Page 42 of Wild and Unruly
CT calls us over, and we trot our horses over to the chutes, both of us getting our ropes ready. We’ve already established who will head and who will heel, meaning she’s going to rope the cow’s head first, then I follow up and rope the cow’s back leg, and we back up until the lines are taut.
We settle our horses into the chute, the cow in the one between us, and Bonnie gives the nod. The cow is released, and we take off at full speed. I’m ready for my turn once she’s got his head and watch her wind up and throw her line. She misses, and we reset.
Three more times, she almost has the cow and misses, and Ican tell she’s getting frustrated. I pull my horse over to hers, facing her so our horses are side by side. “You okay?”
She’s winding up her rope, not looking at me and glances to where my family sits. “Fine. Just want to catch one damn cow.”
I reach over, resting my hand on her thigh. “You will. It’s been a while, Bo. That’s why we practice.”
She looks over at me and smiles. “You’re a nice coach.”
I never really thought of myself as her coach, and while that thought is appealing, I say, “I’m not your coach. I’m your partner.”
Bonnie looks over at me, and I lift my hand up to her cheek, wanting badly to pull her in for a kiss but not wanting to embarrass her in front of the people she is working with.
Later. I was making time for that later.
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Let’s go again.”
I nod my head, and we trot back over to the chutes, loading ourselves back in and waiting for them to finish loading the cow. Bonnie fixes her rope, adjusts her seat and looks over at me. I wink, and she smiles before taking a breath and nodding her head.
We take off, the cow in between us, and she throws her rope on the head, catching it this time, and keeps him running so I can get a loop around his foot. Luckily, I manage to get my rope around his foot, and we both stop and back our horses until he’s taut between us, and then we let go of the ropes.
I whoop loudly, and my family cheers us on. Bonnie has a beaming smile on her face as we trot back toward the chutes for another round.
We’re near the chutes when I reach her, and she slaps myoutstretched hand. I wind my fingers through hers for a moment before pulling her close and saying, “Fuck yeah, that’s my girl!”
I watch her blush and shake her head, but the smile is undeniable. “It was one time. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“Nah, it was perfect. We’ll be ready for next weekend.”
She turns to me, her eyes wide. “Next weekend?”
Logan laughs, hearing our conversation, and looks to Bonnie. “Welcome to being Stetson’s partner, where he signs you up for anything and everything.”
Bonnie stares in shock for a second before the smile comes back, and I grin at her, releasing her hand.
Fuck yeah. I finally have a new partner.
And I’d really like to get her alone.
It was my first rodeo of the summer, and the adrenaline and excitement were pulsing through the crowd. Combined towns of Acton and Fall Springs came together to support and compete in this rodeo, and the crowds went crazy for their friends and family that competed.
Last year, I dragged Logan to several of these events in the hopes that we could win some money I could put toward the house I want to buy, but when shit went down with Thea, he had to take a step back, and I lost my side hustle.
This year, I was feeling hopeful and confident. Bonnie stepped up when I didn’t anticipate she would, and I didn’t have any qualms about her staying all summer long to compete or continuing this when she had to head back to Denver.
But I can’t deny that I was hoping I could make it enticing enough for her to stay.
Fuck, that was a crazy thought. Enticing enough for her to stay? The thought pulls at me, and I start to imagine what that could look like. Her staying here, her being by my side for all of it.
It was an image that I couldn’t wipe from my mind.
“How ya feeling?” Logan slaps me on the shoulder, standing at the fence next to me where I watch another event that is going on. The crowd screams and whistles, cheering on the barrel racers who were running their patterns.
I nod, resting my booted foot on the bottle rung and an arm over the top. “I’m good. I feel pretty good about our chances.”
The competition here wasn’t nothing, but as it is a smaller town, this is probably the smallest of shows I’d compete in.
