Page 43 of Hard To Fall
“The fuck we are,” Colt exclaims.
I immediately grab the phone from the holder, taking him off speaker. Thankfully, all I hear is his cheering in the background, and hopefully, he didn’t hear Colt. “Yes, we’re all very excited to see Levi ride again. Mr. Dillard, I hate to cut this short, but I have another call coming up shortly, so I have to run. I’ll send the contract over shortly. Thank you for your time, and we’ll touch base again in a few days. Bye.”
I wait until I hear the click on his end, and then I slam the phone down in its cradle.
“How dare you!” I bite out. “Do you know what it took to get him? And that lineup?”
“I don’t give a fuck. We look like sellouts with that lineup.”
“Are you crazy? That's the best lineup this place has had in over a year!”
“And where am I in this lineup? Rodeos need bull riders, not fucking horse trotters.”
Levi’s chair scrapes against the tile floor. “Brother, you’re out of line. I’m saving your ass here.”
“Saving me?” Colt laughs nonhumorously.
“You can't ride, Colt,” Will speaks up.
“Says who?”
“Doc Jones.” Maria steps toward Colt, “Honey, I know this is hard, but eventually, you have to have your last ride.”
“I know that. And I will. But it hasn’t happened yet.” He looks right at me. “Put me on that fucking lineup, Lily. I’m riding.”
I shake my head slowly back and forth. “I won’t do it, Colt.”
“You will.”
He’s got me locked in to his stare. My heart is racing, and not just for the simple fact that he’s talking to me. But for the fact that I can’t let him get hurt. He walks out, leaving the four of us staring at each other.
“We’ll go talk to him,” Will says.
Levi waits until his parents step out, then leans toward me, lowering his voice. “That was impressive.”
“What?”
“Standing up to him, keeping your cool after what he said to you out there.”
I furrow my brows. “You heard?”
He nods once.
I shrug. “I’m working,” I say evenly. “Things still need to get done.”
“You’re punishing him,” Levi says.
I stare at him. “By not putting him in the lineup? Come on, Levi, you and I both know he can’t ride anymore. He’s in too much pain and too stubborn to say.”
“I know that, you know that, fuck, Colt knows that, but he’s a man with pride, Lily. You’re going to have to put him on. It’s up to him to decide if it’s his last ride or not.” He pauses, and his mouth tightens. “He didn’t mean it, you know.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not how words work,” I say calmly.
“He’s scared.”
“And I’m not?” I answer. “I’ve been where he is, Levi. I’ve been told I can’t ride anymore, and then I had to find a new calling. I found it, with the rodeo circuit. And I actually thought I found a new beginning here at Hearts RoundUp.”
“I think it’s still here.”
