Bullheaded

stood up before the medics could arrive, which made the crowd cheer louder in grateful relief.
    “Here comes the cavalry,” Johnny said. “You’ll be fine.”
    “I think the cavalry done arrived already, Johnny-boy,” Bobby Blue said and shook Johnny’s hand. “I owe you.”
    “Great. Then do me a favor and wear a damn helmet next time!”
    “Yeah, you make a good argument. I might just take it under advisement. Thanks again. Tell Cody I said thanks. He really schooled me.”
    Unable to answer that, Johnny nodded and went to join his teammates at the gate. “Thanks for having my back, guys.”
    “We’re a team, boys,” Vern said.
    “All for one, one for all,” Reese added.
    “There goes one ornery rider,” Vern said, bestowing the highest praise he could as they watched Bobby Blue shake off the two medics’ helping hands and walk unsteadily between them while waving and grinning at the crowd. “Bet he’ll be wondering what happened for an hour or two.”
    “Yeah, I think he’ll learn from it.” Johnny nodded. He almost wished Cody could have been there to see how well he’d taught the kid. Bobby Blue even seemed to have learned some manners, although that should probably be chalked up to Val rather than her son.
    “You too,” Vern said with a smile. “Don’t even try to tell me your ribs don’t hurt, but you got a week to heal up before the next event.”
    “Thanks, but I’m good.”
    “Here we go again,” Reese said as the gate opened for the next rider.

    U P IN the sky box, Cody sat back next to Dub, his shoulders unclenching as all the tension melted away. It was Johnny’s job and he knew that, but he hated to see him put his body on the line for a loudmouth birdbrain like Bobby Blue. It had been a tense five minutes watching it play out, but there was nothing he could do about it up here anyway. And even if he’d been in the ring, it could have been him on the ground, waiting for Johnny to save his ass.
    It was the possibility of Johnny getting hurt that killed him. Cody had been hurt himself often enough and bad enough that watching Johnny get injured was almost more painful than suffering it himself. The time Johnny’s shoulder had been dislocated and his collarbone broken had almost broken him , and they’d only just started seeing each other. Cody had nowhere near the depth of feeling for Johnny then that he had now. Watching Johnny take the hit, he found himself pleading to some unknown god, promising he’d do anything if Johnny just came through this okay.
    And amazingly, once again Johnny had come through unscathed. Cody took in a deep breath. It would never do if Dub noticed him getting his shorts in a bunch over Johnny. He didn’t know if his friend harbored any suspicions about his sexuality, but when he’d called Dub and asked him to come along to this meeting with Sam, he’d thought Dub sounded creepily sympathetic for some unknown reason. He hated himself for asking for company, but he’d suddenly lost his nerve. He felt he couldn’t trust himself to travel without a companion, especially knowing he was going to see Johnny, if only from a distance. In fact, Cody was exasperated by the thought that maybe he’d asked Dub to come along to prevent him from going near Johnny.
    “Looks like Bobby Blue Chandler is going to shake this one off.” Everyone could see that, but of course the ring announcer had to say something. “It’s only his rookie year, but he’s shaping up as one tough cowboy. We’ll get a medical update for you as soon as he sees the doc. And I think we should show a little appreciation for the bullfighters. They earned their pay today! Let’s have a round of applause for Vern Crocker, Reese Brent, and the young fellow in red who just joined their team. We’ll get his name for you—”
    Tensely, Cody raised his voice. “Johnny Arrow!”
    The announcer continued his verbal tide without glancing up. “I’ve just been told the bullfighter who took the hit for Bobby Blue is Johnny Arrow. Y’all go to our website now and vote for him for save of the week….” He continued to talk, naming the cowboy and bull coming up for the next ride.
    A touch on Cody’s sleeve made him turn to face Sam Wells, the stock director for the NBR and the man he’d come there to meet with.
    “You trained that rider, correct? Bobby Blue Chandler. Nice job. I seem to recall before he came to you he couldn’t sit a bull for eight seconds even if it was