Page 7

Maverick

Y ou could cut the tension in this room with a knife. I knew this wouldn’t be fun, but damn. This is downright miserable. There’s nowhere to run in this tiny little conference room either.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me, Maverick.” Coach Sully spins in his office chair as he yells at me.

He’s pushing sixty now, the hair underneath his cowboy hat more salt than pepper these days.

His round face is turning that slightly scary shade of red.

I’m almost worried he will have a stroke.

The giant vein in his forehead pops out and makes direct eye contact with me.

I almost forget I should be listening to him as I look at it.

You can see it pulse with his heartbeat. “Are you even listening to me?”

My eyes move from the vein to his hazel eyes. “Yes, Coach.”

“You are at the height of your career. This is not the time to be shitting the bed with bad choices. We need you to look like you are as on top of your personal life game as you are your riding game.” Doug’s words come out in an angry snarl as I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Bull riders are characteristically rowdy. Yes, I do need to be a little better than most, being the back-to-back champ. And yes, the sponsorships are important. They pay a lot. The fancy trailer I have, the nice truck I drive. I know exactly how important the whole thing is.

“Okay, here’s what we are going to do,” Doug starts, spreading his hands as if painting an imaginary picture.

“We aren’t going to say anything. We are going to continue on as normal while your new little wife stays hidden at the ranch.

I have to ask how the hell you even got yourself in this predicament? ”

How do I say, “I don’t remember a single thing from that night?” without making this ass-chewing even worse? Clearing my throat, preparing to pull an entirely made up, bullshit story out my ass, Sully jumps in before I can piece together my story.

“Because he recalls nothing,” my coach says, crossing his arms. He couldn’t just try and let me soften the blow.

“So do you think my lawyers can help with this or not?” I ask, trying to direct the conversation away from my transgressions. I think we all know good and well I fucked up real good this time.

“Well, if you would've told us about this before the court date, maybe. But the judge has ruled. We’re going to have to play defense now,” Doug says.

“What do you need me to do?” I say, resting my hands on my knees, fully prepared for all of these assholes to think I’m not going to take it seriously.

I will. I take everything about my career seriously, I just don’t let it make me stiff like the rest of them.

My dad was the world's best rider in his prime. I’ve been living the cowboy life since I was born.

It’s one of the most frustrating things being the reason everyone in this room is paid well. For the way I perform, for the way I do pretty much everything. But the second I mess up, it’s the end of the world.

“We need to try and keep this on the down low. Don’t let anyone know.”

Knowing what little I do about Ava, I doubt that will be a problem.

“If we’re lucky, you can be divorced and moved on before anyone really knows anything. Sponsorships are at risk here, and I don’t think I need to tell you not to get yourself dropped from those.” The condescension is dripping from him, and it grates at me.

“No, Doug, you do not need to tell me.”

By the look on his face, he doesn’t appreciate the attitude. But my nerves are frayed, and I am exhausted.

“Good. You have a lot of riding left in you. We do not need you getting distracted by some piece of ass you found in Vegas.” He spins back to face the table separating us and pulls out his phone.

“I can promise you, I am as focused as ever.” Not that I know her well, but it doesn’t bode well with me that he calls her some piece of ass.

She’s showed me more grace than I deserve and should get a little credit for that.

The fucker has never respected anyone a day in his life, I don’t know why I expected him to act differently now.

“Yeah, that’s what worries me,” he mutters under his breath.

God, I hate that. If you’re going to be an ass, at least be a man about it.

And, I have no clue what the hell he means by that. I’ve had the best run of my life this year. His part of the check shows that.

Not bothering to look up from his phone, he asks, “Are you expecting any disruptions in your schedule?”

Shaking my head, I reply, “No, the only thing I need to be there for is her move-in day.”

Doug nods, and it looks like the majority of his anger has faded. “Good. We’ve got lots of rides lined up. With any luck, you will walk out a double world champ.”

We’re going to need more than luck, but I’m ready to put in the work.

Even sitting here, my shoulder throbs, still recovering from the last beating it took while riding.

That’s going to be the real challenge this year: keeping myself uninjured.

My body feels more worn by the day, and bouncing back after a ride gets harder every time.

Staying healthy is going to be a lot harder to do than having Ava live with me for six months.

“That’s the goal. Anything else you need to share with the group?” Sully's anger appears to be running out as well; like most people, he can only tolerate Doug in small amounts, and I get the feeling he is at his max and ready to adjourn this meeting.

“Nope, just the one wife.” Holding up my index finger, I try to make a joke out of it, but for a rare moment, they agree with one another and glare at me. Too soon to joke about it I guess. They act like they’re the ones legally married for the next six months.

“Great, well then I think we can call this meeting to a close. I’ll see you both soon.” Sully spins out of his chair, not waiting for Doug to give his approval of dismissing himself, and leaves.

“Well, I guess that means we are done here. This better be the worst hiccup of the season, Maverick, I mean it.” He stomps out of the room, and like the complete emotionally developed man I am, when he turns his back, I flip him off.

Now that they’re both gone, I let my weight sink into the chair. My hands rub my face as I think long and hard about the shit show I’ve created for myself.