Thrown: Studs in Spurs, Book 6

by Cat Johnson

  “Everything is great. The guys are such a huge help and it’s really nice having the girls around. I’m not used to having the company of females.”

  “That does sound good, all that help and companionship.” He didn’t look convinced.

  “It really is.” Riley scrambled to try and change his mind. “Tomorrow there’s an event in Arkansas. I’m contracted to bring the bulls. The guys are going to help me load the truck in the morning and then they’re all coming with me to help at the event. Skeeter’s scheduled to ride. Actually, all the guys were talking about calling in and getting on the roster to ride themselves.”

  She was starting to babble so she clamped her mouth shut. She was a legal adult and the legal owner of this ranch and business now that her father was gone. Yet she still felt like a little girl when the preacher leveled that look of his at her.

  He stepped forward. “Riley, I just worry about you.”

  “I know you do. I really am fine.” Except for the fact she’d yet to be able to sit on the sofa. And the thought of being in the house alone after everyone went home scared the heck out of her.

  She forced a smile and stepped toward the man who’d baptized her, buried her mother and now buried her father too. She should be more tolerant of his concern toward her.

  Riley hugged him. “Thank you.”

  The older man rubbed her back. “I’ll let you get back to your day. If you need anything—”

  “I’ll be sure to call. Say hi to Mrs. Porter.”

  She managed to steer him out the door, say goodbye and had even gone to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee before Skeeter appeared, freshly showered and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.

  “Preacher gone?”

  “Yeah. You can relax now.” She laughed at the look on his face.

  “Heck of a coincidence, him showing up today, of all days. Don’t you think?”

  “He’s not psychic if that’s what you’re thinking. He can’t know about…anything.” She could tell they were both remembering last night and moved to change the subject. “Don’t worry about him. He was just checking up on me, and now he’s seen I’m okay—”

  “I’m sure he’ll come and check on you again to make sure you’re still okay.”

  “Maybe.” She turned and stepped into his arms, stood on tiptoe and pressed a short kiss to his lips. “Good morning.”

  He smiled and squeezed her tighter. “Mmm, it is now. But I can’t get distracted. The guys are already out there working.”

  “All right, but can you do one thing first? Quick.”

  “Sure. What do you need?”

  She took his hand and led him farther into the room. She eyed the sofa. “Sit with me? Just for a second.”

  Skeeter glanced at the sofa and then back to her and nodded. “Of course.”

  “Thank you.” She stood next to it for a second before she could bring herself to sit down. “This is crazy. I’m being silly. It’s just a sofa.”

  She sat before she could think better of it, touching the pillow next to her. She glanced up at Skeeter.

  He sat as well. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” She blew out a breath and stood again, reaching down for his hand to pull him up. “Thanks.”

  He captured her gaze. “Anytime. Anything you need. Just ask.”

  “All right.” She knew he meant it too. “You can go get to the other guys. I’m just gonna fix my hair then I’ll be out to help.”

  Skeeter reached out and fingered one long piece, wavy from the braid, hanging over her shoulder. “I like it down like this. You should leave it.”

  It would be much too easy to fall for this guy. Hell, she already had. Long ago while watching him ride at every weekly event. Watching as he laughed and prayed. This week had just sealed her fate. It had put that final nail in the coffin of her heart, making sure it was good and truly his. She hoped he treated it gently.

  Feeling the need to lighten this mood before she did something foolish, like blurt out she loved him or something crazy sure to scare him away, she smiled. “Yeah, but I get less bull snot in it if it’s in a braid so…”

  He laughed. “Good point. See you in a bit.”

  “Yeah, see you.” Riley heard the good mornings exchanged on the front porch as Skeeter headed out the screen door just before Sage walked in, followed by Jenna. Riley smiled. “Good morning. You look positively radiant.”

  “Eh, it’s just the ring.” Jenna beamed. A frown creased her brow and she looked at Riley a little more closely. “So do you, come to think of it. What happened?”

  Riley’s eyes widened. How could Jenna know? “Nothing happened.”

  Sage smiled. “I agree with Jenna. Something’s different. And I don’t mean that your hair is down.”

  She fingered the fall of hair over her shoulder that everyone was making such a huge deal about. “I got interrupted while I was getting ready this morning and didn’t get to braid it.”

  “Mmm, hmm, but your hair has nothing to do with the fact that yesterday the moment Skeeter’s feet hit the dirt he was kissing you. Or explain the kissing last night while you were in the kitchen doing dishes.” Jenna stressed the last words as if she knew there was a hell of a lot more happening than dishes in the kitchen.

  “Yup. I saw that too. Sit. Spill, girl. Tell us everything.” Sage grabbed her hand and pulled Riley to the kitchen table.

  Riley rolled her eyes but deep down it felt good to have confidants. “He and I decided that we’re going to be a couple.”

  “So you’re official.” Jenna couldn’t have grinned any wider if she tried.

  “I guess so, yeah.” Whatever that meant. So far the only change was they didn’t hide their kissing from the others…well except from the preacher.

  Thankfully, any further interrogation of what else Riley and Skeeter had done was interrupted by Silver coming in from the front porch. “Hey.”

  “Hi. Wow. You’ve been out already this morning?” Jenna asked.

  “Uh, yeah. Just had to run out to the store. Figured I’d get it done while the guys were busy.” Silver had a brown paper bag in her hand.

  “You should have waited. I would have gone with you so you didn’t have to go alone.” Riley felt bad her guest was driving around a town she didn’t know.

  Silver waved off Riley’s concern with the hand that wasn’t holding the paper bag. “Eh, just a quick errand. We can go again later if you need something. I’m just gonna go, um, drop this in our room. Be right back.”

  She’d just left the room when Jenna bit her lip and turned to Sage and Riley. “Okay, what do you think is in the bag?”

  Riley laughed. The one thing she’d learned about Jenna in the few days they’d been together was that the woman had a truly inquisitive mind that bordered on just plain nosy. No topic was safe. It must be the writer in Jenna. Whatever it was, Riley would play along this time. It seemed harmless enough. “My guess is tampons. She didn’t want the guys to see her with them.”

  “Mmm, nah.” Jenna wrinkled her nose. “She might hide them from the guys but she wouldn’t hide those from us. Besides one of those guys is her husband and the other is her brother. I think it’s birth control. Maybe she ran out of pills and got her prescription called in to the local pharmacy? Or she had to buy condoms.”

  Riley shook her head. “I don’t know if the pharmacy is open this early.”

  “I think you’re both wrong.” Sage’s gaze cut from the hall, back to the girls at the table. She leaned in. “Silver just snuck into the bathroom in the hallway, and she was carrying the bag.”

  “So it’s definitely tampons then.” Riley shrugged, thinking her point won.

  Sage shook her head. “No, she’d just carry one with her if that’s what it was. Why bring the whole bag?”

  Jenna’s eyes widened and she drew in a gasp. “Oh my God. It’s a pregnancy test.”

  Sage nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking. She wouldn’t want anyone to know until she was
sure. And then she’d have to tell Garret first.”

  “Wow. A baby.” Jenna’s voice was full of amazement. “Holy crap. That’s huge.”

  Now their guessing game seemed more like gossip, and Riley didn’t feel right about that. “Maybe we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions—”

  The jiggling of the bathroom door handle drew all of their attention. Poor Silver, obviously trying to look inconspicuous, came out to find every eye in the room focused on her. “What’s everybody doing?”

  “Just talking. Come sit with us. Want some coffee? Or maybe herbal tea?” Jenna’s strange question had Silver looking even more guilty as she shook her head.

  “Um, no. Thanks. Orange juice is fine. I’ll get it.”

  Silver moving toward the fridge jolted Riley into action. She’d gotten distracted by all the intrigue. She hadn’t gone out to help the guys with the stock and she hadn’t even thought about breakfast.

  The men had been handling the morning chores alone since they’d gotten here and Riley needed to be a good hostess, so putting together something for her many houseguests to eat took top priority.

  Riley stood. “I should start breakfast. The guys will be hungry when they get in. Steak and scrambled eggs good for everyone?”

  “Sounds good. I’ll help.” Sage moved to get up.

  “I got it.” Riley waved for Sage to remain sitting. “Stay. Talk to Silver and Jenna.”

  Riley had no doubt there’d be more hinting and questioning going on, especially on Jenna’s part. Poor Silver had no idea what she was up against.

  Taking out a dozen eggs and knowing she’d need to cook every last one of them for her nine guests made Riley realize something. She was going to miss having everyone around. Skeeter, but also the girls and the rest of the guys.

  What was she going to do with herself once they’d left?

  Chapter Eighteen

  “This is a surprise, folks. We had some last-minute entries. Superstars in the world of bull riding. It’s like a Who’s Who here today on this beautiful day at the Springdale touring pro event. Put your hands together for Slade Bower, Mustang Jackson, Chase Reese, Aaron Jordan, Garret James and Skeeter Anderson.” The announcer’s voice echoed over the cheers of the crowd as he read each name.

  Skeeter was glad to be still mentioned amid that line-up. Though he was pretty sure the other riders who’d shown up today intent on winning wouldn’t be too happy about the extra competition. He, on the other hand, couldn’t care less.

  Sure, he liked to win. What man didn’t? And he didn’t mind the prize money either, but he was here today to earn as many points as he could to better his standing in the ranks and get himself back on the tour with the other guys. To do that he had to ride and ride well. Winning would be just a side benefit.

  Today, it wasn’t him against the other riders. It was Skeeter against the bull. And dammit if he hadn’t drawn one of Riley’s bulls. At least it wasn’t Renegade. It was one of the newer additions to her line-up. A spotted bull he’d seen buck off Chase in one of their practices. The animal was small but fast, changing direction on a dime to try and knock the rider off balance.

  Every one of the skills Skeeter had been working to hone this past week would come into play today if he wanted to ride this bull. He needed to hope all the advice the guys and even Riley had given him had sunk in. Skeeter couldn’t try and anticipate this bull’s moves. He’d simply have to react to them, make the corrections and trust his body to know what to do faster than his mind could.

  “Hey, Skeets!” Slade’s shout had Skeeter turning toward where the man was working on the bull rope.

  “Yeah?”

  “Cooper Holbrook is here.”

  “What?” Surprised, Skeeter scanned the crowd near Slade but couldn’t find Cooper. “Where?”

  Slade tipped his head in Skeeter’s direction. “Last I saw, he was walking toward you.”

  He turned and sure enough, Cooper’s familiar figure was making his way through the crowd and toward him. Skeeter hopped over the rail. He met Cooper halfway and pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Hey, Cooper. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “Hey, boy. How you doin’?”

  “I’m doing great.” Just the sight of his teacher looking so much better made it very easy for Skeeter to answer that. The more important question in Skeeter’s mind was how was Cooper was doing. But he looked good. Older. Kind of tired, but his eyes were clear and alert, unlike the last time Skeeter had seen him at his house. Today Cooper’s clothes were clean. He’d shaved and his hair beneath his cowboy hat looked as if it had been cut recently. It was a huge improvement. “How did you know I was riding?”

  Cooper shrugged. “Your mom mentioned it.”

  “You saw my mom?” Skeeter’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah, she stopped by to check up on me. Apparently, someone told her I needed checking up on.” Cooper raised his brows.

  Skeeter skipped right over the fact that someone had been him and grabbed on to the other part of Cooper’s statement. His mom had gone to see him and never bothered to tell him during his daily phone calls? “She didn’t mention that when I talked to her.”

  “She coming today, your mom?” Cooper glanced around the immediate area.

  Skeeter caught the interest in the question even though Cooper had thrown it out there pretty casually. If his mother did have a thing for Cooper, it very well might be mutual. Holy cow, what the hell else was going on while he wasn’t home that he didn’t know about?

  He got himself together enough to remember to answer Cooper’s question. “Uh, no. She tried, but she couldn’t get out of her shift at the hospital. She was pretty upset to miss this since it’s pretty close to home, but I told her not to worry.”

  “Ah. Yeah, she always did work too hard. So you feeling good about today?”

  “Yeah, we’ve been training together at Riley Davis’s place, working on our skills, getting on some bulls in the practice pen. You must have known Butch Davis, right?”

  “Yeah.” Cooper frowned. “Your mom told me what happened. Real nice of you to help his daughter out.”

  That had been quite a conversation between his mother and Cooper. They’d covered his riding schedule. Butch’s death. His coming to Riley’s to help her. Skeeter couldn’t help but wonder that the hell else they’d talked about.

  “No big deal. I like working with the bulls. Reminds me of your place.”

  Cooper looked wistful at Skeeter’s mention of his place the way it used to be, thriving and bustling with stock and riders. “Still, it’s real nice of you.”

  “Least I could do. Besides, she’s helping us as much as we’re helping her. Maybe more. I got to get up on Renegade at her house. Rode him to the whistle.” Skeeter realized Cooper might not know the significance of that. “Renegade’s the bull I bucked off that last event on the tour.”

  Cooper grinned and it took years off his face. “Those rides always were the sweetest, when it’s a rematch.”

  “True that.” Skeeter returned the smile. “I’m glad you’re here, Coop.” Even if it did add an extra element of pressure, having his former teacher watching him ride.

  “I’m glad I came too.” Cooper glanced past Skeeter. “Looks like they’re loading the bulls for the first round. I better take a seat.”

  “Why don’t you come and hang out behind the chutes with us. I mean, if you want to. Or you can go sit, if you’d rather.”

  The older man paused. “You know, it might be nice to be back behind the chutes again. Thanks.”

  “No thanks necessary. I’m just hoping you’ll bring me luck like in the old days,” Skeeter joked.

  “If I had any of my own, I’d gladly give it to you, kid. But I fear I’m sorely lacking in that area lately.”

  Skeeter glanced sideways at Cooper as they walked. “But that’s the thing about luck. It can change in the blink of an eye.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Cooper nodded, a slow, thoughtful bo
b of his head. He reached out and squeezed the back of Skeeter’s neck the way he had so many times in the past. “Let’s see if we can both get some good luck. Shall we?”

  As he walked next to Cooper, Skeeter caught a glimpse of Riley helping to flank the bulls. Just past her, his friends were standing around talking as their girls sat on the rails watching.

  For the first time in a while, things seemed to all be falling into place. The day could hardly get any more perfect.

  Well, maybe a little more perfect… He needed to ride that bull. Deep down, he felt the belief that he could do it. He felt so good right now, how could he possibly fail?

  “You scared the hell out of me today.” Riley slapped at Skeeter’s chest.

  He grinned wide. “But I rode him.”

  “Stop looking so happy. You got hung up in your rope.” She frowned at Skeeter. “I thought you weren’t doing the suicide wrap anymore. That wrap is gonna get you killed.” She’d die herself if anything happened to him too, so close to losing her father.

  “I didn’t. I swear, Riley. It’s just when he flipped me over his head, my hand was stuck closed and I couldn’t get out of the rope. It’s no big deal. The bull fighters got me out.”

  “After you got stepped on.”

  “I’m fine. It’s just my foot. I’ve had a few broken toes before. Being around bulls all the time, no doubt I’ll have them again.” He pulled her to him. “Now stop worrying about something that didn’t happen and come here and kiss me.”

  “I’m not sure I’m done worrying yet.” It had felt like an eternity before they’d gotten home from the event, unloaded the bulls and everyone had gotten cleaned up and headed to bed. Then another lifetime before Skeeter had snuck down the stairs to her room after Aaron and Chase had fallen asleep. But they were alone now. If her heart still wasn’t pounding just at the memory of watching Skeeter get dragged beneath the hooves of yet another one of her bulls, she’d be taking better advantage of their time alone.

  He leaned lower and hovered close. “You sure you’re not done worrying yet so we can move on to more pleasant things?”