Hanging on (Jessica Brodie Diaries #2) Read online

  “He’s good,” Lump said, now leaning against the fence holding the bars.

  “That bull wasn’t great. Although, yes, he is really good.”

  “How long has he been doing it?”

  “I don’t know. Never asked.”

  She obviously needed to be in an extreme sport club. Maybe that is what she was missing in her life.

  Next up was Adam. He rode a massive brindle that bucked as high and wildly as the ones I saw in the rodeo. Adam lasted longer than I thought he could, but I doubted it was the needed eight seconds. When he was flung off he landed on his shoulder, his legs toppling over his own body. It looked painful.

  Ty danced around, waving his arms, trying to catch the bull’s attention, then ran as the bull charged after him.

  I heard Lump say, “Oh my God!” a couple times at the bull’s awesome display. Then a muttered curse as Adam was thrown.

  “He’s really good, too.” Lump’s voice was a bit more breathy than usual.

  I laughed. Lump turned bright red and cleared her throat, resuming her “unaffected” face.

  “He’s hanging onto his shoulder, though. It probably hurts,” I said, clutching the bars with her. I risked a glance across her at David.

  His eyes were squinted, all his focus on the other man. He didn’t know Lump and Adam’s history, so he didn’t know that her spurts of sexual desire made her as uncomfortable as it made him. As it made Adam.

  He wouldn’t be around long enough for the explanation, though.

  William was up next. He road another brute that kicked like a mad hatter. William stayed on a touch longer, but was thrown, landing in a heap. He jumped up, experienced, and ran for the side.

  I met him at the back, Lump and her man following.

  “Are you hurt?” I asked as I got close.

  “No, but Adam might be.”

  We followed William to Adam, sitting on a dirty table with some discarded coffee cups, still clutching his shoulder. Seeing us, he smoothed over the pain lancing his face.

  “How’d that ride go?” William asked, standing next to the table.

  “Did you see me? How high did I get?” Adam asked with strain in his voice.

  “High enough that you should have bought airfare. How’s that shoulder?”

  “Hurt’s like the devil! That bull was somethin’! You need to have Ty ride it. I think a couple more rides to make sure, then get ‘em in!”

  Adam noticed Lump off to the side with her man. He smiled. “How’d you like it? First time, right? Exciting?”

  Lump smiled and her eyes glimmered with expectation. “I want to ride one.”

  Adam’s smile slipped and he looked at William.

  “No,” David said loudly.

  Lump turned, meeting David’s eyes with a straight face. Without comment, she turned back to William. “I want to ride one.”

  I grimaced and shifted uncomfortably.

  William looked from Lump to David, then back. He was uncomfortable, too, but trying not to show it. Finally, he looked at me, wanting someone else to get involved so he didn’t have to.

  “She could just ride a steer like I did, right? I’ve been meaning to try again, anyway. I think I can do better!”

  William gave me a dark look and sighed. “Women aren’t all that bright,” he said to the guys.

  “But men are, right Adam?” Lump said with disdain. “They never do stupid stuff like ride big bulls, right? You want me to fix that shoulder for you?”

  Adam looked at her in disquiet. “Why? What are you going to do?”

  “She’s good at sport’s injuries,” David commented, looking at the bulls with his hands in his pockets.

  “Yeah, she is great with massages,” I added. “Not that she doles them out often.”

  “Depends on what I’m messaging,” Lump said with a smirk.

  “Ew.”

  Lump walked behind a nervous Adam. “Remove your shirt, if you can.”

  “I’m fine with it on.”

  “Everyone is happier with you clothed, yes. You still stink. However, I can’t see the muscles I am working with. I won’t hurt you unless absolutely necessary.”

  “Oh that is comfortin’.” Adam said as he looked at David. Apparently seeing nothing to scare him away, he laboriously took off his shirt, wincing with each movement.

  Lump examined what looked like a normal shoulder. “Okay,” she said, lightly placing her hands on the shoulder blade, “you need to be honest with me. If it hurts, even a little, if it is tender anywhere, you need to speak up. Okay?”

  Adam nodded. Goosebumps were spreading across his skin. Lump muttered something that sounded like an apology about the temperature of her hands.

  She pushed in various places, lifted the shoulder slightly, moved it this way and that, all the while listening for Adam’s cues about pain. Ty wandered off to get more people riding bulls. William did the same, saying if we needed anything to shout.

  Lump, now knowing where all the painful spots were, started to message.

  “This is going to be uncomfortable, and probably hurt in some places. I am not going to cure you like a witch doctor or anything, but I will give you more movement and cut recovery in half if you go home tonight and apply ice.”

  Adam clenched his jaw and nodded. Lump started kneading, working his muscles with an expect hand. Adam flinched every so often, but after a while, he started to loosen up, his lids growing heavy. He almost looked drowsy.

  “She’s good, right?” I said, nodding. “She took masseuse classes.”

  “You’re not supposed to tell people that,” Lump said, focusing on the treatment. “You’re supposed to say I’m a natural.”

  “I do—a natural blond. Dumb as a post.”

  Lump snorted. The boys were in their own world and didn’t notice my delightful wit.

  The message lasted about twenty minutes from beginning to end. When Lump was satisfied, she let Adam put his shirt back on, but not without stealing a glance at his torso, naughty girl.

  He moved it around in a circle. “I think it might hurt worse now than it did,” he said to her, laughing.

  She smirked and shrugged, apparently unaffected. “You’ll see.”

  I had been watching closely for a romantic spark, even though Lump was in professional mode. It meant that I completely missed raging storm clouds on David’s face until Adam was putting his shirt back on. He had watched a different scene then I did, viewed through the scope of jealousy. He did not like Lump helping Adam at all. Or possibly, he didn’t like the easy communication they shared. He didn’t know about the underlying current of wariness.

  “Lump, can I talk to you for a minute?” David asked politely.

  I excused myself with Adam and followed him to the ring.

  “Nice going,” I said to him.

  “What?”

  “You got her in trouble with all your muscles and man sweat.”

  “My man sweat? I thought girls don’t like the sticky and smell.”

  “I can’t speak for all women, but I don’t like to touch that muck, no. But men think, that girls think, that man sweat is sexy. That guy probably thought Lump wanted to lick your nastiness clean. Like a cat.”

  Adam got a strange look on his face and turned back to Lump. He jumped, then flinched, clutching his shoulder. I followed his gaze. Then sighed dramatically. It always ended with this, lately.

  Lump was not in her “ready for anything” stance, but in her “I am going to rip your head off and I don’t care who knows it” stance. Something David said or did got to her, and now her temper, slow to ignite, flared. It meant that at the minute, she was truly a dangerous girl. One that put people in hospitals.

  The worse news was, he was ready to fight back. I’d thought he was one of the good guys, but you fight against a chick three times a week in practice, it probably made the real thing seem totally normal. Lump seemed to think so.

  I made a decision—she was no longer allowed
to date people from that accursed school!

  Adam took off at a jog. I followed after him, intending to tell him to stay he hell back, because he was most likely worried about the wrong person. Also, that you needed logic when she got like this, not physical restraint, unless you just wanted to make her madder.

  The waiting ended when David threw the first punch, right at her face. I’d seen Lump fight before, but never against someone that knew how to fight back. As the fist cut through the air, Lump shifted, subtly, swatting it away with a lazy hand, then counter-attacking.

  Her punch was met with a block two beats before her foot connected with his thigh, nearly taking the feet out from under him. He was fast and pretty good, but she was just as fast, and more experienced.

  He tried to kick. She blocked, circling him. She blocked another punch, then started hammering him. Punch, swipe, punch, kick, landing blows to his body that had him grunting and gasping.

  David hadn’t even reacted before she was moving again, kicking at his leg, hitting lower on his body, then whirling away, anticipating his next move. It was as graceful as a well-choreographed dance, but quicker, and way more violent. I could hear her fists and legs connecting, and hear David’s continued grunts and whoosh of breath at the inflicted pain. He kept going, though. He kept trying to get her. Without succeeding.

  Adam was braced on the outskirts of their imaginary fighting circle, watching her kick David’s ass with his mouth hanging open. It took until that moment, seeing the look of complete and utter shock on his face, to realize that he had never believed she was capable of self-defense. Not really. He had never believed she could handle the situation at Froggy’s, or deal with her crazy dates. Not until that exact moment. And until that moment, he probably didn’t realize how freaking turned on it made him. Not that I was looking, but it was kind of obvious.

  Lump ended the fight in a display of prowess by doing a pin-wheel looking roundhouse kick. She turned and half-squatted then spun around, jumped, then landed an extremely painful looking kick to David’s stomach. He bent over double, ready to lay down and die.

  She finished him off with a big, swinging punch. The loud crack erupted blood from his nose like a volcano as he fell back against the dirt, limp.

  Adam was over his daze but hadn’t moved in, preferring to watch the spectacle that was Lump. Her deadly grace had him entranced, her complete control of her body, her fluid motions, her aching vulnerability at the pain with which he identified; Adam was a goner. The stars in his eyes totally gave him away!

  William was going to be smug about this one.

  All too soon, but not soon enough for poor David, the show was over. Adam lunged and grabbed Lump before she could do further damage, not noticing the pain in his shoulder as he pinned her to his chest. A couple cowboys jumped between Lump and David to make sure the fight was over, unsure whether to keep the man away because that was what they were used to doing, or restrain the girl because she was the one kicking ass. It helped that the man in this situation was unconscious. Not much to do, there.

  One of the miniature cowboys’ dads volunteered to take David to the hospital. He was trying desperately to keep the smile from his face. Men did love a good fight!

  Lump was still struggling with Adam, but not to go after David. She wanted to stand on her own. To be left alone with her pain. Her face was torn and broken, mirroring her emotions. It gripped my heart.

  I ran after Adam, worried that one would incite rage in the other.

  As Adam’s arm held her, Lump twisted one way, then lurched to the other. Despite Adam’s shoulder, he held on tighter than she could break. Lump, in her current madness, lifted her legs up to where Adam had to hold all her weight, leaning back a little to do so, both arms holding tight.

  I knew this move. She taught it to me. She would curl her feet into her chest, making him lean back to hold her, then swing them down. Three-fourths of her weight would drive into the ground, throwing him over her. He would need to let go at the last minute to put his hands up in front of his face. Big guys like him would generally go face first into the ground.

  Adam would not let go of her. He’d take whatever punishment she inflicted, to continue trying to help. She was not the victim in this one, she was the attacker.

  “Lump! No! You’ll be as bad as you said Adam was. You are being your dad right now! You’ll hurt him! Stop!”

  Lump’s feet were held in such a way that I could tell she was struggling for control.

  “You’ll hurt him, Lump. He is trying to help you. To protect you, Lump. That’s all he ever wanted to do. Why is everything a fight with you?” I was keeping my voice a plead instead of anger. I was scared and I let that trickle into my voice.

  To Adam I said, “Put her down, Adam. Get her feet to the ground. Lump, don’t move. His shoulder is hurting. He isn’t the bad guy in this. You are. I don’t know how to Jane you with knowledge in this, but you are hurting everyone around you. You are dragging everyone down with you.” I felt a tear leak out of my eye.

  The fight went out of her. Her limbs went slack. Her expression fell.

  Adam slowed, holding her with his good arm, trying to let his wounded shoulder dangle. I stepped forward, ready to take her, but Adam said, “I got her Jessica.”

  His voice was soft, supportive. Understanding.

  William and Ty ran over panting as a tear ran down my face.

  “What happened?” William asked, confused by Adam holding Lump.

  “Lump was fighting, again, and Adam had to keep her from killing her boyfriend. Or, probably, ex-boyfriend.” I was still looking at Lump.

  She had tears in her eyes. I could see the agony and dejected sorrow on her face that must be the mirror of what existed in her soul. It looked as though her demons could easily rival Adam’s.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Adam was now kneeled beside her, talking to her quietly. She was nodding and shaking her head in response to his questions. He was smoothing her hair and rubbing her shoulder. He finally nodded, stood up, and helped her to her feet.

  She looked up at William with eyes doing little to mask her inner turmoil and pain. “I owe you an apology. I should not have done that on your land. I won’t be fighting anymore for a while until I get myself under control. I am sorry that I embarrassed you. And myself.”

  My heart ached. I looked at Adam, who was also studying Lump.

  William, missing all this for lack of not knowing her like I did, and now like Adam did, looked at Ty, trying to mask a smile. “I think you should stop fighting for a while. Frankly, I don’t want to piss you off!”

  He and Ty chuckled. Adam, Lump and I didn’t.

  “However,” he said, suddenly conscious he was missing something, “you far from embarrassed me. I had no idea you could do all that! No one will say anything bad about a woman holding her own. Not out here.”

  She still looked down-trodden and miserable, but nodded her thanks. Adam was responding to her emotionally as I had never seen anyone do. It looked like he was reaching out with himself, trying to heal her pain. I had a feeling it was the same pain he had buried inside, he had just worked on dealing with it longer.

  “I meet these guys in Muay Thai. None of them know I’ve mastered another discipline for just such an occasion.”

  “You’re hurt,” he whispered, reaching without hesitation and wiping away a spot of blood on her forehead. She didn’t flinch or move away, letting him clean her up.

  When he finally backed away, he was trying, and failing, to hide his compassion for what she was going through.

  It was time to wrap this up. If you let Lump wallow in self-pity, it would eat away at her, taking her into a downward spiral. You had to keep her active so she couldn’t over-think.

  “Lump, I am going to ride a steer.” Which I really don’t want to do. “Would you mind taking Adam’s spot and helping William get me on?”

  She looked up at me, knowing exactly what I was doing, and th
ankful for it. She nodded eagerly. As we pushed past the others, I saw Lump give William a look of gratitude and a kindhearted smile to Adam.

  And here I was. Again. On a damned bull. I really never intended to ride one again. Once was enough for bragging rights. But here I was, yet again.

  William secured everything and checked me to make sure I was good. I got me my old friend from last time, the hopper. He then looked into my eyes and saw that I was scared shitless. I knew what to expect—or rather, I knew of all the things I might be surprised with, and I was trembling from the worry.

  William smiled. “I’ll be in the ring with you, okay? Remember to let go. This little guy will do the same thing he did last time, so just hang on for dear life.” He winked and hopped into the ring.

  Lump was up with the chute, Adam on the ground beside it.

  “Okay, Jessie. You a’right?” Adam called.

  “Uh huh.”

  He laughed. “Nervous?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Kay, now. Do just like Willie said. Hang on to the brute, but when you start to fall, remember to let go. Keep that hand up, move that ass like you were ridin’ Willie!”

  The guys gathered around started laughing.

  “A’right, Betz. Show time. Give’er a count and set that gate flyin’!”

  Lump smiled down at me and giggled. Lump, giggle?

  “Good luck!” she said as she flung the gate open.

  “Waaiiiiiitttttt!” I said as the steer took off.

  I did like Adam said. I put one hand in the air, and tried to move my bottom half with the bull, letting my upper half relax. I definitely stayed on longer than the last time, but then I felt myself starting to slip.

  I let go and pushed with my legs to jump off. I landed on my back, jumped up, and ran.

  “Wrong way!”

  William was walking over to me with a big smile on his face. He hugged me tightly. “Have fun?”

  “Hot tub.”

  He snickered. “Well, you managed seven seconds. You almost made it! That is great for your second try!”

  “It was a ball-less bull, Little Willie, I don’t think that counts.”