Page 45 of One Texas Night...
The second rider barely hung on for three seconds, but the third rider almost made it, thrown off at the seven-second mark. But while the clowns ran toward him, the bull charged the rider and gored him. She felt lightheaded as she watched the clowns try to distract the bull, and then the animal turned to chase a clown. The cowboy lay on the ground and rolled over. A clown stood by him until men ran out with a stretcher. The second clown ran to help the first one keep the bull distracted.
She watched in horror as they loaded the cowboy on the stretcher and carried him out.
And then it was Jared’s turn.
The announcer told the crowd about Jared’s wins in the past, an impressive record that brought applause and cheers. She could see his black hat in the chute, see him on the bull. She had seen enough bull riding on television and been to enough rodeos that she knew what was happening in the chute as he wrapped his hand so he would be secured to the two-thousand-pound animal.
And then the chute opened and a huge gray Brahma bull leaped out.
Nine
Allison watched in horror as the gray bull twisted and turned, leaping into the air while the announcer talked. She didn’t hear anything the announcer said. All she could do was stare at Jared. He held on with one hand and the other arm whipped about as the bucking bull kicked out his hind legs relentlessly.
As she watched Jared, her world came crashing down.
She couldn’t move in with him, live with him, grow to love him even more. She couldn’t take this wild, risky life of his. Memories of the horror of losing her mother and one brother still haunted her, the senseless tragedy, the numbing shock, the terrible loss of two family members she loved so deeply.
The buzzer sounded, the ride was over and Jared had ridden for eight seconds. He jumped off and ran for the fence as the bull turned to chase him. A clown darted out, waving his hat while Jared jumped on the fence and climbed swiftly. The bull turned to charge the clown, catching the hat and tossing it high into the air.
She felt clammy and cold. Thinking about Jared’s life, she hurt all over. She couldn’t deal with a man who lived life in the manner Jared did, and now was the time to end it. She had been in euphoria about him, turning a blind eye to the life he led while he helped her with her inventory, made love and took her dancing. But that was just one facet of him. This other facet of him terrified her. She couldn’t live with it.
She had to go back to her quiet, ordinary life. Go back to evenings with her dad and Phillip or one of her friends.
Jared suddenly appeared, and she couldn’t keep from standing and throwing her arms around him to kiss him. It was kiss of relief, of joy he wasn’t hurt, of goodbye.
For one startled moment he was still, then his arm circled her waist and he kissed her in return until she finally stopped.
“Congratulations.”
“Let’s go home.”
“You won’t know whether you won if we leave now. Don’t you need to stay?”
“Not really. I’ll find out later who won. Come on. This is what I want to do.”
He took her hand and looked up at her, frowning. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m all right now,” she said.
He put his arm around her, and they left. She was quiet on the way to the car, and once inside, he switched on the heater until the car was toasty warm.
He took her hand as he drove. “You’re still cold.”
“I’m all right, Jared. I’m warm. My hands are just cold.”
“You worried about me, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did. I can’t keep from that. I hope the cowboy who was hurt is all right.”
“I heard he has a broken rib and a few cuts and bruises, but otherwise he’s okay.”
She was silent, and Jared became quiet, too. When they entered her condo and she had closed and locked the door, Jared reached for her. “I’m fine, Allison. I did what I wanted. I didn’t get hurt, and it was exciting. Stop worrying about it.”
When he pulled her into his embrace, she was powerless to resist. Her resolve to simply walk away from Jared crumbled before him, and the words withered on her lips when he claimed them in a kiss. She didn’t object when he picked her up to carry her to bed.
* * *
It was hours later when she finally gathered herself to tell him of her decision.
