Frankie waggled his eyebrows. “You know it.”

The announcer called my score over the PA, and I grinned. 76. Not great, but enough to push my ranking enough and give me a little bit of prize money. Hell. Yes. Frankie whooped, picking me up and spinning me around. “Looks like it’ll be a bit of a celebration too!”

I danced around in a circle, resisting the urge to squeal like a girl. Instead, I followed Frankie out back to the dressing rooms. I’d been a bit of a conundrum when we first started. A woman in a room filled with half naked men? Absolutely not. But I’d been stubborn as fuck, and no matter which tiny storage room they pretended was the women’s dressing room, I always ended up back in the one with the rest of the riders until they stopped trying. The guys, they had no fucking shame. I’d seen more cowboy dick than I’d ever wanted to see. But I always kept it respectable, never undressing. The only person I let help me into my gear was Frankie, who showed absolutely zero interest in me. I’d think he was gay if he didn’t chase every buckle bunny this side of the Alamo.

I took off all my gear, Frankie getting the buckles and straps I couldn’t reach, and loaded it all into my duffle. It would be a quick trip back to the hotel to shower off the dust and sweat, then down to the bar.

It was a wild life, but I loved every moment of it. Someone slapped my shoulder and I looked over at the dopey grin of Tom. “Good ride, shit luck about the draw though.”

I shrugged and grinned back. “It’s all good. I needed the points and riding a shit bull for eight is better than face planting in the dirt after three,” I joked back. A lot easier on my body too. I’d had quite a few breaks over the last couple of years, but with each wreck, the bull taught me something new. “You coming out later?”

Tom shook his head. He was in his late twenties and had a fiancee who traveled with him. Lissy was nice, but she was seven months pregnant and she always looked at me like she was gonna cry or scratch my eyes out. I stayed well out of her way and Tom coddled her like she was his world. Which she was. Tom was a good guy.