Page 48 of Rough Stock
“Wow. Thanks! But I’m not special at all. I’m just an average guy who decided to run away from his problems instead of sitting around and stewing in them.” He gave her a squeeze with the arm around her waist and kissed the tip of her nose. “We need to get going. I’d really like to drive more than four hours before we have to stop for the night.”
“Okay.” He rose and reached for her hand, and she let him pull her to standing. “By the way, thank you for bringing me. This place is nice.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for coming. We’ll come back sometime. Right now, it’s the rodeo life for us, baby,” he said with a grin and pulled her along behind him.
They stopped at the university farm for the horses and talked to Roger for a little while. Shyanna had gone to the stall Rhubarbhad stayed in to look for her rubber feed bucket when she heard someone call out, “Shyanna!”
Amber’s smiling face popped into view when she turned. “Hey! How are you?”
“I’m good. You guys aren’t leaving, are you?” the girl asked, a little frown turning down the corners of her mouth.
“Yeah. We’ve got to get on the road. Wish we could’ve spent a little more time together. Thanks for being kind to me,” Shyanna said.
Amber shrugged a little and slipped her hands into her front pockets. “You said that before.”
“Said what?”
“‘Thanks for being kind to me.’ Why did you say that?”
Shyanna could feel her face heating up. “Because people usually aren’t.”
A little chuckle escaped the girl’s lips. “Then you’ve been hanging around with the wrong people!”
That’s some sage wisdom coming from a kid, Shyanna thought. “You’re probably right. I probably have been. But it’s been nice hanging around with you and SammyJo. I hope I get to see you again sometime.”
“Oh, you’re going to. We’re going to come to some of the rodeos and watch! SammyJo looked up the schedule, and we can make several of them. We could hang out. It’ll be fun!” she said, her eyes twinkling with excitement.
She hoped the girl wasn’t just saying that to be nice. A couple of friendly faces would be more than welcome. “Well, hope to see you soon then. We’ve gotta get on the move. Good luck with your rodeo events.” Shyanna started to walk away, then turned back to the girl. “Can I tell you something?”
Amber shrugged again. “I guess.”
How to say it? She’d never said anything like that before, something that would make her feel so vulnerable, but it feltright. “I just wanted to say… um, I’ve never had girlfriends. So thanks for hanging out with me. And thank SammyJo for me, wouldja?”
The smile Amber gave her was gentle and warm. “Sure. It’s been a lot of fun. I really like you. You’ve been kind to me too. Most women would’ve thought of us as little kids and wouldn’t have given us the time of day, but you took time to talk to us and be friendly. We appreciate that too.” The girl stopped for a second, then said, “So I guess we’ll be seeing you on the circuit?”
“If you show up somewhere that we are, you’ll most certainly see me. Bye, Amber,” Shyanna said and headed toward the trucks.
“You okay?” Jensen asked when she walked up where he and Roger stood talking.
“Yeah. I’m okay.” The look he gave her told her he didn’t believe her. “I just had to say goodbye to Amber. Wish SammyJo had been around. I would’ve liked to say goodbye to her too.”
“I have to tell you something,” Roger said, leaning toward Shyanna. “Those two girls idolize you. They want to be just like you. They’re talking about going to some of the dates for your association. I really appreciate you being so nice to them, even though they’re just kids.”
“They’re nice kids, but they shouldn’t idolize me. I’m nobody and nothing. They have their whole lives ahead of them. I envy them?I really do,” Shyanna said, and she meant it.
“You’re not nobody or nothing, Shyanna. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you on the circuit if you’ll just remember the things you learned here. But thanks anyway for taking some time to talk to them and get to know them. I know they’ll never forget you,” Roger said and stuck out a hand.
Shyanna took it and shook it. Roger had been nothing but kind and accommodating to them, and she envied Jensen for having such nice friends. “I’ll never forget them either.”
“We need to hit it, babe. Roger, thanks again,” Jensen said as he shook his friend’s hand one last time. “I promise next time we have some down time, we’ll come visit again.”
“I’m gonna hold you to that, cowboy!” Roger said with a laugh. “Y’all be careful on the road.”
“Will do.” Jensen gave Shyanna a tiny kiss on the cheek and squeezed her hand. “Time to go. If we get separated, call me or I’ll call you. Let me know if you need to stop so I can stop too.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” She watched as he climbed into his truck, and she slid behind the wheel of hers. In thirty minutes, Forrestville was a memory.
“No! Absolutely not!”JimmyFuller almost screamed. “I can’t do that, Max! I think this has gone a little too far.”
