Cowgirl Up (20 page)

The
handler smiled and shook his head. “You’d think he’d be thirsty enough to drink
anything.”

“Most
will. But you know how spoiled these guys get.” Lucas tapped his chin. “I’d
mention this to Livingston so he can make sure to send plenty of water from
home for the next rodeo.”

The man
nodded. “I’m calling him right now. He’ll be thrilled to know his bull is
perking up.”

Cody
sat the full bucket in the corner, removed the IV and equipment, and handed
them to Lucas. Then he climbed out of the pen. “I think that might do it.”

Lucas
slapped him on the back. “Good thinking.”

Cody
turned to Justin. “What do I owe you for the water?”

“Nothing.
Just glad to be of service.”

“He’ll
need that for the length of his stay here. That could add up to some change.”
Cody hated for Justin to lose money for being a good guy.

Justin
waved his hand. “Tax write off. Besides, I see a great advertising opportunity
in the making.” His brown eyes flashed with excitement. “Excuse me. I need to
have a word with that handler and his boss.”

Cody
smiled, glad for the young entrepreneur and thankful for his timely
intervention.

“Where
did you come up with that idea?” Lucas asked.

“My
father had a bull that did the same thing when I was a kid. He tried all the
tricks and failed. Afterward, he just knew he had to pack barrels of home well
water for the animal.”

“Since
we didn’t have a well close by, you figured bottled water would be the next
best thing,” Thomas finished for him.

“Yep.”

Lucas
chuckled. “I knew there was a reason I hired you for this event.”

Cody’s
phone rang again. He groaned. “Yeah. Yeah. To be the first line vet for all of
the chaos around this place.”

“Exactly.”
Lucas grinned evilly.

Cody
answered the phone and headed for one of the barns.

He couldn’t
catch a break for anything. Not even enough time to watch a seventeen-second
barrel-racing run, much to his chagrin.

“Trin?
Oh, Trin?”

The
sound of her voice being called jolted her from her light doze. She’d bedded
down not too long ago, hoping to catch some much needed shuteye. The long,
drawn-out event had sapped most of her strength thus far and she had several
more rounds to go.

Sitting
up, she found an all too familiar person staggering her direction. As she
watched he tipped up a glass bottle, drank heavily, the wiped his sleeve across
his mouth.

Drunk.
Gary was drunk as a coon who found the hops.

A
tendril of fear wrapped around her heart.

She
turned her head this way and that, found herself alone except for the horses,
and swallowed with difficulty. If he pressed the issue, she was on her own.

Tossing
aside her blankets, she took to her feet, quickly slipping on her tennis shoes,
thankful she wore sweats to bed. With the laces tied, she stood tall and glared
at the man who intruded on her privacy.

He
strode closer, his gaze locked on her the entire time. “There’s you.”

The
slightly slurred words along with the scent of alcohol permeating his entire
being reinforced her first inclination and jacked up her growing trepidation.
Even a drunk man could pose a danger. Perhaps more so than a sober one.

“Snob
thinkin’ you don’t want what I’m offering.” He palmed his crotch through his
jeans.

“I
don’t want anything you have to offer.” She clipped off every word, trying to
beat them into his thick skull. “Go away. You’re drunk.”

He
smacked his lips and took another pull from the bottle before tossing it aside,
empty. “No way, honey. You and me, we’re gonna have us a good ole time.”

Trinity
began to backpedal, keeping well out of his reach. She took a chance and
glanced behind her, judging the distance to the back exit. Absently, she heard
Legacy move around restlessly in his stall. Most likely picking up on her
emotions and acting out. Nothing new for him.

“I said
no.” Trinity bumped into the gate of an empty stall. Just as she sidestepped,
he reached out and latched onto her upper arms with a grip of steel, jerking
her against his chest.

“No one
tells Gary no.” He spit the words out, then released one arm to yank hard on
her hair, elevating her chin in the process. A split second later, he crushed
his lips against hers.

Trinity
struggled, repulsed by the bitter taste of alcohol mixed with Gary’s unwelcome
advance. She brought her knee up like before, only to find herself shoved
backward, then thrown to the ground. Before she could roll out of the way, Gary
jumped on her, grabbed her chin in one hand and snarled down at her.

“Stop
it!” She stared up into Gary’s face with growing horror. He might be inebriated
but he was damn strong. Strong enough to flatten her body into the hard earth.
Strong enough for his fingers to dig painfully into her cheeks. Strong enough
to grab hold of her shirt and yank it up when it refused to rip.

A hand
on her breast along with the sound of Legacy’s scream and kicks to the stall
walls propelled her into survival skill mode. She hit, she squirmed, she shoved
and bit. Anything to gain her release. Nothing worked.

Gary
snared her wrists in an unbreakable vise and sneered down at her. “Gonna fuck
you.”

Out of
breath and in full panic, Trinity fought with desperation, unable to believe
this was happening. She struggled and bucked, incapable of unseating Gary from
his position straddling her smaller body. His full weight began to take its
toll, stealing her breath and wearing her down.

He
squeezed her breast painfully with his free hand. She’d removed her bra before
bed and now wished it back. Anything to serve as a barrier and buy time. “No!
Get off me!” She threw her body to the side and tugged to free her arms.

Suddenly,
Gary no longer held her down. She found herself free and the sounds of a
fistfight nearby carried to her ears.

Sitting
up, she made out Cody as he first punched Gary in the jaw, then spun around and
kicked her attacker so hard in the chest he fell back against the empty stalls,
smacked his head, and crumpled into an unmoving heap.

For a
long moment, she simply stared at Cody, not sure what to say, her brain still
too shaken to form coherent words. One thing was for certain—he’d rescued her.

Cody
spared Gary one more glance, then turned toward her, his lips thinning as
concern flashed in his blue eyes. “Are you okay?”

She
nodded. “I…yes. Thank you.” Her dry mouth made speaking more difficult.

A
piercing whinny full of panic split the air, giving her the energy to move.
“Legacy.”

“Whoa
there. Slow down.” He grasped her upper arms, then cussed when she flinched.
“That bastard.” Wrapping an arm about her waist, he picked her up in a feat of
sheer strength, then held on to steady her. “Got it?”

“Yeah.”
Turning, she hurried to her horse, slipped into his stall, and stroked his
neck, talking in low, soothing tones. “It’s okay, boy. I’m here. Nothing to get
all upset about.” Pain and fatigue began to sink it, but she ignored both as
she focused on her stallion’s needs above her own.

He
nickered, sniffed, then rested his head against her sore chest as if in relief
that she was indeed just fine. She scratched behind his ears and played with
his long, gray forelock.

She
glanced over at Cody, found him watching her with unveiled interest, and nearly
tripped over words. “How did you know?”

“I was
walking by and heard him screaming like a wild stallion challenging another.
Since you’re always with him, I knew something was up.”

She
recalled the hard hoof strikes to the wooden door of the stall. Worry took
precedence. “Can you look him over? Make sure he didn’t hurt himself? He was
doing his best to kick the walls down and get to me. I just hope he didn’t
injure himself in the process.” If he had, she didn’t know what she’d do.
Forget the finals, her whole life revolved around Legacy.

Cody
stepped into the stall, freezing when Legacy’s head snapped around. “Relax, big
guy. I’m just going to give you a once over. Nothing to get all steamed about.”
Still muttering quietly, Cody reached out, ran his hand down Legacy’s side,
then down to all his legs. After a few minutes, he finally stood, keeping one
hand on the stallion’s rump. “Feels fine. No sign of tenderness.” His eyes met
hers. “Up to taking him for a short walk?”

Trinity
nodded. Cody would have to see her horse move in order to solidify his
findings. As shaky and weak as she felt, she refused to give in. Instead, she
stepped to Legacy’s left side, grabbed a fist full of mane, and jumped.

Whether
she would have made it on her own, she didn’t know. But Cody caught her by the
thigh and boosted her up with ease. She adjusted her balance and inclined her
head toward Cody. “If you’ll open the door, I can walk and trot him up the
aisle.”

His
eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t even have a bridle on him.”

“Don’t
need one.” She waited for him to do her biding, then lightly squeezed her legs
and pressed on the right side of Legacy’s neck. “Come on, Legacy. Let’s go for
a short walk.”

He
stepped onto the dirt floor of the makeshift barn, turned left, then plodded
along, ignoring the horses in other stalls who stuck their head out in
interest. Once she reached the end, she used the same technique to spin him
around. Approaching Cody, she clicked to Legacy, urging him to a trot the rest
of the way to the exit, then back.

Stopping
beside him, she waited with bated breath for his answer.

“Feel
anything off?”

“No.”

“He
looks good to me. If he did any damage, I can’t see it.” Legacy arched his
neck, snuffled Cody’s neck, then lipped at his shirt.

Cody
grinned and rubbed the stallion’s nose. “Finally decide that you like me, huh?”

For the
first time since Gary appeared, Trinity smiled genuinely. Legacy never took to
strange men, but he and Cody bonded tonight. A small victory. Cody’s blue eyes
caught hers. “I’m not leaving you alone.”

She
blew out a breath. “You were right. About the barns not being safe.”

His jaw
ticked. “Let me call security, get the police here and arrest that lowlife
fucker.”

Trinity
shivered. Legacy sidestepped in edginess. She quickly seized control over her
emotions and forced herself into sedate calmness. If not, Legacy would be
jumping all over the place and never get any rest.

She bit
her lip in indecision. “That will take a while. All the questions. The noise.”

Cody’s
eyes narrowed. “Trinity, you can’t let him get away with this.”

“He’s
drunk. Can’t we just have security toss him in a heap somewhere and let him
sober up?”

He
growled, then pulled out his phone, punched in a number, then clicked off.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way. This time.”

She
didn’t miss the anger directed toward her this time. Much like before. At the
end of her rope, she slid off Legacy, returned him to his stall, snuck him a
carrot from the cooler, then shut the door once more. Task done, she spun
around to face Cody. “I don’t agree with letting anyone get away with that kind
of crap, but here’s the deal. I’ve got a handful more nights of competition.
Legacy has been upset enough and I’ll be damned lucky if he’s still completely
sound. Bringing in the cops, the media, and all the lights and noise will only
make matters worse, for not only him, but for the other animals.” She drew in a
breath and kept her voice purposely just above a whisper. “I’ve got another few
days, then I’m gone. For good.”

He
stared at her for a long moment before his eyebrows furrowed. “Gone for good?”

She
sighed. “I’m retiring after the finals.”

Cody blinked.
“Why? You’re at the top of the leader board and Legacy has just hit his stride
in the rodeo business. Why would you quit now?”

Trinity
had asked herself the same question endless times before. She always came back
to the same answer. “I’m tired.” Tired of all the drama, the endless miles.
Tired of being alone. Tired of trying to live out a dream for two.

He
processed her words and studied her face, searching for validation. She spoke
the bare truth, he read it in her sad eyes. His gut tightened once more, though
this time with a hint of fear instead of outright rage.

Before
he could answer, the security detail arrived. He excused himself, met the lead
man and offered up a short explanation of what happened. The man frowned,
peeked over at Trinity, then nodded.

Within
a few minutes, the biggest man slung a still unconscious Gary over his shoulder
and carried him off. Cody hoped they dumped him in the shit pile to sleep it
off. More than what he deserved.

As soon
as they were gone, he returned to Trinity’s side, finding her standing tall
with a frown plastered on her face. If he didn’t know better, he’d think her
angry with him instead of Gary.

“Thank
you for the rescue. But, I know how you feel about me, so I won’t keep you any
longer.” Her eyelids narrowed to slits.

He
stiffened at her defensiveness.

A
shudder racked her body. He saw vulnerability and then sheer guts and
determination as she lifted her head, met his gaze steadily, and fed his words
back to him. “I’m not worth your time, Cody. Sloppy seconds, I believe is what
you said.”

He
flinched at his own cruelty. “I didn’t know.” The excuse sounded flimsy to his
own ears. “I was pissed because we had something going, then I saw you and Gary
kissing. I felt the knife of betrayal in my back and overreacted.”

She
simply stared at him like a puppy that had been kicked one too many times. Her
gaze never wavered, but the fire seeped out of her, leaving a dullness to her
normally bright eyes.

“I’m
sorry. So very sorry. I should have said something instead of just assuming.”
He reached out to her only for her to turn her head. A sure sign he’d violated
their trust. His heart stuttered. “I’m not leaving you alone, Trinity.”

“I’m
fine.”

“No
you’re not, but I’m going to make sure nothing else bothers you tonight.” He
stared at her, unbending in this. No way could he walk away after what just
happened. She might appear in control, but he noticed the tiny tremors now and
again, in reaction to the attack and lingering adrenaline. She was rattled and
rightly so. By morning, she’d carry some colorful bruises as a reminder of her
ordeal. He’d check over every inch of her body if he didn’t think she would
panic at the very thought.

He
might be the last person she wanted to hang around with tonight, but he didn’t
give a damn. Trinity needed someone and he’d rather be stuck in another burning
Humvee than leave her alone right now. He’d apologize and explain until the
dark skies faded to golden hues as long as she settled down, stopped fighting
him, and let him watch over her like he intended.