Bullheaded

snarled.
    “Right after I broke yours,” Dub agreed. “You gotta shake yourself loose, but we can argue about it on the plane. Sam wants to see you upstairs.”
    “If he’s going to tell me I disappointed the fans, he can save it.” Cody wished he could dial the attitude down, but he was just so fucking pissed at himself. Blowing an easy ride like that! It should have been a practice bull for him. It was easier to be mad than think about the underlying reason. He hadn’t heard a thing from Johnny since the weekend, not even an apology, even though Cody had texted. It was as if Johnny were playing hard to get or something when Cody just wanted to get this damn thing settled before the finals so he could fucking concentrate! Cody didn’t even want to hit the bars tonight with Dub. Knowing there would be no Johnny waiting for him back at his room made it seem like a pointless exercise, although getting drunk held a definite appeal. If he could shake Dub—
    “So you want to clean up a little before we go talk to Sam?”
    Feeling like the asshole he was acting like, Cody pulled himself together. Dub had been great this summer. Cody didn’t know if Dub had planned to ride exhibition, but when he suggested it, Dub had come along to be his travel partner. Of course, it wasn’t turning out exactly as Cody had hoped. So far he was making Dub look good instead of the other way around.
    “Yeah, give me five. Let me just rinse the dust off.”
    “Go back there, tear the door off your locker, punch a wall, take a shower, and pull yourself together,” Dub ordered. “Sam is not a man you want to disrespect.”
    The solitude of the shower helped him calm himself enough to meet Sam with a smile and a handshake. Feeling defensive, Cody hoped Sam wouldn’t ask him to explain how he happened to fall off before the buzzer.
    Sam didn’t mention his ride, and it made Cody feel irrationally pissed, as if him falling off was so commonplace no one even needed to discuss it.
    “Good to see you, Cody. Dub, you too.” Sam shook both their hands. “Wanted to get your opinion about some of the stock here tonight.”
    For a moment, Cody reeled back, thinking maybe Sam had chosen this method to tweak him for falling off a third-rate bull. Then he pulled himself together. No point in making a big show of his own idiocy. Instead he delivered a concise analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the stock he’d watched tonight.
    Sam nodded. “For the most part, I agree with what you’re saying. I like how your stock has been performing at the fairs. I think you’ve really got something with your bloodline. I want to move them up to the touring division, and if that works out, I’d like to see a few of them buck in the Top Cut division.”
    Realizing Sam was proposing to use more of his bulls in the touring division, Cody reacted with more enthusiasm. “That would be great! I’d be honored to supply the tour.”
    “I’ve noticed you’ve trained most of yours to stay pretty low-key in the box. I like that. Less chance of injury for rider and animal before they even get out of the gate.”
    “Well, we try with varied success. No fun for the rider banging around in the chute getting bruised up for no score,” Cody said, pleased Sam had noticed.
    “We’ll see how it goes,” Sam said. “We can’t have you on top of one of your own bulls, but I imagine you’re starting to think about retirement about now.”
    So Sam had noticed his crappy rides! “There is no truth to that rumor.” Cody tried to make it a joke, but judging by Dub’s eye roll it must have flopped, just like his ride.
    “You’re starting to think like a contractor,” Sam pointed out. “Just like I did when the time came to step off the bulls. Even if you don’t ride, you can stay involved with the sport.”
    “Is that why you sent those boys to me for teaching?” Cody demanded.
    “You’re a big name in the sport, Cody. Boys’ll be proud to say they trained with you. And you’re also starting to contract out your bulls. Fact of the matter is, I was talking to the sponsors and floated another idea out to them and they liked it. Mentioned your name for it.”
    Cody stood silent until Dub cuffed him. “What idea?”
    He knew he was behaving less than graciously and his mother would be horrified with his manners if she’d been there to witness it, but Johnny was the most important thing to him right now—and he’d lost him. And everyone wanted