Billy Cutter left the Bull Riders reception early and sober. Without shooters, the jokes weren\u2019t as funny or the women as intoxicating as at the parties before his injury. At 6 a.m. the next morning, Billy made his way to the mini-mall McDonalds down from the Exhibit Hall. He ordered coffee, a Big Breakfast with Hot Cakes, and an Egg McMuffin. Given the hours he spent daily in rehab, he didn\u2019t worry about calories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until Billy reinjured his left shoulder and withdrew at Calgary, the old timers had predicted William C. \u201cBilly\u201d Cutter to win the Bull Riding event at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR). Fighting through the pain, refusing to succumb to the temptation of opiates, he found a doctor willing to pass him on the physical and started competing again. Only the top 15 in each event qualify for the NFR in Las Vegas. Billy finished 16th<\/sup>. His 135,000 Twitter fans claimed he\u2019d been robbed by his bull assignments. Maybe\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he finished the pancakes, Billy noticed a weekend cowboy sitting with a working woman. The man had on a wrinkled western cut suit, wilted pearl-button shirt, Tony Lamas, and a spotless Black BronKo. Black BronKo (with a capital K) were the first cowboy hats made in China. Billy guessed the guy sold them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The woman wore a cocktail dress with black sparkles, stiletto heels, and an exhausted impatient expression. A ladies Black BronKo rested crown down on the table beside her. There were bruises on her upper arms. Twenty years younger, she could be a runner-up for Miss Rodeo Queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After failing to qualify for the NFR, Billy had been invited to Australia to re-coop. He had friends on the Australian rodeo circuit and knew an aboriginal woman in Darwin. Tarni ran a oceanfront restaurant, but she had been raised on a ranch. She knew cattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy\u2019s agent Kent Barnes had bigger plans. \u201cYou\u2019re a lock for the Courage Award. No cash prize, but great publicity for your book.\u201d So, Billy Cutter, world class rider and newly published author (All the Bull in the World<\/em>), found himself at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas early on a Wednesday morning, the second week in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hat methodically worked his way through three Bacon, Egg, and Cheese biscuits and two cartons of milk. He stole occasional glances at the woman as she ate her Fruit \u2019N Yogurt Parfait and sipped coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Rodeo Queen tossed the white plastic spoon down and set the empty yogurt container on the tray. \u201cAll right. You\u2019ve fed me,\u201d she told The Hat. \u201cGet my clothes and called me an Uber.\u201d She lowered her voice. \u201cI\u2019m fine now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat about my offer\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to go home.\u201d She stood up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease\u2026.\u201d The Hat reached for her. Billy stood to intervene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d Rodeo Queen waved him off. \u201cDoug\u2019s not the bad guy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou don\u2019t need help?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNeed? Not exactly need<\/em>\u2013 I can handle men like Douglas. But since you\u2019re offering, and since you\u2019re Billy Cutter\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet me grab my coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy dumped his trash and put his tray on the rack before joining them. They were quietly arguing when he sat down. \u201cI\u2019m all ears.\u201d He removed his Stetson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy name is Doug Zelinka,\u201d The Hat told him. \u201cSharon and I attended a party in the Black BronKo suite last night. She had too much to drink, so my boss asked me to make sure she got breakfast and a ride home.\u201d Billy pointed to the bruises on her arm. \u201cI didn\u2019t do those.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy turned to Sharon. \u201cIt\u2019s complicated,\u201d she told him. \u201cDoug\u2019s Chinese employer was upset that I lied about my age. Of course, once he saw me in this dress, everything was fine, until the buyer for a big outdoor equipment chain latched on to me. The mope drugged my drink.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAllegedly<\/em> drugged your drink,\u201d Doug interjected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharon faced Billy. \u201cOne sip and I knew he\u2019d given me a roofie. When I poured the drink on the son-of-a-bitch, he grabbed me.\u201d She pursed her lips, \u201cThat\u2019s where I got the bruises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSecurity took the buyer aside to explain the rules,\u201d Doug explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. He took him to find him a different hooker\u2013 A man in a suit arrived with an envelope of cash and a nondisclosure agreement. He said someone would stay with me until the drug wore off and would make sure I got home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug scanned the food court nervously. \u201cHer street clothes are in a locker. She needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have to return the dress. It\u2019s a rental.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy felt his anger rising. \u201cDid your boss help drug her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug shook his head. \u201cHe paid good money for whores, booze, and strippers. Why would anyone need a roofie to get laid?\u201d He turned to Sharon. \u201cNo offense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNone taken.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you get her clothes while I speak with Sharon? You might catch a couple hours sleep before you have to be back in the exhibition hall. I\u2019ll make sure she gets home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She handed Doug the locker key. \u201cThe number is on it.\u201d When he was out of earshot Sharon said softly, \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t do much.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou did enough.\u201d She picked up her coffee cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you have a boyfriend?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, this is rather sudden\u2026,\u201d she joked, tossing her shockingly blonde hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHumor me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve got an ex-husband who works steady in the construction industry, but he stays one step ahead of the courts who want to garnish his wages for past-due child support. I have two teenage sons who think I shouldn\u2019t have three part-time jobs and work odd hours just so they can go to college. They\u2019re worried that I don\u2019t get out enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t answer the question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, I don\u2019t have a boyfriend.\u201d Sharon put her empty coffee cup down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m meeting my agent this eight this morning. I have a new sponsor, and he wants to meet my girlfriend\u2013\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut you don\u2019t have one?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had hoped to secure a suitable candidate at a party last night, but I didn\u2019t find anyone wholesome<\/em> enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She laughed. \u201cAnd you think I\u2019m a good candidate? Because I\u2019m wholesome<\/em>?\u201d Sharon leaned across the table, her breasts spilling out of the red dress, her makeup caked and fading, the bruises livid on her arms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout makeup and in street clothes, you could pass for wholesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd why is that important?\u201d She touched his arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy\u2019s face flushed. \u201cKent thinks I spend too much time with whores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharon laughed again. \u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUsed to. Don\u2019t anymore. Haven\u2019t for some time. Not since I got sober and climbed back on the bulls.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, you are not seeking my company in a professional capacity?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo. I need a girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd you think I\u2019m her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI suspect you\u2019ve been spun around and knocked down a lot, but you keep getting back up. That\u2019s something I respect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug arrived with a worn USMC duffle bag that he set on the floor beside Sharon. She snatched it up. \u201cTime to get wholesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doug raised his eyebrows. \u201cDon\u2019t ask,\u201d Billy told him. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Sharon returned, Billy was talking with an older gentleman in a pale gray suit. She handed Doug the garment bag with the rental dress, costume jewelry, and shoes. \u201cTake the hat, too,\u201d she told him, pointing to the BronKo Rodeo Queen on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From her duffle bag, Sharon took a sun-beaten Charlie 1 Horse hat with a turquoise beaded raffia. She\u2019d scrubbed her face clean and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She wore ancient Levi jeans, Justin boots, and a faded long-sleeved checkered shirt with white pearl snaps. \u201cWholesome enough for you, cowboy?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan you cook?\u201d The man in the suit asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSharon,\u201d Billy said, motioning to the man, \u201cthis is my agent, Kent Barnes.\u201d He turned to Kent. \u201cThis is my girlfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m Sharon Loffler.\u201d She stuck out her hand to shake. \u201cPleased to meet you.\u201d Kent seemed amused. \u201cI cook for Billy all the time. Is there something you\u2019re hungry for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe new sponsor has this ad concept\u2013\u201d He paused and reappraised her. \u201cYou\u2019r<\/em>e Billy\u2019s girlfriend?\u201d Sharon smiled. \u201cWhat\u2019s the last meal you fixed him?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI bought a bucket of fried chicken at the Ready Stop and microwaved mac and cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agent nodded. \u201cThey want Billy\u2013looking all rugged cowboy\u2013to face the camera and say, \u2018Rodeo means pain.\u2019<\/em> They flash a clip of his injury, shots from rehab, then Billy back on a bull. \u2018Billy Cutter, rodeo champion, the favored rider, brought down, fighting back, resolved to compete again.\u2019 <\/em>The camera holds on him accepting the Courage award, then it cuts to him, standing before a table of food, with his arm wrapped around a shapely woman\u2019s waist. Billy says, \u2018Comfort means home cooking and Wild Buffalo Jeans.\u2019<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFried food, comfortable clothes, and pussy,\u201d Sharon suggested, \u201cthe Male American Dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou bet your sweet ass it is.\u201d Kent hesitated. \u201cYou might be a little older than the sponsor envisioned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She sat back in her chair and carefully opened the lid of her coffee. \u201cWild Buffalo Jeans says that when life knocks you down, you need the guts to get back up, because that\u2019s what\u2019s Billy\u2019s done. Do you think some scrawny-assed twenty-something porcelain doll can help him with that?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kent considered her question. \u201cI guess not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThink about the women who will see the ad,\u201d Sharon added, \u201cthe ones who buy jeans for their husbands and boyfriends, the ones with a poster in their kitchen of Billy riding a bull. They know he\u2019s not with me for my mac and cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI like that angle. I\u2019ll pitch it to the Wild Buffalo folks.\u201d Kent had another thought. \u201cHave you modeled before?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot the kind of photo shoots a girl would put on her resume, but I know my way around men with cameras,\u201d she demurred. \u201cWhen can Billy and I meet these folks?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLunch is at 1:30, but leave the Levi\u2019s at home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can buy new jeans on the strip,\u201d Billy suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll need to text my sons, too. Let them know what\u2019s up.\u201d She told Kent, \u201cThey\u2019re 13 and 15.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo they like rodeo?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey think they\u2019re cowboys.\u201d Sharon picked up her old Marine Corps duffle bag. \u201cBut they\u2019re too smart to ride bulls.\u201d She handed the bag to Billy to carry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll take luck over brains any day,\u201d Billy said, \u201cbut it doesn\u2019t hurt to have both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Billy Cutter left the Bull Riders reception early and sober. Without shooters, the jokes weren\u2019t as funny or the women as intoxicating as at the parties before his injury. At 6 a.m. the next morning, Billy made his way to the mini-mall McDonalds down from the Exhibit Hall. He ordered coffee, a Big Breakfast with … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":917,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/george-bakos-83HwuZirc-c-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C427&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":888,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions\/888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Paul Lewellan retired after forty-nine years of teaching in secondary schools and private colleges. Now he lives and gardens in Davenport, Iowa, with his wife Pamela, his Shi Tzu Mannie, and her ginger tabby Sunny. He keeps a safe social distance from everyone else.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"