by Nancy M Bell
* * *
Colt found a parking spot beside the Cullen’s rig, which Laurel considered was both bad and good. It would be easier for her and Carly to co-ordinate things, but it also meant that Laurel would have to deal with Chance. Why couldn’t things go back to the way they used to be when they were all friends and Chance wasn’t so up in the air all the time? One minute he’d be like he always was and the next he was up on his high horse bossing her around or being ignorant about something.
As soon as her father got them situated Laurel hopped out. “Come with me, Coll. I gotta go make my entries and find Carly and see if she already entered us in the team roping.”
Coll glanced at Colt and then joined Laurel when the big man waved him on. “I’ll unload the horses and tack up Sam for you, Princess.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Laurel grabbed Coll’s hand and headed for the rodeo office.
They ran into Carly who was leaving as they got there.
“I already entered us in the team roping,” she called as she ran by. “Sorry, can’t stop. I’m late and Chance is in a snit about something and won’t help out.” Carly was off in a rush.
“Ask Mom for help, we’re parked right beside you,” Laurel yelled after her.
Carly waved without turning around or slowing down. Coll stood back while Laurel finished her entries. When they got back to the trailer, both Sam and Jewel were saddled and tied to the side of the trailer. Anna had everything set up and Colt was already off with the other rodeo officials.
Laurel slipped Sam’s halter off and put his bridle on. “Sorry, Coll. You’re on your own for a bit. I gotta go.”
“What should I do?” He looked a bit bewildered.
She swung up into the saddle and turned the horse toward where some other riders were gathered. “Just get on Jewel and kinda wander around. See what it’s all about. It’s nicer on horseback than just walking. See ya in a bit. Don’t forget to cheer for me.” Laurel touched Sam with her heel and loped off toward Carly and her friends.
* * *
The day went well. Carly won the barrels while Laurel came in with the fourth fastest time. Sam slipped and went a bit wide on the top barrel and it cost her precious tenths of a second. They fared better in poles where in spite of Sam’s height they wove through the pattern in the best time. Carly knocked a pole down and got disqualified. Laurel grimaced in sympathy, Chance would give his sister royal crap for the mistake. She occasionally caught sight of Coll, mostly because Jewel’s coat stood out in the sea of bays and chestnuts. She even outshone the paints and appys.
Carly was totally rattled by the time the team roping started. Not only her brother, but her dad berated her for the mistake in the poles. Laurel went back to the trailer to get a bottle of water from her mom and heard the whole thing. The Cullens were on the other side of their rig but didn’t bother to lower their voices. After the two men strode off, Carly came round to Laurel’s side in tears. Anna arrived to see what was wrong.
“It’s not like I did it on purpose.” She bit her lower lip in an attempt to stop crying. “They just make me so mad I can’t even say anything. I wish Mr. Rowan was my dad.” She threw herself into Anna’s arms and had a good cry.
“Pull yourself together, Carly. Forget about them. Men get so darned competitive they forget it’s not the end of the world. It’s not even about money at this stage. Little Britches is supposed to be fun, not all serious for heaven’s sake. Do you want me to ask Colt to speak to your dad about it?” Anna dried Carly’s face with a cool cloth.
She shook her head. “Thanks, but no. He’d just go off about me whining to the neighbors about things that don’t concern them.” She shrugged in apology. “His words, not mine.”
“If you change your mind about that you just let me know. Have you tried talking to you mom about how much it bothers you?”
“She’ll just side with him. She always does. Sometimes I almost think she’s afraid of him…” Carly blushed, and her words trailed off. “Thanks, Mrs. Rowan. I feel better now. You’re the best.” She hugged her friend’s mom.
Laurel finished her water and waited for Carly to get Rayna and join her. There was no point in trying to talk about what happened, she knew from past experience her friend wouldn’t welcome it. Side by side they jogged over to the infield to watch the saddle bronc event.
Carly was still white faced when their number was called for team roping. The steer ran out nice and straight and Carly’s loop settled nicely over the horns. Laurel leaned forward and prepared to drop her loop just in front of where she figured the hind legs were going to land when the wily beast tossed and twisted his head and flipped the rope off. Laurel checked Sam and let her rope go slack. No time. Laurel was disappointed, but that was all part of the sport. The unexpected happened. Some days everything went right and others, well, you might as well have left your horse in the pasture. Pushing aside her own disappointment, she tried to console her partner. Carly had gathered up her rope and pulled her hat down so far over her eyes it was hard to figure out if she could actually see where she was going or not.
Laurel rode up beside her as they headed for the out gate. “It’s okay, Carly. We’ll get it next time.”
“Sure,” Carly sounded like she was crying again.
They cleared the gate and found a relatively empty spot to stop. “I am never, and I mean never, going to hear the end of this from Dad. He’s been bragging to all his friends about what a great roping horse Rayna is and how he bred and trained her. He’s trying to sell a couple of full sisters to some Americans.”
“What happened had nothing to do with Rayna, or you, really. That steer was just smarter than us.” Laurel tried to make her feel better. “Chance’ll stick up for you with your dad, won’t he? He knows how hard you’ve worked.”
Carly gave a huge sniff and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve. “Not likely. Dad’ll be up one side of him and down the other for me not jerking my loop tight enough, or at the right time, or something. He’ll blame me for that, too. Some days I just can’t do anything right.”
“You won the barrels. Some of the girls might be interested in Rayna’s sisters for barrels if your dad’s Americans don’t come through.”
“Maybe,” Carly brightened, “let’s go find Coll and see what he’s been up to.”
The girls found Coll over by the chutes watching how they moved the animals through and into the bucking chutes. They laughed at the mutton busting and moaned in sympathy when the small helmeted figures bit the dust, cheering when a few of the more intrepid youngsters clung to the thick wool of the sheep’s’ back and hung on till the bull fighters plucked them off. One little guy punched the air with his fist and tossed his hat into the air in an imitation of the bull riders.
By the time the sun was lowering in the western sky Laurel was tired and more than ready to go home. Mom had already packed up the food and drinks she always brought when Coll and Laurel rode up to the rig. Laurel had Sam and Jewel on the trailer and all the gear stowed by the time Colt showed up, dusty, sun-browned and tired. He stepped off his gelding and removed his hat, running fingers through sweat flattened dark hair. Laurel took his reins and he slapped his hat on the thigh of his jeans to remove the worst of the dirt. She made quick work of unsaddling and gave Red a quick brush before putting him in beside Jewel. Coll helpfully stowed the tack. Colt sank into one of the lawn chairs by the trailer and popped the top on a beer.
“How many is that?” Anna eyed him indulgently.
“First one, I swear.” Colt lifted the moisture beaded tin in salute. “They sure kept me busy today. I hope there’s steak waiting for me at home.” He winked at his wife.
“I left some thawing this morning, so you won’t die of starvation, Colt. Finish that beer and let’s get these horses home.”
Laurel double checked the back gate of the trailer. Raised voices from the other side of the Cullen’s rig told her Carly had been right about getting ripped a new one for he
r mistakes in the ring. She shook her head, if she got screamed at every time she made a mistake Laurel doubted she’d even want to compete. But, she thought soberly, maybe Carly really didn’t have a choice. Glad she wasn’t on the receiving end of the lecture, she joined Coll in the back of the pickup, gratefully collapsing in a heap against his shoulder.
“Did you have a good time?”
“I did. It’s a lot different than anything I’ve ever seen, but it was dead interesting. Those steers were tough enough, I can’t imagine anybody trying to ride a bull.”
“You’ll see later on. Guy Weadick Days is coming soon, there’ll be bulls and the chucks then.”
“Where do they do that?” Coll yawned.
“Here, in High River.” Laurel snuggled down closer.
“Ready to roll.” Her parents got in the truck as her dad spoke.
The hum of the engine and gentle rocking of the vehicle lulled Laurel almost to sleep when something her dad said brought her wide awake, although she kept her eyes closed in case he noticed she was awake and revised what he was telling her mom.
“Cory Cullen is all fired up about those damn wildies. I honestly don’t know why he’s got such a hate on for them, they never bother our stock and I can’t begrudge them the bit of pasture they eat.”
“What’s he saying?” Anna kept her voice soft.
Through the tiny slit Laurel let her eyes open she saw her mom glance into the back seat. Seemingly satisfied both teenagers were asleep she turned back to her husband.
“Are they talking about the cull? I know the Alberta government approved one, but I can’t imagine there are that many out there.”
“Cory’s applied for the catch permit and so have a few others. They figure if they catch some young ones they might be able to break them and sell them, the older ones, especially the studs will go to the auction and straight to the packers. Fort McLeod might have a busy fall.”
“Seems a shame,” Anna commented. “I always look for that big black stud and his band when I ride in the back country.”
“That’s the one Cullen claims is stealing his mares.”
“Maybe if he quit leaving his gates down and fixed his fence he wouldn’t have that trouble,” Anna said.
Colt glanced into the back seat. “Between you and me, I think he does that on purpose. He was telling me he caught a couple of young ones, about two years old, colts that were probably kicked out of the band because of their age. Said he got them into a corral and then took some pictures and contacted those two groups that are lobbying to save the wildies. Told them he was gonna send the colts to slaughter in a couple of days. Got them all riled up and then said well if you really want to save them I could let you have them for this amount.”
“How much did he ask?” Anna frowned. “Meat price isn’t that high right now.”
Colt laughed. “He quoted those fools three times what the meat price is. Said if they waited for them to go to auction he’d make sure they’d be broke. He’d drive the price so high and leave them holding the bag. He told me he’d put a huge reserve on them and then have them already sold behind the scenes to some buyers he deals with regularly.”
“He does that a lot? Lures the horses onto his property, claims them and sells them directly to the meat buyers?” Anna didn’t sound impressed.
“So he says. Sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s blowing smoke or just bragging.” Colt shrugged. “I don’t want Laurel getting wind of this right now. You know how she is about those wildies, and that black stud in particular. No sense her getting upset over something she can’t change any sooner than is necessary.”
“If they get the permits and the cull actually happens you know she’ll be devastated, and I can’t really blame her. Seems like those horses get blamed for a lot of things they aren’t responsible for.” Anna glanced at the back seat.
“Nothing we can change, Anna. Law is the law, and the government says those animals need to be culled.”
Laurel ground her teeth and struggled to keep her face expressionless. To her disappointment, Dad changed the subject and started talking about some stallion he wanted to breed a couple of mares to and which bulls he was going sell this year.
Chapter Five
Laurel was happy to be done with final exams and free to spend the rest of summer with Coll and her friends. He seemed to fit right in with her crowd, even with his sometimes odd way of saying things. She kept an eye on Monica Wilson who seemed far too interested in Laurel’s British friend, as she insisted on referring to him. Carly caught Laurel’s eye and stuck a finger down her throat every time Monica referred to Coll that way.
She was pleased that Coll himself didn’t seem to notice the extra attention the dark-haired girl showered on him. He was always happy to stick to Laurel’s side and do whatever the gang was doing. Chance was on the outskirts of her friends these days, hanging around the periphery of his younger sister’s friends but somehow not a part of the fun. Laurel watched him and wished things could go back to when they were all friends and there was none of the drama that seemed to be present whenever Chance was around her. And she wished he’d quit drinking with the older cowboys. She had to admit he was great on the steers, winning more than losing, at the rodeos on the circuit. That got him the recognition of the older cowboys and Chance hung on every word his mentor Davy said. His idol was the late Lane Frost, he loved the old movie Eight Seconds and wanted to be just like Lane. Laurel hoped that didn’t include getting killed by a bull at Cheyenne. Even when he was being an ass she still loved him like a brother.
* * *
The official start of summer vacation was marked by Guy Weadick Days at the High River Ag Society Rodeo grounds. Laurel looked forward to the event every year and was proud of the fact her mom was once a Miss Alberta High School Rodeo Queen. Carly long ago gave up trying to convince Laurel she should enter the competition.
Dad was competing in the Ranch Horse Race on a handsome buckskin gelding Laurel helped him break. Chance was entered in novice saddle bronc and steer riding. He couldn’t wait until he was ready to move up to the bulls. A shiver ran up Laurel’s spine at the thought.
Laurel helped her mom load up the RV for the weekend trip while Coll worked along beside Colt loading equipment, feed and bedding into the bed of the pickup and the front of the trailer. She stowed the last of the food in the small fridge and wiped a hand across her forehead. The late June sun was warm, and a hot dry breeze blew up from the coulee. Hooves echoed hollowly from the barn where Dad loaded the last of the horses into the trailer. Stepping out of the RV, she shut the door securely and made her way over to the truck and trailer.
“All loaded?” Laurel leaned on the rear fender beside Coll.
“I think so,” he looked down at her, “I loaded everything your dad said we’d need.”
“I wonder where Mom is? I can’t wait to get going.” She pushed upright and glanced across the open bed of the pickup toward the house.
“Your mother’s on her way.” Colt appeared in the barn door a halter and lead in his hand. “She’s just taking care of a few last-minute things and making sure Sally knows what needs to be done while we’re gone.”
“All ready!” Anna Rowan stepped lightly across the porch and descended the shallow stairs. Her blonde hair caught the light where it escaped from under her straw Stetson. “Do you want me to drive the RV or the truck, Colt?” She halted beside Laurel and tucked an arm around her daughter.
“The RV, if you don’t mind.” Colt grinned at her and tipped the brim of her hat down over her eyes with a long forefinger.
“Colt! Quit that!” Her smile belied the sharp words. “Who’s coming with me?”
“Are we still picking up Carly and her horse?” Laurel couldn’t decide if she wanted to ride with Dad or Mom.
“Yeah, about that…” Colt shoved his hat back on his head.
“Is Carly sick or something?” Laurel hadn’t heard from her friend this morning.
>
“No, it’s just that Cory called and asked could we give Chance a lift.”
“I thought they didn’t have room for her horse in their trailer? I was looking forward to having her with us.” Laurel frowned and kicked at the gravel with her boot.
“I guess they found room. I don’t know, Laurie. I didn’t ask. You coming with me or not?” Colt pulled open the cab door and put his foot on the running board.
“I’m going with Mom then. You coming with us, Coll?” Laurel turned toward the RV.
“Why don’t you girls go on along and Coll can come with the men,” Colt said, tipping his head at Coll.
“You sure?” Laurel frowned. Leaving Coll to ride with Chance and her Dad didn’t seem like such a good idea given Chance’s attitude toward her friend.
Coll shrugged and moved to the other side of the truck. “Right, I don’t mind riding with your Dad, Laurel. I’ll see you there.”
Against her better judgement Laurel followed her mother to the RV and climbed into the passenger seat. Her mom made light conversation on the hour and a half drive and Laurel mumbled her replies. How was Coll making out with Chance and Dad? Chance wouldn’t miss the opportunity to make it clear what he thought of the British boy. Lord knew he was blatant about it even in front of her. She twisted in her seat and hooked a foot up underneath her.
“Mom?” she hesitated, not sure how to say what was on her mind.
“What, honey?” Anna took her attention from the road long enough to glance at her daughter. “Something wrong? Did you forget something?” Her foot lightened on the accelerator.
