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“Then go for it. I’ll make sure the crowd knows you’re a pro.”
“Thanks, Merry,” LeAnn said, clutching her arm. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“You owe me a beer.”
“Deal.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.” LeAnn felt a lot better about this.
*
Most of the bull riders had moved on after their final scores, especially if they were not in the top three. The last male rider got tossed off without staying on the full eight seconds. As the staff cleared the arena to set up for Muriel, Merry and the other announcers kept the crowd interested.
“We have a special ride right now that wasn’t on your schedule. I’d like to take the time to introduce you to a new cowboy or should I say, cowgirl,” one of the male announcers said.
LeAnn rolled her eyes.
“Cowgirl? How about athlete?” Merry said.
It was nice to know she hadn’t lost her snarky attitude. Merry launched into Muriel’s record for bronc riding and her history with the WPRC.
“Yeah, but bull riding is a men’s sport,” the male announcer said.
“Well, let’s just see about that,” Merry retorted. “Y’all said that about bronc riding, but if my memory serves me, Rod, I smoked your scores when we were on the same horse.”
The crowd responded with jeers, hoots and laughs. A part of LeAnn wished that she was in the audience right now, watching Muriel ride the bull. But there would be someone filming it and she could review it on YouTube later. Right now, she had to get herself settled on her own bull.
“You got this,” Dylan said, giving her a quick hug.
She nodded, wishing she could cling to him a little bit longer, but she didn’t have a lot of time. He felt good and solid and, for a moment, she almost changed her mind. But then she forced herself to step away from Dylan and check the straps on her helmet and chest protector.
This was her destiny. This was her show now. She could do this.
LeAnn watched as they walked Whiplash into the chute. When he was settled, she held on to each side of the chute and slowly lowered herself onto his back, taking care not to touch him with her spurs. Sliding the flank strap down and around him, LeAnn was surprised that her hands were shaking. She was struck with a case of nerves that didn’t make any damned sense to her. She hadn’t felt this way when she rode a bronc for the first time in front of a rodeo crowd. She didn’t even freak out when she rode a bull for the first time. So why was she having second thoughts now?
“Any last-minute advice?” she asked Dylan.
“Lose your feet, lose your seat,” he said, invoking the bull rider’s mantra.
She tightened her thighs around the bull. LeAnn gripped the rope, and a quiver of something that felt like fear went through her stomach. He was bigger than the bulls she was used to.
She registered the crowd’s approval at Muriel’s ride. They liked her.
“Knock ’em dead, Killer,” the cowboy who had brought in Whiplash said.
“Killer?” She heard Mick’s voice. “What the hell is she doing on that bull? Get her down from there.”
Why the hell did he think he had a say in anything she did? LeAnn wondered.
“I’ll handle him,” Dylan said grimly and hopped down from the chute to confront Mick.
“Now, folks, it looks like we’re not done with surprises today,” Merry said, with admiration in her voice.
LeAnn grinned.
“We’ve got a second female rider in the chute, which is not only a surprise for you but also for everyone else. This rider heard that Muriel was competing today and decided to throw her hat in the ring as well.”
