Extreme Bull

spread, be your own boss.” Clay took a breath. “Like Doug Morgan. He has a place, and he used to ride to make money to keep it going.”
    “Heard Jamie bought in and Doug retired from riding.
    He trains bulls now. Has a few of his own in the rodeo.”
    “And they run stock,” Clay plowed on, ignoring the opening to speak about Doug and Jamie. The gay cowboys .
    They walked in silence for a moment. “So where do you work in the off-season?”
    “I work for my dad. He’s got a small ranch, raises organic cattle for restaurants even though he thinks it’s bullshit.”
    Jeff nodded wisely. “Grass-fed tastes better, and it’s better for you and kinder on the cows.”
    “How the hell do you know that?”
    “Went to U Idaho. Now I work with the university extension in animal sciences,” Jeff said.

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    Clay’s face lit up at their shared interest. “You’re an Aggie? Me too. Texas A&M. So they don’t mind that you take time off to ride?”
    Jeff sighed. “I have to work part time. No benefits, no vacation or sick time. But it’s worth it.”
    “Which? The riding or the work?”
    “Both, actually. Working with the farmers in my county I learn more than I teach. And I love to ride. Can’t imagine my life without it.”
    “Me neither, but one day, we’ll have to hang up the spurs too.”
    Jeff nodded but gave Clay a wicked smile. “But it is not this day.”
    “ Lord of the Rings, Return of the King ,” Clay said promptly.
    “Okay, this is spooky. You’re a cowboy geek.”
    “Takes one to know one.” Clay hesitated. He had to go get ready for his ride. He bumped Jeff’s shoulder gently with his own. “Want to catch a cup of coffee later?”
    “Sure thing.” Jeff beamed as he watched Clay walk away, wondering if the offer of coffee meant what he thought it meant.

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    COFFEE turned out to be just coffee.
    “We’ve got a long haul to St. Louis. Maybe we better get on the road.”
    Clay wondered if maybe Jeff was having second thoughts about it all. “You know that rest stop outside Watertown? Where everyone stops for the first leg?”
    “Yeah. Why?”
    “Couple years ago I was doing calf roping, and I had my horse along. I wanted a place where I could walk him around, let him eat a little grass. There’s another stop, fifty miles further on. Hardly anyone on the circuit stops there.” Jeff’s face brightened. “Give me your cell phone number.” He programmed it into his phone as Clay recited it.
    “I’ll see you there.”
    Tired as he was, it was worth driving another fifty miles just to have the chance for a little private conversation. Jeff wasn’t hoping for much more; he didn’t want to put a name on the longing that drove him to seek out Clay’s company even though they seemed to fight more than—anything else.
    It was wearing to always be looking over his shoulder and worrying about comments from the other cowboys.
    BJ was beginning to notice that something was up, and Sam—Jeff shuddered at the memory of Sam busting in on Extreme Bull | Catt Ford
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    them. He still hadn’t been able to look Sam in the eye since, and Sam was doing a lot of smirking, but at least he hadn’t told anyone. Sam wouldn’t do a thing like that.
    He secured the loose items in his trailer and drove into town to fuel up. He had to wait in a long line of other cowboys pulling out for the next stop and lost sight of Clay’s rig in the meantime. By the time he pulled onto the highway, Jeff was feeling pretty lonely. Used to be that never bothered him; usually he used the time to think about the next town, the next ring, and the next bull.
    Clay was getting to him, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about what they were doing together. As long as it was a private matter, it wasn’t anybody’s business but theirs. It wasn’t that he needed it; he could quit any time. But the excitement of their shared secret almost rivaled being on a tricky bull’s back.
    Just hang on for the ride, Jeff told himself. It would end one day, and then it would be over.
    It was after dark and cold in the cab. His radio wasn’t working, hadn’t since the second stop on the tour, so he had nothing to distract him from the mileage markers flashing by as he drove. Cars passed him constantly on the left, cutting in sharply in front of him to show their disdain for his old trailer.
    He was startled when his cell rang,