I shook my head. “I mean, riding against the pros would be incredible,” I said. “But that’s not why I’m doing this. If I can bag that ten grand, I’m investing in this art gallery that a close friend of mine is trying to open.” I had to hesitate a moment, wanting to call Vanessa my girlfriend, but I didn’t think Larry noticed.
Larry shook his head. “All this for a girl. Figures.” He looked toward the ring, where the handlers were just now getting the bull lassoed and led away. “The other thing to keep in mind is that this isn’t the most difficult ride you’ll ever take. We’ve been working with Tarv because he’s just a training bull.”
“Yeah, but look how much better I’ve already gotten,” I said. “When we first started training, I couldn’t stay on for half as long as I do now.”
“You’ve got potential,” he admitted finally. “Whoever this girl of yours is, she’s sure got you determined to win. I will say that I’ve never seen someone as ready to pick themselves up for another go as you’ve been. Now, whether that makes you stupid or strong, I don’t know.”
I laughed. “Thanks,” I said, deciding to take that as a compliment. I had the feeling that was as close as Larry was ever going to get to one.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said dismissively, waving me away. “Get out of here. That’s all for today. I know you’re eager for another go, but Tarv needs a cooldown, and I need to get some actual work done around here.”
I looked around the ranch, which was slowly but surely coming together more than it had been a few weeks ago when I’d first started coming there. “Can I help you out with anything?” I asked. “You know, I work over at the Lazy J.”
“I know,” Larry said. “I’ve asked around about you. Probably know more than you think I do. Wanted to see what kind of trouble I was getting myself mixed up with.”
I grimaced but forged ahead. “Well, if you talked to John about me, he’s the owner of the Lazy J, and he could tell you how good I am around a ranch.”
“You angling for a job or offering to help out?” Larry asked, sounding amused, but he waved away my answer. “Get out of here,” he repeated. “You’re looking exhausted enough without my giving you any extra work to do.”
I ducked my head, but I had no response to that. “See you tomorrow,” I said, giving a quick wave as I headed toward my truck. Larry just grunted in response.
I called Brent as I drove home. “Hey man, how’s it going?” he asked.
“Pretty great, actually,” I told him. “I just managed to stay on the bull for eight seconds!”
I could hear the confusion in Brent’s voice when he answered. “What are you doing giving the bull at the Roasted Bison a spin this early in the afternoon?” he asked. “And why are you calling me about it instead of preening to Vanessa or something?”
I laughed. “I’m not at the Roasted Bison,” I told him. I parked the car out in front of my building and ran a hand back through my hair, looking out down Main Street. “With how busy I’ve been over the past few weeks, I forget that I haven’t told you what I’ve been up to.”
“You haven’t,” he said, and I could hear a bit of reproach in his voice which made me feel instantly guilty. He’d called a couple times, but I barely had time to relax. I’d just texted him in response.
“Sorry,” I said sincerely. “I’ve been busy.” I yawned. “And exhausted.”
“What are you doing, anyway?”
“Remember how I always wanted to ride bulls?” I asked. “Well, I’m actually getting into that. There was this guy down at the Roasted Bison a few weeks ago, this guy named George. He’s trying to put together an amateur competition to promote his new riding school. Got the sponsors already lined up and everything.”
“And what, you just decided to go ahead and enter the competition?” he asked, sounding incredulous. “You know those things can kill you, right?”
I snorted. “You sound like Vanessa,” I told him. “No, I didn’t just sign up. But I was talking to George about it, and he was telling me how good it would be for his advertising if he had this underdog that he was able to train up in time to win the competition. He’s got me training for free with Larry Cobb, the instructor at his riding school, and I’m getting good at it. I got eight seconds today, and that would mean that I was eligible to win the competition. There’s still a lot more to be done, but I’m really starting to get somewhere!”
“Wow, man,” Brent said. “I don’t really know what to say, but that’s great. I mean, it sounds kind of fishy as well if you ask me, but I’m not there so I don’t know. I guess you probably know what you’re doing.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, man, I was expecting you to be excited,” I said.
“I am,” Brent insisted. He snorted. “So, I guess the reason you’ve been ignoring me for two weeks is bullshit?” he joked.
I laughed. “Seriously, I’m sorry about that,” I told him. “How’s Helena going, anyway? You making any progress on getting set up there?”
“Yeah, it’s actually been really good for me,” Brent said, sounding really happy for the first time in ages. “The clinic helped me find a house with some other people who used to have drug problems and who know what I’m going through. We’ve got a totally clean house, no booze or anything. It was really rough at first, but it’s getting better. I’m getting used to it. I’ve got a job, too.”
“Oh yeah? Doing what?” I honestly couldn’t even imagine Brent doing any sort of work; he’d never done anything except drug dealing.
“It’s nothing fancy,” he said. “But I’m working as a waiter at this local restaurant. Pretty decent pay, especially with the tips.” He snorted. “I don’t know what it is. I don’t know if everyone just sees how badly I need the money, or if I’m actually doing a good job of acting friendly, but I get some serious tips.”
I laughed. “You were always a funny guy,” I said. “You always had charisma. That’s what made you such a good salesman.”
“Thanks,” Brent said, but he sounded surprisingly un-sarcastic when he said it. “Now all I need is to meet a hot chick who wants to be with me.”