Fuck! He’s not moving!
Zac struggled to his feet as the pickup man cast his lasso, roping the animal’s horns. The bull snorted and shook its head, still fighting as horse and rider dragged it back toward the chutes. The audience watched in silence until the gate slammed shut with a resonating rattle of metal. With the bull out of the way, everyone turned their attention back to Ty.
A medic appeared with a stretcher just as Ty stirred to life and spat a mouthful of dirt. He was still struggling for breath as the medic began poking his ribs. “What the hell happened? Did I black out?”
“Don’t talk,” the medic ordered, pressing a stethoscope to Ty’s chest. “Lung sounds are clear. No gurgling,” he said. “How’s the pain? Can you move?”
Ty took a wincing breath and then struggled to sit up. “Ain’t nothing I can’t handle.”
“You really dodged a bullet this time cowboy,” the medic said.
“Maybe the bullet but not the bull,” Ty winced and waved the stretcher away. “Give me a hand, will you, Zac?”
Zac reached down to help Ty to his feet. “I owe you, Ty.”
“You don’t owe me nothin’,” Ty replied. “We may have fallen out for a while, but I’ll always have your back.”
Ty’s remark brought home to Zac how much he’d missed his former best friend. He swallowed hard to dislodge the lump in his throat.
Holding his ribs with one hand, Ty reached down with the other to retrieve his hat. The moment Ty set it back on his head, the crowd went wild. Ty turned toward the chutes with a wide grin stretching his mouth. With a tip of his hat, he limped off to rejoin Monica in the stands.
Zac turned to find his brother Kade standing beside him brushing off the arena dirt that covered him from head to foot. “What the hell happened to you?” Zac asked.
“I was catapulted by your damned bull.”
“You okay?” Kade was one of the best bullfighters on the pro tour, but he still couldn’t suppress his protective instincts toward his little brother.
“I’m fine. If I’ve learned one thing since I’ve been doing this, it’s how to take a fall.”
Kade laughed. “Eighty-eight in case you’re wondering.”
“ ’Scuse me?”
“Your ride. Thought you might not have caught the score with all the commotion. Damn good for a left hand ride, let alone for a right.”
“Eighty-eight?” Zac repeated in amazement. It was his highest score in months. He might not be bowing out of the game with a championship title, but at least he was ending his career respectably.
At the end of the night, Alvaro finished with the championship as expected, but to everyone’s surprise, Zac McDaniel’s was the high point ride, even with his hang up.
After the bull riding, Kade and Zac returned to the hotel in full celebration mode. “The drinks are on me,” Zac called out to the bartender. “Ty saved my ass tonight.”
“I saw it all on the television,” Gabby said from behind the bar. “I can’t believe you did that, Ty. That bull could have killed you.”
“That’s exactly what I said,” Monica remarked with a dark look before excusing herself to the ladies’ room.
“It didn’t,” Ty replied with a shrug. “I’ll have a beer.”
Zac ordered a whiskey, downed it in a swallow, and then called for another round.
The bar was quickly filling with fans from the bull riding championship. Within minutes the three cowboys found themselves surrounded by a half dozen buckle bunnies. As the hero of the hour, Ty drew particular notice from a blonde named Josie flaunting her double D’s in a low cut tee. Rather than enjoying the attention, Ty looked about as edgy as a bull calf entering the chute for the first time. It didn’t take long before he said something and gave a nod in Monica’s direction. Josie replied with a toss of her blonde head and moved on down the bar to wrap her arms around Kade, who pulled her onto his lap.
Zac paid the women little heed, which to his annoyance only seemed to make them try harder, but even a whispered proposal for a threesome failed to get him excited anymore. He was too old for that kinda shit and had wearied of women with more notches on their belts than he had. Where was the challenge?
Ty had moved a few stools down to re-join Monica. He watched them exchange some heated words, no doubt over Josie, but the showdown ended with Monica wrapping her arms around Ty’s neck. His buddy had apparently won the round but to Zac’s surprise, Monica got up and left the bar alone.
Zac watched Ty watching her like a hungry man who’d just been served a prime aged T-bone only to have it swiped out from under his nose. Ty was a lady’s man from way back, but Zac could see that his interest in Monica was different. Had Ty finally found a woman who could hold him for the long haul?
Zac felt a fierce stab of envy. In fifteen years on the circuit, he’d never lacked female company, but in all those years there had only been one woman he’d truly wanted—Ty’s ex, Delaney. He and Ty had both met her at the Houston Livestock show. They’d known from the start she was out of their league, but emboldened by booze, Ty had asked her to dance. Zac stood in the background looking on and cursing himself the moment he saw them out on the dance floor. He’d had his shot at her and he’d blown it. Ty got the girl and Zac had to live with the worm of envy that ate a hole in his heart every time he saw them together. What made it worse was Ty hadn’t made her happy. He wasn’t any more ready to settle down back then than a bull in a breeding pasture, but he and Delaney had eloped anyway.
Grabbing his glass, Zac straddled the stool beside his buddy, following Ty’s gaze with a fateful shake of his head. “Never thought I’d see you with another one like that.”
“What do you mean?” Ty asked.
“Big city. Big money. Didn’t exactly pan out for you the first time around.”
“That’s where the similarity starts and ends,” Ty said. “Monica’s nothing like Delaney.”
“If you say so,” Zac replied with a smirk, and raised his glass to his lips.
“I mean it, Zac. There’s no comparison between ’em. Monica’s a successful investment banker who needs nothing from me. Delaney was a beauty queen who stole half my ranch.”
Zac raised his hand with a glare. “Look ol’ boy. That ain’t how it was and you know it.”
Initially, Zac had thought maybe it was her money Ty was after, but he’d proven that wasn’t the case. Instead of gaining from the marriage, Ty had lost half of everything. Zac still didn’t understand how it had all gone down, but the nasty divorce had left Ty embittered and disillusioned. But now, eight years later, it was looking like Ty was considering giving it another go with Monica Brandt.
Delaney, however, seemed gun shy as ever. Their paths had crossed a few times over the past few years, but no matter how hard he tried, she always turned a cold shoulder, as if her divorce was somehow Zac’s fault. He understood in part but wished she’d give him a chance. So far that hadn’t happened.
“All right. I admit I brought that shit on myself,” Ty said. “But that doesn’t give her the right to rub my nose in it for the rest of my life. You know that’s what she’s trying to do with the bucking bulls, don’t you? She sent two to the futurity this year and says she has a half a dozen more prospects for next year. She has shit-tons of money to put into a breeding program. I didn’t. She thinks I never wanted the ranch. That’s not true, but ranching takes money. That’s part of the reason I stayed on the road as long as I did. I’d hoped to win enough to keep the place going.”
“But now it’s done,” Zac said. “You’re here and she’s there. What’s the problem?”
“The problem is that she still wants something from me.”
Zac’s gaze narrowed. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
“A baby.”
Zac choked on his drink. “What the fuck did you say?”
“You heard me right.”
His chest tightened. “Are you implying she wants to get back together?”
; “Hell no!” Ty laughed. “She wants a kid but doesn’t want another husband. It’s that whole bio clock thing that seems to have pushed her over the edge. She even tried to bribe me with an interest free loan as a stud fee.”
Was she still carrying a torch for Ty? There was that worm again. Zac’s gut twisted at the thought of Ty and Delaney together. “Why the hell would she do that?”
“ ’Cause she’s out of her ever-lovin’ mind. Gotta be one of those hormonal things.”
“Why you?” Zac asked.
Ty shrugged. “Beats the hell outta me.”
“You gonna oblige her?” Zac asked, keeping his voice slow and his gaze on his empty glass.
“Shit no! If I ever father a kid, I’m gonna be there to raise ’em up right.”
“There’s gotta be plenty of other men who’d be happy to help her out. Hell, they’d probably line up for miles.” And I’d be the first one in line.
Zac signaled Gabby for another drink.
Ty gave a dry laugh. “Delaney might be a lot of things but easy ain’t one of ’em.’ ” He sat back, appraising Zac. “You did better than me in school. What’s your I.Q.?”
“I dunno. Hundred twenty-eight maybe.”
“Beats mine by at least five.” He was still regarding Zac as if he were a bull on the auction block.
“What the hell are you looking at?” Zac snapped.
“You, Zac. Just wondering what kinda breeder you’d be. She says she wants above average I.Q., tall and athletic. Seems to me you got that part in spades. I’m just wondering if it’ll offset your lack of looks and nonexistent sense of humor.”
“Fuck you, Ty.” He snatched up the glass Gabby slid in front of him.
“I’m serious. You once had a thing for her. Maybe you should volunteer?”
A thing? You have no fucking clue.
Zac met his gaze. “And what if I decided to do just that?”
“Hell, Zac,” Ty laughed. “I’d consider it a personal favor. I’d even buy your damned ticket to Oklahoma. Come to think on it . . . how’s that hand?”
Zac set down his drink and held it up. His fingers were purple and sausage-like. “Why?”
“There’s a good chance I’m going to need a new ranch foreman.”
“Wait a minute,” Zac said. “Isn’t that Delaney’s domain now?”
“It’s not Delaney’s place I’m talking about. It’s Tom’s. Or rather, mine now.”
“Yours? So Tom left you the ranch? What are you looking to do with the place?” Zac asked, trying not to betray his intense interest. Ty was not only offering him a new start doing what he knew best, he was also giving him a second chance with Delaney.
“I want to expand the operation and get back to where I started.”
“Contracting, Ty? Thought you moved out here to get out of it.”
“I did, initially,” Ty said, “but things have changed. My plans have changed. If things work out for this hotel as I hope they are going to, I’m going to need bucking stock. I figure some of ’em might as well be mine.”
“What about ol’ Bart? Doesn’t he run the place?”
“He’s ’bout ready to retire. I’d be happy to leave him in charge of the beef operation, but I need someone who knows how to handle a rank bull. If you’re ready to hang up your bull spurs, the job’s yours.”
“I’d like more than just a paycheck, Ty. I’m thinking about my future too and right now it ain’t lookin’ so bright. My place needs too much work. It’ll take every cent I just won just to get it back in operational shape. If you’re looking to contract again, I’d be willing to sell out and invest as your partner.”
“You would?” Ty asked with surprise.
“Damn straight. Bulls are what I love, Ty, but at this stage in the game, I’d be content to flank instead of ride.”
“Hell, Zac. I don’t know what to say. I’d be honored to take you on as a partner.”
Zac’s eyes held Ty’s as he slowly drained his whiskey. Setting the shot glass down, he offered his hand with a smile. “I think you just made me an offer I can’t refuse.”
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Photo Credit: VJ Dunraven of Period Images
Victoria Vane is an award-winning author of smart and sexy romance. Her collective works of fiction include everything from wild comedic romps to emotionally compelling erotic romance. Victoria is the founder of the Goodreads Romantic Historical Fiction Lovers and the Romantic Historical Lovers book review blogs. Visit her on-line at www.victoriavane.com and on Twitter @AuthorVictoriaV, or find her on Facebook.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
LYRICAL SHINE BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
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Copyright © 2016 by Victoria Vane
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Lyrical Shine and Lyrical Shine logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.
First Electronic Edition: February 2016
ISBN: 978-1-6018-3411-9
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