Champion At Heart (Sequel of Breaking Ice)

Chapter Two

Months after her departure… Bull Riding Event

The sweat was on his forehead, the bull was bellowing, and the chanting and cheering coming from the crowd were enough to get his blood pumping. It was enough to get his adrenaline through the roof as he felt the two-thousand-pound brown beast underneath his body, ready to charge at any minute’s notice. 

Marshall Redd was still at the top of his game. The best bull rider in the entire county, he was not intimidated by the bull named Haywire, given to it by other cowboys and rodeo clowns, who had experienced his full-blown speed and strength. 

It was his lucky night, months after New Year’s, which had left him with sad and fond memories. The season had just started, and his goal of riding that bull had become a reality. Now, he sat on the back of the animal, ready to get his eight seconds of glory. 

“Up next, Marshall Redd, riding on Haywire. Be careful, folks, this animal is like he has been brought straight from the gates of hell!” The rodeo announcer said through his microphone, his voice echoing through the entire arena. 

The young cowboy took deep breaths, closed his eyes, and focused on one thing that brought him peace. 

Brooklyn Evans…

The blonde-haired beauty that had stolen his heart months earlier, only to end up breaking it by leaving. Even if it had been for a few days, at his uncle’s ranch during Christmas, he had given himself to her entirely. 

“Ready, partner?” one of the rodeo staff asked, holding the bull along with his coworkers, waiting for the signal that Marshall was ready to go. With a swift nod, he was out the gate and into the arena, the angry bull making it hard for him to hold on. 

But Marshall Redd was not one to be intimidated as he grabbed that rope with everything he had. 

The crowd seemed to hype him up, all of them standing from their benches while they clapped their hands, whistling and screaming as he was being tossed back and forth like a ragdoll. 

“Five seconds, everyone! Can he make it?” the announcer’s voice rose as the seconds seemed more like hours in Marshall's mind. 

Brooklyn Evans…

The buzzer’s sound brought the ride to an end, but not his safety. As the bull kept bellowing and kicking, Marshall’s hand had gotten tangled in the rope, his palm burning underneath his thick leather gloves and his wrist suffering a twist he was sure to remember. 

“Get the bull!” A rodeo clown shouted as a few of them ran towards the animal, hoping to get his attention. But it was all in vain as the raging beast was focused on hurting Marshall. 

When he finally freed himself from the ropes, he hopped off the bull as safely as he could, but the fall, as graceful as it almost was, didn’t get him to the ground before he was impaled on his leg by one of the horns, the lethal weapon stuck through the leg, keeping him in the air. 

The crowd gasped, a few of the women cried while they covered their children's eyes and some men had taken their hats off, their eyes wide open as they waited for the entire ordeal to be over. 

“Marshall!” The lead clown, Cole Hudson, one of his closest friends, shouted as he tried to hold him by the arms, which had been the worst idea. Marshall screamed in pain, the bull still raging as he slowly pushed himself off the horn, blood seeping through the wound when he fell to the ground. 

His vision blurred; the brown silhouette being led through the gates was the last thing he saw before he closed his eyes. His heart raced and, for just one moment, he thought he would die in the cold dirt. 

“Redd, are you okay?” 

Of course, he wasn’t okay. He was lying there, almost lifeless. The silence was deafening as the medical crew rushed to his side with a stretcher, carefully placing him on it before they carried him out of the arena. 

With the little energy he had left, he lifted his arm and gave the crowd a thumbs-up, earning cheers and applause from them as they disappeared through the back gates, letting the event continue. 

“Marshall?” he heard Sophia call, the little girl running frantically towards her big brother. 

Her voice broke as she approached him while they took him to the ambulance. He could see her tears roll down her cheeks in fear as she held his bloodied hands. Who would have thought that his little sister, who he expected to stay home with his aunt and uncle and not around this traumatizing chaos, preferred to be with him on the road, enjoying the show?

“I’ll be fine, kiddo,” he whispered. “Go with Aunt Dolly, please.”

His uncle and aunt rushed to his side, giving him their support, while Dolly tried not to cry. They had been like parents to them when theirs had passed away in a tragic accident, leaving them orphaned. Marshall had to grow fast and watch over his little sister, who was ten, and close to a few years of being a teenager. Something that scared the hell out of him.

Sophia didn’t remember them, but Marshall had enjoyed their love and care, and all he had learned from them, he tried to teach his little sister. The siblings were as close as they could be. 

The paramedics reached the ambulance and lifted him in, giving him first aid while they made it to the nearest hospital. “You should go with him, Dolly,” her husband said, kissing her cheek. 

Dolly nodded and stepped into the ambulance, the doors closing behind her before it drove off while Jacob set his hands on Sophia’s shoulders, trying to console his niece as she sobbed loudly. She turned around, her eyes filled with fear for her brother as she hugged her uncle’s waist.

“They’ll be fine, sweetheart. Let’s go meet them at the hospital,” he said, leading her to his truck before getting on and following the ambulance. 

“Aunt Dolly,” Marshall whispered, almost feeling like he was hallucinating. “Tell Brooklyn and my baby I love them.”

“What? Why are you saying that? And who is your baby? You’re hallucinating, Marshall. Don’t talk as if you’re going to die. You’ll be okay.”

He smiled faintly as he shook his head, the paramedics trying to contain the blood loss until they reached their destination. 

“I can feel it in my guts. I have felt it for days now. Tell Brooklyn I’m still waiting patiently for her to come back to me. And bring the little bundle to meet me.” 

Dolly pushed a strand of hair that had fallen on his forehead, worried that her nephew was losing his marbles. Where did he get the idea of him having a child with Brooklyn? 

“What makes you think she’ll come back?”

“I know she will. Promise me, please.”

She nodded and patted his hand, seeing him close his eyes as the sedative had done its work. 

“I promise, dear.”

She didn’t know how to keep that promise, but hoped her son knew where she was and delivered the message for her. The young couple hadn’t parted on the best terms, and she prayed Brooklyn wanted to hear what she had to say. 

Taking her old flip phone from her pocket, she dialed Jeremiah and held it against her ear, waiting for the call to be answered. 

“Hello, Mom. Nice to hear your voice,” he answered, sounding tired from hockey practice. 

“Hi, Son. Nice to hear yours too. Is Bexley with you?” she asked. 

“No. I just arrived two days ago from Milan in time for practice for the start of the season. She stayed there with Brooklyn and her family. Why, what’s wrong?”

Dolly sighed. “Oh, Jay. It’s your cousin. He wants me to deliver a message to Brooklyn. It’s urgent.”