Bucked Off For Love: A Bull Rider Novella

by Lacey Wolfe

“I did just say he was my son, is that a problem?”

  “Nah, just unexpected. Are you married too?”

  She smiled in a way that made me want to kiss her.

  “No. Single mom.”

  “Where is his dad?” He was a fool to let her go.

  “Ryder, were you just bringing soup by?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “Thank you. If that’s all, I need to get back inside.”

  “Oh, uh yeah. Sorry for the questions.”

  “It’s okay.” She went back inside, leaving me alone on her front porch.

  Taking a deep breath, still wondering where the boy’s dad was and what kind of idiot he was to leave someone as beautiful as Cassidy, I made my way back to my truck. As I cranked it up, my mind ran a mile a minute. Why had my mother sent me over here in the first place? There was no way my mother thought I’d want to marry Cassidy and play daddy to her son, or did she?

  ***

  “Fuck.” I dropped to the ground, my shoulder killing me.

  “You okay?” My dad came over, kneeling next to me with a look of concern.

  “Yeah.”

  “No you’re not. Go home. You need to be resting, not out here working.”

  I groaned. “I said I’m fine.”

  “There is no room for your large ego on this ranch. Take your ass home.”

  My dad had been telling me that for days, but I was sick and tired of sitting around my house waiting on this stupid shoulder to heal. I wanted to do something, be useful. Not sit around and be useless. This weekend I’d go down and watch my buddies ride. At least if I was there, it would keep my name in the news.

  “All right.” I held out my hand and he helped me stand.

  He patted my back. “I want you out here with me, know that. You’re no good to me like this. The sooner you’re healed, the better. I heard that Cassidy was back in the office today. Guess she wasn’t too sick. Go see her.”

  She had a kid. Not that it mattered, it wasn’t like she was my girlfriend or anything like that. She was sexy as hell and maybe if she’d not been tied down with a son, a good romp in the sheets would interest me, but that kid made her off limits.

  “Yeah, I’m gonna see that other lady in the office. Beth I think her name was.”

  “Why not Cassidy?”

  What the hell? Were my parents trying to fix me up with her? “She’s busy. Told me to call Beth.”

  “Huh?” He rubbed his chin then shrugged. “I just thought you’d want to see her.”

  “See her how?”

  “As your therapist.”

  “I have this weird feeling you and mom want more between me and the pretty lady.”

  My dad chuckled. “She’s out of your league, son.”

  “Excuse me?” What the hell did that mean? Out of my league.

  “One, that woman doesn’t date anyone who wears a cowboy hat. She’s got some high standards from what I hear. Only one man has gotten a date with her since she moved to town, and that was the town’s lawyer.”

  “So she’s a prude.”

  “Ryder.” My dad gave me a stern look.

  “What? Almost everyone in this town wears a cowboy hat, including the women. Why the hell would I be interested in a woman who is stuck up.”

  “You need to watch your mouth.”

  I shook my head and brushed my pants off while mumbling, “Sorry.”

  “Get out of here and go home. Tank is running late, but I can manage until he gets here.”

  Without a word, I left and marched toward my truck, my feet heavy with anger. That Cassidy woman would be lucky to have me as her boyfriend. Not in her league? What the fuck did that mean anyway? The woman lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone. It wasn’t like some billionaire was going to ride through town and swoop her off her feet. She’d be striking it rich with a man like me.

  Cranking my truck up, I cursed loudly. Why the hell did I care if she thought I was out of her league? I wasn’t interested anyway.

  Chapter 3

  Cassidy

  “Uh, Cassidy,” Beth said as she opened my office door.

  “Huh?” I set my sandwich down.

  “There is a guy out here who wants to see you.”

  I wiped my hands on the paper towel and stood. “I don’t have anyone on my calendar until three. Who is it?”

  “I think he’s supposed to be my patient but he said he wanted to speak with you first.”

  Crossing my arms, I had an idea who it was. “Ryder Starling?”

  “Yup.”

  He was the last person I wanted to see. I was still fuming from his cocky ass last night bringing me soup and asking all kinds of questions about Shiloh and his dad. As if it was any business of his. “I don’t want to see him.”

  “This is awkward.”

  I let out an exasperated breath. “Sorry, let me see what he wants.”

  Brushing past her, I went out into the lobby. Ryder was seated, with his sling on, gazing my way with a shit eating grin. I wanted to reach out and pop that smirk off his face. This was why I had a strong dislike for bull riders. They thought they were God’s gift to us women.

  “Ryder, everything okay?” I asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

  He stood and took his hat off. “Everything’s peachy, I just wanted to ask you out.”

  “Oh, I don’t date patients. Sorry.”

  “I’m not your patient. You passed me off to Beth.”

  I glanced over my shoulder and Beth stood with a nervous expression. Turning back to him, I said, “That was just for today. I’ll be seeing you the rest of your treatment.”

  Why the hell did I just say that?

  “I was under the impression I’d be seeing Beth from here on out.”

  That had been the plan…“You were wrong. My schedule is booked solid today.”

  “Is that wise after being sick? You were awfully weak in the knees when I was here yesterday.”

  Asshole. “I’m fine.”

  “Then let me take you out tonight before I become your patient again.”

  “I have a son and no sitter.”

  “I can watch Shiloh,” Beth chimed in.

  Why the heck did she just do that? I did not want to go out with him.

  “That’s okay, Beth,” I said.

  Ryder took the bait from Beth. “Lookie at that, you do have a sitter now.”

  I no longer wanted to smack that smile off his face, I wanted to punch it off. Ryder seemed like a persistent kind of guy. If I didn’t just go out this one time, he’d probably ask again. That’s what these cocky ass bull riders did. They went after the prize until they got it. I was no prize, but I’d give him what he wanted if that meant he’d leave me alone after. “Fine. We’ll get something to eat tonight.”

  “You won’t regret it.”

  That I wasn’t so sure about because I already regretted it. This didn’t seem wise at all, but I was going with it.

  “Beth,” I said, looking at her. “My notes for Ryder are in my office. Let me grab them and then you can get started with him.”

  Hurrying out of the room, I grabbed the file off my desk and handed it to her, not paying any attention to Ryder. From the corner of my eye though, I saw his confidant smile. That’s right buddy, you think you’ve won, but you haven’t.

  I didn’t date bull riders and he’d find out real fast tonight what a horrible date I was.

  ***

  “Are you sure about this?” I asked Beth as she plopped down on my living room couch with her daughter Taylor next to her. “I mean, I don’t want to be going out with this guy.”

  “You need to have some fun.” Beth straightened her daughter’s ponytail. “Besides, what could go wrong? It’s one dinner. That’s all. It isn’t like you’re going to marry the guy.”

  “That’s for sure. I’m not one to hang around a rodeo on the weekends. No thank you. It’s unsafe and stupid if you ask me. Why the hell do those men even want to ride t
hose bulls in the first place?”

  Beth rolled her eyes. “They are sexy.”

  I shrugged, giving her that. Some of them were hot. Ryder was one of those drool-worthy men. Not wanting to admit it, he had captured my attention when watching him. Even though I’d mainly just wanted to see his accident, I got a little finger click happy and watched several others. He had a way of handling a bull. It appeared he felt natural on the back of the animal, even if he did get bucked off quickly.

  “Anyway.” I turned toward the messy living room. I needed to spend some serious time cleaning. That was one gene I didn’t get. Mess didn’t bother me. I wasn’t one of those women who wanted a house that sparkled. In fact, when the place was clean, I got antsy because I didn’t know where anything was. “He’s late.”

  “Is not. You’re just looking for a bad way to start the evening.”

  “Mom.” Shiloh came out of the kitchen. “My tablet won’t charge.”

  “Did you use the right plug?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did you let it completely die?”

  “I didn’t mean to.”

  I sighed. “Put it on the charger for at least ten minutes and don’t touch it. If it doesn’t work after that, I’ll have a look at it. Besides, Taylor is here. Play with her.”

  Taylor was a year younger than Shiloh. For whatever reason, they pretended like the other didn’t exist anymore. A year ago they had a blast playing, but not anymore.

  The doorbell rang. My heart sped up and my breath caught. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d been on a date. It had been awhile and it had been with the kind of guy I thought I should be dating. Ryder made me nervous. He was unfamiliar and the type of man I didn’t want to date.

  “Well, answer it,” Beth urged with a grin. She loved seeing me like this.

  Taking a deep breath, I tugged on the hem of my skirt and went over to the door opening it. Holy shit! Ryder was hot in the dark blue button-down with a pair of jeans. He wore a white cowboy hat and never once in my life did I think I’d want to kiss a man in one of those hats, but at this moment, I did.

  “Good evening,” he said with a curled smile.

  “Hi.” I turned back toward Beth who watched us like a hawk and my son who was still fiddling with the dead tablet. “I’ll be home soon.”

  “Bye.” Beth grinned. “We won’t wait up.”

  I was going to kill her tomorrow. Simple as that.

  Ryder placed his hand on my lower back as he led me down the porch steps and toward his large black truck. When he opened the passenger door, the vehicle was so high, I would have to step on the guard rail and practically climb in.

  “You got it,” he asked.

  “Yes.” I lifted up until I was able to get inside and he shut the door, hurrying around to his side.

  I’d been in an SUV before and those seemed taller than the car I drove, but this truck could run over my sedan like it was an ant.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “Nowhere too fancy,” he said, starting the truck. “We’ll save that for date three. You know, the lucky one.”

  I giggled, not able to help it. “This is just one time, remember?”

  “Trust me, I want this to be one time too.”

  Oh right, he just wanted to fuck me. That was all. A cheap dinner with a sexy bull rider and then I’d be spreading my legs real wide—not.

  “You’re chances of getting lucky are slim tonight, cowboy.”

  “Is that what you thought I was insinuating?”

  “Well, yeah. Weren’t you?”

  He turned the country music on the radio down. “Nope. I’m only trying to see why my parents like you so much.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “They like you and yet my dad says I’m out of your league. So, I want to know why. That’s all.”

  I stared at him. The way he spoke so non-chalantly, as though what he said wouldn’t offend me one bit. “Hold up? You’re not interested in me?”

  He kept his focus on the road. “I’m not looking to settle down and play daddy.”

  Did he just say that? “I think you should take me home.”

  “Nope. One date, darling. One date.”

  One shitty ass date I had stupidly let myself get excited about. There was a reason I didn’t date bull riders. And this jack ass was a big reason why.

  Chapter 4

  Ryder

  Ah, shit. I hadn’t meant to say that. None of it. I’d asked her out for that stupid reason. I wanted to see why my dad felt like she was too good for me, but I’d been raised so much better than to hurt a woman. I’d done it because I didn’t want to admit how she made me feel.

  When she’d opened the door for our date and I saw her in the blue jean skirt, strappy heeled shoes, and a tight white tank top, I’d nearly come in my pants. All she’d needed was a cowboy hat and I’d be dragging her ass to the courthouse and marrying her.

  I liked her, as much as I didn’t want to. Her sassy mouth got me all excited. She was gorgeous and had a personality. Not like the women I was used to. The way they would do anything, and I mean anything to get a chance with me. Cassidy couldn’t give a fuck who I was and I loved it.

  I pulled up to the small diner on the outskirts of town. My goal was to find somewhere I wouldn’t run into the usual crowd who wouldn’t respect my time out with Cassidy. Instead, they’d want to chat and occupy my time.

  “Have you been here before?”

  “To Benny’s? Yeah. I’m surprised you’re bringing me here.” She pushed the door open.

  “Hold on, let me come around and help you.”

  “I got it.”

  As I pushed my door open, I heard an “Oh shit, ow!” Slamming my door shut, I came around, and Cassidy was on the ground in the dirt.

  “You okay?” I knelt next to her.

  “My freakin’ shoe slipped. Why didn’t you tell me you had a monster truck? I would have worn something else than this tight skirt I can hardly move in and these shoes. I want to go home. This night is horrible.”

  This was the second time she’d asked to go home. The first when I’d been a jack ass and the second because she’d fallen. Maybe she was right. This was a horrible night and a sucky date. I hoped it could go up from here.

  “Let me help you up and get you cleaned up.”

  “Aren’t I too good to ask for help from you?” She hopped up, brushing her legs off.

  I, however, wasn’t a gentleman and gazed at those long legs as she bent forward, taking in her thighs, wishing she’d bend forward a bit more to show me the curve of her ass cheeks.

  Damn it, I needed to stop.

  “Ready to eat?” I asked.

  “If you’re not taking me home, I suppose so.”

  She walked ahead of me toward Benny’s. I tried to catch up, but she was fast for a woman who’d fallen out of my truck. Inside, she picked a booth and I sat across from her. She ignored me as best she could as she stared at the plastic menu on the table.

  Benny’s wasn’t the classiest place to bring a woman. And from the prices on the menu, I might be out fifteen dollars for the two of us, that included a tip. As I sat across from Cassidy, I regretted this decision. When I asked her out, it hadn’t been for the right intentions. She was a human with feelings, and I’d hurt them.

  “You want to hit a drive thru instead?” I asked.

  “Does that mean I can go home?”

  And she asked again. “We could get something to eat then drive around a bit, maybe park and get to know one another.”

  “I’ll pass.”

  The waitress came to the table, holding a pen and pad. “What can I get you to drink?”

  “Water,” Cassidy said, her tone cold.

  “Same.”

  “Do you know what you want?”

  Cassidy looked right at the waitress, still barely acknowledging I was at the same table. “BLT on whole wheat and a side of fries.”

  The waitress looked at
me. “Burger with all the fixings and fries.”

  “No problem. It’ll be right out.”

  Cassidy put her menu behind the napkin container then glanced around.

  “I’m sorry.”

  She finally looked at me. “And what for?”

  This whole evening. Where the heck was that do over button when it was needed? “I shouldn’t have said those things in my truck.”

  “But are they true?”

  “Kinda.”

  “Whatever. As of tomorrow, you’ll be my patient again and this dating thing will be over.” She studied my shoulder. “How is it feeling?”

  “Hurts.”

  “Are you taking the pain meds?”

  “Nope.”

  “Any of them?”

  I shook my head.

  “You need to be taking the anti-inflammatory your doctor prescribed. I don’t give two shits if you take the pain meds, but you need the ant-inflammatory.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And I’m not ma’am. Stop calling me that. It hurts my feelings. I can’t be that much older than you.”

  Whoo, she was a fireball. “Sorry.”

  The waitress popped by the table. “Did you want mayo, ketchup, or mustard on that burger?”

  “All of it.”

  She nodded and went back behind the counter.

  “Anyway.” I glanced around, taking in the diner decor. The teal booths with light wood tables. A classic jukebox in the corner that played out of date music. “Tell me about you?”

  “Well, I stay busy between my son and work, which doesn’t leave me much time for anything else. Thankfully my son is older and doesn’t require as much attention except for during baseball season. I like to read, watch TV, all the things a normal person does.”

  “Don’t date much?”

  “No, I don’t. I kinda live in a town where everyone knows everything and I don’t like gossip. I even leave town to go to another hair dresser because I hate the gossip in our town’s salon.”

  “You’re putting off a ‘I’m too good’ vibe.”

  She groaned. “No, I just want to keep to myself.”

  “Why?”

  “This isn’t going anywhere, you and us, so don’t pretend like you want to get to know me.”

  “I do.” It was the truth. Cassidy captivated me.