Ride Rough - Tessa Layne Page 0,52

summer sunset. "Gooo Jaxon," she hollered, suddenly standing as the chute opened and Jaxon burst out on a black bull that Cecilia could swear snorted. She counted silently to eight, heart hammering. How could these guys think this was fun?

Next to her, Izzie jumped up and down, yelling like she was at a rodeo, not a practice session.

"So... tell me about Trace?" she asked when they were seated again. "What's he look like when he's not wearing hug-me-tight jeans?" She smiled too brightly.

Cecilia knew better than to push. Izzie had always been tight-lipped where Jaxon Boyd was concerned. She knew there was far more there than met the eye, but Izzie was notorious about playing certain cards close to the vest, especially the cards that concerned Jax. She let herself be pulled in a different direction. "Let's just say you really can bounce a quarter off that perfect ass," she confessed, trying her damndest not to grin like an idiot.

Izzie squeezed her hand. "Well, it's obvious you're blissed-out."

"It's pretty nice," Cecilia agreed. "But it still bugs me I can't place him."

"Could be he's a doppelgänger, and nothing more. If he's being sweet to you, why not let it go?"

"Because what if I fall for him and he turns out to be an asshole?"

"Are you worried you're falling for him?"

She nodded solemnly, butterflies taking wing in her belly. "You know that saying about being too good to be true?"

Izzie scoffed. "And maybe he's just prince fucking charming." She arched a brow, looking every bit the English teacher she was. "And maybe you deserve it. Don't fight it Ceece." Izzie turned back to the action in the arena. "Trace is up." Izzie jumped to her feet.

Cecilia followed suit, concern for Trace growing as the bull he was assigned to bucked in the chute. Trace stood over it, and ran a foot over the bull's spine again, to let it know he was there. But his foot only set off another round of snorting and bucking. "You think he's okay?"

"Of course," Izzie assured her. "These bulls aren't rank the way the big crazy PBR ones are."

Cecilia made a face. "I don't know... he looks pretty rank to me."

Trace tried again, and this time the bull stayed calm enough he could climb on. As the seconds ticked by, worry grew in her chest. What if something happened to him? Cody Hansen, Colton's business partner, had nearly died from a bull riding accident. Jaxon had broken bones and landed in the hospital a handful of times before he retired from the big leagues to become a math teacher at the high school. Trace was still new to bull riding. She'd seen him hang on as much as she'd seen him go flying, but this bull was ornery. Trace tightened the bull rope then looked up, searching for her. That tiny action spoke volumes, and she waved back with both hands, giving him a thumbs up. "You can do it, Trace," she shouted.

"You've got this," Izzie added at the top of her lungs.

He flashed his million-watt smile and gave the signal, moving forward in the chute as the bull burst out. The second the bull leaped, Cecilia could tell something was wrong. Trace's weight was in the wrong spot because the bull had twisted as it lunged. She counted under her breath, shaking her head as the fear inside her mounted with each jump and turn. "Oh god, he's falling," she muttered as she clutched Izzie. Trace looked sideways. How was he staying on? "He's going to land on his head," she hollered to no one and everyone. When it happened, it went like a slow-motion movie. For an awful moment, Trace hung suspended in the air, feet above his head before crashing to the ground like a rag doll.

The scene flashed to warp speed. Cecilia was on her feet, taking the bleacher steps by two as Trace lay motionless, surrounded by the other guys. "Trace," she screamed, fear slamming into her with the force of a cement truck. Nightmare scenarios flashed through her mind, one after the other, as she clambered over the rails and hurtled across the dirt, pushing through the men to fall at her knees by Trace's side. She took his hand, searching for a pulse. "Trace, can you hear me? Talk to me." She glanced up at the men surrounding her. "Do you need to get the backboard? Have you checked for breaks?"

Behind her, Jaxon cleared his throat. "Uh, CiCi?"

"Which one