Down The Alley

by Caelsto, Mary Kit

  “Just thinking about things and what I want to do. It’s getting exhausting going to events every weekend, and while the money is nice, I’m not sure it’s really helping the bottom line.”

  Clint kissed her again. “I think we all wonder that. But I hear where you’re coming from. And I get it. Things will settle down here soon.” He stepped back and stared at her. “It’s not the gossip is it? Because that really doesn’t bother me.”

  “Not really, no. If they’re not talking about me, they’ll talk about someone else. I’m sure in a few weeks, maybe even less, they’ll move onto another topic. There’s always drama somewhere if people want to find it. But I feel like I’m ready to move on.” As she said the words aloud, she realized they were true. Going to rodeos and competing with Billy had been their thing. And while it’s worked out most of the time, others it’d just ended in fights and recriminations because she often won more than he did. Of course, she also didn’t have to stay on a ton of beef that wanted nothing more than to stomp her to bits either. “I feel like there’s more that I can do. That I want to do. And I’d like to find out what that is. The next great adventure, you know?”

  “Oh I know.” Clint pulled her close. “Would it be bad if I told you that I think I found it here? Sure, Arden wanted to play matchmaker. And I let her. You’re beautiful. You’re smart. You have a good heart.”

  “And I had a basement apartment open?” Lora laughed.

  “Well that, too. But I also believe we can do great things together. I want to find out what those are.”

  “Yeah, I feel that, too.” Lora replied, relieved that this wasn’t building up into some grand declaration of love. She wasn’t there yet. Honestly, she didn’t think he was either. But a willingness to look toward the future and see what that brings, now that was something she could get in line with and wanted to experience too.

  “Good.” He nuzzled her hair. “I could stand here forever, but I’ve got another horse to ride.”

  “And I have work to do. I’ll finish getting this gear in order then we can go over the list together, make sure that we’re not missing anything. I’ve got a short list of things to get in town to replenish and want to scrub the living quarters before we head out again.”

  “I’ll help you with that. Just let me know when.” He released her and grabbed his treeless saddle for his other horse. He lifted the heavy gear with ease, and Lora watched him leave the tack room.

  They’d gotten their relationship down the alley, and it was time to see what they could do in the arena. Maybe, eventually, they’d win it all. For the first time in a long time, she contemplated a happily ever after…with Clint.

  Lora's in the middle of a messy divorce with her bull rider ex-husband. Just because she left the WBR circuit and is making a name for herself as a trainer, now his buckle bunny of a girlfriend thinks she can take half of Lora's farm, her two best horses, and even her truck and trailer in the divorce and do the same thing. Lora's tired of propping up Billy and it is long past time he learned to cowboy up and take responsibility for his own life. She's swearing off men for good. Until her best friend introduces her to an up and coming D-series barrel racer with plans of his own.

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  Lora cantered Badger through the pattern one more time to make sure he had stopped dropping his inside shoulder. Satisfied he listened to her cues, she rode him out of the arena and down the long alley. Leaving the gate open, she stopped him, counted to three, then urged the gelding forward. “Go!”

  Badger bolted down the arena, already at a dead run as he passed through the timer’s eye. Lora guided him to the right and they made it around the first barrel and across the arena in a blink of an eye. The second barrel remained standing as they raced for the third. Lora’s heart pounded. Adrenaline flooded her veins. She kept focused, offering the cues so he’d keep his shoulder lifted…and they circled the final barrel without so much as making it even rock back and forth. Down the arena he ran and the timer beeped as they passed through, and she pulled him up before they hit the fence at the end of the alley.

  When she glanced back at the time, she liked what she saw. “Good boy.” She patted Badger’s neck and lengthened the reins. She walked him until he stopped blowing, thrilled with the progress. If they kept training like this, he’d be ready for McAllister at the end of the month, no problems. She dismounted and patted his neck once more. Releasing the cinch, she led him back to his stall since it was close enough to feeding time to not turn him back out into the pasture. Already Diana, her working student, was leading in the other horses, both hers and boarders.

  “Under fifteen seconds,” Lora said as she fastened Badger into the crossties. She pulled off his saddle and wet blanket, setting them on the rack where his bridle hung and reached for a brush.

  “That’s great. He’s ready to go. You taking Lolly?” Diana called as she closed a stall door after bringing the aforementioned Lolly, a pretty palomino paint who loved to run, in for the night.

  “Thinking about it. We’ll see.” Lora finished brushing Badger and put him back into his stall. She would review her choices after another week and a half of training. She had plenty of time to decide which horses to take to McAllister.

  Daisy walked down the aisle, pausing at Paco’s stall where he already nibbled on some leftover hay from breakfast. “Well shoot. I had hoped to get a ride in before supper time.” She whipped out her iPhone and checked the time. “Crap. I didn’t realize it was this late.”

  Lora smiled. With her Christian home school upbringing, Daisy never swore, and the occasional “crap” and “shoot” were as harsh as her language ever got, even after that time Paco decided to buck his way through the barrel pattern. She stopped next to Paco’s stall. “I can bring them in later tomorrow if you like. You thinking about taking him to McAllister?”

  She nodded. “I was. Wanted to talk to you about trailer space.” Daisy shrugged, her long naturally blonde ponytail bouncing with the movement. “Got time now since I’m here?”

  “Sure. Let’s go up to the house. I need to check on supper. Hey Diana, you got anyone you’re going to be taking to McAllister in my trailer?”

  Diana shook her head. “There’s a cattle sale that weekend in town as well, so we’re taking the big truck and trailer. Jason wants to see if he can pick us up some bargains and the trailer has a good divider.”

  “Okay. That’s good to know. I’ll take you off my list.” The two women walked up the small hill to the house. She came in the back door, kicking off her boots.

  “Boots on or off?” Daisy asked.

  Lora glanced down. “On is fine. They’re not dirty.” In fact, even after spending an entire afternoon at the barn, she’d never seen Daisy get more than a speck of dirt on her. How she managed to keep clean—it had to be magic. She ignored the stack of mail sitting on the table just inside the door. Later, she’d go through it and the envelope from Richmond, Howser, & Pruitt, the leading attorneys in town. Not right now. Not tonight. She grabbed her sports bottle of water from the fridge and offered a drink to Daisy.

  “I’m good,” she said and took a seat at the kitchen table.

  Lora grabbed her battered spiral bound notebook with “Show Stuff” written on it in big black permanent marker. These days people might be using their smart phones and google calendars to coordinate everything. She preferred good old paper and pencil. A phone dropped in a portable toilet had screwed up everything last year; she refused to go through that again and had gone back to paper and pencil. As long as a horse or someone’s dog didn’t chew the corners, she was good. She flipped it open to the paper clipped page with McAllister 2018 written across the top, and in a grid the dates of the four competitions to be held there this year. The first one already had places for Lolly and Badger written down as two of the eight horses she could haul. She penciled in Paco, making him number three.

  “You taking anyone else?”

  “Scoot
er is still slightly off in the front leg. I have the vet coming out this week for some more x-rays and maybe a nerve block.” She frowned, then quickly smoothed out her expression.

  “I’m sure the doc will get to the bottom of it.” She patted Daisy’s arm. Scooter was her old schoolmaster, a respectable 20 who still loved to turn and burn. His recent lameness worried not just Daisy, but her as well. “Besides, he’s a been there, done that kind of guy. I’m sure Tasha would be happy to talk to you about the working equitation she’s all excited about. Diana had talked about doing some western dressage, too. There’s options.”

  “Yeah. He doesn’t strike me as a pleasure type of horse. Not slow enough for the judges, I don’t think.” Daisy frowned. “I knew we’d be coming to this point sooner or later. I just never thought it’d be this soon.”

  “We never do.” Lora pulled out the event schedule she’d printed off the computer. She’d already circled the classes she wanted to compete in, including the main WPRA, Women’s Pro Rodeo Association, event. Though she knew she couldn’t make it to the National Finals Rodeo, she wanted to be competitive in all her events this year, perhaps even bringing up the next big horse. She’d hoped Badger might be that one. Passing the schedule across the table to Daisy, she smiled. “What classes are you thinking of? I’ve circled the ones I’m competing in, since it’s hard to coach and compete at the same time.” She’d do it, and her girls were blazing up the point standings. Tracie even completed going pro and hitting all the big events, even taking Badger to Ft. Worth next weekend to try him out at one of the smaller events.

  Daisy pointed out the classes she wanted, and Lora noted them next to Paco’s name.

  “The weekend before we’ll set up the arena and have a trial run for everyone.”

  “Sounds great.” They chatted for a bit longer, then Daisy stood. “I better go. I have a date tonight.”

  “Really?” Lora smiled. “Do I know him?”

  She shook her head. “No, he’s from church. We’re going to a concert.”

  Lora nodded, not even bothering to ask who was playing. She’d heard an advertisement for a Christian band at the big event center in town, and figured they’d be going there. Not her idea of a date, but if Daisy was happy then that was all that mattered. “Have fun.”

  “Thanks. I will.”

  With Daisy gone, Lora decided she better tackle the pile of mail. She couldn’t play in the barn all day, she had to adult sometime. She refilled her water, then stood, grabbed the mail and went to her office. If Diana needed any help with feeding, she’d come to the house and ask. Sitting at her desk, Lora turned on her computer and shuffled through the mail.

  Advertisements and junk mail went into her basket to shred later. She put the bills in the caddy on her desk—that was a job for another night. Finally, she opened the envelope from the law firm. There was no putting it off.

  Dear Ms. Caughley,

  Attached please find the list of assets provided by you and the plaintiff in this case. It is our suggestion that you mark the ones you wish to retain by circling them and drawing a line through the assets you’re willing to cede to the plaintiff. This should shorten the proceedings. Please send back within the week.

  Sincerely,

  Frank Howser, esq.

  Air whooshed from Lora’s lungs. Her throat tightened and she took a long drink of cold water; she would not cry. She refused to cry. Just because her ex had gotten himself stomped by a bull and broken both of his legs, taking him out of the season, he thought he could take her livelihood to finance his medical bills. She’d been on him about insurance. He’d told her he was good. He didn’t need it. His sponsors would carry him through. Funny how they’d abandoned him now that he was possibly done with his career, not just this season.

  She scanned the list. Of course both Lolly and Badger were on it, as was the farm and all equipment included. Her truck and trailer rig were included, as was the house and land. Some things, like her interest in an equine events facility, she cared less about. Of course, he hadn’t included his assets, which Lora knew were considerable. He hadn’t been pleased when she’d settled down and started her training operation; this was his way of getting back.

  Lora rubbed the bridge of her nose. They had simply grown apart. Why couldn’t he see that? She hated the fact he’d gotten injured, but he knew the truth about bull riding as much as anyone. It was a dangerous sport. She couldn’t be held accountable for his lack of insurance. She quickly circled the house and property, barn, her rig and her horses. Some things, like the diamond wedding ring set, she’d already surrendered to the attorney, and had drawn a line through it, her stake in the events center, and her backup truck. She crossed through a few other items and put it in the printer to scan back to the attorney. She had a meeting with him this week. There, she’d have to impress upon him how she was not at fault here for any of it. After all, she hadn’t had the affair, gotten injured, or even lost a few grand in Vegas all at the same time. She hated thinking of her ex as the bad guy. In this, he kind of was.

  She wouldn’t lose the farm or her horses. Surely he wouldn’t ask that of her, though her attorney had floated an idea of a 50/50 split in ownership. She’d laughed. The only place her and her ex had been compatible was in bed, and even there not so much if he’d seen fit to have an affair. She couldn’t imagine trying to run this place with him as half owner. It’d be hell.

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  Lindy Ascott left her high-pressure job as an attorney in St. Louis to buy a horse boarding facility with a bed and breakfast. She's been able to channel her love of cooking into a business catering to guests looking for the equestrian lifestyle. She wants more. When she's accepted into a cooking competition on the same weekend as the big horse show, she fears she has to choose. Cooking or dressage? The kitchen or her horses?

  She's worked too hard to have to make a choice like that and with the help of her good friends, maybe she doesn't have to. With everything on the line she's going to have to cook for her life and let one of her good friends ride her horse. An accident changes plans at the last minute, and Lindy wonders if she really is on the right track--for both her business and her horse.

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  After Lindy won the competition, business at Fox Hunt Inn is booming. She can’t keep up and needs to hire an assistant. Except her new hire bungles the bookings and charms her into catering and none if it helps her to get ahead. She has a decision to make? Try again or whip her new assistant into shape.

  All of this leaves her less time than ever to ride Renaldo. She’d thought an assistant would get her out of the office and more time at the barn. That’s not how it’s going out and she’s feeling beaten worse than an egg. Will her new assistant work out in time for her and Renaldo to ride in an important demonstration?

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  Dealing with her husband's infidelity means Eva's throwing herself into her equestrian dreams. Her trainer convinces her to show. Her goal? Not to embarrass herself.

  Except her husband wants back into her life, her horse has colic, and Eva's world is turning upside down. Does she want him back into her life and what if her riding goals are stressing out her horse?

  Eva knows there's only one way to get through. Heels down. Eyes up. And relying on her support tea
m, which may now include her husband.

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  Brushing the sweat marks out of Cin’s coat had become a ritual to her. One that took away the stress of the day, the biting pain that always accompanied thoughts of her husband and served to prop up her bruised ego. Had it really only been three months ago when he’d turned to her, said that she loved the barn and that damn horse more than he and walked out the door. Eva drew a long, shuddering breath. Cin turned his head to watch her with his big, liquid brown

  . Those eyes said that it would be okay. He loved her. He knew she did the best she could, and he’d always be there for her. She moved to the other side, smiling when she thought about their schooling session today. They’d easily cleared 3’6”.

  “Way to go,” Sara said as she strode into the barn. “I watched you guys in the area for a while. You’re looking great.”

  Eva beamed with the praise. “Thanks. I didn’t even hear you pull up. Guess I was too involved.”

  “Thinking about showing at the Invitational next month? It’s a big show, but you’re ready. So is Cin.”

  The horse’s ears perked at the sound of his name. He nickered at Sara as she walked to his head and patted him on the neck.

  Eva admired her friend. From her buff-colored breeches and tall boots, to the turtleneck and sweater in deference to the chilly early Spring day, to the Charles Owen helmet—totally out of her price range—she already had on her head, she looked so classy, so put together. Eva glanced down at her paddock boots and jodhpurs. Her old, faded college sweatshirt and one of the cheaper helmets she could afford, made her feel haphazard. Cin didn’t care, but it mattered to her. She finished brushing him.

  “I don’t know. I’ll talk to Cora about it. See what she has to say and who is already scheduled to go.” Eva unclipped Cin from the cross-ties and led him into his stall. The big Thoroughbred took a nice, long drink, before cocking a hind leg and settling into rest. She leaned on the stall door and watched him through the bars. It’d been a stretch, and she drove a car that was ten years’ old so she could pay board, but she loved Cin. He’d taken her riding to new heights, and saved her when life made her stumble. Thankfully her job at the local architect’s firm allowed her to care for him, even with the loss of her husband’s income.