Bullheaded

excited,” Val apologized, but kept her gaze on the ring. Davis laughed while he watched her jump, and Johnny felt a little sadness at the affection in his eyes.
    Near the end of the first round, Johnny felt as tired as if he’d been down there working his hardest, and realized he was doing it too. His muscles twitched and jumped whenever one of the bullfighters made a save. Chris Bellow was just a shade slow, and several times Johnny had to bite his tongue to keep from yelling out to him to shake a damn leg as he gripped the rails and leaned forward.
    Travis leaned across Davis to say, “Your ass is going to be sore if you don’t let up trying to do Chris’s job for him. You and Val; she’s doing half the riding in this arena.” He cackled when Johnny glared at him. “Always sucks to see someone doing your job worse than you, doesn’t it?”
    “Yeah, I guess it does.” Johnny made an effort to relax his tense muscles. “Thanks,” he said belatedly, when he realized Travis had been paying him a compliment.
    “You’re good, kid.” Travis nodded to where Chris was trailing after a bull half a step late. “If he elbows you out of the finals it’ll be a triumph of sentiment over talent.”
    Johnny focused on the riders only when it was Cody’s turn. It was not a pretty sight, but Cody did manage to make eight seconds. Cody did not look up into the stands searching for his parents, which made Johnny think he must be embarrassed by his low score. It was a humiliating number for Cody, but any other rider would have been equally disappointed at this level.
    At the break after the first round, Val asked, “How did you like watching from up here for a change?”
    “I hate it! Oh damn— I’m sorry, I meant—” Johnny bit his lip when he realized how rude he sounded, but Val burst out laughing.
    “Tell me about it! I’d rather be down there riding myself. At least you get used to it after a while.”
    “I don’t want to get used to it. Maybe I should go.”
    “Better stay here with us,” Val said. “At least you can’t beat the crap out of Bobby Blue from up here and the company is good.”
    So she had been standing behind him in the hall during the whole argument. For some reason that made it seem even funnier to Johnny, and he grinned. “The company’s way better.” He clenched his jaw on an impulse to ask Val how Cody was doing and how he was feeling, mostly about him. But he couldn’t do it. Maybe he didn’t want to hear what she had to say, and he really didn’t want to put her in the middle.
    Val turned her head and smiled at him, as if she knew what he was thinking. She gave him a wink and then immediately stared back at the ring. Travis and RJ went to get everyone drinks, and Johnny groaned over the embarrassing antics of Jinks the clown.

    W ATCHING Dub ride in the short round was agony for Cody. His competitive nature reared its ugly head when he saw his friend would easily outscore him. Texas Ranger was a smart, athletic bull, and he used his savvy to give Dub a rough ride. At least three times Cody thought he’d be off, but Dub worked to stay on the bull’s back ’til the end. The girls in Daisy Dukes waved signs saying, “90 Point Club,” and, “Make Some Noise.” The audience responded with cheers and whistles.
    Unlike him, Dub managed to land pretty much on his feet and stay on them as he ran for the fence. The joy and triumph on Dub’s face made Cody ache for the times when he’d felt that way, but in spite of his own failures he was genuinely happy for his friend.
    He gave Dub a high five and pounded his back. “Way to go, Dub! Great ride!”
    “Thank you kindly, Cody.” Dub tossed him a grin as he turned to Rex the reporter for a brief interview.
    Cody ducked behind the chute, not wanting Rex to rope him in and ask him about his own lame showing compared to Dub’s, but he waited for his friend to come back from the interview.
    “You really showed them.” When Dub returned, Cody handed him his hat and took the helmet. “I bet you’ll take the buckle for this event.”
    “Kind of a switch, isn’t it?”
    Cody realized this was Dub’s awkward way of being tactful. After a summer of his support, Cody didn’t want to minimize his accomplishment. “I hope you win this round, Dub, I really do.”
    “Thanks, friend.” Dub clapped him on the shoulder and they settled in the stands to watch the other rides. “Here come the Brazilians, looking to take me