Relentless by Cheryl Douglas Page B

near and that scared the hell out of him.
    “Hey, bro, you in here?” J.T. shouted when he entered the silent room. He expected to hear the sound of Ty’s raspy voice filtering through the air. Instead, he heard the sound of a dog barking. After walking to the window, J.T. watched Ty playing a game of fetch with his old golden retriever, Ike. The poor dog was at the end of his life, but Ty was determined to make his final days as happy and comfortable as possible.
    J.T. loved ranch life almost as much as his brother, but the thought of living out the rest of his days as a rancher didn’t sit well with him. He’d taken on the responsibility of running his parent’s ranch when his father wasn’t able to handle it anymore, and it had started to take its toll long before they made the decision to sell off most of their land.
    He was a free spirit. He loved to travel, hated the thought of being tied down. That was part of the reason he loved competing. He was able to travel to different cities, meet new people who shared his passion for the rodeo, and enjoy the perks that came with being a world champion. He had no idea how he was going to deal with it when people no longer saw him as the top dog.
    He’d just be a washed-up has-been who’d given people a few thrills back in the day. Sure, he held a few impressive records, but he had no doubt some young hot shot would come along and knock him off his throne in due time. Within a few years, the same people who’d sang his praises would barely remember his name.
    He didn’t know why the hell he was feeling so melancholy today. Maybe it was his time with Nikki. She reminded him that she was at the start of a promising career that would likely span decades, while he was at the end of a career that had been too damn short. Everyone kept telling him he had to have an exit strategy, but he’d been enjoying the present too much to think about the future. But now the future was here and he had no choice but to face it.
    Ty opened the rear door and Ike came bounding through ahead of him, anxious to greet J.T. He bent down to pet his old friend, whose tail was wagging happily at the attention. “How you doin’, old boy? You were lookin’ good out there,” he said, scratching the dog’s head. “Who the hell ever said fetch was a young dog’s game, huh? Us old guys can still keep up, can’t we, bud?”
    Ty laughed as he sat in one of the chairs in front of the stone fireplace.
    The studio also consisted of a small office and sitting room with a big screen TV. According to his brother, downtime was an essential part of the creative process. J.T. wasn’t sure he believed that watching football helped Ty write music, but since it was a shared passion, he wasn’t about to argue.
    “What’re you doin’ here, man?” Ty asked, setting his feet up on the oversized ottoman as he laced his hands behind his head.
    “I need to bend your ear about somethin’, man. You got a few minutes?” J.T. realized it was true; he did need his brother’s advice. At first he thought his visit was about Nikki, but it was more than that. He had some tough decisions to make about his future, and no one knew him better than Ty.
    “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”
    J.T. started pacing, too restless to sit still. “I’ve been doin’ a lot of thinkin’ about where I go from here, ya know?”
    “You mean professionally?”
    “Yeah, I mean I always knew I couldn’t do this forever, and I want to go out on top. I don’t want to be one of those guys who hangs on, just tryin’ to relive his glory days, when everyone else knows his best days are behind him.”
    “That makes sense. You give any thought to what you want to do?”
    J.T. shook his head, wishing he had the answer. “Not a clue, man. That’s the problem. I’ve made enough money over the years, especially with all the endorsement deals. I could buy a house, invest in a small business… I could have a good life when I retire, but