Page 38 of Meant to Be

“Our first rider of the night, a regular here, is Sam Mayor! Everyone make some noise!” the announcer yells, and I snap my head up. I look at Nick, who doesn’t seem surprised that my brother is about to be flung into the ring on a bull’s back. I had no idea he was a rider, but I suppose I don’t know him at all anymore.

The gates crash open, and the bull tears out into the ring, dirt flying up in a cloud under its hooves. My fingers tighten over the railing, my knuckles stretching into a pale white. I flinch as the bull bucks and kicks, each movement gaining more momentum. My brother has an adrenaline-filled grin etched onto his face and one arm soaring in the air, looking like he’s reaching for the sky.

He just makes it to eight seconds before he’s diving through the air. He lands in a tumble on the ground, the bull charging after him. Two guys in red sprint in frantic, zig-zag motions, trying to distract the bull. Sam gets to his feet and makes a run for the fence, flinging himself over it.

I let out a wild scream and a loud whistle. Sam looks over to me and hooks two thumbs up, beaming.

“He’s really good!” I say breathlessly to Nick.

Nick smiles, glancing at me. “He’s the best, now.”

“Of course he is. He’s a Mayor.”

I rush around to the side where Sam is and leap onto him. He laughs, staggering back, grunting under my weight.

“Awesome, right?”

“Totally! You killed it!”

He sets me down on my feet, and we exchange grins. A few of Sam’s friends wander over, and soon he’s swallowed into the group, whooping, laughing, and cheering. I head back to Nick, unable to wipe the smile from my face.

“Okay, I’m ready for the hot dog now,” I say when I get back to Nick.

He reaches for my hand. “Maybe later we can go get ice cream.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Hands tightening, we head towards the stalls. For a moment, everything doesn’t seem so bad.