Cowgirl Cat: A Humorous Novel About the Healing Power of Horses (Cowgirl Cat Series Book 1)
Page 16
“Well, you did jump in there and defend me,” I counter. As we approach the hanging white curtain which separates the main part of the arena from the backstage area, I push the curtain aside and wait for her to slip through the opening. She catches her breath and stares at me as if to make certain I’m serious.
Suddenly, I feel really important. Little Cowgirl Cat backstage at the Rodeo Rage, getting attacked by wild fangirls, saved by giant security guards, and leading the injured to safety. Wow, despite the no-show Aiden fiasco, I’m starting to feel a little bit better.
Of course, all of that changes after I leave her at the medic area. I wander to the back room and snag a Dr. Pepper from the refreshment table just as Brooke walks in with Randy. To my surprise, they walk over to me and ask how I’m doing.
“Sorry about Aiden,” Randy says as he places his hand on my head in a weird gesture of comfort. About to respond, I swing away from his hand when I see Brooke digging into her purse for an envelope. She hands it to Randy.
“What’s this?”
She shrugs. “Not certain. One of Cat’s friends told me that it’s for Aiden.”
My eyeballs nearly bulge out of my head. Is that the letter that Nora left for me to give to Aiden Quinn? The letter that was supposed to be thrown out? I’m stunned. How on earth did Brooke get it?
And then it dawns on me: Cassie!
I almost fall off my chair when I realize the extent of the betrayal from one of my very own besties ... or, rather, former besties! My inner circle has just gotten smaller. Again. That sneaky little maneuver of Cassie’s has earned her the distinction of being a former friend.
Randy stares at the envelope and rolls his eyes. “Another fangirl letter, I suppose.”
Bobbie Baylor is walking by and Randy waves to him. “Wha’s up, boss?”
“Can you give this to Aiden?”
Bobbie takes the letter and reads the front of the envelope. He starts laughing and then, to my shock, he opens it. Randy doesn’t seem to notice, or perhaps he just doesn’t care. Someone calls out to him and he excuses himself while Bobbie begins reading the letter out loud.
Dear Aiden,
I’m fifteen years old and really love your videos. I ride horses in Morristown, New Jersey, and I’ve begun to practice trick riding. I must say that I’ve learned a lot and would love to meet you if you ever get to Morristown. Or maybe I can go to one of your shows if they aren’t sold out (ha ha).
I don’t know if Nora wrote the ha ha or Bobbie added that on his own. Either way, from the way he reads Nora’s words, I can tell that he’s mocking her.
My favorite subjects are reading and math. I’m really good at math and want to be an accountant one day. Maybe I can do your tax returns ...
Bobbie sighs and tosses the letter over his shoulder. “Funny how every sentence starts with ‘I,’ isn’t it? They always write about themselves.” He shakes his head and walks away.
There’s something else funny about that letter. It’s all lies. She’s thirteen, not fifteen. She most certainly doesn’t ride in Morristown, and I personally know that she stinks at math. Nora as an accountant? That’s just weird! Who would write something so outrageously boring and to Aiden Quinn of all people?
When no one is looking, I reach down and grab the paper. For a moment, I consider taking a photo of it, all crumpled and discarded looking, so I can post it on Instagram. But then I realize that would hurt Nora’s feeling and make Aiden look bad. Besides, even though I don’t like her, especially now, I’m not a mean person.
So I walk over to the garbage bin and toss it in.
At least Aiden never saw it.
Someone bumps into me and I turn around. It’s that Chloe girl.
She gives me a look of irritation as she swipes at her long, straight hair. Then, as if remembering where she is, she forces a huge toothy smile. Up close, her eyes are too close together and her forehead’s too big. She should really consider getting bangs.
“Want a photo with me?”
I don’t. But how do I say that to the Queen of Rodeo Rage? And who is she, anyway? I remember her being on stage a lot at the meet and greet in Topsfield. When the boys crowded around her, she seemed to be in her glory. But I know nothing about her.
“Sure.” I’m not very enthusiastic, but it’s all the energy I can muster up.
She stands beside me and puts her arm around my shoulder. Even though she’s not very tall, she leans over like I’m some little kid. Yeah, I’ll put this photo on Instagram ... #nothappening.
“Want me to follow you?” she asks with a fake smile.
Great. #Guessitshappening.
“Sure.” I give her my Instagram name and she starts to follow me. I hope she doesn’t realize that I don’t follow her on any social media accounts. I make a mental note to do so as soon as she walks away.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Trouble
“Cat! You gotta see this!”
I’m standing in the middle of the first ring with Cooper, practicing his bowing. He’s not a happy pony. The weather is hot again and there are flies everywhere. No matter how much spray I put on him, those nasty horse flies find a spot that I missed. He keeps kicking at his belly and flipping his tail around his butt. Twice he nailed me in the head.
“What is it now?” I know I sound irritated because I am. I mean Cowtown was a total bust. Not only did I have that run-in with those horrid girls, but Aiden didn’t even show up! This is the second time it’s happened to me! Are the stars not aligned in my favor or something? Sure, it was cool to be backstage with Clayton and Bobbie Baylor and that Andy kid. He’s funny. I liked seeing how they goofed around in between the meet-and-greet session and the actual rodeo. It was also really cool to watch them prep for their runs in the arena.
But still ... no Aiden?
And how was it possible that his own brother, Randy, the manager for the entire tour, didn’t know where he was? Something stinks like Alex’s yucky sneakers!
I look up to see Jamie running toward me, holding out her cell phone. She looks excited in a good way. “Look! Look at this!” She shoves the phone in my face.
If this has anything to do with Aiden Quinn, I know I’m just going to scream. With my luck, he showed up at Cowtown the next day for a surprise rodeo gig. That would just send me over the edge.
“Look at what?” I take the cell phone from her. Cooper jerks his head up and down and I stumble forward, almost dropping the lead line and phone. “Knock it off!” I snap at him. He might be cute but he’s a naughty little pony.
The sun is too bright so I can hardly make out what Jamie is trying to show me on her cell phone. I cover my eyes with one hand, the lead line tucked under my arm so Cooper can’t pull any more of his tricks on me. As my eyes adjust, I squint at the screen and then I frown. “Why are you showing me my own Instagram account?”
I start to hand the phone back to her, but she shakes her head. “Look again!”
I really don’t have time for this. Unless Aiden Quinn followed me, I couldn’t care less. But I humor her and look back down. What, exactly, does she want me to see? The last video I posted was Cooper running away from me, his lead line trailing behind him. Cooper is a real character when he escapes, and he sure did look cute running and bucking as he blew off some steam in the ring.
“Whoa!” My eyes bulge. Am I seeing that correctly? “Five thousand likes?” I look at Jamie. “Did I get five thousand likes on one of my videos?”
Grinning, she nods her head. “And check out your followers.”
I scroll up and see a crazy wicked number above the word followers: 16,578.
“What on earth?” I can hardly believe it. Something must be wrong. I barely had over four hundred likes the other day! “I wonder why …”
But Jamie has more surprises in store for me. “That’s not all, Cat.” She snatches back her phone and starts poking at the touch screen. After a few seconds, she hands it back. “Check this out!”
“It sure does.” Jamie looks like the cat who broke into the catnip. She’s grinning from ear to ear. “Looks like you’re going viral.”
Just hearing those words come out of her mouth is shocking, especially since she’s referring to me. “I have nothing to go viral about!” But even as I say it, my eyes drift back to the numbers at the top of the screen. Wow. That’s a lot of people following me. “I wonder what’s going on? Maybe there’s a glitch with Twitter or something?”
“That’s what I thought, too,” Jamie says.
“Hey!” Even though I can’t believe it myself, I find her quick response a little insulting.
She holds up her hand. “But then I checked your Instagram. I did some more looking around, and I realized that you have indeed gone viral.”
“But why?”
She shrugs. “I did some research because I couldn’t figure it out, either. It appears, my dear Cat, that your stint in Cowtown has caught the attention of some very influential fangirls, and they’ve been retweeting your posts and tagging their friends in your photos.”
“What?” Once again, I’m stunned, even if I don’t quite understand it myself.
“Yup. And it also appears that there are more girls out there that feel like you do, not like those horrid girls who hate on you.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “I have haters?” That doesn’t sound good. I know what haters can do: hate. And it’s often not very pretty.
“Just don’t read their posts.”
Now I’m worried. “What posts?”
Jamie waves her hand as if yucky posts from mean girls can be dismissed so easily. “Never mind, Cat. Just enjoy the moment. Certainly Aiden Quinn will notice you now!”
At that exact moment, Cooper turns around and decides to bite me on the thigh. I spin around and swat at him. “Cooper!”
“Cat!” a man’s voice calls out. Only it’s not just any man. It’s Marcus. And he doesn’t sound happy. Now what did I do?
I turn toward the ring’s gate and see Marcus stomping from the barn toward me. He looks angry, which doesn’t bode well for me. Whatever I’ve done, it must be a doozy. Jamie makes a face and scurries away, scaling the fence in one leap. I watch as she jogs around the bleachers and toward the barn, conveniently leaving me alone to deal with Marcus.
When he opens the gate, I see that he has a piece of paper in his hand and a deep scowl on his weathered face. “What is this?” he says, only it comes out like “What ez theez?” And he seriously thinks he doesn’t have a French accent?
“Uh ... it looks like a piece of paper?”
He’s standing in front of me now and pushes the paper toward my face. I have no idea what it is. Just a bunch of texts and numbers. But one line is highlighted in yellow. I squint and try to read it: MG Talent Enterprises.
“I have no idea what MG Talent Enterprises is.” I’m not lying. I really don’t.
But then Marcus hands me another paper. It’s a letter from the credit card company explaining that MG Talent Enterprises is the company that manages ticket sales to Rodeo Rage shows, which is what the credit card purchase was used for.
Oh. That.
“Did you use your mother’s credit card without telling her?”
For one brief second, I rack my brain for a reasonable excuse to get out of admitting the truth. Surely Alex would have a dozen excuses to escape the wrath of Marcus. But I know that outright lying is a bad thing. Lying is worse than using her credit card without asking, and after Marcus relented to me getting a horse, I don’t want to risk making a bad situation worse. With a sigh, I realize that I have to take my medicine like a woman.
“I did.” Honesty is, after all, the best policy—at least when you are caught red-handed.
He looks taken aback, perhaps even stunned. I’m sure he’s wondering why I’m not putting up a fuss or trying to finagle my way out of this. But, in typical Marcus fashion, he quickly regains his composure. “So. What do you have to say for yourself?”
There’s only one right answer to his question. I swallow my pride and plunge forward. “I’m really sorry, Marcus.” Then it dawns on me. If Marcus is yelling at me and shoving that paper in my face, perhaps my mother doesn’t know yet. If I play my cards right, I might be able to get out of this unscathed. “I’ll pay her back. It was a bad decision but for a good cause. Still, I know I should have asked first.”
He purses his lips. “How, exactly, do you intend to pay her back?”
Good point. It’s not like I have any money. I’ve been working as a vull-een-tier all summer. And I don’t get an allowance, which stinks. Now what? I try to come up with a good answer, something that will placate him. But I have nothing.
From the barnyard, I hear someone laugh. I glance over Marcus’s shoulder and see Alex giving a little girl a piggyback ride. She’s delighted and so is Alex, although I suspect that his pleasure is from the grin on the face of the teenage girl who is leaning against the fence and watching. Well played, Alex, I think. Even Alex is smart enough to know that the best way to a girl’s heart is making her little sister laugh.
And then an idea pops into my head. And it might actually work with Marcus. Of course, it will be torturous for me, but it’s still worth a try. “Well, uh ... maybe I could volunteer to give pony rides at the birthday parties on Saturdays and Sundays.” I try not to shudder at the thought.
He scratches at his razor stubbly chin. “The birthday parties? Hmm.”
Yes, the birthday parties with countless screaming children who are sugared out on soda and cake. Who run around and whine about pony rides. The only difference between summer camp kids and birthday party kids is that at least most of the camp kids truly like horses and are committed to learning, while the party kids are a one-shot deal and, therefore, not very well-behaved. Giving the pony rides is more like rounding up the baby chickens that hatch every spring: nearly impossible.
“Yes, that might work.”
“So you won’t tell her?”
He looks at me and frowns. “No, I won’t tell her.”
I’m shocked. Is it possible that my stepdad is actually a nice guy? Could I have misread him all these years? Oh, I know that he may not want to admit being nice for fear of ruining his tough guy reputation, but I just saw a whole new side of him: Marcus is a softie.
And then he ruins the moment by giving me a stern look. “But only because I don’t want to hurt her. What you did is wrong, Cat-er-eene. She’d be dee-za-pointed to learn about this.”
Poof.
Whenever he uses my full name, I know he’s mad.
“Besides, she has a big surprise for you and I don’t want to ruin it for her.”
My ears perk up. A surprise? For me? Oh, boy. First a horse, now a surprise? Being sulky over Aiden Quinn seems to be paying off in spades. Of course, I’d rather have met him.
“What’s the surprise?”
He raises one eyebrow and shakes his head. “You’ll have to wait. In the meantime, go clean the birthday party tent for theez upcoming weekend. Pick up all the manure, wash the tables, and rake the ring.” And without another word, he turns and marches away from me.
Cleaning the birthday party area? It’s always a disaster with dried cake on the tables and garbage left behind. Even though this isn’t really part of our agreement, I know that splitting hairs would not work to my advantage right now. After all, he’s doing me a favor by not telling my mother. So, without complaining, I lead Cooper out of the ring, too aware that he’s beyond ecstatic to be heading back to the barn. I knew that pony only liked me for the horse treats!
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The Big News
My mother takes her time revealing her big surp
rise. Two days, to be exact. It’s Thursday night when she finally spills the beans.
“Cat, Brooke,” she says as we’re finishing dinner. “I have something to tell you.”
This must be it. However, now that I know Brooke is involved, I know that it can’t be anything that special.
“I have to take a trip tomorrow. A book conference in Dallas.”
Oh, great. I lean my head on the table. Big whoop-de-doo. She’s always traveling. And since I refuse to see my father on the weekends, or any other time, that means we are going to be stuck at home with Marcus. Blah.
“And I thought you both should come with me.”
I perk up. Did I just hear her say what I think she said? “Dallas?”
She nods her head. “I’m staying at the center where there’s another special event going on. A very, very special event.” She levels her eyes at me and smiles as she says, “A certain Rodeo Rave event.”
“What!”
Brooke rolls her eyes. “It’s Rodeo Rage, Mom. Not Rodeo Rave!”
Alex scowls. “How come I’m not invited?”
“Because you smell!”
He kicks me under the table.
“A little bird told me that you might want to go to it, Cat.” Mom glances at Brooke, and I realize that she must have told my mom about Cowtown. Yay, Brooke! “And Brooke can supervise you while I’m working.”
Alex laughs and this time Brooke kicks him.
“I ... I ...” I have no words. “We’re really going to Dallas with you?”
She nods her head. “Yes.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
I think I’m going to faint. Tomorrow? How is this possible? What did I do to deserve this? Tears spring to my eyes and I start to cry like a baby. Alex groans and leaves the table, carrying his plate to the sink and mumbling something about wanting a normal family.
“But ... but camp ... the birthday parties ...” I blubber as I look at Marcus. I had promised to pay him back for the money that I charged to Mom’s credit card by working on the weekends.