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"Jesus, J.D.," Casey breathed, stepping back.
But J.D.'s eyes were locked on Austin. "You fucked with my rookie, man. Bad fucking call. Real bad. See, I take that shit personally. You wanna dance?" He lifted the knife. "Then you can dance with the devil."
"You are a crazy motherfucker!" Austin snapped.
J.D. just took another step towards him. "Oh, I got kicked in the head a few times. Shit ain't right up here no more. Wanna see? Because I'll carve your tongue out and give it back to ya. Let's go, shithead."
Austin flicked both hands up, palms out in some submissive gesture even as the three of them backed up. For a moment, I thought that was it. They were leaving, right? But then J.D. lunged at them. It was just a step, but the movement was enough to make those idiots walk a little faster as they got the hell out of sight.
Then J.D. casually put the blade away and pitched the handle at his gear bag. "Dumb shits," he grumbled.
And I wasn't quite sure what I thought about this. "Uh, J.D.?"
"That weren't about you, Cody," he promised. "That was about those fuckers thinking you pulledmyteeth. Gotta make it clear I ain't been tamed."
I nodded. "Yeah. Just starting to think I might need one of those for myself."
"Not if you're gonna keep it in your back pocket," he teased. "Might make you ride sideways."
I couldn't help but roll my eyes at how easily he dismissed the shit that had been about to go down. Austin wasn't done with me, and we all knew it. I had a feeling he'd be even more pissed now than he'd been last weekend. If beating the crap out of me hadn't worked, how far would that prick go to chase me off?
Then again, did I care?
Turning back to my rope, I yanked my gloved hand over it again. That was the real question, wasn't it? I'd made it to the PBR's Tough Enough series, and not everyone was happy about it. I was making history. I was proving women could do this.
Not that any of that was my goal. I wanted the check. I wanted to make enough money to get the hell out of nowhere, Missouri. I wanted a chance at a better life, and this was it. I wasn't here to fall in love, make an impression, or anything else. I was doing this for the money. I was also damned good at it.
I knew I was. I'd more than proven it. Maybe my scores had been going down, but so what? I was still hanging out in the top ten. I was still getting sponsors. I was doing fine, and this was only my fourth weekend with the tour. I was a newbie, a novice, or as J.D. liked to call it, a rookie.
"Cody?" he asked when I was quiet for a little too long.
"Just this bull," I said. "Just this ride."
"That's my girl," he purred.
Damned if that sound didn't make me want to stand a little taller. I wanted to say I had this, but the truth was I didn't know. I could get bucked off three times this weekend. Then again, I could also win. I'd done that in St. Louis, so it wasn't out of the question. The real problem was my scores.
I'd ridden better than I ever had last weekend, and my scores had dropped. Would that happen again? If it did, what was I going to do about it? Did I care if it made me the laughingstock of the Tough Enough series?
"What if they won't judge me fair?" I asked, yanking on my rope hard enough to make the panel clank.
"Then you make sure you stick all eight seconds," he said. "Even a shit score's a score. If you're riding hard, we'll see it, Cody. Even if they hate you, they'll see it."
"So ride better," I told myself. "I can do that."
"Ride consistent," he corrected. "Get in there, don't get scared of it, and own that bull."
"Ok," I breathed, pulling off my glove. "Think it's time to start lining up?"
"Pretty close," he agreed. "You ready for this?"
I thought about that for a moment, because I wasn't sure. Last weekend had sucked. So much had gone wrong. Still, I was as ready as I could be. I knew my job. I knew how to ride. I just had to find the zone and I'd be fine. Maybe not good, and maybe I'd get screwed over a little more, but I wasn't about to let anyone chase me off. Not Austin and not the judges.
"I think so," I decided.
So J.D. slapped my back, tossed his stuff down, and turned me up the hall the same way Austin and his buddies had gone. "Then let's make an appearance."
Unlike Ty, J.D. didn't hug me against his side. He didn't try to hover close to my back. Nope, this man walked at my shoulder like we were equals. Like we were two halves of a whole. My black and pink beside his black and red made an impression. We looked good - maybe even dangerous - and I knew it.
