Rank

by D. R. Graham

  “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 pur
sue 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.”

  “I doubt that. There’s a whole team of professionals who haven’t been able to figure him out.” I turned out of habit as if I was going to spit.

  Her eyebrows angled together, and she tilted her head when I didn’t actually spit. “You’re not chewing tobacco.”

  “I quit.”

  “Really?” She sounded legitimately surprised.

  “Yeah, some girl told me it was repulsive.”

  She laughed, and seemed a bit smug that I took her advice. “Have you quit saying ain’t too?”

  “Only hicks say ain’t.”

  She rested her cheek against Harley’s cheek as she massaged his neck. “Do you always take other people’s advice?”

  Usually, no. I gave Harley a pat, wondering why I had taken her comments about me being hick to heart. I didn’t have an explanation, but she was waiting for me to respond, so I stole her comment from before. “Only if they’re right.”

  I meant for it to be funny, but it didn’t make her laugh. It seemed to make her get lost in thought. Her sister Lee-Anne bounced up and shoved me in the shoulder to interrupt. “Billy Ray Ryan, did you really buy a barrel horse for Tawnie Lang?”

  Shae-Lynn frowned and ducked under the rope to brush Harley’s other side. I glanced at Lee-Anne. “Who told you that?”

  “Who didn’t tell me that? Everybody’s gossiping.”

  “There’s nothing to gossip about. Tawnie’s just trying her out for the weekend. If she doesn’t win, Stella goes back to Ron.”

  “So, if she wins, you’re going to buy the horse?”

  I pulled the brim of my hat down and kicked at the dirt. “Well, I have to.”

  Shae-Lynn threw the brush in the grooming tray and walked behind the horse trailer where I couldn’t see her. Lee-Anne shook her head in a consolatory way as if she thought I was the stupidest person on the planet. My phone buzzed with a text. It was from Tawnie.

  “I have to go.” I stepped around Harley to see where Shae-Lynn went. She wasn’t around. “Tell your sister I said bye.”

  “Yeah. See ya,” Lee-Anne said, more amused than she should have been. It was just business.

  On my way to the arena, Cole, Tyson, and Tyson’s cousin Blake caught up to me. Cole twisted my ear painfully and forced me to lean towards him. “Did you just drop eight thousand dollars on a horse for a chick who you are not only not sleeping with, but you have never even gone on a date with?”

  “Ow. Let go.”

  He released my ear and punched me in the shoulder, hard. “Where are you going to get eight thousand dollars from? I’m not paying for it.”

  “Don’t worry about it. She has to win for the sale to go through.” I turned to look at Blake, who I hadn’t seen since I used to compete in the bigger rodeos. “What are you doing on this circuit?”

  “I broke my collarbone. I decided to hang out with you sorry ass excuses for cowboys for a while and give my big cousin some pointers.” He mussed up Tyson’s hair.

  “Watch it or I’ll break your other collarbone,” Tyson warned.

  Tawnie and Stella were setting up in the alley as we walked over to the ring. They took off from the gate and she ripped around the first barrel. All four of us stepped forward and leaned on the fence to watch. She turned the second barrel with no air between and actually gained momentum. She skimmed the last barrel and then let the reins out and kicked home. We all looked up at the clock.

  The contents of my stomach turned.

  Cole and the Wiese boys laughed.

  “Looks like you bought your girl a fast pony,” Cole said as he slapped my shoulder. “Better go find eight grand somewhere.”

  “Shit.”

  Chapter 3

  Cole was thrown on
his first two outs, so he didn’t qualify for the finals. We had to stay until Sunday, though, to find out whether I was going to owe Ron Miller eight thousand dollars that I didn’t have for a horse I didn’t want. I’d already asked around to see if anyone was in the market to buy a barrel racing horse, but nobody was. Shae-Lynn was leading Tawnie going into the championship round, so I wasn’t too concerned. Stella was fast though. She was almost too fast for Tawnie’s riding ability. If Shae-Lynn rode her, they’d definitely be able to tear it up on the bigger circuits.

  Cole and the Wiese boys weaved through the crowd, making their way up to where I was sitting in the grandstand. “You look like you’re going to throw up.” Cole laughed and sat down next to me. “I thought I was the one who was supposed to do stupid impulsive things.”

  “It must run in the family.” I tugged on my shirt collar to try to relieve the strangling feeling in my throat. The more I thought about it, the more I realized what a bonehead decision it had been. If Tawnie won and I didn’t find a buyer before the weekend was over, I’d have to come up with the eight thousand for Ron and extra to transport, board, and feed the horse.

  “What’s the plan if she wins?” Cole asked. “Are we going to make a run for it?”

  “I’ll find a buyer, eventually, but she’s not going to win. Shae-Lynn was looking good in practice.”

  He smiled as if he wasn’t so sure about that and watched Lee-Anne entertain the crowd with her trick riding.

  Tyson tilted his head as she rode hanging upside down off the side of her saddle. “How does she bend like that?”

  “I bet she’s bendy in all sorts of ways,” Blake said. “That is a definite asset.”

  “Forget it,” Cole told him. “She has a boyfriend back home.”

  “I bet she does.” He smiled in a sleazy way. “Look at that flexibility.”

  When she finished, they all stood up hooting and hollering. The rest of the crowd wasn’t really paying that much attention. They were mostly only there to see the bulls that were coming up later. When the ground crew entered the arena to set up the barrels, I shifted around on the bench, looked up, and prayed, “Come on, Shae-Lynn.”