Dancing Moon Ranch 8 Dancing With Danger Patricia Watters

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kiss her, she looked at the TV, which was on pause, and said, "What are you watching?"
"Bulls," Josh replied.
When he still made no attempt to kiss her, Genie said, "Is this a bad time for me to be here?"
Josh combed his fingers through his hair, leaving it mussed up in an appealing way, and said,
"Yeah, maybe& well, I guess not."
"Is that a yes or a no?" Genie asked, wondering what had changed between the time when she left
Josh in the barn with Ferdinand earlier that afternoon and now.
"I guess whether you're here or not is up to you," Josh replied. "I need to study some videos of
bulls that I'll be facing at the rodeo, so you might not want to watch."
"I already told you I'd set aside my preconceived ideas about what you do until after the rodeo,
so maybe it should start with me watching the videos with you," Genie replied.
"Fine, have a seat." Instead of pulling her into his arms and kissing her, or maybe tugging her
down to sit on his lap, Josh punched the remote, and when the video started up he sat on the couch
with his elbows on his knees and his eyes fixed on the TV screen.
Genie sat beside him but left some space between them because, from every indication since
she'd arrived, that's how he wanted it. Something had definitely happened.
His eyes fixed on the screen, Josh said, "This bull's the one Jeremy wants to draw. All bulls have
bucking and turning patterns so that's what I'm watching for."
He turned the volume upward, bringing Genie's attention to the announcer on the video& "Curt
Boyd's about to ride an 1800 pound stick of dynamite called Trouble Ahead," the announcer said.
"Trouble Ahead's a bull that's trained to come out of the chute like a Texas twister, and here they
come& "
Genie focused on the screen where a huge tan bull bucked and twisted and kicked so high to get
rid of the rider it looked like he'd flip over, all the while two rodeo bullfighters constantly moved
around the bull, seeming in more danger than the rider as the bull thrashed out with his hooves in all
directions.
A different voice cut in& "This ride started miraculously. Curt was making a whale of a ride,
doing very well and would have won the bull riding hands down, then a half second before victory
he was thrown, and after that, absolute horror&
Josh angled his head toward Genie, and said, "That's one of the bullfighters narrating the video."
There was momentary silence on the video as the bullfighters raced around the bull, trying to get
the animal's attention away from the downed rider, but instead, the bull lowered his head and went
after the rider, hitting him squarely and rolling him over.
The bullfighter's voice-over continued: "Trouble Ahead slammed his horns into Curt's head,
knocking him out cold. Curt's motionless body lay totally unprotected in the middle of the arena,
and as the bull moved in for the kill, all I wanted was to get him off Curt because Curt was
defenseless."
Genie watched the video as the bull jabbed his horns beneath the man and tossed him into the air
like a rag doll, and when the man hit the ground, the bull went after him...
Again, the bullfighter's voice-over cut in: "I saw the bull again moving in for the kill so I threw
myself between the bull and Curt and covered Curt with my body. The bull tried to push me off but
I hung on, knowing I had to keep Curt covered until my team could distract the bull, but Trouble
Ahead kept coming, and even after we were both clear and I thought the bull was done, he
unleashed his fury on Curt one more time. The pick-up men finally lassoed Trouble Ahead and got
him out of the arena so the paramedics could go in and take care of Curt& "
Genie looked askance at Josh, who was staring intently at the screen while the bullfighter
continued with, "Trouble Ahead beat the living hell out of me that day..."
Josh clicked off the video, and for a few moments Genie stared at the blank screen, saying
nothing. But when Josh also sat staring at the screen, she finally said what was foremost on her mind,"
I don't understand how you can want to do that."
"It gets in your blood," Josh replied. "It's the biggest rush a guy can take. Adrenaline courses
through your veins, your heart races, and you feel like your whole body's charged with energy. Then
your main focus is gaining control of the situation. If you mess up, some cowboy's going to pay the
price, but when everything works the way it should and the cowboy walks away with just some dirt
on his jeans, there's no better feeling in the world."
Genie tried to keep her mind open, but watching a video of a bull repeatedly attacking a man, and
a bullfighter throwing himself on top of the man being attacked, then hearing Josh say, it's the biggest
rush a guy can take, didn't compute with her. "Don't you worry about getting injured, that if you mess
up you might pay the price?" she asked.
Josh shook his head. "I can't afford to take negative thoughts into the arena because a strong
mental attitude is crucial to maintaining control. I train and condition for the worst then go into the
arena knowing I can handle it."
Finding no immediate argument, Genie said, "What happened to the bull rider in the video?"
Josh shrugged. "He had a few scrapes and bruises but his protective vest absorbed most of the
beating. The bullfighter took a heavier beating because he was wearing an old-style vest."
Reaffirming again that she would try to keep an open mind in spite of the voices in her head
screaming to her that she was as foolishly reckless as Josh to even consider linking herself with him
in any way, Genie said, "What kind of vest do you wear?"
"One like body armor." Josh went into a back room and returned holding a padded leather vest,
and said, "This thing has multiple layers that are pressed together in a cell pattern that spreads the
impact, and the layers are shielded by an anti-ballistic material that's the strongest man-made fiber on
earth. It's been shot at with bullets from a .38 special, a .357 magnum, and even 9mm Gecos from an
Uzi."
"That's all well and good if the bull comes at you with a semiautomatic," Genie said, "but I don't
see how the vest can prevent thoracic compression injuries if a bull stomps directly on your chest. Put
an egg between the front and back of that vest and step on it and the egg will break."
Josh didn't reply, but Genie knew it wasn't as if he had no argument, but more like he had [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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