Page 50 of His First Baby Rodeo

“Hey, Palmer!”

He looked up. “Hey, Keith.”

Keith was a staple on the tour. Though he was five years younger than Mac, he had taken early retirement from the competitive circuit to join the show tour. Mac didn’t think much of guys who made that choice, and he had no particular liking for Keith, who was more of a show-off than just about anyone Mac had ever encountered.

But Keith seemed to have decided that the two of them were going to be best friends on this tour. And though Mac didn’t like to admit it — even to himself — being alone with his thoughts wasn’t much fun right now. It was good to have a friend, even an annoying one.

“Hey, Keith,” he said, getting up from the bale of hay he’d been sitting on. “How’s it going?”

“I just ran into a bachelorette party,” Keith said. “They all wanted their pictures taken with a real cowboy.”

“So pretty good, then?”

“Definitely can’t complain. You’re just sorry you missed it. These girls werehot,Mac. Maybe I can try to find them again. I bet they’d be willing to go out with both of us later. I mean, you’re a little old for them, maybe, but you know how girls like to go wild at bachelorette parties!”

Mac nodded. “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “You can have this group. Maybe you and I can look for some action when we hit Phoenix.”

Phoenix was the next stop on the tour, and Mac was only using it as an excuse — he had no intention of hooking up with any girls anytime soon. He had made the mistake of letting himself believe that he could do that without getting his heart involved, but he’d been dead wrong about that.

And it wasn’t that he thought he would fall in love with the next girl who came along. The idea of developing feelings for any of the women at Keith’s bachelorette party was almost laughable. It was just that he knew he wouldn’t be able to associate with any of them without thinking about El, and he was fighting tooth and nail to keep himself from thinking about her.

It would be easier in Arizona. At least there, he wouldn’t have to acknowledge in his mind the fact that hecouldsee her any time if he felt the urge to.

I have to stop thinking about her. Everything else in my life is finally going the way I want it to. I just need to stop thinking about El Moyle.

He changed the subject. “Are you ready for the show tomorrow night?” he asked Keith.

“Well, sure,” Keith said. “But I’ve been doing these things three times a week for the past two years, so it’s not really that big a deal to me. The question is, areyouready?”

“Sure I’m ready,” Mac said easily.

“Because I know it’s been tough for you,” Keith said. “What with your injury and all. I’m not sure how confident I’d feel getting back in the ring for the first time. And especially if I was your age. I’m sure that must make the whole thing much harder.”

The irritating thing was that Keith wasn’t even being passive aggressive. This was just his genuine personality. “It’s not that big a deal,” Mac said. “It was only a broken arm. You know, if you stay in this sport long enough, you’re probably going to have to overcome an injury at some point yourself. You should prepare for that.”

“Well, you’re right,” Keith said. “And when that day comes, I’ll think of you, Mac. You know, you’re someone I’ve always looked up to. Even when I was a kid, I remember watching you and thinking that someday I’d be like you.”

Mac groaned inwardly. “I’m five years older than you, Keith,” he pointed out. “When you were a kid, I was a teenager. I wasn’t competing in rodeo.”

“Well, you know what I mean,” Keith said. “When I was younger.”

“Right,” Mac said.

“There’s a decent crowd out there,” Keith said. “I’ve been out on the mezzanine.”

“I thought performers weren’t supposed to go out there.”

“We aren’t,” Keith said. “But what are they going to do, fire the talent? A show like this depends on keeping people like us happy, you know. They can’t afford to take the risk that we’ll go somewhere else. Back to the competitive circuit, maybe.”

“Well, I am going back to the competitive circuit,” Mac said. “This is a temporary gig for me.”

“Sure you are,” Keith said.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s just that I’ve heard a lot of guys say that they’re joining the Classic temporarily, for off-season training or for something to do to help keep their skills sharp. No one ever goesbackto competition after working on this level.”

“I guess I’ll be the first, then,” Mac said stubbornly.

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