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"Cody," Max said when he got closer. "Hey, we need to talk."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Look, I want to talk to the press, but I'm not sure how Tillman's going to feel about this."
"Tillman's fine," he promised. "I'll handle that."
"And Under Armour wants you to make a scene," Grace assured me. "We love a little attention."
I nodded to show I'd heard. "Well, I already had one reporter ask me about what Ty said. I told them to watch the videos and make up their own mind."
"Sounds like a good line," Dad agreed.
"A smart one," J.D. said. "Means she's not being whiny. Removes one more complaint against her."
"But there's going to be more," I said. "So maybe I should just take them head-on?"
"It's not a bad idea," Max admitted. "Although there's a few things you should know, Cody."
"Before the press?" I asked.
He dropped his head. "No, go do that."
"I'll be back," I promised. "Hey, Jake's watching my gear, but I really don't want to stick around here too long."
"I'll get that," Dad assured me. "Go be a celebrity, kiddo."
Dad went one way, so I went the other. Sure enough, I got stopped by a reporter with a camera in only a few more steps. This time, the one with the microphone was a man.
"And here we have our second-place rider, Cody Jennings. Miss Jennings, did you know Ty McBride was going to call out the scoring tonight?"
"Not a clue," I assured him. "Ty and I have been competing against each other, trying to outscore the other for a few weeks now. He's an amazingly good rider, and it's nice to see him ranking higher lately."
"But do you think you've been scored unfairly?" the reporter pressed.
"I think that's up to the fans to decide," I told him. "I don't know if the judges aren't sure how to judge a woman, if my legs just aren't long enough - although Emilio's are the same length - or if it's something else. I just know I've been riding better and scoring lower, so maybe that's a question the fans of the PBR should be asking the officials."
"But if you're being scored unfairly, then how did you place second here in Iowa?" he asked.
I smiled brightly at the camera. "As long as I stay on for eight seconds, I'll get a score. Those are the rules of the PBR, and so I just make sure I can stay on my bull. If that means I need to ride harder, then that's what I'll do. See, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not giving up. I didn't come here to make history or prove any women's rights. No, I just want to ride bulls, and I'm good at it, but if the scores aren't fair, then is it just me? Or is there a chance these other guys are getting too few or too many points? That's the real question, isn't it?"
"Cody!" a guy yelled.
The reporter chuckled at my little rant, his smile faltering a bit. "Well, as a rookie, do you think you're qualified to make those accusations?"
"No accusations from me," I promised. "No, those came from Ty. All I'm saying is that it shouldn't be just me we're worried about. These other guys - "
Which was when Jackson Cloutier slammed into my side, hugging me hard. "You fixed me!" he said. "You said to tuck my head, and I did, and - "
I hugged him on my good side. "I know! I saw your ride! You did great, Jackson. I'm so proud of you. Did you move up?"
"Thirteenth!" he bragged. "It's the highest I've ever ranked this year." Then he looked over at the camera. "And it's all thanks to the PBR's princess. This woman is going to be the rookie of the year, whether the judges like it or not. She's the best rider to hit the scene since J.D. Adkins."
"My mentor," I told the camera. "And maybe together we can all learn to stay on for a full eight, because in this sport? It's not about beating each other. It's about riding better than we rode the last time. It's about beating ourselves and improving each and every time we get on a bull."
"Yeah, it is!" Jackson agreed. "Cody! Cody! Cody!" he began chanting.
And all around us, a dozen or more other men joined him, all of them punching up at the air and chanting my name. I laughed, but the reporter was clearly done with this mess. The camera turned off, they left, and Jackson hugged me again before bouncing off to celebrate somewhere else.
All I could do was laugh. The mood back here was a bit infectious. It was also exactly what I'd needed. A sensation, huh? Well, I didn't know what the hell to call this if I didn't use that word. And considering it had been one hell of a weekend, what with the injuries and everything else that had gone wrong, I was more than willing to take it.
