Page 10 of The Singer and the Silent Type

at the edge of town, I glanced over and was delighted to see how excited Lorena was to attend her first rodeo. I couldn’t believe how attached to this lovely young woman I felt already. After watching how she cared for everyone in the tavern, I shouldn’t have been surprised that she made us such a spectacular lunch, waiting on me hand and foot with coffee and her special lime-spiked water.

Racing around to the passenger side to help her out, I locked the truck then took her arm. I wasn’t sure if her quick upward glance was surprise or excitement. It was the first time I’d ever taken a woman on a real date, so it was sort of a big deal for me.

Back in my early twenties when I went through a party phase for about a year, there were hangouts and sleepovers and messing around, but no actual dates. I’d never met a girl that was special enough that I wanted to be seen with her, announcing that I was in an actual relationship. Today was finally the right time.

“Are we early?” she asked.

“Just a bit,” I said. “But I wanted to show you something fun first.”

Leading her around to the back of a makeshift barn, we went past the riders and ranchers who were getting prepared for the day’s events. At the far end of the animal area was a small pen holding two baby goats, and another with three ponies.

Lorena’s happy squeal pierced the air as she gripped my hand. “Oh my God! Am I allowed to pet them?”

As we came closer, I nodded to the animal keeper. “Hey, Bill. Do you mind if my girl says hello to your animals before the kids get here?”

The older man chuckled warmly. “No problem, Cody.” He turned to Lorena, who had just flashed me an absolutely shocked look. For a second I worried if it was far too soon to be calling her my girl.

“Miss, it’s fine to pet the ponies, but these goats tend to nibble on fingers. You can scratch between their ears, but keep your hand away from their mouths.”

“Thank you,” she said, making a little clicking noise to encourage the animals to come to her.

It was absolutely adorable watching her as she petted and fawned all over them. I hardly ever pulled out my phone to take photos unless I had to match parts for a job. But there I was, taking snapshots of Lorena petting a shiny black baby goat.

When she seemed to have had her fill, I called out, “Thanks, Bill,” and gave him a wave so he knew we were leaving.

I led Lorena around to the main gate and bought our tickets, heading up to the stands. “You said that the animals were there for children?” she asked.

“Yes, but how often does anyone get to see baby animals if they don’t live on a farm?” I shrugged. “I just thought you’d like it, is all.”

As we sat down, she reached for my hand. “That was incredibly thoughtful,” she said.

I was hit with a wave of relief. It seemed like I was learning the ropes of this relationship stuff. As long as I kept her smiling like that, I would probably be in the clear. Plus, she had seemed genuinely pleased and surprised.

One thing I heard my mother complain about was that my father never took her anywhere exciting. There wasn’t a lot of excitement in this town, so I was going to make a point of taking Lorena to anything new or different, even if it was for just a few minutes.

We sat together in comfortable silence for a bit, looking around as the arena filled up. Lorena waved to several people she knew, and as I looked around, it seemed that everyone was doing the same.

I nodded to a few acquaintances and clients, giving them a half-wave, almost smirking as they looked a bit shocked that I was sitting so close to such a pretty girl. Perhaps my reputation of being a silent loner was a bit more deep-seated than I’d realized.

The events soon began, and I handed Lorena a program that I had picked up by the gate. “I don’t know anything about rodeos,” she whispered.

“It’s all pretty simple around here,” I said. “When you see the horses running around barrels, that’s barrel racing. When you see a guy trying to stay on a bucking bronco, that’s bronc busting.”

She laughed so adorably, leaning back to tap my shoulder with her head. “You’re funnier than I expected,” she said sweetly.

In a blink, I was kissing her. My arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her against me, as our lips melted together.

Instead of seeming surprised, it felt like she had been looking forward to this all day. The feeling of her warm, sweet mouth against mine sent shocks of fire straight through my core, and I realized without a doubt that I would be taking her home tonight.

Forcing myself to pull back, I whispered, “Time and place, I suppose.”

She looked up at me, slightly flushed and breathless, nodding with a devious little sparkle in her eye. “I guess we should attempt to be proper,” she whispered.

As we turned back to the spectacle before us, I couldn’t help noticing a few people shooting us amused glances. Whatever. Let them stare. People should know enough to mind their own business.

The races went smoothly, and a few of our Sunset Ridge boys did better than expected. When it came time in the program for the bull riding, I heard Lorena make a little gasp. “They’re not going to stab him with a sword like in the movies, are they?”

“Relax, sweetie, that’s bullfighting. We don’t do that here.” I pointed to where the bull was shifting from foot to foot in his pen as if he knew what was about to happen. He probably did. This rodeo circuit went around the entire state.

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