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I waved him off, daring to flop over on my back and stretch out. Thankfully, the moment my body wasn't crunched up, my diaphragm decided it was time to work again. I sucked in the biggest, sweetest gulp of air I'd had in a real long time.
"Fuck," I breathed as I pushed it back out.
Tanner just chuckled and offered me a hand. "Yeah, sorry about that. I tried to turn him before he hit you."
"Means you can make it up to me later," I said as I let him help me to my feet.
But as I reached for the straps holding on my helmet, I heard the crowd clapping. That meant they'd expected me to be taken out on a stretcher. So, once I had my head out, I lifted an arm to make it clear I was ok, then slapped Tanner a few times on the back.
I wanted to hug him. Shit, I wanted to kiss the guy for taking care of me. I also knew better, so this was the best I had. And yet, when I limped a step towards the gate, Tanner ducked under my arm, grabbed me around the waist, and gave me an assist.
"Take it," he said softly. "You just got run over, and this is one thing I can do."
I looked over to see his pretty eyes waiting. Yeah, he got it. He knew what I was thinking. I was also pretty sure he was thinking the same. Sadly, the best I had was a nod of appreciation.
"And," Tanner said, "you're spending a few hours with sports medicine this evening."
"Fuck," I groaned.
But he was right. I also had a funny feeling he'd get Cody on his side, and between the two of them? Yeah, it would be easier to just give in and get treated. Fuck my pride. Fuck the jokes Austin would throw at me later. For these two, I'd take all of it.
"I'll head to the doc soon as Ty's done," I promised.
"Good boy," Tanner told me.
This time, I couldn't hide the smile. I just hoped no one else knew how those words made my heart beat faster.
Chapter31
Cody was grippingthe railing while Tanner did everything possible to keep that bull from dancing on J.D.'s head. The idiot wasn't getting up, though. When they finally got the bull out of the way, I saw J.D. roll onto his back and understood. We'd all had the wind knocked out of us a few times, and getting rolled the way J.D. had without being able to breathe? Yeah, not fun.
"He's ok," I assured her.
Cody just looked up at me like I had lost my mind. "That bull just ran over him!" she hissed.
"And this is J.D.," I reminded her. "He got the wind knocked out of him. He's fine, Cody."
She nodded, but that wasn't the same as believing me. Still, if I could keep her safe from worrying about him, then I'd do my best. Thankfully, J.D. got his ass up and limped back with Tanner's help only a second later. Then, the moment he was out of the gate, Jake climbed into his chute and started getting ready. I went right after him.
Passing over my rope, I traded my hat for my helmet. Cody was beside me, waiting like a loyal assistant. The problem with that was the crew starting to gather up behind us: Derek, Casey, and Eli. Yeah, all of Austin's cronies.
"Well, she's making her way through the riders faster than I expected," Eli taunted.
Cody closed her eyes and pushed out a breath, but that was her only reaction. The guys behind her couldn't see it, so I tried to ignore that shit too. It wasn't easy. Thankfully, the gate clanked and Jake was out, so I climbed in.
Pumpkin Spice was orange - probably where he'd gotten his name. He had a bit of white on his legs, but I was honestly more concerned with the set of curved horns that shot up, right back towards my face. The moment the chute guys got my rope secured around him, he proved he knew how to use them too.
Throwing his head up, Pumpkin Spice tried to shuffle in the cramped chute. This was a good-sized bull. Not so big that he had no room to move, but not small enough to climb out either. Instead, he just fidgeted so damned much that I completely missed Jake's ride. I only knew it was over because Cody climbed her way to the arena side to take the tail of my rope.
"How tight?" she asked.
"Tight," I told her.
A hint of a smile flickered across her lips just before she pulled. Sure enough, Pumpkin Spice had an opinion about that. The fucker went up, and he did it fast enough to take me with him. Not a rear. Oh no, this whole bull surged upwards until I was sitting on him, whether I wanted to be or not.
Cody? She just held on to the rope, keeping it tight enough that the beast had no option but to deal with it. The moment Pumpkin Spice's feet were back on the ground, I got to work. Unfortunately, the cronies couldn't help themselves.
"Seems she's even got the bulls going nuts. See, this is why we don't need women back here." That was Derek.
