Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(104)

He’d never seen Tell so mad. And what sucked is Chase didn’t blame him for his fury because Tell hadn’t said a thing that Chase hadn’t considered.
But you discarded the guilt and did what you wanted anyway, didn’t you?
“Look. I’m sorry.”

“Goddamn right you should be. Does your family know you’ve done this?”

He shook his head.
“And why is that?” Tell let the pause linger. “Because you know it’s wrong. They’d tell you it’s wrong, and they’d kick your ass until you made it right. I look at you and I feel like I don’t know you at all.” Tell stormed off, stopping when he reached the metal fence by the livestock gate. His fingers curled around the rail and he stared across the arena, his posture vibrated with anger.
Why hadn’t Chase considered he might run into his cousin while skipping from event to event in Tell’s jurisdiction?
Because once again you only thought about yourself.
Seemed to be a theme.
Chase slumped against the corral and waited for the impending ass-chewing from his upstanding, do-the-right-thing younger cousin. He glanced at the clock. The longest his diatribe could last would be forty-five minutes until the rodeo kicked off.
Tell walked back to him, a grim set to his mouth. “First off, I wish I wasn’t wearin’ this damn vest because I’d love nothin’ better than to knock your dumb ass right in the dirt.”

“I’d deserve it.”

“But since that ain’t the smartest option, we’ll go with the other one.” Tell paused. “Withdraw from the competition.”

His jaw dropped. “What? No. I drove a long damn way. I need to get on some bulls tonight.”

“Tough shit. This is how it’s gonna be. Either you voluntarily withdraw or I will report you to the head judge and you’ll be disqualified anyway.”

Without thinking, Chase snapped, “Jesus, Tell, judging power gone to your head or what? Why would you do that to me?”

Tell loomed over him because he knew it drove Chase bat-shit crazy. “To you? This ain’t only about you. I won’t turn a blind eye to this and get myself banned as a judge. I’ve worked too damn hard. Now that I know that you’ve been lying and cheating puts me at more risk than you, do you understand that?”

The truth tumbled down on him like a load of bricks. Was he really so single-minded he’d risk destroying his cousin’s future in the PRCA just so he could get on another bull?
No. Fuck no. And it made his cheeks burn with shame and his gut churn that he’d even considered it. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Christ, Tell, I’m a sorry son of a bitch sometimes.”

“No lie.”

“I’ll withdraw from the competition right now.”

“You do that. And while it was good to see you, since you can’t be bothered to come home very often, part of me wishes I hadn’t laid eyes on you.” Tell walked away without looking back.
Chase dragged ass as he trudged back to the check-in table. The secretary agreed to remove his name from the roster, but the fee was nonrefundable.
Now what?
Find Ava and get the hell outta Dodge.
As he’d started typing another text message, he heard his name shouted and Ryan fell into step with him.
“Hey, you’re going the wrong way. The contestant area is back there.”

“I’m not competing tonight.”

Ryan frowned. “Why not?”

Lie. “I’m burned-out and my shoulder is acting up. I thought it’d be okay to ride, but it’s not, so I changed my mind and withdrew.”