Bullheaded

lashes fanned across his cheeks, his lips soft. The only sign of trouble was the slight frown that knit his brows together.

    Z ANE was the only boy Johnny said more than “you’re welcome” to when they went down the line to shake the men’s hands, Cody noticed.
    He wouldn’t even look at Bobby Blue when they shook hands, not that it mattered much. Cody knew well enough that he was the only one who had the star power to make much impact on Bobby Blue, but he resented that the kid couldn’t see how great Johnny was. The kid never did bother about what any of the hands thought of him, letting their advice slide off him as if he never even heard it. Cody’s dad Davis wasn’t even on his radar, and Bobby Blue was polite to Val only because under all his bullshit he’d been brought up well. Or maybe it was because she wouldn’t stand for any of his crap. When she ordered him to wash the dishes, all he said was, “Yes, ma’am,” and did it.
    Cody was betting Bobby Blue would be a good rider one day, once his swollen head went down to normal size. That would only happen after he got some actual riding experience under his belt. He was still a blowhard and too impressed with himself, but he worked hard and he had good instincts. In fact, Cody really hadn’t paid too much attention to the other three. He’d have to ask Travis and RJ what they thought of the rest of the kids. And maybe that was a problem if he hoped to have a future schooling riders. Something to consider, especially if any of them complained to Sam that he played favorites.
    At dinner he sat next to Johnny as usual, but it was as if Johnny had wrapped himself in ice. Cody didn’t dare put a hand on him in case it got frozen off. So he did the next best thing he knew how to do—started the conversation.
    “I think Bobby Blue came a long way this week,” he said.
    “Whatever.”
    It was as though Johnny was miles away, and it scared Cody. He was more used to Johnny looking at him with a glow in his eyes, listening to what he said, waiting to hear how Cody felt about something first.
    Luckily Travis was there to take up the slack, taking each kid in turn and dissecting their abilities and lacks with deadly precision. He made everyone at the table laugh except for Johnny and Cody, who was racking his brains to find a way to get Johnny to act regularly again.
    Neither of them was much good at talking. Cody would have to fall back on the area where he had the most confidence. Even when Johnny was mad, Cody’d always been able to seduce him so he didn’t think too hard. Step one: distract him with sex. Step two: charm him into doing what Cody wanted. It had worked before and it would work this time too.
    He couldn’t imagine the summer on the ranch without Johnny, and he had to keep him here. They would ride and work out and practice so they were sharp for fall.
    Cody never thought of himself as manipulative. The word wasn’t even in his vocabulary. He just liked getting his way. And his way was good for him and for Johnny.

Chapter 8:
The Dismount

    J OHNNY needed a little peace and quiet that morning. It was as if the class of kids had stolen Cody from him. Every time he opened his mouth it felt as though Cody had cut him off, as though he couldn’t stand not being the center of attention. It was frustrating. And he still hadn’t managed to get Cody to listen to him when he said he was going back to work for the summer. Cody kept talking about how they were going to spend their summer vacation, and he wasn’t going to be there.
    A couple miles was barely far enough to be out of hearing range of Cody’s voice. He had stopped walking and was leaning on one of the fences, looking up into the hills and listening to the distant song of a mockingbird when Davis Grainger found him.
    The older man crossed his arms on the top rail next to him and rested his chin on them. It was nice, Johnny thought. They didn’t need to talk; he felt close to Cody’s dad when they just hung out this way in silence. Davis was a quiet man most of the time, except when arguing with Cody over the technical points of riding. That could really get him going.
    Come to think of it, it was odd Val never gave Cody riding advice when she was the one who had won all the buckles in the ring.
    “Glad it’s over?”
    Johnny glanced at Davis. “Yeah. Maybe four was too many to start off with.”
    “Or maybe it was just those four. That Bobby Blue was a doozy. I started