Road to Glory Read Free Page B

considering,” he replied.
    Glory pressed her lips tight to keep the words from tumbling out of her mouth. What purpose would it serve to hold a grudge? Angel was Angel. The daughter of her father’s old fly buddy, Mickey Davis, she was part of the ranch Glory had known since childhood. Mickey had been offered the job as foreman of the Glory B once he finished his tour of duty. Both he and his daughter were like family to her. And Glory knew families stuck together.
    Besides, what had happened with Jax was over and done. Angel didn’t need to pay for Jax Martin’s lack of self-control. Glory needed to move on and forget the hurt the incident had caused. “We need to put our best foot forward,” she remarked. “It’s not often we get big names from the rodeo circuit on our local level.”
    Mitch’s mouth turned down. He glanced over his shoulder. “No, they must be looking for something, if the pro circuit sent the likes of John Parker and Hargrove down.”
    She took the chance and stole another shy glance toward the bull rider. Gone were Travis’ shades. His hat now firmly clasped in his left hand with his cane, his right hand over his heart as he recited the Pledge of Allegiance along with the throng. A warm rush heated the pit of her belly. She felt the pounding of her blood rise to her cheeks as the idea of his mouth caressing hers came to mind.
    “Glory, you okay?”
    “Sure.” She quickly turned away. Now was not the time for a schoolgirl crush to suddenly rear its head. The oath over, they sat back down, Glory determined to forget the handsome man sitting behind her. If only it were that easy.

Chapter Two
    Travis didn’t know which was worse, being down in the chutes or sitting just behind the pens able to smell the clay, the bulls, and the fertilizer they left behind. At one time the scent had been second nature to him. But now the stench made his skin crawl. He shifted uncomfortably in the seat. Squinting his eyes, he focused on the fans across the arena, doing his level best to ignore the terror welling up inside.
    Stay calm and remember to breathe . Using his tongue, he swiped his upper lip, surprised to taste the salt from the line of perspiration which formed there. Concentrate . Focus on what John Parker is saying . Steeling his mind against the action behind the chutes, he let John’s words fill his mind while attempting to ignore the heavy thump of his heart. Like it or not, each beat echoed like the toll of drums in a funeral march. The images of the crowd across the ring wavered; he blinked and brought them back into focus.
    “I’m glad you decided to come out today,” John was saying. “I was concerned you weren’t getting enough fresh air.”
    The muscles on Travis’ left cheek twitched. “Yeah, P.T. has kept me pretty busy. I’m just waiting on the doc for a release.”
    “How long has that cast been off now?” John asked.
    “About a month, maybe a bit longer.”
    Travis shifted his weight to relieve the throb that was beginning to make itself known. The pain radiated from a point above his ankle and moved along the calf of his leg with a deep burn, as if someone had an acetylene torch running along the muscles. He wished he’d brought one of the little pink pills that made the pain disappear. However, it had become too easy to rely on them; he needed to back off from them instead.
    Taking a deep breath, he did his best to ignore the urge to move. He had to appear calm, cool, and collected. Travis knew Parker’s attention would be focused on his actions, not the program in his hands. The rodeo association invested a lot in their riders and stock. If you couldn’t ride, you couldn’t earn points. No points equaled no pay. No pay meant no moving up. Caught in a no-win situation, he continued to wait for the doctor to release him. He heard Parker give a grunt of commiseration.
    “Been there, done that.” He sighed.
    Wanting to beat him to the punch, Travis spoke. “Look, this