“It’s the dog, isn’t it? I have a terrible feeling about the dog. Why do authors do this to us?” She huffs.
We start chatting and I learn that June travels with Dax full-time and she gives me some great tips about dating and travelingwith a bull rider. We exchange phone numbers and I’m pretty sure I just made my first rodeo friend.
We chat about books and rodeo until Dax—as June calls him—climbs into the chute. She’s sitting up in her seat, videoing him on her phone.
Dax nods his head, and the bull leaves the chute spinning to the right, away from his hand. He gets behind after one round and can’t catch back up. He slides to the left side of the bull but isn’t letting go. When his hand finally pops out of his rope, he hits the ground and the bull keeps spinning, right on top of him.
I gasp when one back foot lands right on the side of Dax’s helmet, crushing his head and twisting the metal cage. His body goes limp. Bullfighters step in to draw the bull’s attention, as a pickup man rides in and gets a rope on the bull, pulling him away from Dax.
June stops recording but doesn’t move. Her eyes never leave Dax as she quietly says, “Wake up,” under her breath.
How is she so calm?I’m freaking out. Shaking in the seat next to her I ask, “Should you go down there?”
“I’ll wait and see if he wakes up,” she replies, still not taking her eyes off him as Sports Medicine doctors surround him.
A few seconds later paramedics bring a backboard in as sports medicine removes his chaps and vest.
Seeing the backboard and paramedics has bile rising in the back of my throat. I can still see the paramedics lifting my mom onto the backboard and starting chest compressions, frantically working to bring air back into her lungs.
I look away, searching for Knox on the chutes, hoping the sight of him will bring me some comfort.
“Okay, I’m going to head down. It was nice to meet you, Kacey,” June says. I can see now she’s shaken but still handling this so well. I would be an absolute mess. That was hishead, what if he’s seriously hurt or . . . dies? Then again, Knox saidI’d get used to it; maybe women who haven’t been through a traumatic event like me can get used to it. Maybe this isn’t the first time she’s seen him carried out of an arena.
“You, too. I hope he’s okay. Let me know if you need anything.”
She nods, then hurries down the stairs and around the corner.
A few minutes later, I see the ambulance pull out and another one arrives to take its place.
I can hardly watch when Knox rides. My hands are still shaking so badly I don’t even attempt to video. He’s 84.5 points—it’s not a huge score, but it should get him back to the short round. Trey isn’t so lucky, it’s his first one back and I know his ribs still hurt. He bucks off around four seconds and doesn’t look too happy about it.
Knox is 88 in the short round for third place and receives a big check. He told me about how this final month of the season can make or break you. There are a bunch of events with a lot of money, and he can easily move himself into the number one position if he keeps getting his bulls ridden.
I head down to meet him. As soon as I see him, he grabs me by the hand and starts leading me behind the chutes. I grip his hand so tightly I’m sure I’m cutting off circulation, but I don’t care. The feel of his calloused hand wrapped around mine slows my still rapid heart and calms me down.
I don’t want to tell him how much Dax’s wreck has affected me. I know we promised to talk about it, but he had a great night, and I’m about to leave. I don’t want to ruin our last night together.
So, I promise myself I’ll tell him about meeting June and watching Dax later.
“What’s going on? Where are we going?” I never go behind the chutes. No girlfriends or wives do unless it’s a medical emergency. That’s their space.
He makes a sharp turn before we get to the actual spot where they get ready behind the chutes. “To the front of the chutes—we’ve hardly taken any pictures, and you’re about to leave me out here all by myself.”
“Well, that seems a little dramatic. You do have Trey—I thought you liked traveling with him,” I joke, laughing as we step in front of chute number five.
“Yeah, but you are way prettier and way more fun to be around . . . he’s not you.” He gives me a wink as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. He asks a fan who is walking back from the autograph tables in the middle of the arena to take our picture. I wrap my arm around him, and we both smile and pose.
He takes his phone back and says, “Let’s get a selfie, too.” He tips his hat back, wraps his arm around my lower back, dips me back slightly and kisses me as I hear the shutter from the camera on his phone. “Thank you for coming, Kace. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.”
I’m still dipped back in his arms, and I have butterflies in my stomach.
I really wish we weren’t in public right now.
I thread my fingers through his curls, ready to kiss him when I hear, “new profile pic,” and look up to see Trey looking down from the chute he’s standing on, ruining the moment. The smirk on his face tells me he did it on purpose.
Probably payback for defiling his bed.
Knox stands me up, leaving one arm wrapped around my back.
