by Haley Travis
Back in my early twenties when I went through a party phase for about a year, there were hangouts and sleepovers and messing around, but no actual dates. I’d never met a girl that was special enough that I wanted to be seen with her, announcing that I was in an actual relationship. Today was finally the right time.
“Are we early?” she asked.
“Just a bit,” I said. “But I wanted to show you something fun first.”
Leading her around to the back of a makeshift barn, we went past the riders and ranchers who were getting prepared for the day’s events. At the far end of the animal area was a small pen holding two baby goats, and another with three ponies.
Lorena’s happy squeal pierced the air as she gripped my hand. “Oh my God! Am I allowed to pet them?”
As we came closer, I nodded to the animal keeper. “Hey, Bill. Do you mind if my girl says hello to your animals before the kids get here?”
The older man chuckled warmly. “No problem, Cody.” He turned to Lorena, who had just flashed me an absolutely shocked look. For a second I worried if it was far too soon to be calling her my girl.
“Miss, it’s fine to pet the ponies, but these goats tend to nibble on fingers. You can scratch between their ears, but keep your hand away from their mouths.”
“Thank you,” she said, making a little clicking noise to encourage the animals to come to her.
It was absolutely adorable watching her as she petted and fawned all over them. I hardly ever pulled out my phone to take photos unless I had to match parts for a job. But there I was, taking snapshots of Lorena petting a shiny black baby goat.
When she seemed to have had her fill, I called out, “Thanks, Bill,” and gave him a wave so he knew we were leaving.
I led Lorena around to the main gate and bought our tickets, heading up to the stands. “You said that the animals were there for children?” she asked.
“Yes, but how often does anyone get to see baby animals if they don’t live on a farm?” I shrugged. “I just thought you’d like it, is all.”
As we sat down, she reached for my hand. “That was incredibly thoughtful,” she said.
I was hit with a wave of relief. It seemed like I was learning the ropes of this relationship stuff. As long as I kept her smiling like that, I would probably be in the clear. Plus, she had seemed genuinely pleased and surprised.
One thing I heard my mother complain about was that my father never took her anywhere exciting. There wasn’t a lot of excitement in this town, so I was going to make a point of taking Lorena to anything new or different, even if it was for just a few minutes.
We sat together in comfortable silence for a bit, looking around as the arena filled up. Lorena waved to several people she knew, and as I looked around, it seemed that everyone was doing the same.
I nodded to a few acquaintances and clients, giving them a half-wave, almost smirking as they looked a bit shocked that I was sitting so close to such a pretty girl. Perhaps my reputation of being a silent loner was a bit more deep-seated than I’d realized.
The events soon began, and I handed Lorena a program that I had picked up by the gate. “I don’t know anything about rodeos,” she whispered.
“It’s all pretty simple around here,” I said. “When you see the horses running around barrels, that’s barrel racing. When you see a guy trying to stay on a bucking bronco, that’s bronc busting.”
She laughed so adorably, leaning back to tap my shoulder with her head. “You’re funnier than I expected,” she said sweetly.
In a blink, I was kissing her. My arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her against me, as our lips melted together.
Instead of seeming surprised, it felt like she had been looking forward to this all day. The feeling of her warm, sweet mouth against mine sent shocks of fire straight through my core, and I realized without a doubt that I would be taking her home tonight.
Forcing myself to pull back, I whispered, “Time and place, I suppose.”
She looked up at me, slightly flushed and breathless, nodding with a devious little sparkle in her eye. “I guess we should attempt to be proper,” she whispered.
As we turned back to the spectacle before us, I couldn’t help noticing a few people shooting us amused glances. Whatever. Let them stare. People should know enough to mind their own business.
The races went smoothly, and a few of our Sunset Ridge boys did better than expected. When it came time in the program for the bull riding, I heard Lorena make a little gasp. “They’re not going to stab him with a sword like in the movies, are they?”
“Relax, sweetie, that’s bullfighting. We don’t do that here.” I pointed to where the bull was shifting from foot to foot in his pen as if he knew what was about to happen. He probably did. This rodeo circuit went around the entire state.
“See the man in the green shirt? He’s just going to sit on the bull’s back and hold on for as long as he can. The bull is going to be ornery, but he’ll barely feel the weight. Then the rider gets thrown off, and the bull gets led away.”
“So the bull doesn’t get hurt?”
“No. Only aggravated.”
“What about the rider? That must hurt when he gets thrown off.”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “That’s part of the sport. They train for it, but everyone knows they might break something on the way down. They signed up for it, so I guess you get what you get.”
As the announcer counted down the start of the first bull ride, I looked down to where Lorena was holding my hand. Her fingers were crossed. I knew that she was kind hearted, but for her to be wishing so hard for the health of a total stranger made me realize once again how unbelievably lucky I was.
The second the giant bull was released, he tore around the ring dramatically, making the entire crowd scream with delight. Lorena’s mouth was open in an O as if she were paralyzed in terror. When the rider was thrown off, he rolled away expertly, and the bull was smoothly corralled back into his pen.
“See?” I said gently, nudging her shoulder. “They’re experts. Nothing to worry about.”
Lorena smiled at me with relief, then seemed startled, digging in her purse. It was the first time I’d seen her pull out her phone, and it was a relief she wasn’t addicted to it.
“Hello?” she answered. Her eyes suddenly grew huge, as she nodded. “Alright, I’ll be right there.” Turning to me, she said, “Where is the barbeque area?”
I pointed to the south end. “The red tent is food, the blue tent is the band, so you might be able to hear them setting up. It’s facing away from the animals so they’re less likely to be startled.”
“ Iris needs me for something.”
“Okay,” I said, standing up.
“No, that’s alright,” she said quickly. “She probably just needs a hand – I’ll bet she’s checking on the food. I don’t want you to miss anything.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah – I’ll probably be back in just a few minutes,” she smiled.
My gut reaction was to go with her, but I also didn’t want to crowd her, or seem too overprotective. It was one of the rare times in my life when I second-guessed my gut instinct. “All right then, see you in a bit,” I said. I could tell that she was thinking about kissing me goodbye, but there were even more people we knew around by now.
As she walked down the bleacher steps, my eyes instantly gravitated to her sculpted legs and the sway of the incredible curve of her ass. I tried to pay attention to the excitement in the main ring as they announced who was going to ride the next bull, but all I could think about was inviting myself in for a proper goodnight kiss when I drove Lorena home.
Chapter Seven
~ Lorena ~
Although I had really wanted Cody to come with me, I was desperate not to seem like one of those helpless girls who needed their boyfriend’s attention at all times. It was enough that he was already fixing my house, and introducing me as his girl.
As I walked
along the path, I smiled to myself thinking about that. He called me his girl already. That lit me up on the inside in a way I’d never felt before.
As I found Iris between the red and blue tents, I saw a band setting up. According to the program, they were going to play as soon as the events were over, when people came over to this area for food.
“Lorena, thank goodness you’re here,” she said, grabbing me by the elbow and leading me straight over to the stage.
“Does someone need help serving the food?” I asked, confused.
A man in a shiny western shirt with a big steel guitar came over to the edge of the stage. “Lorena, this is Bobby.”
“Hello,” I said, shaking his hand.
“Iris says you’re a hell of a singer,” he grinned. “We’re in a bit of a pickle, darlin’. My wife usually sings backups for us, and solos on a couple of songs. But she just called me from the doctor – her morning sickness got worse, so she’s on bed rest for a week.”
“Oh my goodness – is she all right?”
“Her sister is taking care of her, so she’s more annoyed than anything else,” he chuckled. “How do you feel about filling in for us and saving the day?”
“Oh. Um...”
My limbs felt hollow, as if my blood had disappeared. The thumping in my chest could probably be heard over the bassist and fiddle player tuning their instruments.
“She’ll do it,” Iris said, looking at me carefully while she nodded. “You did great last night, Lorena. And this time there’s a whole band to distract people from watching you.”
I nodded. That was a good point. Plus, I had always dreamed of singing with a band. To have it dropped in my lap like this was a bit of a sign. Like Cody said, all I had to do was approach it like a job. If this were in the workplace, what would I do?
“What are the songs?” I asked, trying to breathe in and out like a normal person would.
He handed me a setlist and a pen. “Put a big dot beside anything you don’t know, and we’ll just skip that.”
Studying the list, I saw that they were all oldies and country favorites that I really did know quite well. I only made two dots, beside songs I barely knew, while trying not to listen to Bobby and Iris conferring among themselves briefly.
“You’re even wearing the perfect dress,” Iris said brightly.
I could hear announcements over the PA system back at the ring, as the master of ceremonies announced the barbeque tent opening and music from Bobby Decker and the Well-Behaved Outlaws.
Swallowing hard, I saw that the rest of the band were taking their positions. “Come on up, Lorena,” Bobby said, guiding me to the steps at the edge of the stage. A young man in black waved me over to a microphone already on a stand, adjusting the height for me perfectly.
Luckily it was a small stage, so I could see Bobby’s setlist at his feet. Placing my purse beside the amp behind me, I got into position.
“Just have fun with it, Lorena,” Bobby said. “Remember, people are here for the cheap beer as much as for us. They’ll never know if we’re slightly imperfect.”
“Hell, Bobby’s whole life is imperfect,” the lanky bass player chuckled. He flashed me a grin. “Are you ready to be a Well-Behaved Outlaw?”
I forced myself to smile and nod, trying to ignore my twitching fingers as I took a few slow breaths. This was a job. My boss asked me to do a job. I was going to work hard, and make everyone happy.
Half of the crowd was already coming around to mingle in front of the tents. Sure enough, as the breeze picked up, swishing my skirt an inch above my knee, I could see Verity and Esther near the back of the crowd, shaking their heads at me. Of course they would be here, judging me.
If only Cody knew where I was. There was something about him that made me feel calm and strong. Good grief – I didn’t even have his phone number to call him.
“Hey there, friends and neighbors, is everyone having a great time at the annual Sunset Ridge Rodeo?” Bobby called out. The crowd cheered, coming closer as they realized the music was about to begin. It seemed like everyone in the stands was emptying straight into the field in front of us, as the number of faces kept growing.
Please don’t let me mess this up , I silently begged.
“Thank you all for dropping by. Grab yourselves a cold beer, some hot barbeque, and maybe somebody cute. I’m Bobby Decker, and these are the Well-Behaved Outlaws. Hit it, Mikey.”
As the drums started, I was relieved that the first song was a classic, and that my background vocals were simply the parts that everyone in the audience would be singing along with.
Relief rushed through me as I saw Cody coming around the corner. The second he saw me, his jaw dropped open for a split second. Then his warm, handsome smile was directed at me like my own personal spotlight. He came right to the edge of the crowd, directly in front. Pointing at me, then to his mouth, then his heart, he told me to sing directly to him. I nodded, smiling back even though my lips felt mushy and numb.
As the verse rocked along and I knew my part was coming up, I realized that right now was a defining moment in my life. This split-second would thrill me or haunt me for the rest of my days. I could sing politely and get the job done, or I could let it rip, and rock these people’s butts off.
Channeling every female country rocker with high hair and sequins, I started singing, but realized it was a bit too soft. By the second chorus, I swallowed hard, and forced myself to look into Cody’s eyes, singing directly to him. By the third round, I belted that tune like I never had before, even putting a little throaty vibrato on some of the longer notes.
Bobby’s head spun around, his eyes wide as he nodded in absolute delight. Iris shot me a thumbs up. I saw several of my regular customers elbowing their friends and pointing to my corner. It was a strange feeling to have so many eyes on me, but it felt mostly positive, except for the two judgmental women in the back, obviously glaring and muttering.
When the song finished, the applause almost made me choke up, but I couldn’t let my throat close. The bass player took a few steps over to nod to me. “Damn, girl, you’ve got some pipes.”
Leaning away from the mic, I whispered, “Thank you.”
By the third song, I was actually dancing a little, just enjoying the music in the sunshine with a town full of people. By the fifth song, I felt like I’d chugged an energy drink, every muscle feeling twitchy and everything speeding in slow motion.
When the applause died out, Bobby said, “A wee birdie told me that our guest singer Lorena Little can belt the heck out of this next tune. If somebody hands me a beer right now, I certainly won’t be able to sing, so she’s just going to have to do it for me.”
In a flash, one of his buddies pressed a bottle into his hand, as he turned to me and shrugged. “Sorry, darlin’. It’s all you.”
Squinting at the setlist, I saw it was one of the songs I had performed in the tavern last night and realized that’s what Iris had whispered to him earlier.
This day had already been full of so many defining moments that I was almost numb from the adrenaline rush. Taking the mic off the stand, I shook the cable out behind me and walked to the front of the stage, giving the band a nod.
As the drums kicked in, I saw Cody mouth the words, “I’m so proud of you.” Closing my eyes, I nodded, taking a breath. This is it, I nodded to myself.
And then I sang.
I sang as if I were in the shower alone. I sang like I had in the basement so many times, imagining that I was on a stage. I sang as if Cody and I were driving in his truck and I was simply belting along to the radio.
When the song ended, I opened my eyes to see a field full of people screaming and clapping.
For the first time in my life, I was so proud of myself I genuinely thought I might explode. It was just too huge of an emotion to keep inside my body. Swallowing hard, I choked back a tear as Bobby clapped me on the shoulder. “Well folks, I’ve been replaced.”
“Don’t you da
re, Bobby,” I said, flashing him a glare as I put my hand on my hip like Iris always did. “It’s one thing to be the other woman for one song, but more than that feels like cheatin’.”
The band and the crowd howled as I flounced back to the stand, snapping the mic into place and smoothing my hair as if being on stage was the most natural thing in the world.
To my complete shock, it really was.
Chapter Eight
~ Cody ~
On the ride to the tavern, I was delighted at how excited Lorena was. She had snuggled up right beside me again, my arm around her as I drove. I was torn between watching the road, glancing at the breathtaking sunset, and looking down at her sweet face. I loved watching her smile every time we passed a field of cows, and the way she sat bolt upright to read the signs on roadside stands selling vegetables or pies.