Chance had found himself in love, and I had found myself without my best friend for the first time in years. Not that I wasn’t happy for him, mind you, because I was. He had met a girl, fell for her, asked her to marry him, and without another word, she left him. Just like that. Left him for some city slicker guy who promised her the moon and stars under the bright lights of New York City. I think a part of Chance knew she would never have been happy with him on the road as much as we were now. It takes a strong-ass woman to handle a man being on the road for months at a time, knowing the temptations that we are faced with on a daily basis. The damn buckle bunnies were in abundance, no matter the venue or the city. That was the name given to women who prowled around rodeos looking to hook-up with the cowboys, especially those who won buckles. Some of them had even been known to steal the buckles as some sort of trophy.
“You’re better off without her, you know,” I finally said after we both sat there in silence for a good minute or two.
He sighed. “Yeah, I know. Still fucking hurts, though.”
“You sayin’ you want a longer break than just Christmas?” I asked, already knowing his answer. Hell, I was hoping for the same answer I wanted to hear.
“It was a rough year last year. Your ankle injury and all. My whole…I’m in love…debacle. I know we haven’t missed a New Year’s Eve Buck & Ball before, but I feel like I need some time off, Tanner. I’d like to just be home with my folks, spend some time with the family. Help my dad out on the farm. Just…take a few weeks’ break, maybe even a month.”
I let a small chuckle slip through. Chance gave me a slight smile because I’m positive he knew I was feeling the same way.
“Maybe we both need a break,” I said as I looked back at the arena. “You thinking what, Alexandria, then we head back out on the circuit? That gives us a good month at home.”
A look of relief crossed his face, and I couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more to this break than what Chance was telling me. He looked at me as if he was thinking the same damn thing about me. “I’m good with that. It gives the horses a break as well. I’m sure Banker wouldn’t mind being turned out for a bit.”
He leaned over and gave his horse a pat. Banker bobbed his head as if agreeing with Chance. Hell, this life we were living was hard on everyone involved, including the horses.
Just then, the crowd grew louder and cheers could be heard. A small spark of excitement filled me, though not for the normal reasons. This time, I’d be going back home soon, and that was enough to get me excited about the ride.
Chance looked back toward the arena before he focused on me once more. “I think we need to give them all something to talk about when we’re finished tonight. You in?”
I nodded. “I agree. Let’s leave with a big fuckin’ bang and win this round.”
Chance and I made our way to the arena. Trigger always got antsy when we were in the box waiting for them to turn the steer out. I could practically feel his body vibrate from the excitement of going after the cow, and I knew exactly how he felt.
My heart thundered in my chest as we waited for the steer to be loaded up. Once I got Trigger where I wanted him, I gave the nod and the steer was off. He was hardly out of the shoot, and Trigger had just broke the line before I roped his horns and I saw Chance’s rope sail down toward the back feet. Next thing I knew, we were facing each other and Chance was pumping his fist like a mad man, causing Banker to buck slightly from his rider’s crazy antics. Chance then tossed his hat in the air. I watched in shock, wondering why in the hell he was spooking his horse like he was. Banker was a gentle gelding; he didn’t like a lot of show and Chance knew that. Even the crowds cheering could hit him wrong sometimes. If we had a good ride, Chance knew to hold it in until he dismounted. It had been a good run, but he was acting like a damn fool. But then, my eyes moved to our time. Three-point-five seconds. Holy shit.
Three. Point. Five.
We had just tied the arena record. The world record time was three point four. Only three other teams had achieved that score, and this had been the closest we’d ever come. Three point six had been our team best previously.
The crowd in the arena went wild. The next thing I knew, the cameras were in our faces, buckles were in our hands, and we were giving interviews left and right. Neither one of us mentioned to the media the break we had intended on taking, though. There was no need to, not when we were riding the high of winning. Not to mention, it was a nice payday for both of us, so that kept the high even higher for a while.
By the time we got the horses settled and headed to the hotel, I was exhausted. But I still had enough in the tank to take a shower and pack up my bags. I knew Chance would want to leave first thing in the morning, and I was more than ready to head on out of Colorado and make our way back to Montana. The weather looked to be good for traveling, and I didn’t want to press our luck with it being mid-December and trying to drive back pulling a horse trailer. Storms could easily kick up as we drove through the Rockies, and we needed to avoid that at all costs.
A knock on my hotel room caused me to pause for a moment. I knew it wasn’t Chance, so that meant it was someone looking for a good time, which I wasn’t in the mood for.
“Shit,” I mumbled as I made my way to the door. With a towel still wrapped around my waist, I opened the door to find a brunette standing there. I’d recognized her as one of the buckle bunnies who showed up to some of the bigger events.
Her gaze moved greedily over my body. I knew what she was here for, after all. Her look should have sparked something inside me, but it did nothing. Not a damn thing.
“Figured you might want to celebrate, cowboy.” The brunette stepped forward and gave me a sexy-as-sin smile. Her fingers moved softly up my chest as she purred, “I’m all yours tonight, Tanner, and trust me when I say that I know how to ride and will definitely last for longer than eight seconds. Hell, I really like ropin’ too.” Her hand slipped around my neck before she spliced her fingers through my wet hair and gave it a gentle tug.
I had no doubt she knew how to ride. Hell, she’d probably ridden against more cowboys than I had in my time on the circuit. And a few months ago I might have ushered her into my room and let her do just that to me. But not tonight.
“I was told by your partner that you liked brunettes.”
All I could do was stare at her. It was true. I liked brunettes, I liked blondes, redheads, hell, I wasn’t prejudiced when it came to women. I loved all women, all shapes and all sizes. I also respected the hell out of them because I knew my mother would personally hunt me down and cut off my balls if she ever found out I wasn’t treating a woman right. It was part of the reason I kept the sleeping around to a minimum, even though my reputation said otherwise. I didn’t contradict it; I did like an occasional hook-up. Contrary to what everyone said, though, I wasn’t a manwhore like some of the other guys out here. Don’t get me wrong, I liked sex. A lot. But I never slept with the buckle bunnies.
Chance, on the other hand, hell, he had gone on a fucking binge after Jessica had left him. I swore he would sleep with any woman who looked at him. And as much as I really wanted to let this woman into my room, especially since I hadn’t had sex in a few months, the girl currently running her tongue over my jaw wasn’t the girl I wanted to be with. I lifted my arms and pulled her hands back as I gently pushed her away from me.