“You never noticed how much he looks like Bullet?”
Ew. Now that Lyric mentioned it, they did have several physical characteristics in common. They were about the same height, same color hair, same blue eyes. They probably weighed close to the same too. If she had to describe either of them to a sketch artist, the description would be the same.
“You don’t think it has anything to do with your brother and me, do you?”
“Does it?”
“God, Lyric. Of course it doesn’t.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m sure Bullet wouldn’t notice. Guys never do.”
“It’s a coincidence.”
“Your ex is disgusting. No offense.”
Tristan s
huddered. “You got that right. And none taken.”
Bullet’s second ride was okay. He scored in the seventies, but with last night’s eighty-eight, his average put him in the top three. Tomorrow night’s ride would be the most important. Even if he covered his bull, he’d have to ride a score over eighty again to be in the top two that went on to the finals.
Given the mosh-up with Harris Jones earlier, it was surprising he rode as well as he had tonight. Bullet knew better than to let another rider get into his head right before he got on a bull. He wished he knew why the hell the guy was still in town.
Tristan was sitting in the stands, alone, when he came out from behind the chutes. He needed to stow his gear, but when he went to look for his rosin and tie-downs, they were gone. He wondered if that bastard Harris was the one who took them. They weren’t worth a lot, but that wasn’t the point. Among cowboys, a rider shouldn’t have to worry about his gear going missing.
“Hey, pretty lady.” Tristan sure was a sight to behold. Her long dark blonde hair was visible through her straw drifter cowboy hat, which sat low over her eyes. Her light pink tank top showed off her dark skin, tan from the sun, and her tight jeans were tucked into her Cinch Edge pink wave boots.
“You talkin’ to me, cowboy?” Tristan looked over both shoulders. “Guess I’m the only one here, so you must be.”
“Even with a crowd of thousands, you’d always stand out as the prettiest of ’em all.”
“Aw shucks, guess you know how to win a girl’s heart, don’t ya?”
She was playing. Bullet knew that. But given what he wanted to talk to her over dinner tonight, their flirtation was turning his stomach.
“Bullet? What’s wrong?”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. “Not a thing now that you’re in my arms.”
“Did Harris get to you? I saw what happened.”
“Nah. He’s not worth even thinkin’ about.”
“Lyric and I went and talked to him. It was a waste of time.”
He wished she hadn’t. And as much as he wanted to know what they talked about, he didn’t want it to monopolize their time together. “You ready, darlin’?”
“I am.” He took her hand and she followed. “Bullet, are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Yes, ma’am. Everything except I’m starvin’. How ’bout you?”
Every time he tried to bring up his past, over dinner, Tristan said something that made him want to wait. They were seated in a corner booth at the new Cowboy Star restaurant, and she cuddled right up next to him. There were things he wanted her to know about his past so nothing would ever pop up that would cause her not to trust him, but it never seemed like the right time to bring it up.
“I have an idea,” she told him over dessert.
“Yeah? I have a lot of ideas.” He nuzzled her neck and trailed kisses back to her nape.
“We have the same idea. And I have a surprise for you.”