The Heart of the Rodeo
Page 9
Chapter Twenty-Four
Blake had spent most of her day, walking around the city with Walter and trying to find Jane with no avail. She was exceptionally discouraged, and she was worried that she wouldn’t ever see the other woman again. The city was a big place, and she had no way to get ahold of Jane. The other woman wouldn’t answer her cell phone, and she had no idea where she would be staying or spending her time. Blake hung her head as they walked down the busy sidewalk, wishing that Martha had never come to her house. It seemed like trouble followed that woman, and this time, it might have cost her the one woman that she was meant to be with.
“Chin up,” Walter told her, patting her on the back. “It’s only been one day. We still have a chance of finding her.”
“What if we don’t?” Blake inquired, looking at her friend.
“I think that if it’s meant to be, it will be,” Walter said. “Let’s go do something to get our minds off everything. Maybe, we just need to kick back for a minute and think this through.”
“What do you want to do?” Blake asked. She had noticed that the sidewalks had become more crowded, and she looked around to see what had caught everyone’s attention.
“I think we found something right here,” Walter said, pointing up at a sign. “It looks like there is a national rodeo tour. Do you want to go?”
Blake was still very upset, but if she was going to have to take a break from looking for Jane, she might as well be watching something that she loved. “Sure,” she said, walking towards the large building. “Hasting Falls Civic Center,” she read out loud. “Well, I guess they don’t do rodeos outside like the rest of us.”
“It’s the city,” Walter laughed. “They need to find someway to make money. These buildings are probably equipped with snack stations and souvenirs. It isn’t like Melville where you just walk up to Henrietta Jenkins and get some of her homemade popcorn and lemonade. They have to make it big, don’t you know?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Blake chuckled as they entered. The two of them paid for tickets and looked around the large building. There were about as many vendors as there were people, and the turnout was incredible. “Do you think we could talk to some of the performers before the show?” she asked her friend, pointing down to the arena where a group of cowboys stood around talking.
“We can try,” Walter said, walking down the metal staircase towards the group.
Blake looked around as they walked, noticing that the bleachers were filling up fast. She wasn’t quite sure when the show was going to start, but she was excited to see a little piece of home in Hasting Falls. They approached the group of cowboys, and Walter introduced himself. The men were friendly, and before she knew it, Walter, her, and the performers were engaged in conversation about competition successes and failures. She felt happy being around other people that understood her passion and being so close to the arena made her feel the craving of performing once again. She missed riding a horse and bull riding. She missed the rush and the crowd and even the smell of the dust as it clouded the air.
Blake was deep in conversation, when Walter pulled at her arm. She turned to look to see what he wanted and saw him pointing up into the stands to a familiar face. “Jane,” Blake muttered under her breath, feeling her heart catch in her throat. “What’s the chances?”
“Is that someone you know?” one of the performers asked, looking to where Walter was pointing.
“More than that,” Blake replied. “That’s the woman of my dreams and the whole reason that I am here in the first place. I’ve spent my whole day trying to find her, and now, I need to find a way to apologize to her and get her back.”
“We might be able to help you with that,” the performer replied. “I know that your leg is bum, but do you think that you could still ride a horse?”
“I sure can try,” Blake said, looking at the man. “What do you have in mind?”
“You let me worry about that,” the performer told her. “There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing love blossoming, and we might be able to help you get your lady friend back.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jane sat up in the bleachers next to Cam, awaiting the beginning of the show. She was excited to take a break from her life for a couple of hours and have to have something to take her mind off of all of the stress. “I’m so ready for this,” Jane told Cam, taking a sip of her soda.
“I’ve never been to one of these things,” Cam replied, looking eager. “Look at all of those cowboys down there. Don’t they look so rough and rugged. They definitely aren’t like the city boys around here.”
“No, I would assume not,” Jane laughed. “Not exactly my type though.”
“What about that one?” Cam asked, pointing to a performer riding into the middle of the arena on a horse.
Jane looked closely at the person, noticing some familiarity. The performer looked different than the other cowboys up there. The clothing was similar, but by the body type, Jane could definitely tell that this performer was a female and not a male. “Something about her looks familiar,” Jane voiced out loud. “I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“Maybe, it was one of our patients,” Cam said, pointing at the woman riding around the arena. “Look at the side of the horse. She’s wearing a leg cast.”
“A leg cast…” Jane replied, trailing off. She squinted her eyes and was stunned by what she saw. “That’s Blake.”
“Are you sure?” Cam said. “Maybe, you are just thinking too much about her. What is the likeliness that she would be here at the same time that we are?”
“I don’t know,” Jane stated. “I know that’s Blake though.”
“Well, she’s going to hurt herself on that horse,” Cam commented. “She shouldn’t be risking it.”
Jane began to talk, but she was interrupted by the music that filled the air, marking the start of the show. She sat back in her seat, waiting to see what was going to happen.
“Hello,” Blake’s voice rang through the microphone. “Welcome to the 42nd performance of the National Rodeo Tour. We would like everyone to take a seat. We have a big show for you, but first, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Blake Young, and I am a bullrider from Melville. The performers of this tour gave me the opportunity to announce the show, so that I could dedicate the performance to a special woman that I hurt. Dr. Jane Steibold, I know that you are in the audience, and I know that I hurt you. But sometimes, you only get one chance to make things right, so I am using this opportunity to say that I am sorry, and I miss you. You came into my life unexpectedly, and though I originally needed you to help me heal my injured leg, I didn’t expect that you would heal my heart in the process. Therefore, I want to say that I am sorry, and if you have room to give me another chance, this time, I won’t blow it.”
Blake stopped talking and just stood there, letting the words sink in. Jane didn’t know what to say. No one had done anything this romantic for her, especially in front of a crowd of people. Jane knew Blake enough to know that this had to be very difficult for her. She was an introverted person for the most part, and it wasn’t exactly her style to tell everyone how she felt.
“What are you going to do?” Cam asked, looking at her. “That was the most romantic thing that I ever seen.”
“Yeah, it was,” Jane sighed, looking at Blake. “I guess I should give her a chance, huh?”
“Yeah,” Cam stated simply. “Go down there and get your cowgirl before you miss this opportunity.
Jane didn’t listen for anymore words of encouragement. She felt herself get up and walk down the stairs of the bleachers towards the arena. She knew that there were people around her, but it was as if all of the noise and all of the audience faded into the background. Jane felt herself on level ground as she entered the bottom floor, and a cowboy nearby opened the gates to allow her to walk towards Blake. Jane watched as two cowboys assisted Blake off of her horse and watched as the woman hobbled towards her. She knew that sh
e didn’t want to be anywhere else in the world at this moment. It was like she had been waiting for this for most of her life. Jane looked at Blake, and Blake looked back, a small smile working its way to her face. “Did you mean everything that you said?” she asked, wrapping her arms around the other woman and looking her in the eyes.
“Every word,” Blake said, looking back at her seriously.
“Then, I’ll give you another chance,” Jane said. “But this time, you better not screw up, because I’m all in.”
“I won’t,” Blake told her, pulling her close.
Jane felt Blake’s lips dance across hers and happiness fill her body. She had never expected that this was where she was meant to be, but now she knew. There was no other place that she would rather be and no other person that she would rather be with.
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