I glanced her way and laughed. Never in a million years had I thought my best friend would get into bull riding.
The chute opened, and the bull came charging out, hell bent on getting Dirk off his back. He rode him like it was nothing. Everyone jumped up and cheered. Dirk turned, looked directly up at Blayze, and pointed to him. He took off his helmet and smiled and then looked behind us to his parents.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we have the great honor of announcing our last bull rider of the evening. He’s currently ranked the number one bull rider in the world and a locally grown cowboy. Give it up for Brock Shaw!”
The crowd went a bit crazy. My eyes were locked on the chute, where Brock was already on top of the bull. Ty was holding on to Brock by his vest while Tanner was pulling the bull rope tight. Ty Senior was on the other side of Tanner, telling his son something. I smiled. It was really a family affair. I snuck a peek at Stella. She was smiling, too, but I saw the same worry in her eyes that I knew had to be reflected on my own face.
Swallowing hard, I focused back on Brock. They didn’t play any songs for the introduction like they did on the PBR tour. A regular rodeo was a low-key event.
He hit his glove, making sure he had a good hold. He looked up, and I knew he was praying. Adjusting himself on the bull, he nodded, and the gate shot open.
The bull’s name was Sweet Cupcake, but there wasn’t anything sweet about that giant beast. The snot shot from his nose, and he bucked as hard as he could. He went to the left, and then he changed it up and went right. I didn’t want to take my eyes off Brock to look at the clock.
Then, the buzzer went off, and Brock reached down. The bull gave him another buck, and Brock was launched into the air. He landed and quickly got to his feet.
I jumped up and started clapping and screaming like a silly girl. Brock did what he always did: he took his helmet off, threw it up in the air, and looked up into the stands. Our eyes met, and my stomach fluttered.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a bullfighter running toward Brock.
Brock turned to see what was happening. The bull had been heading back into the pen, but then it took a sharp right and headed straight for Brock.
The bullfighter got between them, but the bull took both of them out. He tossed the bullfighter and chased Brock to the fence. Before he had a chance to jump on it and get away, the bull had lowered his head and gotten Brock in the back, hooking his horn on Brock’s vest.
The last thing I remembered was Brock going up in the air—and then the bull running over him when he landed.
I heard Stella screaming from beside me, and I grabbed Blayze. He was crying and calling out for his father.
I stood there, motionless, as they finally got the bull away from Brock, and they carried him out on a stretcher. I hadn’t even noticed Stella taking Blayze from my arms and leaving.
Kaylee’s arm was around my waist as we walked through crowds of people.
“Ty!” she cried out when we finally got through the crowd.
“They airlifted him to Billings.” His voice pulled me from my daze.
“What?” I asked, staring into Ty’s eyes.
Ty looked at Kaylee and then back to me. “Mama and Dad are already headed to the hospital.”
“Blayze!” I cried out.
“He’s with them.”
I nodded. “We . . . we need to get to Billings.”
Kaylee turned and guided me as we followed Ty.
“Where are Dirk and Tanner?” I asked as I climbed into the back of Ty’s truck.
“Tanner was taken to the hospital with Brock.”
I gasped. “What? Why?”
“Tanner ran out there, tried to get the bull away from Brock, and got kicked. He went in the helicopter too; they think he broke his ribs, but they need to make sure there’s no internal bleeding.”
My hand covered my mouth. “Dirk?”
“He went in the helicopter with Brock. They weren’t going to let him, but somehow, I don’t know how he did it, he got on.”
I nodded. “Good, good. So he’s not alone.”
Turning, I stared out the window as the night sky went by. All I could think about was Brock telling me he loved me. Most people would say it was way too soon to be sharing those words, but I knew in the depths of my soul that we both meant them. Then I thought about Brock telling me he’d had another dream in his heart.
What was his dream? What is our dream together?
“Can you pull over, Ty? I feel sick.”