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“Did Esteban breed that Bremer?” Joseph asked, pronouncing Brahman the way most Texas cowboys did.
“No, he bought it from a ranch down in Mexico. Terra Dura. A man by the name of Don Luis Cortez raises some of the finest cattle in the western hemisphere. I’ve contacted him and we’ve exchanged a few emails. He doesn’t do business with just anyone, so I don’t know what kind of luck I’ll have.”
“Terra Dura. Terra Dura. God, I know that name. We’ve had dealings with them at some time or the other.” Joseph wracked his brain. “Oh, well, it will come to me sometime. Why wouldn’t he do business with you? As far as stock contractors go, you’ve got the best reputation in Texas.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m going to keep trying. I’m hoping he’ll see me someday soon.” Bull opened the last gate, allowing Joseph to go through ahead of him. The spring weather was still nippy and damp, every step on his right ankle was a painful reminder of the break that had ended his rodeo career. Damn, he wasn’t old enough to suffer from arthritis. “How’s ole Beau LeBlanc?”
“He’s mean as ever,” Joseph said, then chuckled. “No, he’s good. He and Harley have a new baby, plus Beau’s started a new venture, he bought a Harley-Davidson franchise in Baton Rouge.”
Bull chuckled. “I’ve never ridden a motorcycle in my life. Isn’t that crazy? I don’t think I could balance the damn thing.”
“Well, if you remember my wreck on the dirt bike and the months I spent in a wheelchair, you might not consider it so crazy,” Joseph said in all sincerity.
“True, after surviving the PBR, I guess I ought to be satisfied to ease along at a slower pace. So, what do you and Beau need for this year’s Rascal Rodeo?” Bull asked, guiding Joseph into his office, located at the back of the barn.
“Just the usual. We’ll have the regular rodeo to raise money for the foundation and I’d like some gentle stock for the kids to ride.”
Bull took out his phone, checked his calendar, and typed in a note for later. “I have another rodeo that weekend, but for these little kids, I’ll make it happen. I think it’s great what you and Beau do, throwing this special event for children who suffer with paralysis.”
“You’re not waving your fee this year, so don’t even start.”
Bull ignored Joseph’s edict. “No worries. Like I told Jacob and Lance at that Texas Holdem game, I’ll throw these kids the best rodeo ever.”
“I know you will.” Joseph clapped Bull on the back. “While I’m out this way, I’m going to stop over at Canyon’s place. There’s something he wants to show me. I don’t know what it could be. He’s worked at Tebow for almost a year now and we still don’t know him that well.”
“Canyon’s good people.” Bull didn’t comment further. He knew some of what his neighbor had gone through, but it wasn’t his place to talk about it. “All right, I’ll make the arrangements and send you a copy of the plan.”
Once Joseph left, Bull methodically finished verifying a few dates on the computer. There were five rodeos he would be sending stock to in the next couple of months. Business was booming, he had that to be thankful for. Pushing away from the desk, his rolling chair groaned in protest at his weight. “Oh, shut up,” he admonished the piece of furniture. “I’m not fat.”
Bull stood, kicking the offending chair underneath the desk. By now, everyone would’ve gone home and he was alone again. Locking the door, he took off up the hill toward his cabin, where he’d spend another night in solitude. Since Carol left him, taking little Luke with her, he’d grown to hate the evenings. Not that he missed his ex-wife, their marriage had been over quite a while. But he sure as hell missed that little boy.
As he moved through the gathering gloom, Bull listened to the noises made by the animals as they settled down for the night. Their distant lowing and soft bellows were almost drowned out by the drone of crickets in the nearby woods and the chorus of frogs down by the river. Whoever thought the country was peaceful and quiet at night had never really listened.
Mounting the steps to his porch, Bull heard the distant ring of a hammer on iron. Canyon was still working, no surprise there. His best friend was in the same boat he was, they were both alone. Two bachelors. Both divorced. He knew Canyon dated, nothing serious, but at least he had a woman in his bed occasionally.
When he opened the screen door, it squeaked loudly. If he ever he got around to it, the old hinges could use some oil. Once inside the door, he flipped on the overhead light, illuminating the interior. Despite having lived here all his life, the old house didn’t feel like home and it hadn’t since his parents passed. Carol had never been happy here or content with Bull’s lot in life. He’d won a championship belt and some good-size purses, but no matter what he provided, his wife was never satisfied.
Especially with their sex life.
While he was riding the circuit, she’d been riding his foreman. There was no conjecture on his part, he’d caught them red-handed and the look on her face would stay with him until the end of his days. Rapture. He’d had to beg for a little affection, his wife had been stingy with her body, allowing him only quick fucks every blue moon. But with this other man, she’d wanted it – she’d wanted him. Not Bull. Somebody else.
Even though he’d been shocked, discovering her infidelity came as no huge surprise. Bull had been suspicious, picking up on tell-tale signs – whispered phone calls, heated glances, and both Carol and Matt Lawton disappearing at the same time, once even coming out of the barn together after he’d bellowed his head off calling for them. Writing off the incidents as coincidence was difficult, but Bull didn’t want to believe what was right in front of his face. When his wife informed Bull that she was pregnant, total joy wiped out the wariness. Thoughts of a baby to love and welcome to the family banished the hunches plaguing his sleepless nights. But when he’d come home early and found her playing cowgirl on top of the naked cowpoke, Bull went ballistic. Matt Lawton was long-gone in a matter of hours – he’d seen to that, beating the shit out of the little prick.
At first his wife had cried, asking for forgiveness and begging to stay. Bull had wanted the baby to be his so much, he agreed. He even refused to insist on a paternity test. If Carol had given their marriage half a chance, he would’ve maintained the status quo, transferring all his affection to the child he loved before it was even born. But she hadn’t, she’d waited long enough for the baby to wrap his little fingers around Bull’s heart, then she’d reconciled with his ex-employee, declaring Lawton to be the father.
Left with nothing but an empty house and emptier dreams, he’d sued for joint custody. The court battle had gotten nasty and the neglected test for paternity was carried out with heartbreaking results. Bull wasn’t the father. Yet he insisted he had rights, his name was listed on the birth certificate. Unfortunately, that had made little difference.
Some people would call Bull a fool, but he was still sending his ex and her baby money, refusing to let the child do without anything he needed.
Oh well, at least this fool could sleep at night without a guilty conscience.
What he couldn’t do was get hard.
His wife’s constant vitriol had robbed him of his manhood. He could still hear her harsh, ridiculing voice ringing in his ears. You’re a lousy lover. You might be hung like a bull, but you’re clumsy as one too. I never had an orgasm with you inside me, not once. In fact, I faked most of them. Even when you went down on me, I couldn’t cum. All you ever gave me was a lick and a promise. How do you mess up oral sex?
Well, Bull wouldn’t know. She’d never gone down on him. He cursed the years he’d been faithful to that bitch, turning away the droves of women who offered him sex on the circuit. And now that he was free, he was impotent. Just his fuckin’ luck, robbed of his ability to make love by the one woman who should’ve loved him unconditionally.
Oh, yea, he knew it was all just in his head. There wasn’t anything physically wrong with him. But he didn’t know how to get her words and the look on her face out of his brain. The one time he’d tried, picking up a girl in a bar in Dallas – well, suffice it to say…he’d never put himself in that position again. She’d made fun of him. Now, he could add her laughter to Carol’s insults and the result was that he slept alone, dreaming of a woman who’d welcome his touch, who’d want him as much as he craved her, but far too cowardly to go out and find one.
