“Um, I don’t ride in a rodeo. I’m on the PBR tour. It’s a group of professional bull riders—the best of the best, if you will.”
“The guys who ride in rodeos aren’t professional bull riders?” I asked.
“They are. A lot are members of the PBR.”
“There is a difference, though,” Ty interjected.
I waited for Brock to keep talking.
“So, in the PBR, we ride bulls only. In the rodeo, they have to do other events as well, not just bull ride. The bull riders in the PBR are the highest ranked, and so are the bulls. So, it’s at a different level. I ride in the Built Ford Tough Series. There are other series under that. I started out at rodeos, then worked myself up to the Velocity Tour, and then debuted on the Built Ford Tough, where I rode good enough to stay on tour. I won rookie of the year my second year on tour, and then the following year, I won my first of two PBR World Finals. Ty also won a PBR World Final.”
Kaylee and I both looked at Ty.
“Did you get hurt on a bull?” Kaylee asked.
Ty looked straight ahead and simply said, “No.”
That was our clue Ty wasn’t ready to talk about his days of riding or how he’d gotten hurt.
“And you’ve won two PBR World Finals?” I already knew that part from my internet search of him after we’d first met.
Brock smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
“And this season, he’s been jumping from number one to three to number two, and is now back at number one. Whoever is number one at the last event in Vegas is world champion.”
My stomach jumped. Is it the excitement, knowing how good he is, or is that pride I’m feeling? It was an unusual emotion that I couldn’t quite identify, as I’d never felt anything like it before. “Wow, so you’re on your way to maybe winning another?”
Brock shrugged. “Maybe, but anything could happen. I could get hurt tomorrow and be out the rest of the tour. With bull riding, you never know. It’s unpredictable, and you’d better make damn sure your head is in it, or you could get killed.”
“Why do you do it if it’s so dangerous?” I asked.
Ty and Brock exchanged a passing look in the rearview mirror.
“I love the feeling of crawling on the back of a bull. Knowing it’s me against him, and that only one of us can come out on top. I’m addicted to the adrenaline it gives me.”
“Have you been hurt a lot?” Kaylee asked.
Brock laughed. “Yes. Broke my first bone at ten, getting flung off the back of a bull.”
“Ten!” Kaylee and I both said at once.
He nodded and went on. “I’ve had stitches, broken ribs, broken hand, a collapsed lung, pulled muscles, and a concussion, to name a few.”
My mouth dropped open.
“When I nod my head to let them know to open the gate, I know what could happen. It doesn’t scare me or make me nervous. It’s just what I do.”
I chewed on my lip. My mind raced. Can I really get involved with a guy who does something so dangerous?
Every time he got on a bull, I’d be a nervous wreck. I made a mental note to talk to Stella, Brock’s mom, about how she handled it.
Brock looked like he wanted to say something else, but he turned his head and stared out the window.
“Does Tanner bull ride?” I asked.
Ty laughed. “No. He’s tried it before, but he doesn’t like it. He team ropes.”
“Team ropes?” Kaylee asked.
“Yeah, he works with a partner. They let the calf out of the chute, and Tanner ropes his neck, and his partner—Chance, he’s the heeler—ropes the back legs. It’s timed. The faster you do it, the better you rank.”
Kaylee seemed enthralled by all of this. “Are he and his partner good?”
“They’re number three in the world right now,” Brock said. I could hear how proud he was of his brother.
“So, they’re in rodeos?” I asked sheepishly.
Brock nodded. “Yes. PRCA.”
“OMG, all these acronyms!” Kaylee said with a chuckle.
“Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association,” Brock clarified.
Ty added, “Like how the PBR has the world championship, the PRCA has the NFR—National Finals Rodeo.”
“My head is spinning. Please tell me you’re not going to quiz us on all of this,” Kaylee said.
We all chuckled, and Blayze stirred just a little. Not because of us, since he had his headphones on.
Ty was soon pulling into the Ledgestone Hotel in Billings. “Okay, let’s get checked in.”
Ty Senior and Stella pulled in behind us as everyone climbed out of the truck. I didn’t even think about it when I reached in and unbuckled Blayze. It felt so natural to get him. As I pulled him out, he woke slightly and wrapped his arms around my neck, and I held on to him. Kaylee looked at me and smiled—but it was the look Brock gave me that made me think I might have overstepped.