Free Buckle Down by Melissa Ecker Page B

men on Friday and four
were left on Sunday. All four would ride this morning and face off for the
championship.
    She had watched her brother do this for years, but the
tension today had her stomach flip-flopping.
    Natalie squeezed her hand and smiled. “I think we’re
cheering for two teams today.”
    “I don’t know. I feel so torn. I can’t choose one or the
other. I want them both to win. God, I don’t even want to watch.”
    Luke walked into the ring and waved. People in the crowd
jumped to their feet and hooted and hollered and whistled. No doubt, he was the
favorite, the hometown hero. Everybody loved him. He drove women nuts with his
tight shirt and Levi’s and men respected him because he was good, really good,
at his sport. And unstoppable.
    Luke smiled and nodded at the commotion before blowing a
kiss to Natalie. She smiled and blew one back. The other contestants filed into
the ring and all the men shook hands. Luke was by far the most popular with the
crowd.
    The line-up this morning had Shane riding first and Luke
going last. Tess white knuckled the edge of her seat as she watched Shane climb
on the bull that already bucked and jumped inside the pen. She had seen her
brother injured before and the thought of Shane being thrown created a lump in
her throat.
    She fought the urge to close her eyes and instead said a
silent prayer. Not for him to win but for him to just be okay. Men died in this
sport. She grew up hearing the saying, “It’s not if you get hurt, it’s when.”
    Natalie peeled Tess’ fingers off the chair and squeezed her hand.
“Relax, sweetheart. He’ll be fine. He knows what he’s doing.”
    Tess smiled and took a deep breath as the buzzer sounded and
the gate flew open.
    One arm up, Shane entered the ring, his legs holding strong
around the animal’s shoulders. His black Stetson stayed on his head as he held
fast to the bull rope. The rodeo clowns and barrel men circled him as the clock
ticked off the seconds. The animal kicked his rear legs high and Shane lost his
grip, landing hard in the dirt, but he made the eight seconds. He immediately
jumped to his feet while the clown wearing the pink rain boots distracted the
bull.
    Shane waved to the crowd and jogged out of the ring.
    Tess exhaled and smiled at Natalie. “He did good.”
    Natalie nodded. “He did real good.”
    She waited to see his score on the screen at the back of the
arena. The crowd cheered when Shane Wyatt’s name popped up with a score of 94. Damn
good score.
    Tess jumped up and whistled and clapped.
    They sat through the next two contenders who both scored
below Shane. Next up was Luke. He needed a 95 to win.
    Tess and Natalie held hands again and watched Luke mount the
bull. The gate was unlatched and he went through the same motions as the last
three bull riders. The main focus was to stay atop the bull for the whole eight
seconds and hope to hell the bull performs as well as the rider.
    Luke consistently scored in the 90’s and had won the
championship for the last six years. Whether her brother won or not it would be
bittersweet. He made the eight seconds and jumped off the bull and the crowd
cheered.
    “It’s gonna be close,” Natalie yelled over the noise in the
stands.
    “I know. I’m so nervous for both of them.”
    The last four contenders found their way into the arena. The
announcer’s voice sounded over the speakers, giving third and fourth place,
leaving just Luke and Shane. The two men regarded one another and Luke stuck
his hand out. Shane shook it and nodded.
    “And the 2012 championship goes to newcomer Shane Wyatt.
Second place goes to Luke Reilly. We have a new champion, folks. Let’s give it
up for Shane.”
    Tess squealed and jumped down the stairs to stand by the
gate while Shane was presented with a belt buckle and a fake-looking check.
    Luke patted him on the back and smiled before walking toward
where Tess waited. “Your boy kicked ass. He gave a good ride.” He leaned over
the