“How do you know? They could be trying to take us out one dick at a time.”
“Now you’re being crazy. I don’t even know which one helped Penni make it. But don’t worry; I’m going to call that bitch. She could have stressed the importance of using the lube.”
“When you talk to her, ask which Last Rider helped her develop it. I have a little feedback I want to give him,” he snarled, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.
“I will. I promise. Just relax and go to sleep. I’m going out for a few minutes. Here’s your phone if you need me before I get back.”
He didn’t respond, trying to escape the pain by nodding off to sleep.
He heard Crazy Bitch leave the room, thankfully already drifting off.
He was so tired he didn’t hear her come back, waking to the steady hum of cool air bathing his body.
Opening his eyes, he saw one large fan blowing on his cock and another small one was on the dresser, aimed at that part of his anatomy.
When he started to rise, he felt a cold cloth slipping off his dick. Before he could pick it up, Crazy Bitch was there, dousing it into a bucket of ice water, then twisting off the excess water before placing it gently back on his lap.
He was able to raise himself without feeling as if his skull was going to explode.
“You did all this while I was sleeping?”
She nodded. “Do you feel better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“I’m sorry, Calder. I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ve only given you one blowjob, and I admit, I might have half-assed it, but a girl’s jaw gets tired—”
“It’s okay,” he cut her off, not needing the particulars of why he’d had to coax her into the blowjob she had given him the first night they were in the hotel. Her healthy attitude toward sex was too much to take when he was nursing a dick he wasn’t sure would ever work again. “Where did you get the fans?”
“I had Stud drive me to the store.” When she saw his dark frown, she added, “I told him the air conditioner was out in our room.”
“Did he believe it?”
“I don’t think so, but he didn’t ask any questions. Are you still mad at me?”
His anger slipped away at her show of remorse. “It’s a lot better. Don’t worry; if we ever decide to get married, I’ll be able to perform up to your standards.” He hoped.
“What standards?” she teased, lying down next to him and snuggling against his side. “The only standards I have is that they’re breathing.”
“That wasn’t what you told me in the bathroom.”
“Okay, that may be true. Sex is important to a marriage, you know?”
“It’s important, but you do know that men do have trouble getting it up when they get older. You going to divorce me if I can’t?”
“You’re not going to get old. Besides, they make pills for that, so we’re good.”
He gazed down at her. Joking around about them getting married gave him a fuzzy warmth in his stomach that he had never felt with another woman. He had also never been so comfortable with another woman whom he had actually spent a great deal of time alone with. She came across with an attitude that was in your face, tough enough to grind men under her boot, and was a smart-ass who could rip a man’s pride to shreds with one sharp word.
He had also seen her teach a group of little girls to dance gracefully, let Star and Harley call her Aunt Anna-Kate, and wasn’t embarrassed to hold a cold compress on his dick.
Taking everything into account, including his sore dick, he came to the firm conclusion she was his kind of woman.
20
“Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the room?” Crazy Bitch asked as they took their seats in the stands.
She smiled, relieved when he took her hand, as the speakers blared, announcing the entrance of the cowboys.
“Mom, can I learn to ride a bull?” Harley asked excitedly from his seat, watching the bull throw a cowboy off its bucking back.
“No.” Sex Piston repeated the same answer she had ever since they had taken their seats and the little boy’s fascination had built with every skillful maneuver the cowboys were exhibiting for the oohs and aahs of the crowd.
“Can I buy one of the stuffed horses?”
“You’re too old for stuffed animals. You made me give the ones I bought you for Christmas last year away.” His disappointed reaction had her relenting. “We can buy one of the tumblers with the picture of the bull.”
Harley’s face brightened. “Cool.”
She and Calder shared a smile at the little boy’s happiness.
Meri and Keri were just as enthralled with the cowboys as their brother, but for another reason. They whispered between themselves who was the better-looking and wondered if they had girlfriends.
“Mom, can we go stand at the fence?”
“No.” Stud’s firm voice had the teenagers’ faces falling.
Crazy Bitch couldn’t blame them. The men drew the gazes of all the women in the crowd. The ability to best almost two thousand pounds of raging bull that could crush them under their hooves even managed to get her attention.
She was relieved when the two-hour show was finished, noticing that Calder was shifting uncomfortably in his seat. They waited until most of the crowd had left before going down the steps.
“Can we get their autographs?” Meri pleaded, while Keri looked at their parents with silent entreaty.
“I’m not going near that bull poop with my heels on,” Sex Piston told Stud when he looked toward her. “You and Calder can take them, and me and Craz—Anna-Kate can wait by the fence.”
Crazy Bitch winked at Star and Harley when Sex Piston almost slipped and used her nickname in front of them. Ever since Star had gotten in trouble at school for talking about her to one of her friends, she had started using her given name when she was in public.
“I don’t mind. I wouldn’t mind getting a few of their autographs, too. Calder can stay with you, and Stud and I can go with them,” Crazy Bitch hastily offered, not wanting Calder to walk farther than he had to. She had tried to get him to take a couple of pain relievers, but he had refused.
“You stay here with Sex Piston,” Calder said. “You two can go buy the tumblers and meet us back here.”
She wanted to argue, but didn’t, remembering her promise not to say anything to Sex Piston about his dick. She couldn’t understand why he was so uptight about it. It wasn’t like Sex Piston would ask for a picture of it.
They found one of the vendors pushing a cart, selling the tumblers near the gate where the cowboys entered the arena. Star and Harley started climbing the fence, watching as the workers began rolling the barrels toward a small truck.
Several children ran out to race alongside the cleaning crew, who were tossing them what was left of the bandanas that had been lobbed out to the crowd earlier in the show.
“Can we go get one?” Harley asked, already climbing down from the fence.
“Go ahead,” Sex Piston told them as she paid for the tumblers.
Crazy Bitch watched them run off, deciding to buy two for Meri and Keri.
“Trying to make Calder jealous?” Sex Piston smirked as she took out her wallet.
“They’re for Meri and Keri.” She held them tightly as she reached for the money she kept in her jacket pocket.
“You going to tell me why you needed Stud to drive you to the store to buy fans?” Her best friend turned so she could keep her eye on Star and Harley and still question her at the same time.
“I told you; our air conditioner went out. The hotel was booked and didn’t have another room they could put us in.”
“Bitch, Killyama called me and wanted to know why you wanted Dr. Price’s number. So, you need to come up with another cock-and-bull story.”
She mentally winced at her choice of words. Crazy Bitch knew Sex Piston wouldn’t let it drop until her curiosity was satisfied.
“Calder and I got a li
ttle carried away last night and this morning when we went back to our room. The man has too much for me to handle, if you know what I mean. I was so sore that I called Dr. Price to see if he could suggest something.”
Her lie had Sex Piston gaping at her in astonishment and curiosity.
“How big is he?”
“Big. Really big.” She wiggled her brows. “The biggest I’ve ever seen,” she boasted, her lie growing with each word.
“Doesn’t matter how big it is if he doesn’t know how to use it. I bet Stud’s is bigger… and better.”
Crazy Bitch shook her head, going all-in with her lie. “He knows how to use it. I came four times last night and three times this morning.”
“You’re shitting me!” Envious eyes stared back at her. “How come the bitches at the club haven’t said he’s packing heat?”
She shrugged. “Jealous bitches wanted to keep him to themselves.”
“Bitches,” Sex Piston said, showing her a new respect Crazy Bitch hadn’t seen from her before. “It’s that big?”
“Bigger.”
“Damn. Stud’s big, too.” Sex Piston elbowed her conspiratorially. “They definitely must be cut from the same cloth.” she joked as they started toward the fence to watch Harley and Star get the bandanas.
Terrified screams had them turning toward where Stud and Calder had taken Meri and Keri. The sound sent a chill of fear down Crazy Bitch’s spine, especially when she saw a large crowd of people running frantically.
“Fuck!” Crazy Bitch screamed when she saw what they were running from.
Her head spun, trying to find a way out from under the trampling crowd and a pair of bull horns that were hysterically throwing people out of their way. One was heading directly toward them. The other had gone so crazy it was trying to climb the bleachers. The cowboys were running after them, trying to throw ropes over their heads to steer them away from the crowd.
“Get on the bull shoot,” she yelled at Sex Piston, taking her arm and starting to run toward it. “Run!”
While she was screaming, her foot had slid from the first board. She righted herself then quickly managed to climb up, pulling Sex Piston up with her.
“Do you see Stud? Meri and Keri?” Sex Piston panted, gripping the top of the wooden shoot. They were so focused on the girls being in immediate danger that they took their eyes off Star and Harley for a split-second.
“No… Wait, there they are!” Crazy Bitch yelled when she saw the two men shoving the crying girls through an emergency exit to the left of them.
Hearing a hair-raising scream coming from Sex Piston, she turned toward her to see what she was staring at, afraid the bull they had barely missed had come back. Sex Piston was already climbing down from the shoot.
It was then that Crazy Bitch saw that the bulls had managed to tear down a portion of the fence that the workers had left open to bring the truck inside and were heading toward the group of children. She was watching a nightmare come to life before her own eyes. Sex Piston in her heels didn’t stand a chance of reaching Star and Harley.
The rolling eyes of one of the bulls turned toward her as she started down the shoot, holding her in place. She felt death staring her down, freezing her where she stood.
“Get back on the shoot!” Calder shouted as he and Stud ran past them.
Sobs tore through her throat as she was pushed back toward the shoot, forcing Sex Piston to go with her and getting them out of the way of the cowboys who were frantically trying to corral the bulls.
She recognized Reno from the night before, his rough and hard features concentrated on the largest of the bulls. Her eyes went from him to Star and Harley.
The children had scattered when they had seen the bulls, calling for their mothers and fathers. It was heart-wrenching to see many parents running toward them, risking their own lives for their children.
Sex Piston’s cries had her covering her hand, holding her back.
“Calder and Stud will get them!” she told her, trying to give her hope. She knew that letting Sex Piston go would make matters worse for the two men.
Star had been knocked down by one of the older children. She was lying on the ground, screaming for Stud.
“Daddy!” Her scream pierced Crazy Bitch’s soul as she could only watch helplessly.
Harley bravely helped Star to her feet, only to have the other children push them apart. Harley was being pushed toward Stud and Calder, but Star remained frozen in fear as the bull stomped toward her.
Calder was running so fast he overtook Stud. She heard his yell to Stud to get Harley. Then, with a burst of speed, he darted past the bull, barely missing a flying hoof as Reno ran around the bull, trying to get the its attention away from Star.
It didn’t work. The brightly colored red shirt that Star was wearing had the bull’s focus on her.
Calder didn’t hesitate as he sprinted toward Star without care that his own life was in danger. When he reached her, he didn’t stop, scooping her up into his arms as he continued running.
She couldn’t understand why Calder didn’t run to the fence. Then she figured it out. The bull was too close.
Calder ran toward one of the barrels that hadn’t been stacked onto the truck yet. He practically threw her inside then turned back toward the bull, protecting the child within with his life.
Her breath caught in her throat, her mouth open in a silent scream. It was the same terrified expression that was on Stud’s, Sex Piston’s, and the parents’ faces who were trying to get their children out of danger.
The bull was inches away from him when a rope settled over the bull’s horns, turning it from Calder to Reno.
The screams of the adults and the children faded into the background as two shots rang out, dropping the bulls onto the ground.
Her jaw dropped as she looked around, trying to see where the shots had come from, seeing Shade sitting atop the fence on the other side of the bull shoot.
“Give me that back!”
Shade tossed the tranquilizer gun to the man he must have taken it from before jumping off the fence with an impassive face.
She and Sex Piston climbed down, running toward Stud and Harley as Calder helped Star out of the barrel, holding her tightly as he carried her toward them also. Star was crying frightened tears in his arms.
When they drew closer to Sex Piston, she reached out to take Star. It took a long wrenching second for Calder to release Star to her stepmother’s hold.
It was hard to miss the twisting agony of Calder’s expression, or the fact that he turned away when Star held her arms out for Stud, crying for her father.
Harley’s head was on one of his shoulders, crying, and Star buried her face in the other one, both holding him so tightly that Sex Piston wasn’t able to pry one away.
“I got them.” He moved closer to Sex Piston so she could enfold all of them in a heartfelt hug that moved Crazy Bitch to tears at the love the family felt toward one another.
“Everyone okay?”
Shade’s cold voice broke through the spell of witnessing the family being reunited after they could have lost one of them.
Stud gave Shade a look of gratitude. “Brother, if I can ever….” His clogged emotions had him holding Star closer, burying his face in her hair.
Shade’s eyes shifted from Stud to Calder. “The Last Riders always pay their debts.” His voice was flat and emotionless as he gave him a brief nod before walking away while the cowboys shouted at everyone to leave the arena.
“We need to find Meri and Keri.” Sex Piston walked closely next to Stud as Crazy Bitch and Calder lagged behind them, giving them the opportunity to be alone.
They went through the same door the girls had exited the arena, finding a large crowd milling around. Meri and Keri jumped up and down, waving at them to get their notice. They were standing with Lily, who was holding John’s hand, and Razer and Beth were on the other side of them with their children, Noah and Chance.
“I didn’t know half of Treepoint was inside,” Crazy Bitch said as they approached the small group.
“When Sex Piston told me she was bringing her kids, we decided to make the extra trip and bring ours. Lily and Shade didn’t want John to feel left out, so they tagged along.” Beth kept a firm hand on her twin boys’ shoulders as they talked.
“Where’s Shade?” Lily smoothed a trembling hand through John’s hair, trying to be calm for her son.
“I thought I saw him come out here.” Calder searched through the milling crowd. “I don’t see him.”
Razer nodded toward the side of the building. “I saw him that way. If he’s not back in a minute, I’ll go look for him.”
When Meri and Keri finally calmed down after seeing Star and Harley were safe, everyone started talking at once.
“What in the hell happened?” Crazy Bitch heard Sex Piston asking Stud.
She had been about to ask Calder, who still seemed shaken and hadn’t taken his eyes off Star.
“I have no clue. One second, we were in line for the autographs. Some of the cowboys were posing for pictures by the horse stalls. We were waiting for Reno to finish with the one in front of us in line. And the next thing I know, two bulls come charging down from the back of the building. I assume they were trying to load them on the trailer to leave when they escaped. I didn’t stand around to ask. Calder and I just took off running with Meri and Keri.”
“How did Shade get the tranquilizer gun?” Crazy Bitch gripped Calder’s arm tightly, relieved they had been able to get the girls and themselves away.
“I don’t know. I was too busy running toward Harley.”
“I saw him taking it away from Clint when he couldn’t figure out how to load the dart,” Calder answered grimly. “If he hadn’t reacted so fast, I would be dead.”
Crazy Bitch wound her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest and feeling the beat of his heart beneath her cheek.
“He probably has experience using one to keep The Last Riders in line,” Crazy Bitch joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. She released Calder to give Harley and Star their tumblers. “Little Stud, I saw you helping your sister up instead of running away like the rest of those sissies. When I get home, I’m going to make you a chocolate cake.”