Page 10 (1/2)

1

Ruckus

“Another round” My voice doesn’t even slur as I lean in toward the barkeep to place my order I do, however, find it a little difficult to find y little dive bar I’ve holed up in for the night

It ain’tthe taps to sneak me an extra shot of bourbon every few rounds No Merl and Henry either, to keep an eye on et a little too deep into his cups Which I’ve been liable to do of late, given…

Well given every da about my life

The barkeep hesitates I recognize the look in his eye I kneell It’s the should I really serve this guy another drink? expression Luckily, I also kno to counter this I hold the round I don’t so much as waver an inch

There See? Totally sober

The barkeep slides a freshly filled glass of whiskey across the stained and pocked bar toward me I shove a fistful of bills back, tip included I never skiht’ve earned around town

“Hey” Someone slaps my back

I stiffen, drink clenched tight inany of it I plaster on my best ihtdown, and turn to whoever just had the audacity to touch me

“Aren’t you Rudolph Ruckus?” The guy, a gangly little kid who couldn’t be old enough to legally set foot inside this establishlasses “From the rodeo You won yesterday, huh?”

Unable to stop nize anyone in here, but that don’tHalf the enemies I’ve made I wouldn’t be able to tell froone by the ti chairs portion of the evening That’s when I tend to do the e—to both myself and others

But nobody see me yet Maybe the coast is clear I stirred up soh this town, for this same rodeo event last year Not to uys ere out on the field with me yesterday were pissed about my win But it doesn’t seem like any of them are in this bar

So I just shrug at the kid Try for a s winner”

“Congrats, man I loved your perforht you were a goner for sure when the bull kicked through the fence!”

“Thanks,” I reply, not without a heavy layer of sarcasht you were about to die

Christ, I’ a beeline for the end of the bar The quiet corner near the old guys getting soused on a bottle of Jack That’s my kind of spot The spot where I can just lay low and stay out of trouble The trouble that’s been plaguingas I can remember

I catch a couple uys like the kid, and then a couple of bo a wink and a grin at Okay, so I have some fans in this town too, apparently

But more enemies

And I can’t afford to make any ainst uys who didn’t press charges after we tussled It’s not that I go looking for trouble, it’s just that whenever trouble saunters into whatever bar I happen to be in, I never back down froht

But I know I can’t afford any more incidents I’m on thin ice with my sponsors as it is Last month I ended up in a brawl that was plastered all over the tabloids with headlines like Big Rodeo Star Goes Mad Bull on Local Tavern It wasn’t ht Said I’d fixed the rodeo, that their friend should’ve won instead Told me I’d better leave town before they forced me out of it

I mean, you can’t say that kind of shit to a ht?

But still Those are the thoughts onon at the far end of the bar Stay clear of trouble, Ruckus

A new girl walks in Just about every eye in the place, nets pointing toward the North Pole She’s i into a dirty coal ht there in the middle of the mud

She’s got legs as long as a filly, swathed in jeans tight enough to dis

play every inch to their best advantage Coht, perky ass that sticks out behind her as she sashays in, her waist-length blonde curls swinging behind her, and I swear, I’ve never gotten harder faster while staring at an entirely clothed, perfectly presentable woman in my life

She heads straight for the bar, shoulders back and head held high A girl who knohat she wants I like that in a woman

I like it even better when I catch a gli across the bar toward her A glass of Bulleit bourbon, neat Saht this very moment My usual poison of choice

I’o over and introduce uy swoops in Not the dweeby kid froe by the tangle of a beard he’s got, not to mention the rat’s nest of a ponytail down his back, he’s doesn’t exactly have a shot

I watch hih cracked teeth, one of which is so black I can see it from here

She smiles at him, politely Ducks her head and tries to sidestep around him toward the bar

He plants a hand on her shoulder, spins her back to face hi

This time, she doesn’t smile She shoves him back, hard, with both hands The way she plants her feet, even in heels, she’s able to get up enough ers, and at the same moment, I find myself on my feet

I don’t re to do this I have about a hundred reasons not to Most pressing of which would be the tsuits for fighting that are keepinglow and playing nice until they wrangle al corner

But instead, I find lass of whiskey I set that on the table, shove it back, and rise to ood sign