Leaving Home by Chase, A. (life books to read .txt) 📗

listening to Cody and Sam talk about guys they all knew.

After they were seated, Sam excused himself, leaving Cody and Chaz to look over the

menu.

“How’s Peter doing?” Cody’s question seemed innocent, but Chaz didn’t think Cody

meant it as ‘butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth’ as it seemed.

“He’s doing really good. I talked to him last night, and I’m planning on seeing him this

week in between Tulsa and Nashville.” Chaz smiled at Cody, appreciating the fact that the man had waited until Sam had left before he’d asked about Peter.

“Not many people on the tour know about you, do they?” Cody asked.

The waiter came back and took their drink order. Chaz ordered for both him and Sam,

since he knew exactly what Sam would want. After the waiter had left, Cody glanced at

Chaz.

“So how serious is it between you and Peter?”

Chaz shot him a glance. “Are you his parent? Do you get to find out what my intentions

towards him are?”

“No, but I am his friend, and trust me, you will be facing a lot of flack from the rest of the guys at the ranch when you meet them.” Cody fidgeted with his silverware. “I’m simply curious because I know what kind of problems you have, Chaz, and I don’t think you should bring them to Peter’s door. The man has enough issues. He doesn’t need to deal with an

addict.”

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“An addict?” Chaz ground his teeth together. “I’m not addicted to anything. People

take aspirin for aches and pains all the time.”

Cody raised his eyebrows at Chaz’s comment. “Seriously? You aren’t taking simple

aspirin for your back, Chaz. You’re taking some heavy-duty stuff. I mean, it’s the meds they gave me when I had my last back injury. I know the temptation to dull the edges of the pain all the time, but you’ve got to kick that habit or something else could go wrong.”

Chaz spotted Sam coming across the restaurant, so he said, “I don’t want to discuss this

with you again, Cody. Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine.”

“Fine, but if you end up hurting Peter because of this, you’ll find out just how Les and

the others take care of their friends,” Cody warned before Sam rejoined them.

They spent their breakfast talking about the rankings, the riders and the bulls. Chaz

steered the conversation to make sure they didn’t bring up anyone’s injuries. He didn’t want to have to deal with any more questions about his back.

He paid the bill while Sam left the tip. After dropping Cody off at his truck, Chaz

parked before going in to get his gear kit from his room. He met up with Sam again at the vehicle, and they drove to the arena.

When he was done changing, he went out into the arena and began jogging around the

dirt. He warmed up slowly, trying not to misstep or trip. He didn’t need anything to fuck up his body again. Sam and Brian, the other bullfighter, joined him. Chaz joked with them as they ran and stretched.

He greeted the riders who were slowly arriving for the pre-event meet and greets. Chaz

was glad he didn’t have to do that at this event. Usually his sponsors made him do several throughout the season, and most of the time he enjoyed them. But this time he just wanted to get the rounds over with so he could head out of town. Talking to Cody had ruined his entire day.

“Ready to go, Chaz?” Sam yelled at him as the crowd started screaming and the music

started playing.

“Hell, yeah,” he shouted, doing a fist bump with Sam, then Brian. “Let’s do this thing.

Make it a good night, guys. No one goes to the hospital.”

“Fucking A!” Brian bounced on his toes, grinning like a wild man.

Chaz wished he was young again, excited about every minute of the day and confident

nothing bad was going to happen to him. He knew the truth now, and he had to be careful,

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because he wasn’t as young as he used to be. He didn’t bounce back from injuries like he had before.

He got the nod from the gate guys, and he smiled. Time to save some cowboys.

* * * *

It had been a good night so far. No major wrecks and no injuries leading to

hospitalisation. They were in the middle of the Championship round, and the rankest bulls of the night were about to come out. Chaz was tired, and his back protested every bend and flex he did, but he was going to make it until the end.

He heard the announcer say, “Next up is Paolo Marker. He’s in the hunt for Rookie of

the Year, and running neck and neck with Neil Radick for World Champion. He’ll be riding

Halo, but let me tell you folks, there’s nothing angelic about this bull.”

Cringing, Chaz waved to Sam and Brian, bringing them close to him. “All right, boys.

We know the score on Halo. He’s probably the rankest bull out tonight, and we have to make sure he doesn’t try hooking Marker when the man gets off. Remember at New York, first

event of the year, he caught Arnold on the ground and laid the man up for six months.”

Sam and Brian took their spots, and Chaz grinned. He watched as Marker nodded, and

the gate swung open. Halo busted out of the chute like a thousand-pound bomb, exploding

into action the minute his feet hit the dirt. Chaz swore he felt the earth shake each time Halo landed.

He kept an eye on Marker, enjoying how the man broke at the hips with each leap Halo

made. Marker was poetry in motion while riding a bull. The kid was on his way to being a

legend in the sport in Chaz’s opinion, and Chaz had seen a lot of riders come and go.

But he didn’t get so caught up in the ride that he lost track of what his job was

supposed to be. When the buzzer rang, Chaz circled in