The Bull Rider Wears Pink Read Online Free PDF Page A

a
pillar of the community. They had a cop named Peter Goodman, who looked like
Tom Hanks the early years, they used to infiltrate the
churches. Plus, Oklahoma
was out of the LAPD's jurisdiction. But maybe John was working for the Feds
now.
    Cassidy didn't know and she knew
she didn't want to know. Yes, there were two sources of stress in their
relationship. John's continued undercover work and Cassidy’s need to quit.
Their five years with the Highwaymen disguised as a married couple had at first
been exciting, then trying, followed by plain old scary.
    As John played with the fringes on
his shirt and stared at Cassidy, Bodner continued
speaking. “Hopefully Cassidy can stay on a bull for eight seconds.” He shook
his head. “I've got to have one girl who can do the job or I'm going to
eliminate the women’s competition.” He looped his thumbs into his belt. “Nobody
pays to see bull riders fall off.” Then he amended his words. “Yes, the fans
like a good wreck or two but not the entire competition.”
    Cassidy really wished Bodner would stop talking. She also wished John Risk would
stop looking at her mouth. No, she wasn't going to blow his cover. She shook
her head slightly, hoping that would reassure him, but it didn't. Those blue
eyes were still glued to the lower half of her face. Talk about unsettling, now Kevin truly had a reason to be embarrassed by
her.
    And through all this, Bret Bodner was still talking. “You know a man tries to create
equity for the women.” He shook his chin and his neck waddled. “Title Nine and all that. But if they can't stay on the bull and
they won't wear bikinis I don't know what I'm supposed to do because I've got
to make money.” He scratched his head. “I'm sure someone from the government
will come along and tell me to let the women compete with the men. Damn
government.”
    Instead of letting Bodner’s words about his employer bother him, John smiled
at Cassidy. The way he pulled his lips back was completely different from the
man she used to know who wore a leather jacket and a big knife attached to his
belt in L.A. A
year ago Cassidy had been under the impression the muscles in the corners of
John's mouth didn't work but now she could see they did. “I'm sure this is your
woman,” John told Bodner . Then he reached for
Cassidy's arm.
    “It's all about the upper body
strength,” John explained as he poked at her, his fingers close to her breast. “It
seems God has blessed Ms. Cooper with a lot of upper body strength.” He
squeezed her muscle again.
    “It has nothing to do with God,”
Cassidy argued while stepping out of his grasp. Even though John's touch was
making her warm in some long neglected places, she didn't need this right now. She
had her son and her bull riding. “I've been lifting weights for the last year,”
she told the men. Then again, John already knew that. She had used the weight
set he had in his guest bedroom on the days they weren't working.
    “She's bench pressing two hundred
pounds.” Kevin stopped typing long enough to join the conversation. “Twice her weight.” He shrugged. “But she can only do it
once.”
    Cassidy stared at her son. He
actually sounded proud of her. Wow, that felt good.
She decided she wanted more. “I've been riding since I was six,” she announced.
“I've stayed on a bull for eight seconds plenty of times.” She eyed Kevin.
    But it was John who whistled
between his teeth. “Six years old,” he said. He shifted back on his heels and
looped his thumbs into his belt hooks just like Bret Bodner .
“That's impressive.” He smiled again. “Cassidy Cooper you are one heck of a
woman.” He added, “Nice T-shirt,” with a nod toward Kevin.
    Cassidy turned to Kevin. He didn't
look as impressed with her accomplishments as he had two minutes ago. His
interest had shifted to John as he ran his hands down the front of his chest. “ Yo , you watch Battlestar ?” he
asked the preacher.
    John smiled and nodded.