Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 103159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 413(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
How many friends do you dream about taking in a barn stall?
Pushing my wayward thoughts to the side, I sighed when the DJ took a break. Talking was easier when we didn’t have to shout over the music.
“What about that time you got caught climbing up the water tower, saying you only wanted to see the stars?” Rose said, laughing.
I pointed across the table at her. “That was Bradly’s idea to do that, and we really did want to see if the stars were closer.”
“You climbed a water tower?” Kipton asked.
Nearly everyone at the table started giving each other telling looks. “Is that a question for the entire table?” Morgan asked with a chuckle.
Kipton looked around with a stunned expression. “You’ve all climbed the tower? Isn’t that against the law or something?”
“Only if you get caught,” Blayze said with a smile.
“You’ve never done that?” I asked. “Climbed a water tower?”
Kipton laughed. “I’ve never had a reason to.”
“You don’t need a reason to do something crazy.” Blayze chuckled. “You just need to be brave enough to do it.”
“Says the man who likes to ride bulls for the fun of it,” Ryan stated with a smug smile in my brother’s direction.
“What else have you done that’s considered crazy?” Kipton asked me directly.
I shrugged. “Nothing, really.”
Dustin busted out laughing, right along with my brother and Ryan. Even Morgan grinned.
“Dude, please. You got drunk one night and demanded Blayze and I let you ride Diablo.”
“Diablo?” Kipton asked, directing the question to Dustin.
With a shake of his head, Dustin said, “Diablo is one of the meanest bulls Ty Junior has ever bred. One night, we all got pretty wasted, and Hunter here decided he wanted to tame the beast.”
Blayze laughed. “We were all too drunk to even realize how bad of an idea it was. I’m not even sure how we got Diablo into the chute, if I’m being honest.”
“Or how in the hell Hunter got on him,” Ryan added.
I frowned. “We don’t need to tell this story.”
“Yes, I think they do!” Kipton said with a wide smile.
I grabbed my beer and leaned back, refusing to partake in the conversation.
“That moment when Hunter gave the head nod and Ryan threw open the gate, I swear we all sobered up instantly,” Blayze said, amusement in his voice.
“How did he do?” Kipton asked, her eyes bouncing around all the men at the table before landing on me. “Did you ride the full eight?”
The entire table busted out laughing, even Georgiana, whom Blayze must have told the story to.
“Do you want to tell her or should I?” Dustin asked.
I exhaled in frustration and said, “I passed out, and Diablo took me for a little ride. I ended up breaking my arm…which really pissed off Dustin.”
“We had a rodeo the next week to compete in,” he said, the memory clearly causing some annoyance to return.
Kipton gasped. “You broke your arm?”
“He didn’t even realize it until the next day, when our mother saw how swollen it was. The ER doctor told my father he could practically smell alcohol leaking from Hunter’s pores.”
I couldn’t hold back and finally laughed at my stupidity.
Kipton shook her head, then asked me, “Have you broken many bones?”
With a half shrug, I said, “I’ve broken my fair share.”
“But the best part of the story,” Rose stated with an evil glint in her eye, “is that Hunter got a pretty nasty cut on the side of his face, and he declared right then and there he would not be pursuing a career in bull riding because his face was too pretty.”
“What?” Kipton laughed. “You actually said that?”
Nodding, I said, “When I woke up from the surgery to put pins in my arm, that was the first thing I said to my mother.”
“Who, I might add, was grateful that at least one of her boys wouldn’t be climbing back onto a bull,” Blayze mused as he lifted his beer, and I followed. We clinked our glasses and laughed.
“I’m confused. Why is that part funny?”
“Because I still ride them, of course. Just not competitively, and only if I know the bull won’t kick my ass.”
“Takes all the fun out of watching him,” Ryan stated.
Kipton stared at me for a moment, then asked, “Have you gotten hurt team roping?”
“I have a few times, but nothing too bad. My horse got spooked once and went one way. I went the other and got thrown.”
“The last one was your broken ankle last summer,” Morgan said. “He walked around on it like it wasn’t broken.”
“Probably why the damn thing healed wrong,” Dustin said with a shake of his head.
Glaring at Dustin, I said, “I can still ride and rope just fine.”
“I’d love to see you both in action,” Kipton said.
Smiling, I nodded. “I think we can arrange that.”
The music started again, and an old song by Garth Brooks, “Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House,” blared from the speakers.