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"Good."
He didn't get the chance to say more because it was already time. The next gate opened, releasing one hell of a bull. Dirt flew. The rider was locked in. The three of us shifted around, keeping our triangle of protection in case something went wrong.
Up by the big screen, a massive clock kept the time. Seconds ticked past, and this cowboy got slung around a bit, but he kept one hand in the sky, his ass on the bull and didn't budge until the buzzer went off and the lights flared across the dirt.
Now it was my turn. As the rider pulled the tail of his rope, releasing his hand, my focus shifted to the bull. The beast was still bucking, still spinning. My feet started moving, the three of us closed in, and the rider hopped off.
The man took a face full of dirt, but Jorge caught the back of his vest and pushed him the right way. Easy stuff. Me? I moved in to tap the bull between the eyes. Just a touch, almost like a pet, and the bovine's focus shifted to me.
I turned. The bull followed. Isaac slipped between me and it to take his turn, then Jorge. Together, we got this animal pointed back at the gate. As soon as the bull saw his escape was open and waiting, he stopped bucking. For a moment, the big guy looked around and then took his leave, trotting out to get that rope off his flank.
One more down.
The next guy out of the chute wasn't as pretty. At 2.4 seconds, the rider leaned, and his bull was kicking under himself hard enough to make this ugly. A hoof collided with a leg, and it was all over. The man was on the dirt at 4.43, according to the clock, and I was already between him and his dancing partner.
"Ha!" I yelled at the bull, pushing his shoulder because that was the only thing I could reach.
Jorge took the head. "Over here!"
"Let's go!" Isaac called to the beast, slapping him on the rump just as the gate opened.
Still hopping in the back, the bull left, so I turned to check the rider, but he was already up and over by the wall. Good man. Stay the hell out of our way and we'd keep the riders in one piece. Sadly, not everyone could figure that out.
Granted, sometimes coming off hard rang a person's bell. Dazed, they knew to run, but didn't always run the best way. I'd seen a few bad wrecks caused by that. Still, we were doing pretty good today, not that I wanted to jinx it.
But the quick ending to that ride meant we had a few seconds before the next went out. While the previous rider checked himself over and had a subtle tantrum over at the side, my partners converged, catching my eye to let me know we needed a little chat.
"What's up?" I asked as we moved over more to watch the next chute.
"This is Austin," Jorge said.
My head snapped over in time to see that asshole lowering himself down into his chute and start warming the tail of his rope.
"Fucking asshole," I grumbled.
"How many Mississippis we giving him?" Isaac asked.
"One," I said. "Just one."
Jorge chuckled. "I'm going for three."
"Tanner's call on this," Isaac said. "If he don't pull his head out of his ass, I think we should go up to two tomorrow, though."
"Sounds good to me," I agreed.
Jorge skipped sideways, moving to his place. "Time for these boys to learn we aren't just here to be pretty."
"Truth!" I called over as I did the same.
That put Isaac as the point. We'd float, moving with the action, but we didn't want to be too far away. Still, if we spaced out just enough, it would keep anyone from noticing that our threats were real.
I stepped back. Across from me, Jorge grinned and did the same. Isaac pulled off his hat, made a production of wiping his arm across his brow, then set it back on nice and tight - and stepped back.
Because fuck Austin. That asshole had gone after my girl. He'd crossed a line that couldn't be uncrossed, and in my opinion, that meant he'd get an extra second every time he came out of the chute. If he thought he could beat Cody off the tour, well, we'd let him see how much fun this game was to play on his own.
Most of the riders knew we kept them in one piece. I'd say the vast majority made a point of thanking us. Then there were guys like Austin and his pals. They were so suretheywere the stars of this show. Those fuckers acted like we were just here to keep the crowd entertained.
I wanted to see how he took it when we gave the crowd a real show.
