by Cat Johnson
Changing things up, the bull reversed direction. It pushed off with its front legs and went to the right, settling into a flat spin away from Jace’s hand. Jace fought to stay centered as the centrifugal force of the spin threatened to push him off the side.
The blare of the buzzer cut through the air, marking the end of the eight seconds. He had covered his ride. Adrenaline pumping, he felt as if he could ride the bull all day. Luckily, he didn’t have to. The eight seconds would get him a score.
Reaching for the tail of the bull rope, he tugged and released the wrap. When his hand was free, he flipped his leg over the bull’s head and leaped off on the outside of the spin. Bending his knees to absorb the impact, he landed feet first on the arena dirt, as perfect as an Olympic gymnast. In this sport, when the dismount was off a moving animal, that was pretty damn impressive.
He looked for Apocalypse. The horned red bull was still loose in the arena. It would suck to finish a great ride and get trampled by the bull after it was over. Jace saw two of the bullfighters driving the animal toward the out gate. The third retrieved Jace’s rope from where it had landed in the dirt after falling off the bull.
The adrenaline continued to pump through his veins. His hand shook as he reached to take the rope.
“Great ride, Jace.”
He pulled his mouth guard out and accepted the slap on the back from the bullfighter. “Thanks, man.”
It had felt like a great ride. Still, he looked toward the scoreboard for confirmation. It didn’t matter what he thought. It was up to the four judges scoring.
As the numbers appeared on the board, the announcer’s voice penetrated Jace’s consciousness. “And it’s a ninety-point ride for Jace Mills on Apocalypse. That puts him in the lead.”
The lead. Jace punched the air with his fist. The long round was over. If he held on to the lead for the championship round, if he rode his bull in the short go, he could walk out with the buckle, the winning purse, and the added money, which was nothing to sneeze at.
He could win this competition. Take it all. First place. Maybe there was something to his wearing new underwear, after all.
Two guys offered Jace congratulations for the ninety-point ride as he made his way back behind the chutes, but it was the girl walking past and trying to ignore him who held Jace’s attention. The moment their gazes collided, Tara yanked hers away.
“Oh, man. She’s still pissed at you.” Dillon, beside him, shook his head and laughed.
“Yup. Seems so.” Jace couldn’t deny that.
Dillon turned from watching Tara walk away and pounded Jace’s back. “Good ride, though. You’re definitely walking home with that buckle tonight.”
“Thanks. Let’s hope.” The buckle would be nice, but the prize money would be more useful.
Not that either would help make Tara less pissed off. Jace was certain of one thing and that was that she was no buckle bunny. She wasn’t interested in his payout for the night or a big showy championship buckle. All she wanted from Jace was a ride and a room. He guessed she hadn’t realized his providing both came with strings attached—strings that were proving difficult to keep a hold on. But he could be as stubborn as she could. Maybe more. She was going to have to accept that. Like it or not, Jace was the boss, at least for the next few weeks.
Boy, was she gonna hate that.
Chapter Ten
Now that Tara was working with the medical crew, the events always seemed to fly by. Before she knew it, it was time for the championship round. Her workday was coming to an end, which meant she’d have to get in the truck and go back to the hotel room with Jace, the man she couldn’t even look at without her blood pressure rising.
He was in the lead and would win the night if he covered his bull in the short go. Since Jace was footing the bill for their lodging, she should be happy he was going to walk away with the purse, but she was too mad at him.
She’d seen his ride in the long round. Not on purpose. She just happened to be walking behind the chutes during it and turned to see what all the cheering was about.
As much as she hated to admit it, he’d looked good out there. Of course, she’d rather die than tell cocky, know-it-all Jace that.
Tara chose to be more impressed with the younger guys’ rides. They might not look as pretty as Jace did on top of the bull and their moves hadn’t been textbook perfect the way his had been, but they’d only been riding a few years. They’d have to have ridden in competition for a decade to be able to look as good as he had.
Jace had enough experience under his belt to hang on through the reversal in direction. He knew that after the bull settled into a flat spin he’d better dress up the ride by spurring with his outside leg and showing a little daylight between him and the bull to impress the judges. But he should ride well. He was like thirty. The damn man had been riding practically forever. That’s why it was important to give the rookies more credit for what they accomplished in the arena with their limited years of experience.
In fact, Tara decided to go out of her way to compliment one of the younger guys, just to show her support. “Great ride, Justin.”
Justin’s eyes grew round when she spoke to him. He glanced behind him and then back to her. “Um, yeah. Thanks, Tara.” The words were barely out of his mouth before he turned tail and ran away, faster than if there’d been a bull hot on his heels.
Maryann, the only other female on the sports medicine crew, watched him go. She turned to frown at Tara. “What’s up with that?”
Tara let out a short breath. “I wish I knew.”
“Maryann?” A male voice drew their attention.
Tara glanced past Maryann to see Klint striding up. “Can I get an ice pack? My shoulder’s killing me.”
“Hey, Klint.” Not real sure how to act around him after last night, Tara forced a smile.
He stopped mid-step when he saw Tara standing behind Maryann. “Um, hi, Tara.” He turned his attention back to Maryann. “Can I get that ice?”
“Sure thing.” Maryann nodded. “Just give me one minute. I gotta run and tell the doc something, then I’ll wrap you up.”
“I can do it, Maryann.” Tara took a step forward. She had nothing to do at the moment. “Klint, come on back with—”
“Uh, you know what? That’s okay. Now that I think about it. It’s feeling much better.” Klint rolled his shoulder and winced at the pain, but still nodded. “Yup. Feeling much better. Think I’ll let it be for tonight.” He took off past Tara, looking as if he wanted to get as far from her as he could.
“What the—” Tara let out a string of cuss words that would have gotten her paddled by her momma when she was younger. Hell, maybe even at this age.
Maryann shook her head. “What was that about? Tara, what have you done to these guys?”
“It wasn’t me. It was Jace.” Tara clenched her jaw. Just saying his name reminded her how very angry she was with him.
“Jace? What did he do?”
“I was hanging out in the bar with Justin and Klint last night, and Jace came storming in. He went all caveman and dragged me out of there like he owned me or something.”
Maryann glanced at Jace behind the chutes getting ready for his ride in the short go, and then she focused back on Tara. “And does he?”
“Excuse me?” Tara frowned at Maryann.
“I meant, are you two an item?”
“No.” Tara said it with enough force to leave no doubt in Maryann’s mind.
“Well, it’s obvious those guys think you are. There’s no way a couple of rookies are going to get between a veteran rider and his girl.”
“I’m not his girl. We’re traveling buddies. Nothing more. Jace seems to think because my older brother isn’t here, he has to step in and play daddy and protect me from the evils of all bull riders.”
Maryann held up her hands, palms forward. “I believe you, Tara. You don’t have to convince me, but as long as those two guys think you’re with Jace, they’re
gonna steer clear so he doesn’t think they’re flirting with you. Once word spreads, all the riders will stay away.”
“So no riders are going to talk to me for the rest of this internship because they think I’m Jace’s?” Tara didn’t know what angered her more about that concept—that once a woman started dating a man she became his property and couldn’t even talk to other men, or that she wasn’t even with Jace but would still be shunned by all the single men on the circuit, anyway.
“Sorry, sweetie.” Maryann shrugged. “Maybe they’ll ease up after a while. Sounds like it’s pretty fresh, the whole caveman display and all.”
“If Klint would rather walk around in pain than let me get him an ice pack, I certainly hope they ease up soon.” It was going to be hard for Tara to do her job otherwise.
Though, how cowardly was that? If Klint really liked her, he shouldn’t give a crap about Jace. He should go for it with the girl he wanted and to hell with the consequences. That he didn’t feel that way—Justin, either—made Tara feel pretty damn crappy.
“Hey. You have to stay late tonight or no?” Jace had snuck up on her while she’d been busy hating him.
Tara narrowed her eyes. Even if Klint was a big chicken, Jace had caused this mess by acting like he was the boss of her. He certainly was not and she wouldn’t give him the pleasure of thinking he was. In fact, she wouldn’t even give him the pleasure of answering his question. She turned with a huff and strode toward the medical room.
“Nice, Tara. Your momma would be so proud of your manners.” His smart-ass comment followed her as she strode toward the back.
There truly was no getting away from him. Not at work. Not in the truck. Not in the room. How bad an idea this traveling together thing had been was becoming painfully apparent.
Chapter Eleven
“So . . . you, ah, ever going to talk to me again?” Jace asked as they walked into their room after a silent drive from the arena. He closed and locked the door and still she hadn’t answered.
It should have been a good night. He’d won the event. Any other time, he would be out celebrating. Drinking away some of the prize money with the other riders. Instead, he was back in his cheap hotel room trying to make nice with a seething Tara.
He’d waited until they’d been alone to even try to talk to her again, anticipating a screaming fight he’d rather not have in public. But as the seconds ticked by with no response, he started to think Tara’s snort as she’d stalked past him and into the room was going to be her only reply.
Finally, she spun to face him, her features contorted in anger. “Why? Would you care?”
Jace raised a brow as he moved farther into the room and tossed his truck keys on the dresser. “That depends. If you’re gonna throw this shit attitude at me, then I might rather you be silent.”
She straightened her spine.
Uh-oh. He was in for a big one. A woman took on a certain appearance and posture when she was about to unleash a good rant, and Tara had that look. He was starting to regret standing so close to her, but it wasn’t in him to back up. At least, not until she picked up something to hurl at him, though that was more Jacqueline’s style than Tara’s . . . he hoped.
“Do you know that Justin and Klint won’t even talk to me now? Hell, Klint wouldn’t let me get him an ice pack tonight when he was hurting. They’re both afraid of you.” She pointed to him with the hard poke of one finger into his chest.
“Really?” That was an interesting tidbit. One Jace enjoyed a bit too much. The rookies were intimidated by him. Enough to steer clear of Tara.
“Oh, my God. Don’t you smile about that, you, you—Grrr!” She fisted her hands in her hair. She’d left it down and loose rather than braid it, so there was plenty for her to grab and yank on. It made her display even more dramatic.
Was he smiling? Yeah, he was. Jace ran a hand over his mouth to erase it, equally amused that the two kids were afraid of him as he was at the miracle that Tara seemed to have run out of words . . . or at least out of insults. He’d better enjoy it. He was sure it was only a momentary lapse and wouldn’t last long.
She drew in a deep breath. “How dare you even think that you have the right to tell me what I can and can’t do? You are not my brother, Jace. We’re not even friends.”
Nope, not out of words yet. But Jace couldn’t sit idly by and listen to her insults like he usually did. “No, you’re right, Tara. We’re not family. We’re not friends. We’re traveling partners.”
“Yes, you gave me a ride. That still doesn’t give you the right to boss me around. I have two brothers. You don’t get to act like the third one because I’m riding in your passenger seat.” She folded her arms and turned her head so she was staring at nothing but the stained ceiling above them.
Jace took a step closer. He had her trapped in the corner so she couldn’t get away. More than that, she’d have to look at him or shut her eyes to avoid it. In that position, that close, she’d have no other choice but to see him and hear what he had to say.
“Tara, you listen to me and you listen good. You don’t know what it means to be traveling partners, so I’m gonna explain it to you. It means we’re more than friends, and it’s as important as being kin. It means we take care of each other.”
“But—”
“You had your say. You’re gonna let me have mine.”
When she clamped her lips shut, Jace went on. “Being traveling partners means that when I find you drunk and alone in a situation you shouldn’t be in, I get you out of there. It’s what Tuck has done for me back when we rode together. It’s what he‘d expect me to do for you now that you and I are traveling together.”
Tara drew in a loud, angry breath through her nose. Her body vibrated. Damn, she was pissed. She didn’t talk, not even to yell.
Jace took advantage of the silence to try and explain, not knowing if she was even capable of listening to reason. “Tara, don’t you understand that I was worried about you? I didn’t know where you were. If you were safe or not. Last I knew, I’d made you cry and you were wandering around on foot in a strange town all alone.”
“No, Jace. You don’t understand. I’m tired of men treating me like I’m Tuck’s helpless little sister. First Logan. Now even you. You! The one person I expected to not give a shit what I do, suddenly cares and comes riding in to save my virtue. You know what? Justin, Klint, they didn’t care whose little sister I was. They treated me like a woman. They were going to make me feel like one.”
“You wanted them to take advantage of you?”
“What I want is some experience so the next time I fall in love, the guy doesn’t choose a ’ho from New York over me because she knows how to catch a man and I don’t.” Tara’s body still vibrated, but it no longer seemed to be with rage. Her eyes filled with tears that he hadn’t been prepared for.
“Ah, shit.” Mad at himself for making her cry not once but twice in two days, Jace did the only thing he knew to comfort her. As her shoulders began to shake and the tears came in full force, he reached out and pulled her against him. His arms wrapped around her, he pressed her head to his chest, and felt her tears soak through his shirt. “Listen to me. Emma’s not a ’ho—”
Head still buried against his chest, Tara reached out and pounded his arm with one small, surprisingly powerful fist. “Shut up. Don’t you defend her.”
He smiled against the top of her head at her feistiness even through tears. “Let me finish. I was going to say that Logan’s got what? Eighteen? Twenty years on you? Maybe it was just that Emma’s older than you are. Closer to his own age.”
Tara shook her head. It was a lost cause. It didn’t matter what Jace said; she wasn’t in the mood to listen.
He still had to make one more point. “You going out and hooking up with random bull riders won’t change anything. It won’t make Logan not married, or Emma not pregnant.”
Tara pulled away. “Was she already pregnant at their wedding?”
“Cra
p.” Jace cursed at the anger he saw in Tara’s face. The anger he’d caused. Reminding her about the baby hadn’t been a smart idea. Tuck was going to tan his hide for spilling the beans. “Tara, I wasn’t supposed to tell any-one—”
“Jace, was she pregnant?” The determination in her words told him not to bother arguing.
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure.”
“See?” Tara threw her hands in the air. “That proves my point.”
“How?”
“She was obviously giving it up to Logan that weekend she was here for Tuck and Becca’s wedding. If I’d gotten to have sex with him first, he wouldn’t have—”
“Stop. No, Tara. It wouldn’t have mattered. Logan’s not the type to go for a woman just because she puts out. There had to have been something there to start with.” As much as Jace hated to admit it, he knew that had to be the truth. Logan was a good guy. A damn, annoyingly perfect Prince Charming who made Jace feel like a frog in comparison most days, but still a good guy.
“No.” She shook her head. Her eyes seemed unfocused, blind to Jace and the rest of her surroundings. “I’m going to get experience and then I’ll be ready. I’ll hook up with every bull rider on this circuit if I have to, and next time, I won’t lose to any woman.”
It seemed to Jace a pretty girl like Tara wouldn’t have to resort to letting guys like Klint grope her in a dark broom closet in the back of a bar to get experience with men. Not that he agreed with her plan to get the experience in the first place. But a smart, pretty girl like her should have guys her own age lined up at the door begging to be her boyfriend. Bringing her flowers. Taking her out to dinner.
Then again, Tara was stubborn enough to make even simple things difficult. Jace sighed at the truth of that. “Now you’re just acting immature and talking like a child.”
“Stop treating me like one! I’m going to go out and be with any guy who’ll let me just to prove to you and every other man in my life that I’m an adult. And you know what? You can’t stop me.” She pounded his chest with both fists and his control slipped.