Page 37 of Ace of Spades
“I insist, and I know she will too. That’s the kind of people we are in this family.”
My heart warms at seeing the kindness that their family is willing to extend to a complete stranger. Weston hadn’t been lying when he said that Dakota had a heart of gold.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Positive. The only downside is that there isn’t an arena, so you won’t be able to practice much. There are turnouts and stalls for the horses, though, so at least you’ll have somewhere tokeep them. Don’t get me wrong, they’re super worn down and nobody uses them because of how sketchy they are, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” I say.
“It’s settled then. You can follow me there after breakfast, I was going to pop by and say hi to my mom anyways. Grab a menu, breakfast is on me!”
Dakota’s mom was expecting us by the time we pulled up to the Cedar Creek trailer park. Though I’d never been here before, I didn’t expect just how run down it was. My dad had talked about all of the new fees he had begun implementing in order to clean the place and maintain it–so why did it look like nothing had been done to make it nicer? Where was all of this money going?
Gloria Langford was stunning, just like her daughter. She had a certain wisdom to her, like she could see right through you. It was unsettling at first, but I quickly warmed up to her as the three of us girls shared a quick lunch in her trailer house. I was still full from the generous breakfast earlier, but Gloria had insisted on feeding us some more–something about both of us needing to get some meat on our bones.
Dakota was definitely on the thinner side, but given her height and seeing how much food she was able to devour, I assumed it was more due to genetics than anything.
I, on the other hand, leaned more on the athletic side. I wouldn’t call myself muscular by any means, but I treated my body as any professional athlete would. The way I saw it was that if I was asking my horses to be in their best shape and exercise every day, it wouldn’t be fair of me not to hold myself to the same standards.
“So, Hailey,” Gloria starts, the three of us cleaning the kitchen. I stand at the sink, scrubbing the dishes while she wraps up all of the leftovers, Dakota helping dry and put away the dishes. “Kota tells me that you run barrels. Are you any good?”
“Mom!” Dakota exclaims before I have the chance to answer. “Are you joking right now? You really need to start keeping up with the circuit. Hailey’s already the predicted rookie of the year, she’s placed in barrels in every rodeo that she’s competed in since the start of the season!”
“Oh wow, that is quite impressive,” Gloria says. “Do you compete in any other events?”
“I also compete in breakaway roping,” I tell her. “My horse, Vegas, still needs a little bit of work in the roping box, but we’re getting there.”
“Well, I’ll have to come watch a rodeo one of these days when you and Wes are both competing,” she says. “When I can get a few days off, that is. Weekends are when I make the most money at the diner.”
My cheeks heat at the mention of Weston, a funny feeling making butterflies run rampant in my stomach as I remember whose house I’m standing in. I had made Dakota promise not to mention to him that I was living here, which she pinkie promisedto. As far as Gloria knew, I was just another one of Dakota’s friends that has never met Weston.
“I’m not even working right now and Wes still won’t let me go,” Dakota rolls her eyes. “I don’t start my nursing internship until next year, so I finally have the time to come see now that I’m out of school, but he said he doesn’t want me driving that far by myself. I can't even ride with him and Chance in the truck since there wouldn’t be enough room with all of their gear bags and stuff.”
“Why don’t you ride with me?” I offer.
“You mean that?” she asks, her face lighting up.
“Why not?” I tell her, handing her a plate to dry. “There’s a couch in the living quarters that you could sleep on. As long as you’re fine with a little furball possibly trying to cuddle with you in the middle of the night.”
“Oh my gosh, thank you so much!” she hugs me, my arms staying in the air to keep from getting bubbles all over her dress.
“Not a problem at all, it can be like a fun girl’s trip. There aren’t any rodeos this weekend, but there’s one in New Mexico the weekend after that. Just meet me here first thing in the morning that Thursday and you can help me get the horses loaded up, we’ll have a long drive ahead of us.”
“Yay! Sounds good, I’ll bring the coffee,” she says. “Oh my gosh, I’ll make a playlist–oh, and I can bring snacks!”
I shake my head, mentally bracing myself for the two-day drive with one of the most energetic people I think I’ve ever met.
I managed to connect the water and electric hookups that evening, checking to make sure that everything worked in the camper before bringing the horses to get settled into the stalls. Thegrass is overgrown, nearly reaching my knees, and I make a mental reminder not to come out here in pajama shorts like I typically would do at home.
I quickly learn that there’s only one lightbulb that works in the run-down barn, and I find enough traces of rats to decide to keep the horses’ grain in the tack room of my trailer for the time being. I let myself take a moment once the horses are fed for the night, my shoulders slumping at the realization that this is my life now.
It’s not even necessarily about the conditions, it’s the stress of not knowing what’s to come. Where would I practice now that I didn’t have an arena? I needed to keep winning if I was going to start helping Gloria with rent, and that wouldn’t happen without an arena, not to mention a practice dummy to practice roping on.
I trudge back to my trailer, taking a long shower and changing into pajamas before pulling out a granola bar from my snack stash in the pantry that I always kept for long rodeos.
Throwing something on TV and tucking myself into bed with Gypsy, I’m half asleep when the sounds of my horses’ neighing startles me awake. I sit up abruptly, trying to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.
The sound continues, and I trip over my covers as I stumble out of bed, throwing on my boots and running out the door, sprinting up the hill and to the barn to make sure the horses are okay.
