Page 42 of In Bed with the Rancher

“It’s going to be great. It seats 11,360, there are 356 horse stalls. The building has a full service bar and an upper level cantina with catering,” Wade said. “Our man, Bart Kingston will be here and he will tell you all about it,” Wade said.

“You guys have seen it,” Luke said. “It looks good from out here.”

A black car turned into the lot and Wade paused. “Here comes Kingston. He’s full of enthusiasm about this new arena. I think the arena board hired a very good guy for the job.”

A tall, thin man with curly blond hair waved, parked and stepped out, hurrying toward them.

“Good morning. I got tied up in traffic held up by a train. It’s good to see you,” he said, extending his hand to shake hands with Wade.

“This is my friend, Ava Carter,” Wade said as Bart Kingston shook hands with Jake.

“Ava, this is Bart Kingston who will be in charge of this arena.”

Wade turned slightly. “Bart, this is my cousin, Luke Grayson and another cousin, Jake Reed.”

“I’m so glad to meet you both and thank you in person for your magnificent, generous donations that made this arena possible,” he said as he shook hands with Luke and Jake. He smiled at all three men. “All of you, I want to thank you again for your very generous donations to build this new arena. It is a fabulous building and we are already booked for wonderful horse shows and events. It’s a boon to Texas and to the city. Let’s go look at it. You’re in for a great tour.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing the arena. I’ve heard about it,” Luke said.

“Miss Carter, I’m glad you could join us. Let me lead the way and unlock the place.” He headed for the massive front doors with carved horses in the wood. As he walked, he talked.

“We’ll have the U.S. West Finals Rodeo this year. We’ve booked an Arabian horse show, an Appaloosa horse show, a Morgan show and Quarter horses. This is going to be big on horses. We have three rodeos booked. We’ll have a National Teen Championship Rodeo this year.” He paused to unlock big double doors. Luke, Jake and Wade all stepped forward to open the massive doors. Wade took Ava’s arm lightly and she stepped inside a huge entry area with marble columns and a gleaming hardwood floor. She noticed an inviting faint smell of new wood.

“This is beautiful,” she told Wade.

“It’s great, but the big deal is the arena floor and the horse accommodations—their stalls, the facilities for taking care of them. There are cattle pens and a big barn behind this building even though we’re in town,” Bart said. “Just follow me. I hope you’re already enjoying the first part of our tour,” he said to Ava, who smiled as she nodded.

“I’m enjoying it very much. This is a fantastic building.”

“We think so,” Bart said. “It’s beautiful, and it’s going to be even more so when we get the paintings up and a few more things done. Now here is the arena.” He led them out into the center of the arena and it was dazzling to her as she looked around.

“I don’t know anything about what should be here, but this looks fabulous,” she told Wade.

“It is fabulous,” he said while she looked at all the box seats that looked luxurious and roomy with comfortable big cushioned chairs, tables to hold food. Beyond the box seats were cushioned seats that had ample leg room and wide aisles.

“The sound will be excellent,” Bart said. He turned to point up. “We have a cantina with a full service bar, a seating capacity of 260, we have six concession stands in the building.”

Wade stood beside her on her left and Jake was to her right. Jake looked over her head at Wade. “Looks like they spent the money well. This is going to be a great arena. Almost makes me wish I still was signed up for bull riding. Almost. I’m smart enough to know my limits.”

“I agree,” Wade answered as they looked around.

“Do you like rodeos or horse shows?” Jake asked Ava.

“Rodeos. I’ve never seen a horse show.”

“What’s your profession, Ava?” he asked.

“I’m an occupational therapist and I work for myself, so I have what I want to do. I provide home care,” she told him and he nodded.

Bart motioned to them to follow him as he continued talking while he moved on.

It was over an hour before they were through and had thanked Bart and finished talking to him. Wade held her arm lightly as they walked out with his cousins.

“It’s going to be a great arena,” Luke said.

“Yes, it is and we do have to pick a date for the grand opening, but the Board is going over the schedule and they have some new events to add, so we can’t really get a date any time soon and we’ll have to wait until Bart contacts us,” Wade said and his cousins nodded.

“They still have to get their sign up with the arena name,” Jake added. “It’s going to be good when it’s all ready. The Cal Brand Arena,” he said. “The name is nice, but we’d all rather have Cal with us.”

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