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"Nothing," I assured him. "You, Austin, are only something to fear when I'm all alone in a dark hallway, right? When no one can see you trying to hit a woman?"
"Oh, but it was fine for you to hit me yesterday?" he shot back. "If you're gonna act like a man, aren't we supposed to treat you like one?"
"And you don't get to rewrite history," I yelled. "You came at me first. You have been chasing after me like a needy damned puppy since I got here. You pissed I didn't like you grabbing my tits? You pissed I'm not about to fall into your bed like some damned buckle bunny? You fucking pissed I can ride better than you?"
"He what?" Dad asked. "Did you say he grabbed you, Cody?"
"Oh, shut up, old man," Austin said dryly. "No one asked your opinion."
So my father surged around me. "You listen here, boy," he snapped, pointing his finger right in Austin's face. "That girl? She's my daughter, and she's twice the man you'll ever be."
"Whatcha gonna do about it?" Austin taunted.
"Too far," Wes said, moving closer.
"Time to back the fuck off," Ty warned, moving behind him.
Jake moved just a bit more, putting his shoulder before me while still staying mostly at my side. "This is where you tuck your tail and run, Austin."
"Quickly," I added. "Because when this crew realizes the whole reason they're going to be getting hit by bulls tonight is you? When they figure out your little-dick issues - and your fears of being shown up by a woman - are why our bullfighters are spectators tonight? Let's see how popular you are then."
"Fuck you, Cody," he said, leaning in.
Dad braced up. Jake began to smile. Ty, however, didn't hesitate. He clocked the dick right in the back of the head, dropping Austin to his knees. Then he moved in, standing over him with his knuckles still clenched.
"Go ahead," Ty warned. "You try to spin this. I'll pay the fucking fines, because you know what? That girl managed to convince me J.D. might be on to something. This hazing shit? It's done. No more. And if you want to see who can pay more fines, I promise I'm doing a whole lot better than you could ever dream of. So let's go, Austin. If you want this to be a thing, I'll make it a thing."
"Fuck you, Ty!" Austin shot back.
Ty just smiled, and the look was as cold and crazy as J.D.'s best version. "Is that what you're hoping for? You seem to hate women enough." Then Ty bent, grabbed Austin by the shirt, and forcibly hauled the asshole to his feet. "I told you once. I'm going to protect that girl, whether you like it or not."
"And you picked the wrong damned side," Austin assured him. "Always go with the money, Ty. Although you'd know that if you weren't in love with the first bitch willing to wrap her legs around some meat."
"Out!" Wes yelled. "Ty, give him a push."
So Ty did. Still, every cowboy in this area around me was now puffed up and looking ready to throw down. They were all tense and angry. I was starting to think Austin's little show had just made him a whole lot more enemies than he'd expected.
But Wes broke the silence before it could get too tense. "So we're riding with three alternate bullfighters tonight?"
"That's what it sounds like," I said.
"It's what Tanner told me before I came down here," Dad explained. "Officially, Tanner's suspended for the rest of the season because he followed the doctor's orders when carrying J.D. out."
"But they're friends," Kaleb said, sounding confused.
"And Tanner left the arena," Dad told them.
"Wait." Wes lifted a hand and moved closer. "Who are you?"
"This," I told them all, "is my dad. He used to ride bulls back when that was only done in the rodeo."
"And it sounds like he was good," Ty added. "Dean Jennings is his name."
Dad nodded at the guys. "Yeah. Weren't nothing like this, but close enough. I'm just here to help Cody, but when I saw her boyfriend out of uniform, I had some questions. See, I kinda like my girl having an in with those guys."
"No shit," Wes agreed. "One second's a real long time."
And those words made me groan.Thatwas why Austin had gone after Tanner. That J.D. had been pulled into it was just a nice little benefit, but he was pissed because the bullfighters had let the bull dance on his head for a second on Friday night.
