Page 62 of Lawless Ride

“Sure. Let’s see if that happens, sugar.”

None of the girls were in the ring when we got there. I figured they were in the barn getting their horses saddled and ready.

In the racing ring, there were a lot of young cowboys doing stuff with the barrels and the dirt and getting everything set up. Well organized and the atmosphere was pure rodeo. The air wascharged with excitement, and I was more nervous for Tammy and Lucy than I thought possible.

A big scoreboard at the end of the arena was manned by a cowboy with a microphone in his hand. He would be doing the announcing of the contestants and shouting out their scores.

Wearing a big smile, Marilyn stepped into the middle of the ring first and welcomed parents and friends to the mini-rodeo. She was dressed in an elegant cowgirl outfit—lots of fringe—and accented by red boots and a red hat.

“Let’s get started,” she shouted. “Everybody have a great time.”

The announcer hollered out the first girl’s name and where they were from, and the races were underway.

“Here we go,” said Harlan. He rubbed the palm of his right hand down the thigh of his jeans.

He was as nervous for the girls as I was.

In the first round, each girl got two rides and posted their best score on the big electronic board. The top ten girls in round one moved on to the second round.

“Lucy and Tammy are both still in,” said Jacks. “Lucy can win this thing. Rowdy taught her all the right moves on our ranch.”

“You got a setup like this?” asked Harlan.

“Yeah, we do,” said Jacks. “Bull, our ranch foreman, built it for Lucy. That was before Tammy came to live with us. But seeing Tammy ride today, I’m say’n she’s a lot better since she came up here and got the lessons.”

Harlan took note of the young hired hands. He watched which ones eyed Lucy and Tammy and Harlan kept track of them throughout the afternoon. Nothing got by him where the girls were concerned.

There was a short break before the second round started. Cold drinks and hot dogs were available from a little stand not far from the huge corral.

“Run over to that stand, Harlan, and get Cokes and dogs for everybody.” I handed him a couple of bills and he took off with Davey and Jacks.

“This is fun,” said Annie. “The girls are posting great scores.”

“It’s going to be nerve-wracking when they are in a real competition.”

Annie laughed. “I nearly go nuts every time Jacks comes out of the chute. Can hardly stand it.”

“I’m dying to see him compete.”

“His first junior rodeo comes up soon in Waco.”

After the fifteen-minute break, the second round started. The kids finished their hot dogs in record time and were back in their seats waiting for the next round.

The second round was more tense than the first and Harlan could feel a little anxiety tightening in his chest. His heart was pounding a little too fast as he kept his eyes on the clock.

Tammy’s first ride in round two wasn’t great and Harlan could picture her crying. Tammy was a crier and Lucy was a fighter. That was the biggest difference between them. They were both beautiful and nice. The more he got to know each of them, the harder it was to decide which one he wanted for his girlfriend.

Lucy posted a hard-to-beat time on her first round, and she was all smiles as she watched it hit the scoreboard.

Annie looked elated too, and Jacks was over the moon when the announcer shouted out her score.

The other eight girls did well and posted good scores, but nobody came close to beating Lucy’s first ride. Her second ride later in the round was a few seconds off her first effort. Most of the other girls did better the second time around, including Tammy.

Five girls were eliminated at the end of round two, and the topfive moved on to the final round. Tammy and Lucy both made it.

“Final round.” Harlan pointed to the clock as all the scores went back to zero and the cowboy with the mic began talking.

“I can hardly bear to watch,” I said to Annie-girl. I picked up her hand and held it. “Can’t remember when I’ve ever been this nervous over anything.”

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