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I nodded, trying hard not to look smug. "Yep, he's her mentor. Got her that helmet and made a big enough production of it that she has to. He also got her the pink sponsors."
"I see she's got a few more patches this week," Gerardo pointed out.
Yep, that was more than I could take. "Mike's Hard Lemonade and Under Armour. Big names, and they're signing up a hell of a lot faster than I expected, what with her being a girl and all."
"But it's Cody," Luis countered. "Dean, your daughter is exactly who those brands want to sell their stuff."
"She's also a woman in a man's sport," I reminded them. "I figured she'd get blackballed. I was just hoping Tillman would stick with her."
"Looks like they are," Gerardo said, lifting his beer to take a sip. "Oh, she's back across. Time to rock and roll."
All four of us turned to look at the screen just as the chute opened. J.D. came out on the bull with a bang, proving why he had the reputation he did. The man took risks I didn't want Cody taking, but he was a damned good rider.
Sadly, it didn't take long before things started going wrong - and fast. I saw when he lost his balance. I groaned the first time the horns hit his helmet. I tossed my hands in the air when he hit the dirt, but then shit got real.
That brown beast of a bull decided it was going to put the hurt on J.D. I cringed, having been there a few times myself, but the way the camera was pointed, I could see something else. There, at the back of the chute, my daughter was screaming.
Her bright pink trim against all her dark black clothing made her stand out. She wasn't trying to go unnoticed anymore, and I liked that part best, but this look made my stomach drop to my toes. As the bull did its best to thrash J.D. into the ground, my beautiful little girl stood there, watching it all.
"C'mon," I begged, "get him off."
The words were to the bullfighters who couldn't hear me. It was like a prayer, but also not. I was just hoping, needing some outlet, yet my eyes hung on the light of my life as she gripped the pipe before her a bit harder, staring in horror at the travesty playing out live on the screen.
"Fuck," Luis breathed.
"Why aren't they stopping it?" Marco asked.
"Because not all bulls are cooperative," Gerardo explained. Considering how he'd owned a small string for a bit, he'd know.
"Get him off," I breathed again, hearing my friends but caring about none of it.
Then that Tanner boy rushed in, bracing over the downed rider to pull some crazy shit out of his ass. I knew the theory of how bullfighters worked. Hell, back in my day, we'd called them clowns, but the job hadn't changed much. The uniforms had.
I felt my breath catch. This was my little girl's boyfriend. She seemed to like the guy, although I wasn't so sure he was theonlyone she liked. Cody might think I was a boring old man, but she had no idea how I'd met her mother. I'd cleaned up the story a whole lot when I'd told it to her.
Yet every time the bull trampled all over her mentor, my eyes jumped to my baby. Each time the bullfighter tried to make his save, I had to check to see how she was taking it. Soon enough, Tanner got that bull moving, and it looked like it was going to take him down next. Good thing the boy was fast, because he flew into the gate and made a flying leap, barely saving his own ass.
Then the camera switched back to the rider still lying on the ground. J.D. wasn't moving, and from this angle, I couldn't see Cody. I also didn't care. That boy had done good by my girl. He'd tucked her under his wing and made sure the dumb-ass boys here couldn't give her any grief.
From the way I'd heard it, Cole had tried to make Cody into a joke with the local bull riders, and her PBR friends had thrown down. From what I knew of his reputation, I was willing to bet J.D. Adkins had thrown the first punch. Hell, Shelby said he was all-in with Cody, and my little girl had been riding with him between shows lately.
Then the camera panned around showing the riders up behind the chutes and I was pushing to my feet before my brain even kicked in. Cody was right there, jumping, struggling, trying to get down there. Some big guy was holding her back, and good for him, but the look on my daughter's face?
"I have to get to Iowa," I breathed.
"What?" Gerardo asked.
I pointed at the big screen TV I'd bought for just this reason. "Cody! If her friend dies…"
"Shit," Luis muttered, jumping up. "Dad, call Ricardo."
"What?" Gerardo asked again.
Luis just flung his arms at me. "Dean needs to get to Iowa. That's not even a long flight from here. Ricardo's gone further. It'll take four hours for Dean to get to St. Louis for a commercial flight, but Ricardo can do it!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Gerardo was muttering as he pulled out his phone.
My eyes were still on the screen. J.D. still wasn't moving. He had an entire crew around him now, but even the announcers talking non-stop didn't cover up the sound of him screaming in pain. That boy was hurting real bad, and my little girl couldn't take care of both him and herself.
