Free Thrown: Studs in Spurs, Book 6 by Cat Johnson

had stopped worrying about the speed limit. Her father would have bitched about her speeding had he been awake, but lucky for her, he hadn’t been.
    They were hauling six bulls tonight with the smaller of their two stock trailers. She knew the truck could handle it, and the speed had helped her stay awake. Creeping along at the legal limit on an interstate with nothing to look at would have lulled her to sleep for sure.
    The trailer bounced and rocked as Riley steered from the smooth roadway onto their gravel drive. She slowed to a crawl and headed toward the bull pasture.
    “Dad. We’re here.” Riley cut the engine and turned in the driver’s seat. “Dad. Wake up. We have to unload.”
    “Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m up.” Her father sat forward in his seat and reached for the passenger door handle before he stopped and blew out a breath.
    In the midst of opening her own door, Riley paused and looked back. “You all right?”
    “Yeah. Sore as shit. I should’ve known not to sleep in the truck.” He rubbed his left shoulder with his right hand. “I’m paying for it now. Even my fingers are tingling.” He cringed and clenched his fist a few times.
    “I’m sorry.” Maybe she should have woken him up during the drive. Moving around in the seat was better than being in one cramped position for hours.
    “Not your fault, baby girl. Just me getting old. Come on. Let’s get ’em unloaded. My stomach still feels like crap. I’ll be happy to be done and get inside.”
    “Okay.” With one more glance at her father, Riley climbed down from the cab.
    There were half a dozen champion bucking bulls waiting not so patiently to be off loaded from the twenty-four-foot stock trailer. As if they sensed they were home, or maybe even smelled that they were, they were ready to get out. Their stomps and an occasional bellow told her that.
    “Hang on, boys. I’m coming.” She’d already backed the trailer right up to the fencing of the pasture. All she’d have to do is open the gate and then set the ramp the bulls would walk down from the back of the trailer to the ground.
    They were all experienced in the procedure, both humans and animals. They’d done this enough times. Good thing, because her father wasn’t looking well. As he came around the side of the trailer, he seemed to be breathing heavier than normal. Like he was winded from just that short walk. The quicker they got done, the better she’d feel. Him too.
    “Dad, I can handle this if you want to go inside.”
    “Hell, girl. The day I can’t unload my own trailer is the day you might as well put me in the ground.”
    “Fine. You open the gate. I’ll get the ramp.” She’d let him try to help, but she intended to do as much as she could so he didn’t have to.
    Riley skittered up the ramp and unlatched the trailer door. Most stubborn man alive, Butch Davis was. But Riley was his daughter and she’d give him a run for his money.
    The bulls were as anxious to get to their home as Riley was to get to hers, so unloading took barely any time at all. Soon, she and her father were dragging their tired butts into the house.
    “You want me to make you something to eat? You never had dinner.”
    Her father shook his head at her offer. “Nah. I’m still not feeling right. Damn fast food. Must’ve been what I had for lunch. I’m just gonna lie down on the couch for a minute then hit the shower and bed.”
    “Okay.” Riley didn’t remind him they’d had the same thing for lunch and she felt fine. She’d let it go and if he wasn’t better in the morning, they’d deal with it then. Though getting him to even consider a doctor would be a battle. Maybe she could talk to the pharmacist in town about what to give him besides the antacids for a bad stomach.
    With that plan in mind, Riley kissed her father on the cheek. “I’m hitting the shower then I’m heading to bed. Good night.”
    “Night, baby.” He plopped heavily onto the cushions, looking every bit his