Rowdy

by Patricia Green

  "Okay, another time. You need to sleep. Let me call the butler for some blankets and pillows for you and you can sleep on the couch. I don't know what Bob will think, but right now it doesn't matter. The couch is comfortable enough? You don't want me to get you a cot?"

  "The couch is fine, thank you, ma'am." Right now, the plush couch sounded like heavenly clouds.

  She got up and used the house phone. "Butler's on his way."

  "Great. I'll be fine. You go to bed. I'm sure you're plumb tired as well."

  "I am a little tired. You sure you'll be okay?"

  "Yep. Goodnight, princess." He stood and gave her a kiss. Her mouth was so tender, her body so small against his. He wanted to ravish her and yet treat her like a delicate flower, both at the same time. But true exhaustion was setting in as his arm started aching badly again, so he slowly ended their kiss.

  She floated off to her room as he sat to wait for the butler. What was he going to do if she wanted to quit seeing him after tomorrow? Ending things sounded hard and painful. Well, he would have to wait until tomorrow to find out.

  The butler came and went, turning off the lights as he left. "Goodnight, princess," Rowdy whispered to no one. "I hope it's not goodbye."

  Chapter 5

  Princess,

  I need to prepare for tonight's finals. This go-round will make or break my chances for a world championship. I'd be pleased if you'd be there. Tickets will be waiting at Will Call if you decide to join me.

  Thanks for letting me crash on your couch. Tell Amy I said hi.

  I'm saving a special kiss for you.

  Rowdy

  The note was written in stylized block printing on a sheet of hotel stationery. The hotel pen sat nearby on the coffee table, next to the couch where he'd neatly folded his blanket and arranged his pillows.

  It was disappointing to wake and find Rowdy gone, but it didn't surprise her much. Their parting had been awkward, and it would be better to move forward from a less strange night. There was no good reason to skip the final night of the rodeo, except for her own concerns over where their relationship was headed.

  Rowdy had established ties to Amy, and more poignantly, to Gretchen herself. But where would they go from here? Gretchen and her daughter lived in Reno, and Rowdy lived in Idaho. Not too far away from each other, but not close enough for ‘date night’ either. Gretchen could charter private jets whenever she wanted, which was an amazing idea to wrap her mind around; she could go to Idaho or pay for Rowdy to fly to Reno. Was proximity by plane enough? She knew jet-setter couples had such relationships, but based upon only three days of acquaintance?

  Logistics aside, how did she feel about Rowdy? He was kind, thoughtful, and yet practical and no-nonsense. He seemed to be someone she could count on, but so far, they hadn't run into any snags to test it out. Would he be willing to build and nurture a relationship? Was he ready to create something lasting with her?

  As she thought about it, holding the note in her hand as the sun began to rise, she realized she'd like to give Rowdy and herself a chance. It was risky. Risky to get Amy's heart too involved as well. But life was about risks. Unless Gretchen wanted to be alone for the rest of her life, she'd have to take a risk on someone sometime. Rowdy was so appealing in so many ways, she could envision herself falling in love with him given time. Would he fall in love with her?

  Amy came into the room, her constant companion, Miss Daisy, tucked under one arm. "Mommy, what's for breakfast?"

  And so the day began.

  The quartet sat in the same four seats reserved for them as before. Gretchen said her own fervent prayer during the invocation, asking God to watch over Rowdy and keep him safe. He still had a broken arm and it was bound to be a factor in his performance. She wished she'd been able to see him before the go-round, simply to give him a kiss for luck. Amy was eager to see him too, for her own girlish reasons.

  After they all sat back down having sung the National Anthem, the performance got underway. Bear went first. His horse bounced out of the chute like a pachinko ball, heading right for an arena wall, but turning at the last minute. It was bucking so hard, Gretchen was afraid the bronc would throw Bear right over the wall into the stands. But Bear hung on, his braids bouncing behind him after he lost his cowboy hat like all the bareback riders did from the get-go. Just after the eight-second buzzer sounded, Bear's horse, Snazzy Dresser, went down onto his front knees and Bear went flying off, landing with a whoof in the dirt. He lay there for about two seconds, then got up, apparently unhurt. He gathered his hat and waved it at the audience with a bright smile. The crowd was enthusiastic in its reaction. Bear was a favorite, just like Rowdy. But would his score of ninety win? Ninety was a pretty great score. Nonetheless, there were fourteen more contestants, all with excellent records or they never would have been invited to the finals. Any one of them could win the go-round, though none had high enough monetary wins to take the world championship away from the top three. With a score of ninety, Bear was in the lead for the time being.

  There was no announced schedule for the order of cowboys coming up in the bareback event, so Gretchen didn't know when Rowdy would have his turn. Man after man had their chance, no one besting Bear, although Zack came close with an eighty-nine score.

  Amy kept tugging on Gretchen's arm asking if Rowdy was up next or not. Gretchen had counted fourteen cowboys done and knew Rowdy would be number fifteen, the last man to do his ride. She thought about his chances. Ninety was a hard score to beat, and she'd checked the world standings just that afternoon to find Rowdy and Bear were neck and neck to take the lead and become the champion. If Rowdy didn't achieve a ninety and a half or greater in his ride, he'd drop to second. Being a runner up had its privileges, and a nice purse went with it, but it was nothing like winning the gold buckle and being down in the record books as the best in the world. Few people remembered who came in second in any contest. It was the winner who took home the glory.

  Finally, Rowdy climbed into the chute with his rank horse Perilous Pete. Perilous Pete had been the horse of the year only two years previous and was considered a hard ride for even the best cowboys. Rowdy would have to be on top of his game to make his eight seconds, not to mention getting the top score.

  He squirmed on the back of the horse for a full minute, getting set for the ride of his life. But finally, he gave the nod and the chute opened, letting Perilous Pete do his worst and Rowdy his best.

  Rowdy placed his feet properly on the first jump, a jump with all four of the horse's hooves high in the air, coming down with a thud and right back up into another mighty leap. Rowdy lost his hat on the second jump and the horse squashed it as it twisted around to the left. Holding on for dear life, Rowdy countered the horse's leaps gracefully, keeping his feet in the correct position throughout. Gretchen couldn't see the brace on his broken arm as it waved in the air, but she knew keeping it up and using it for balance must have been painful.

  She said another little prayer at the seven second mark, but her ‘amen’" didn't beat the buzzer. Rowdy had stayed on, bouncing and bashing his back against the horse throughout. Now he was using his free hand to loosen his right hand from the rigging and, still countering the horse's bucks, got free. But before the pickup man could get him, the horse bucked him right over its head, sending Rowdy flying and he landed awkwardly, putting both hands in front of him to stop his fall. Both hands, including his broken left arm.

  Gretchen saw the look on his face when he got to his knees. She could tell by the set of his jaw he was hurt badly, but he smiled and waved at his cheering fans as he went to pick up his hat. He hadn't moved his left arm since landing, holding it tight against his side.

  The audience was stomping and yelling at the judges as the four men took their time deciding what score horse and rider would have. Rowdy waited by the chutes. Gretchen was holding her breath, hands over her mouth. Finally, the score was announced: ninety-two points.

  The cheering went crazy, even lou
der and more raucous than before. Rowdy had done it, he was now world champion of the bareback riders!

  He waved his hat at the crowd and disappeared between the chutes.

  It took about three minutes for the audience to calm down and most settled back in their seats waiting for the buckle award ceremony, which would take place after the rodeo was over.

  They were not disappointed. The ceremony was formal, in a western way, and Rowdy accepted the ultimate prize of the gold buckle with a big smile on his face. He shook the organizers' hands and stood for pictures. Gretchen watched it all with a smile on her face, trying to keep track of her cheering, jumping daughter. But even while she smiled, she watched closely how Rowdy was holding his left arm. His great success was dulled a little by the pain he must be in, she could tell from the set of his jaw between smiles.

  After the ceremony was done, and the stage was emptied, there was a two-minute winner interview by Real Rodeo TV, where Barbie Delaney, an up-and-coming star of the network, interviewed each of the gold buckle winners in turn. Rowdy was first, which was a good thing since Gretchen could see he needed medical attention. He gave a great interview and no one who didn't know of his injury would know just how hard it must have been for him to put on a good face and be on in a public way, happy though he must have been.

  She and her daughter and their guards waited outside the arena for the crowd to clear and Rowdy to come to them. They waited about ten minutes, and just as Amy was getting antsy, he came walking up, a sling on his left arm.

  "Howdy!"

  Gretchen ran to him and gave him a gentle but sincere hug then took a step back while Amy did the same.

  "You have an owie?"

  "Yes, peanut, I'm afraid the horse got the best of me tonight."

  "But you won!"

  "I did. Sometimes winning means getting your arm broke in the process, I guess."

  Gretchen reached out and squeezed his right hand, getting a strong squeeze back. "How is it?"

  "I got another x-ray while the show was going on. It’s now a comminuted fracture rather than a simple displaced fracture. I don't know what it all means except they tell me it's worse and I'll be missing the first few months of the new season." He pulled the sling back a bit to show her his black, fiberglass cast.

  "Ooo, pretty," Amy cooed.

  His eyes were only for Gretchen. "Pretty as a summer sunset on your golden hair, princess."

  Gretchen's heart soared. Clearly, he felt something for her.

  "Did they give you anything for the pain?"

  "Tylenol," he said, rolling his eyes. "That stuff is useless."

  "Did you take it?"

  "Nope. Why take drugs that don't work?"

  "It must hurt."

  "Naw. I can deal with it. Are we going to the finals party?"

  "Are you sure you're up to it?"

  "Long as my best girl is with me, wouldn't miss it for the world."

  "Can I go?" Amy asked, touching Rowdy on the leg.

  "If it's okay with your ma, we'll be having a special party together tomorrow," he told her.

  "Mommy? Can we?"

  Gretchen had no reason to hurry home to Reno, and all the best reasons to stay in Las Vegas for as long as Rowdy did. "Sure! We can have a pool party." Then she thought better of it and turned to Rowdy. "Sorry. I forgot your cast. We can do something else."

  "It's fiberglass so it can get wet. I won't be swimming much, but I can splash around."

  "Yay!" Amy cheered.

  "Okay. You go home with Melody," Gretchen told Amy. "Rowdy and I will go to the grown-up party and we'll get together tomorrow. Okay?"

  Melody took Amy's hand, wished Rowdy well and congratulated him, then waited while the little girl gave her mother and Rowdy kisses and hugs.

  "Night, Mommy."

  "Good night, sweetie. Sleep well. Mind Melody."

  "Okay." Melody led the girl away toward the waiting limo.

  "That leaves, you, me, Bob, and your truck," Gretchen said.

  Rowdy turned. "Bob, will you be our driver again tonight?"

  "Sure. Keys."

  Handing them over, Rowdy once again took Gretchen's hand and they went off together.

  "This is gonna be a crazy shindig, I'm warning you."

  Gretchen smiled. "As long as it's not another gala, I'm up for whatever. Over the last year, I've been at enough galas for a lifetime."

  "We'll do a little boot-scootin' and no fox trots, okay?"

  They laughed. Even Bob chuckled.

  The party was loud and glittering, with thousands of Christmas lights and festive decorations and several conspicuous clumps of mistletoe. The nightclub was attached to one of the prestige hotels and one of the hotel pools was just for the nightclub patrons. There were numerous bikini-clad young women and hunky young men in attendance, all drinking and hooting and hollering and dancing to the loud country music. It was mayhem.

  Bob melted into the crowd. Although he was one of only a handful of older men, in his boots and hat, jeans and checkered shirt, he didn't stick out like a sore thumb.

  Rowdy had to shout to make himself heard, even inches from her ear. "Do you want something to drink?"

  "I'll have a Gold Buckle beer and toast to your gold buckle win."

  He laughed and led her to one of the many bars. After he obtained two beers, they stood among the throng and looked for someplace to sit. There was none, of course, the party was in full swing and people who wanted tables had staked them out long ago.

  "Rowdy Jackson!" Owen called from a few feet away.

  Gretchen rolled her eyes. Owen was not one of her favorite people.

  He hurried over and slapped Rowdy on the back. "Congratulations, man!"

  Rowdy grinned. "Thanks. You didn't do badly yourself."

  "Are you kidding? I came in eighth. Nothing but the ten-thousand-dollar stipend to show for my efforts."

  "Ten grand is ten grand more than you had yesterday," Rowdy reminded him.

  "True enough." He took two steps away and grabbed a girl by her arm. This time it was a brunette with long, glossy, wavy hair and big brown eyes. She looked like a swimsuit model. Maybe she was. "Hey, meet my girlfriend. This is Lola. Lola, meet the world champion bareback rider, Rowdy Jackson."

  She batted her big brown eyes at Rowdy and gave him a come-hither smile. "How nice to meet you, Rowdy. You were amazing today. Did you hurt your arm?"

  Well, duh, Gretchen thought, none too graciously. It was in a cast. Not exactly decorative.

  "Nothing to speak of. It'll be right as rain in a few weeks."

  "Oh, let me see. I'm an inhalation therapist, so I know all kinds of medical things."

  He kept his arm close to his chest in its sling. "It's fine. Never you mind about it." He smiled at her, but Gretchen could tell he was well aware she was too eager. She was totally ignoring Owen, who didn't seem to care as he was ogling the other scantily clad women in the room.

  The brunette smiled and then gestured toward Gretchen. "Is this your little sister?"

  Gretchen pulled herself up to her whole five-foot-one and was just about to say something when Rowdy spoke up.

  "This is… um… Nellie, my girlfriend."

  Gretchen was pleased to be called his girlfriend, even though it was a bit of a catch-all phrase these days. She decided to throw her weight around a little anyway. "Nellie's my nickname," she told Lola. "My name's Gretchen Nelson." She offered her hand for a lady-shake.

  The girl's hand was soft, her nails long and well-manicured, and her shake was weak and disinterested. Toward the end of it, she perked up. "Say, I've heard your name before," Lola said. "You're that Mega Millions winner, right? You're rich as God about now."

  Owen caught on and eyed Gretchen with greater interest. "I had no idea! It must be fun being rich."

  Out of the corner of her eye, Gretchen saw Bob inch a bit closer.

  Owen wasn't done yet. He slammed Rowdy's right bicep with a good-natured punch. "You caught the
gold ring twice this week, my friend. Spend it wisely." He thought this was terribly funny and guffawed. Gretchen laughed politely, thinking Owen was certainly a buffoon.

  "We need to mingle," Rowdy said, cutting off further Owen-style gaffes. "I'll catch up with you later."

  "Yeah, okay. Say, Nellie, can you give me any stock market tips?"

  "Ha, ha, ha!" she replied, trying not to be condescending. "Good one, Owen."

  He laughed again and took Lola by the hand, heading off in one direction while Rowdy and Gretchen wandered in the opposite direction. Bob melted back again.

  "Dance, Ms. Nelson?"

  "Why, yes, Mr. Jackson."

  They did a few line dances, Gretchen calling up old muscle memory from high school dances. It was a lot of fun and after a few songs, they were laughing and making silly faces at each other. Gretchen hadn't had so much fun in years.

  After a while, Rowdy took her by the hand and led her into a quieter part of the nightclub. The had to yell only half as loudly to be heard. "You're not a bad dancer, you know," he said.

  "You're not either. You weren't telling the truth the other night."

  "Well… line dancing is different than a fox trot."

  "Night and day."

  "Look," he said with a nod toward the crowd. "There's Bear. He looks uncomfortable. Should we rescue him?"

  Gretchen looked where Rowdy indicated and saw Bear surrounded by lovely young women. He did look very uncomfortable as they fawned over him and tried to be the one to catch his attention. "I think we should let him suffer. He almost beat you."

  "Ah. But he didn't. Let's give him a break."

  Gretchen smiled. "Well, okay. But needle him good."

  "Oh, I will."

  They squirmed through the packed night-club until they got to Bear and his bevvy of beauties. He gave Rowdy a beseeching look as they approached. Rowdy parted the women, who suddenly saw him as a better target, no matter how appealing Bear's Native American, handsome, exotic good looks were. Rowdy's kind of handsome, and the glitter of his gold buckle, seemed to be more of a magnet.