Rank

Chapter 2

Seven Months Later

I was in my room at my mom’s house messing around on my guitar when Cole opened the door without knocking. He leaned his shoulder on the doorframe and grinned like he was up to something.

“What?”

“Is your bag packed?”

I shook my head, knowing he was going to launch into another round of high school peer pressure tactics to convince me to go on tour with him. “I told you, I’m not going. My vision is still messed up in my left eye.”

He dismissed my excuse with a wave. “The doctor said you’re fine to ride.”

“I think I know if my eye is too messed up to ride better than she does.”

His posture collapsed into phase two of his pressure tactic, which was whining. “Come on, Billy. Don’t be a buzz kill. What are you going to do around here until September?”

“Work and take care of Mom,” I said for likely the millionth time since I told him I was retiring.

“We can hire a nurse for Mom. You’ll make more money on the circuit than what you make at the bar.” Logic. Phase three.

“Hank Pollert needs a ranch hand. I told him I could help out during the week, so I’ll be making two incomes.”

“You don’t want to be stuck here all summer doing that.”

“You’re going to be stuck here all summer doing that, too. Your shoulder is still too messed up to ride.”

“What are you talking about?” He patted his arm roughly to prove its sturdiness. “It’s as good as new.”

“You haven’t even been on a bull in seven months.”

“I’ve been training.”

“On saddle Broncs and mechanical barrels. It’s not the same. You’ll go one go on a bull and be done for the season.”

“Come with me just this weekend. If I get tossed, you can come home. If I win, we go on tour.”

Bargaining. That was an angle he hadn’t tried before. He must have been getting desperate. Not interested, I strummed the strings of my guitar. “No thanks.”

“You weren’t really serious about quitting, were you?”

“I didn’t quit. I retired.”

“You can’t retire. You’re twenty years old.”

“Well, I did.”

“Fine. You can be retired from bull riding and still come with me as my manager.”

“No.”

“I got a surprise for you. Look out the window.” He held the curtain back and pointed like a hyper kid.

When it became obvious that he wasn’t going to leave unless I looked, I rested my guitar on the bed and walked over to the window. Attached to the back of his pickup was a silver camper.

“Do you like it? It’s got a kitchen and a shower.” He went on to list a bunch of top of the line features like a salesman.

“I don’t care if it’s got a porch and an attic. I’m not going.” I sat on the edge of the bed and unfolded the paperwork from the University of Saskatchewan that I needed to fill out in order to reapply. “I have responsibilities. I can’t dick around on the circuit anymore.”

“I promise not to get killed.”

The image of Dad getting stomped flashed through my mind and made my muscles flinch involuntarily. “Yeah, well, that could happen whether I go with you or not.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

I looked up and stared at him for a while. I hated being he reason for the disappointed look on his face, but I had to stand my ground. “I don’t want to go.”

“I need to do this, Billy. I can’t end my career like that, and I need you there or I won’t be able to get back up on a bull.”

And, the guilt trip. Final phase. “Nobody cares if you quit.”

“I do, and Dad would have.”

I scoffed. “Look where that attitude got him.”

Cole wandered across the room and stared out the window at the trailer for a while. Honouring Dad’s memory was not an angle that was going to work on me and Cole obviously realized it because he sat on the edge of my desk and tried another approach. “Rodeo is all I know. It’s the only place I feel like myself.”

“I’m not stopping you from going. I just don’t want to go.”

“Who’s going to make sure I take my medications?”

I shook my head, not buying his useless act.

“Who’s going to remind me to fill out my forms?”

I propped the guitar back on my lap and practiced my picking, hoping he would eventually run out of arguments and go.

“Who’s going to drag me out of bed and make me scrambled eggs every morning?”

“You can learn to do all that for yourself.”

He pushed his hat back and propped his hands on his knees. He thought for a while then he said, “Mom will worry herself sick if you aren’t there watching over me.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, wishing he would just give up and leave without me.

“Rodeo is all you know, too.”

“Yeah, well that’s the problem. I don’t want to spend my whole life riding bulls and have nothing to show for it but a trunk full of buckles, arthritis, and an empty bank account. Besides, Mom needs my help around here.”

“Come on, Billy. Just one more season. I need someone to slap my back for good luck. I can’t do that myself.”

Shit. I blinked hard then glared at him. Although it was nearly impossible to talk him into or out of things, with me, it was just a matter of finding the one thing that struck a chord. The back slap was that thing. The satisfied grin on his face made it clear that he knew he’d finally stumbled onto the bullseye.

“Please, Billy.”

I rubbed my face and gave in. “Fine, one weekend, but if you wreck, I’m not going to help you.”

“Deal.” He clapped his hands.

“I must be crazy,” I mumbled as I got up to pack my bag.

“We both know I’m the crazy one.” He tackled me onto the bed and wrapped his arms around me in a headlock to roughhouse. “Ooh, look at that. My baby brother is still stronger than me. Maybe we’ll get you back on a bull yet.”

I twisted out of his hold and pinned him across the throat. “I will always be stronger than you, but I’m never getting on a bull again.”

“You lost your nerve?”

“No. One of us has to stay alive to take care of Mom. We both know it isn’t going to be you.”

“You got that right.” He pushed his hands into my chest and launched me off him. “Stop horsing around and get your bag packed. That shiny new camper is pulling out of here in exactly eight seconds.”

When we arrived at the rodeo, we parked in the participants’ area and the smell of dust, diesel, and dung descended on us. Cole inhaled and smiled the same way he did when he took the first puff of a cigarette after quitting for a while. “Smells like home, don’t it?” He swatted my shoulder and then headed over to the indoor arena to sign in.

I kicked at the dirt, raised my face up to the warm sunshine, and inhaled. It did kind of feel like home. I put my hat on and followed Cole to the arena. A girl with long strawberry red hair was practicing barrels on a palomino horse. I leaned my elbows on the rail and watched. Her turns were the tightest I’d ever seen and then she let it rip home.

“Damn,” I said to Cole. “That girl is going to give Shae-Lynn a run for her money.”

“That is Shae, you idiot.”

I squinted and tried to make out her face. She looked different. It was definitely Harley, though. “Has her hair always been red?” I asked, confused why I hadn’t noticed that before.

“I don’t know,” he replied, not actually caring. “I’ll be right back.”

I nodded to acknowledge I heard him, but I was more focused on Shae-Lynn walking Harley around to cool him down. I was pretty sure her hair used to be dirty blonde or light brown. I couldn’t remember for some reason. When she noticed me, I tipped my hat. She smiled and waved, but then frowned and turned to walk him in the opposite direction.

“Hey, Cole,” a girl behind me said.

I looked over my shoulder. Cole wasn’t around. Tawnie was smiling at me. “Uh, Cole’s signing in. I’m his brother, Billy.”

“Oh, sorry. You look alike.” She held out her hand to shake mine. “Nice to meet you. I’m Tawnie Lang.” She bit the corner of her bottom lip and slid her hands in her back pockets, which made her top stretch across her chest and the fabric gape between the buttons. “Actually, who am I kidding? I knew you were Cole’s brother. I was just looking for an excuse to come over and introduce myself.”

“You don’t need an excuse. Nice to meet you, Tawnie.”

She smiled and relaxed. “Which event are you competing in this weekend?”

“I’m not competing. I don’t ride anymore.”

She moved in next to me to lean her elbows on the rail. She smelled like wild lavender. Up close, she was even prettier. “Do you know anything about barrel racing?” she asked without actually looking at me.

“A little.”

“Something hasn’t been quite right with my timing on Willow lately. Will you watch my run and tell me how my form is?” She turned her head and looked right into my eyes in a sexy way that she likely knew had an effect on men. It had been so long since the last time I saw her, I had forgotten how strong the attraction was.

I couldn’t quite remember the question, but I knew whatever it was, I was okay with it. “Sure.”

She touched my arm flirtatiously before she climbed the fence and walked over to where her horse was tethered. Shae-Lynn looked over at me one more time before exiting the arena with Harley following behind. Tawnie warmed up for a while, then lined up to do a practice run. Cole walked over and leaned on the fence next to me to watch. It was an ugly run. Willow stumbled twice and Tawnie almost lost her stirrup on the last barrel. She loped home and circled at a trot. She stopped in front of us. “See what I mean? What do you think I’m doing wrong?”

Cole stood up straight and said, “Time to retire her.” He walked away.

Tawnie’s eyebrows angled. “What’s Cole talking about?”

“Your horse is favouring her front left leg.”

“Like a sprain?”

“No. She’s probably done.”

“But she’s only seven years old.” Tawnie’s face tightened as if she was on the verge of crying. I looked around to see if anyone else was watching. Seeing girls cry was one of my least favourite things in the world. Being the reason why they were crying was pretty much the only thing worse. Not that I hadn’t made my fair share of girls cry. I just felt horrible doing it.

“I could be wrong. You should check with the vet,” I said to make her feel better.

“Even if it’s just a sprain, I can’t ride her this weekend. Damn it.” She dismounted. “I already paid for the hotel and I’m going to lose my entry fee too.”

“You could borrow a horse.”

The tears she’d been holding back made their way through her eyelashes. She wiped the back of her hand across her cheeks. “Do you know someone who has one?”

I stared down at the dirt to avoid making eye contact. Her sniffling was hard to ignore though. “I could talk to Ron Miller.”

“Would you?”

I nodded, although I wasn’t exactly sure why I had offered in the first place.

“Thanks, Billy. Let me know if he has anything.” She waved with a big smile on her face before she walked Willow back to the arena opening. Her hips swayed with purpose as if she knew I was watching.

Damn it. A pretty girl cries and next thing I know I’m checking on getting a horse for her. Idiot. I wandered outside and over to the back pens. Ron was talking to a couple of guys, but he excused himself when he saw me. He walked over to shake my hand. “The face is looking good, Billy. How are you feeling?” He bent over and adjusted a gate hinge.

“A bit of a vision problem in one eye, but can’t complain. Thanks.” I tipped my hat back and scanned the pens. “Do you have any quarter horses that can run the barrels?”

He stood upright and adjusted his hat, always interested in talking business. “I’ve got a couple back home and one mare here. My daughter trained her, but she’s never competed.”

“Tawnie Lang needs a horse for the weekend. Her horse came up lame.”

“Ten thousand dollars.”

I laughed. “I don’t want to buy her. I was hoping Tawnie could just borrow her, show her off for you.”

“Nope. I don’t want her getting injured.”

“I doubt Tawnie can afford to buy her. She was upset about losing her entry fee.”

“Then I guess I can’t help you.”

I shouldn’t have cared. All I had to do was go back and tell Tawnie he didn’t have anything for her to borrow. Losing her entry fee wasn’t that big of a deal. On the other hand, if Ron gave me a good deal, I could buy the horse, let Tawnie show her off, and sell her for a profit. “How old is she?”

Ron smiled and tilted his hat up, glad that I was interested enough to not let it go. “Four.”

If the horse was fast, I’d be able to flip her before the weekend was over. If she was slow, I’d be paying for board until I found a sucker to buy her. Tawnie wasn’t as good of a rider as Shae-Lynn and there was a possibility she wouldn’t show off the horse’s full potential. I decided to negotiate a backup plan, so I wouldn’t get stuck with a horse I couldn’t sell. “Seven thousand, but I want to see her run in competition first. If Tawnie wins on her, I’ll buy her.”

“If Tawnie doesn’t win?”

“Consider it a loaner.”

He took his hat off and scratched his head. He took his time thinking, which was obviously his negotiation style. “She must be some girl. You can have your trial run, but I want eight thousand if she wins.”

“Deal.” I shook his hand. “And it’s not about a girl. It’s business.”

“Sure. Sure.” He smiled knowingly. “You want to see the horse?”

Damn. Maybe it was about the girl. If it had really been about reselling the horse for a profit, I would have thought to check her out first. Shaking my head because I couldn’t believe I’d just done something so Cole-like, I said, “Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.”

We walked over to a paddock and he put a bay quarter horse on a lead. He walked her around so I could watch her gait and then he brought her close. I ran my hand over her spine and down her legs. She was a nice horse.

“What’s her name?”

“Stella.”

I checked her teeth and looked at her face. “Hey, Stella. Are you fast?”

She bobbed her head up and down as if she understood me. Ron laughed. “I taught her to do that.” He gave her a pat and handed me the lead. “You better hope your brother wins so you can pay for her.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” I said, although I was worried about it. I led Stella over to the parking lot and wandered around until I found Tawnie’s truck and trailer. She was bent over wrapping Willow’s leg. “Hey, I got you something.”

She spun around and her expression transitioned between shock and joy. “Oh, she’s gorgeous.”

“Her name’s Stella. Ron said you can use her for the weekend.”

Tawnie bounded over and launched herself at me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and knocked my hat off in the process. “Thanks, Billy.” Before I had a chance to register the fact that she was hugging me, she stopped, and lunged over to pick my hat up off the ground. “Sorry.” She brushed it lightly and handed it back to me.

I held it in my hands and watched as she inspected Stella. The smile on her face made her even more beautiful. Knowing that I put that smile on her face felt pretty good.

“I’m going to go see if the barrels are still set up,” she said excitedly. “If I can get some arena time, do you want to come over and watch?”

“Sure.”

“What’s your phone number? I’ll text you if I can get a run.”

I told her my number and watched her type it into her phone.

“Thank you so much.”

I put my hat back on and tipped the brim at her. “Don’t mention it.”

She led Stella across the field towards the arena. I watched her hair sway across her back for a while, then headed over to our trailer to wait for her text. Shae-Lynn’s family motorhome was parked next to us and she was standing near her horse trailer, brushing Harley.

“Hey,” I said.

She stood up, but kept brushing. “Hi. I thought you were quitting the rodeo in order to pursue non-redneck careers.”

“Retired, not quit. Cole convinced me to come along for this weekend only. It’s his first ride back since his shoulder injury.”

“I’m sure it didn’t take too much convincing to get you to tag along. You were literally born at a rodeo.”

“Only because my dad and all his buddies, including your dad, were too drunk to drive my mom to the hospital.”

She smiled at the memory of our dads retelling that story every chance they got, then her expression turned more serious. “It won’t be easy to get it out of your blood.”

“I don’t even miss it.” I leaned in and gently tugged her braid. “You changed your hair.”

“Yeah.” She seemed unsure whether I was teasing her.

“It looks good.”

Her cheeks blushed as she tucked a few flyaways behind her ear. “Thanks.”

I studied her face for a while. “Is something else different too?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “No. I’m the same as I’ve always been.” Her big green eyes shifted to meet my stare.

There was something different about her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. “Is your mom inside?”

“No. She’s touring with my dad. It’s just Lee-Anne and me.”

“Your dad agreed to let his daughters’ tour around on this circuit without chaperones?”

“He doesn’t know. He thinks we’re back in Calgary.”

I chuckled and shook my head, wondering how that was going to go when he found out and the shit hit the fan. “That’s probably not a good idea with all these cowboys around.”

“What difference does it make if we’re home by ourselves with a bunch of ranch hands, or on the circuit by ourselves with a bunch of rodeo cowboys?”

“He can fire his ranch hands for messing with either of you.”

She seemed surprised that I even had an opinion on the subject. “We’re not kids anymore. We can take care of ourselves.”

I watched her for a while, still trying to figure out what was different about her. “That was a good practice run you had earlier.”

She smiled, maybe from the compliment I gave her, or maybe from the memory of the last conversation we had when I gave her barrel racing advice. “Someone told me Harley was dropping his shoulder on the first barrel. My times have been improving since I corrected it.”

“Hmm. Do you always take other people’s advice?”

“Only if they’re right.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, kind of cocky.

Her eyes darted over to connect with mine and she seemed like she was going to say something sassy about my arrogance, but instead she said, “You look different.”

“Yeah, they had to reconstruct my cheek and jaw bone.”

She nodded her approval. “You look good.”

I laughed. “What does that mean? Are you saying that the bull kicked the ugly out of me?”

“No.” She snuck one more glance, then went back to grooming. “You look more like your dad.”

She was the only person who wasn’t afraid to talk about my dad around me. It seemed strange to hear her do it so casually, but for some reason I didn’t mind it coming from her. I pushed my hat back and watched her pick Harley’s front left hoof. “Hey, I don’t know if Cole ever thanked you, but I want to thank you for what you did.”

She stood and leaned against Harley’s neck to give him a hug. “You don’t need to thank me. I’m just glad you’re both okay now.” She slid her hand over Harley’s coat and ran her fingers through his mane. “How much school did you miss?”

“Two terms.”

“Are you planning on going back?”

I nodded, although I hadn’t handed in the forms to reapply after my medical leave of absence. “What have you been doing since I saw you last?” I asked.

“I took some music theory and sports psychology courses at the University of Calgary.”

“Great. You’ll be able to diagnose me when you finish your degree.”

She laughed. “I think I can already do that.”

“Really? You think you’ve got me all figured out?”

“Yeah, I do.” She threw the hoof pick in the grooming tray. “I think I have your brother figured out too.”