing so good?"

"Nope. I'm doing so good because I know how to ride a bull. Who the hell are you anyway?"

He just tipped his hat and pushed past me, laughing like I was an idiot. Evidently, this conversation was over. I had a feeling it was just the start of things. Unfortunately, I didn't even know his name, but I knew his chaps. Yellow and red wasn't a very common color combination.

When the guy turned the corner, I was alone. In the backside of the arena, that wasn't uncommon, but the situation had me on edge. The last thing I wanted to do was make it easy for someone to give me crap. Stretching my short little legs, I kept going, hoping to find my gear, and praying there were a few people hanging out over there.

When I turned the last corner, a relieved sigh fell out. Three other guys had their ropes tied up along that stretch. One looked like he was praying. Another seemed to be cleaning his gear. The last one was stretching. That meant I was safe for at least a little bit.

Or so I thought, until I walked up to my bag. Sitting beside Ty's, it hadn't been moved, but it was open. I never left it open. Slowly, thinking I was ready for the worst, I eased back the sides. I almost expected it to be empty. If not, for something to be missing, but everything was there. Digging all the way down to the bottom, I checked, then double-checked. It was the third time when I finally figured it out.

My fingers brushed the side of my rope, which was buried down near the bottom. For once, it didn't feel gritty. Something slimy coated the back of my knuckles. Slick and slimy.

"No," I breathed, turning the entire bag upside down.

Every piece of gear I owned fell out. Spurs, extra spurs, tape, chaps, rosin, a couple gloves, and lastly, my rope. From the end of the tail all the way down to the bell, it glistened. For a moment, I just closed my eyes and breathed, forcing down the scream that wanted to burst out. Inhale. Exhale. Over and over, I just focused on keeping my calm, because I only had two options. I could fix this or I could give up, and my daddy didn't raise a quitter. Not even if those bastards thought that coating my rope in Crisco was the funniest thing they'd ever tried.

Greasing a rope was the lowest of the low. Not only did it ruin the fibers, but it was dangerous. Most of us caught it before we rode, but a few had tried to ignore it, wipe it off, or rosin it up. It never worked. If the rider was lucky, the worst that happened was a no score. If they weren't? Thinking you were strapped on the back of a one-ton, pissed-off animal when you weren't? It hurt. It hurt real bad.

The big problem was that I didn't have many options. I needed a new rope. I couldn't afford one. The one I had cost about three hundred bucks, and that was cheap. Borrowing one may have been ok, but Ty rode right after me, and I didn't know anyone else. I could try to wash it, but there was no way. There wasn't enough soap in the bathrooms to get this much grease off, and even if I did, it wouldn't dry in time. My rope would stretch, and I'd be no better off.

That left only one thing. I had to scratch. My first PBR event and I'd ridden so well. Two bulls, two nice scores. No, I wasn't leading, but I was still damned proud of how good I'd done. And now this? This?

My throat began to pinch closed as the reality hit me. This was all I'd ever wanted. I'd come so close. Just a few minutes ago, Ty had been joking about me winning an actual buckle. I was the girl who always came in second. I never got the buckle. Even when I had a chance, something happened, and usually it was something like this. The guys just wouldn't stop screwing with me. As soon as I figured out how to ignore one thing, they switched to something else, leaving me tense, anxious, or just ready to bawl my fucking eyes out.

But I would not do that in front of these cowboys. I wouldn't cry. No matter how bad it hurt, I would just pick myself up, learn a damned good lesson, and show them the next time. Even if it took another year before I could try for the Tough Enough Series again, I was not going to quit. Not now. Not after I'd proven I could do it.

"Cody?"

That was Ty, and there was no way I could answer him without completely losing what little control I had left, so I stayed there. Kneeling before my overturned bag like it was some altar, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the ruined rope. I didn't want to touch it, hoping that a miracle would happen and he'd laugh at me for being paranoid. But I could see it. The grease was just too shiny.

"Baby?" he asked again.

I forced myself to swallow, trying to make sure I sounded nice and calm. "I'm going to have to scratch. Someone ruined my rope."

"Dammit," he snarled, snatching the thing off the ground. "Fuck!" For a second, I thought he was going to throw it. Instead, he pulled out his phone and started to pace. "J.D.? Yeah, I need you over by my stuff. Now! Someone got her rope." His feet stopped. "I have no idea who. She's just sitting here. I'm guessing she found it like this. Yeah, dumbass. You said you wanna make sure no one fucks with her, then come prove it."

When he hung up, I waited for the tirade. Instead, Ty just looked at me, sucked in a long, deep breath, then let it out in a rush. He was pissed. He didn't need to say a thing; I could see it written all across his body. He was mad enough to hurt someone, and it was all for me. This wouldn't hurt his ranking at all, but that didn't seem to matter.

He honestly wanted me to ride.

It took a moment before that made it through everything else, but when it did, it made it a whole lot better. No one could fake being that upset. That could only mean one thing. Mostly, that I was an idiot, but only because I hadn't believed him. Ty had been telling the truth. He honestly thought I was good enough to do this, and he really was on my side.

"It's ok, Ty," I said. "I'm used to it."

He just closed his eyes. "You shouldn't be. Baby, I'm gonna fix this."

"You can't. You know as well as me that you can't ungrease a rope. If I could even wash enough of that out, the fibers would stretch." Rolling off my knees, I dropped onto my rump. "But it's ok. I did a whole lot better than I expected, so it's not a big deal. No different than if the bull had dumped me."

Settling his hat deeper on his head, he closed the distance between us. "I know, but that doesn't mean I can't fix this. You're riding today, baby. Come hell or high water, you're gonna get on a bull." He lifted my rope, drawing my attention to it. "Gonna tell me what typa braid you like, or make me get all slimy?"

"It's a typical nine plat, half full, half skip lace. Basic off the rack type stuff, but left-handed."

For a moment, he just looked at me. "You're left-handed?"

"Nope. Ride with my left, though."

That was when J.D. showed up. "And she throws a drink with her right. Whatcha need, man?"

Ty pushed the rope at him. "Figure out who did this and keep an eye on her. The last thing either of us want is someone deciding that she's not scared off fast enough and pulling the stupid shit you'd do."

"You're honestly going to trust me alone with your girl?" He waggled his eyebrows like some creeper.

That was more than I could take. "Not his girl. I'm mine. Not really here looking to get a date, boys."

J.D. scoffed at me. "Give him the chance to work up to it. He's getting there."

Ty groaned. "She's not a puppy, dumbass." Then he pointed to the ground. "J.D., stay. Guard."

"Woof," J.D. shot back. "And lemme know if you can't find something. I'm all in on this."

"Yeah," Ty grumbled before looking down at me. "Get my number from him. Anything else happens, call me first. I'll be right back."

"But - " He didn't wait to hear the rest, so I gave up. "Yeah. Damsel in distress. This sucks."

"Shit," J.D. chuckled, dropping down to sit beside me. "Let him have it. He's trying real hard to impress you, and this is the best he's got."

Not at all what I'd expected J.D. to say. Tilting my head, I had to look at him again, just to make sure someone hadn't swapped him out for another rider, or maybe an alien. "Do what?"

"Man like woman," he grunted, doing a terrifyingly good caveman impression. "Man show woman pretty things so woman suck man's dick."

"Oh, God. You had to go there, didn't ya?"

He chuckled. "Yep, but you got the point. So you into him, or do I need to run him off?"

"What?"

"Real simple question, little girl. You like the guy, or what?"

I dragged my palm down my face. "He's a nice guy, but what part of not happening is confusing to you?"

He just leaned back against the panel, letting it take his weight before lacing his fingers behind his head. "But ya wanna like him? In a naked, rubbing yourself all over him type of liking way?"

"You are one sick man. You know that?"

He grinned. "Yep, and your avoidance means yes." Without warning, he sat up and reached for his pocket. "So gimme your number, and I'll text you over mine and his."

"Just like that?"

"Well, ya get mine in case you need some backup at your next bar brawl. His? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it'd make his world if you called him. Not that he'd admit it, but dude's crushing on you like some teenage schoolgirl. Sick, I'm tellin' ya. No respectable man would ever act like that."

He was so over the top, I couldn't decide if I liked him or hated him. "So how exactly would a respectable man act, huh?"

"Why the hell are you asking me? Do I look like I'm that kinda guy?"

"No," I had to admit. "No, J.D., you most certainly have nothing at all respectable about you, but you are a damned good bull rider."

"Yeah," he drawled. "Honey, I knew I liked you for some reason. Now I know it's because you got real good taste. Next, I just gotta do something about your clothes. Blue and black? You trying to mimic a bruise?"

The best answer I could give him was my middle finger. Oddly, he didn't seem offended at all. There was just one thing I had to know. "So you guys have some plan up your sleeve?"

"Sorta." He bumped me with his shoulder. "I'm betting he's out there askin' all the guys about a rope. That, or finding a spare in his truck. If not, I'll make sure ya get one, but I'm being cool here, letting him come off as all hero-like. Mostly cuz I think Ty could kick the shit outta me, and I'm starting to like the guy. So you have any idea who did this?"

"No." Then I paused, remembering the freak from the alley. "But I think his buddy was trying to slow me down. Some guy in red and yellow chaps?"

"Yeah," he growled. "I know who that is. Gimme your number, Cody. First things first, and when Ty gets back, I'm gonna go see if my little friend has anything he wants to tell me."

Yeah, that didn't sound good. "Don't do anything stupid, J.D.?"

He just shook his head. "Honey, you don't know me real well. Stupid's what I'm best at. Pretty much all I got goin' for me. Just be glad you're on my side."

"I am?"

"Yeah. I like the way you ride. Figure that means we're a team or something. I'd take Ty, too - not in some gay way, cuz my homeboy's straight as they come - but that dipshit had to go and get born in Canada. Screwin' up my plans, I tell ya."

Oddly, I giggled. He was so over the top, I couldn't tell where his serious ended and the joking began, but I was starting to think J.D. might not be the asshole I'd always thought. He was weird as hell, but then again, weren't we all?

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