Page 41 of Ace of Spades
“Alright, hang tight and I’ll be right there,” I tell her, hanging up the phone and sending a quick text in the guys’ group chat.
ME:Kota drove down with Hailey to surprise me. Meeting up with her in the stands, I’ll catch up with you guys after.
BEAU:Chelsea’s running to town real quick to get dinner for me and Rafe before the team roping, you guys want anything?
CHANCE:I’m good, I probably won’t eat until after the bull riding, I’m not trying to throw up in front of that big of a crowd. Checking on Odessa, I’ll catch up with y’all in a bit.
ME:I’m good on food too, I’ll probably grab a bite with Kota later. And alright, sounds good.
CHANCE:I’m inviting myself to dinner with you and Kota.
ME:Not a chance.
CHANCE:See y’all in a bit.
I shut my phone, placing it back in my pocket just as barrels start. I run to grab some popcorn and sodas for me and Kota, taking my seat in the stands and leaning back, stretching my already sore legs in front of me.
I watch as each girl goes, sitting up in my seat as Hailey’s name is called.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got Hailey Sorrels from Cedar Creek, Montana on Casino,” the announcer calls, the Jumbotron panning to a view of Hailey and her mare prancing up the alley, Hailey holding Casino back as she gets ready to take off.
I can only see half of Hailey’s face beneath her hat, but I see through the screen the exact moment she stops pulling back, pushing the reins forward instead. My eyes dart down to the arena as Hailey and Casino shoot through the opening, flying to the first barrel.
She comes into it steady, giving it a wide berth coming in and hugging it through, her knee almost hitting the barrel but missing by no more than an inch. She hasn’t even fully completed the turn as her eyes land on her next target, the pair jetting to the second barrel with an impressive speed.
“Go Hailey!” my sister yells from beside me, jumping up and down in excitement.
I’m fully zoned in as I watch them approach the second, my knee bouncing in anticipation. Right as Hailey’s setting up to turn to the left around the barrel, Casino abruptly veers to the right, breaking the pattern and throwing Hailey off balance.
My heart stalls as I watch her lose her reins, getting thrown forward in her seat and grabbing the saddle horn to keep from falling off. The crowd goes silent, a uniform gasp resounding through the stadium as Hailey regains control over Casino, finding her reins and walking the mare to the fence line.
It takes me a moment to realize that I had completely stopped breathing, my fists clenched in my lap.
“That’s gonna be aNo Scorefor Hailey Sorrels, folks,” the announcer calls as Hailey walks back through the entrance and down the alley.
“Oh no, poor Hailey,” Kota sits back down, setting her face in her hands.
“What happened?” I ask. “Was Casino acting weird earlier? Did she mention anything to you?”
As far as I had seen, Hailey had never once broken a pattern and gotten aNo Scoreduring a competition. I could only count on one hand the number of times I’d even seen her graze a barrel, so this was way out of character for her.
“Um,” Kota says. “I mean…”
“Kota, what are you hiding? Talk to me, what’s going on?”
“Please don’t get mad,” she asks, turning to me with a sheepish smile. I let out a sigh, trying to calm myself down.
“I promise.”
“Pinky promise?”
“Pinky promise,” I tell her, extending my pinky and linking it with hers.
“Hailey has been living at the trailer park in Cedar Creek,” she tells me, giving me her best please-don’t-kill-me face. Before I can even utter a word, Dakota is talking so fast that I don’t know how she manages to breathe between words.
“She’s been living there for about a month and using mom’s water and electric hookups since mom doesn’t need them, and she’s helping mom with rent in return. And she hasn’t been able to practice because there’s no arena, and something’s been spooking the horses, so she’s been sleeping in the stables with them every night until she can afford to get some security cameras set up, so she hasn’t been sleeping well and she’s always tired and the horses have been on edge and—”
“Kota,” I cut her off. “Breathe.”
