“You can’t kill Parker,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Cord stood, offering her a hand up. “I’m not making any promises.”
“I’d rather handle him on my own.” She let him pull her to her feet.
Her answer stung, but Cord decided not to fight her. If she hadn’t made up her mind, he wouldn’t push her. He had to show he wasn’t a controlling jerk like her ex.
She picked her way back to Shadow’s side and mounted the saddle with the ease born from years of practice. “Listen, Cord… I understand why you want to ride in the rodeo, but I can’t help being worried. You know you shouldn’t compete without the doctor’s clearance.”
He could’ve backed out before, but he’d waited too long.
“I’ll be fine. My shoulder’s barely even sore, now.” He climbed into his saddle and followed behind Jess on the trail.
“I know you want to prove yourself,” she said. “I have three older brothers, and all of them were in some kind of sport. But sometimes, you have to sit out a game.”
“For Pete’s sake, my boss is coming all the way from New York to watch me ride a bull. I’m riding. End of discussion.”
She took his words literally, clamming up until they reached the open field again. When she finally spoke again, he couldn’t see her expression,
but her voice shook with emotion.
“Suit yourself, Cord. But if you end up having surgery on that shoulder, don’t come crying to me.”
Her heels dug into Shadow’s flanks, and the horse sped away before he could come up with a suitable clever retort.
Too irritated to follow after her, he turned Blaze back toward home, muttering to himself, “Don’t worry. I won’t come crying to you… because I don’t cry.”
12
Jess waved her acceptance to the cheering crowd and stepped back through the arena gate.
“Congratulations, Squirt!” A tall, well-muscled man with brown hair held his arms open wide.
She cried out with delight and threw her arms around her brother’s neck. “Zander, I didn’t know you were coming!”
He picked her up and twirled her around before setting her down on her booted feet. “You were awesome out there. Good to see you back in the saddle.”
“Shadow was incredible. He always puts his heart into a race, but he’s lost some of his speed. We were lucky we didn’t have much competition. That high school girl almost beat me.” She gave Zander another hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“What am I? Chopped liver?” asked the man beside him, two inches shorter, with shoulders two inches broader, and a shirt patterned after the Texas flag.
Laughing, she gave him a bear hug, and he returned it, squeezing the breath out of her.
“Thought you were ignoring me.” Nick wore a pout, but his green eyes sparkled.
“I shouldn’t even be speaking to you.” She aimed her best glare his direction. “I know you had Cord spying on me all this time.”
“Don’t be mad, J.J. Someone has to watch out for you,” said Nick.
Jessica dismissed him, addressing Zander. “Did you bring Cohen with you?”
Her oldest two brothers lived in Austin within twenty minutes of each other, and she adored them.
“Cohen’s out of town. He might’ve come if you’d bothered to tell us you were competing.” Zander crossed his arms and leaned against the strong metal fence, solid on the bottom and with close horizontal slats on top to protect the audience from injuries. The loud speaker blasted, announcing the next event, the calf roping. Like Nick, Zander wore a straw cowboy hat and seemed oblivious to the appreciative looks from female passersby. “If Nick hadn’t called, I wouldn’t even be here.”
“Sorry, I didn’t tell you. But it was no big deal. Just an amateur rodeo.” The truth was, she’d been nervous to race after a long hiatus.
“I know you, Squirt. Every competition is a big deal.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “We did our part, right? Stayed away so you could concentrate?”