“This isn’t over, Raney. Nothing’s changed for me. I still love you. But you need to figure out how you feel, and where we go from here. Whatever you decide, this conversation is done. Accept it or don’t. I’m not talking about it again.” Then, while he still could, he left.
* * *
As soon as the door closed behind him, emptiness engulfed Raney. She doubled over, arms pressed against her stomach, sobs tearing through her throat.
How had it come to this? How had they let it come to this?
Dimly, she heard the loudspeaker calling out the opening order for first go. Heard Rosco’s name, his sire and dam, Dalton’s name, then hers, as the owner. It was starting. Without her.
Left behind again.
A moment later, she was racing toward the arena.
Mama met her halfway. “Where have you been? They’re starting! Oh, Lord, Raney, you’re crying! What have you done?”
“Hurry!” Raney shouted as she ran on.
They made it into the arena just as the first rider’s name was called. “We have time to reach the observation deck,” she said to her mother as she raced up the stairs.
They made it. Raney ducked through the other owners and trainers gathered on the deck and looked down, saw Dalton standing beside Rosco, and something seemed to rip apart inside.
So strong. So sure. So willing to sacrifice everything for a promise he shouldn’t have made in the first place.
“Well, this is apropos,” Mama muttered, panting as she pushed in beside Raney.
“What do you mean?”
“Looking down on Dalton. Isn’t that what you’ve done all along?”
Raney stared at her, too shocked to deny it.
“He is, after all, a convicted criminal,” her mother added in a low voice. “Isn’t that what you said? Several times?”
“He didn’t do it!” Raney hissed, hoping the other watchers couldn’t hear them over the noise of the crowd. “His mother told me he didn’t and he confirmed it.”
“Then what are you so upset about?”
“He deceived me! That’s what. How can I ever trust him again?”
“Oh, darling, don’t be naive. Life is filled with little lies and omissions and disappointments. If you expect perfection, you’re doomed to a lifetime of loneliness. Dalton is an honorable man. I’m sad you can’t see that. Now hush. They’re starting.”
* * *
Alejandro led Big Mike over to where Dalton and Rosco stood second in line at the in gate. He looked angry. Hell, everybody was pissed off with him today.
Keeping his voice low, Alejandro said, “Since you did not come to look over the cows, how will you tell me which ones you want without the judges noticing?” Once the ride started, communicating with your helper was frowned upon.
“You’ll know. Watch my eyes. And if we miss, we miss.”
Muttering under his breath, Alejandro gathered Big Mike’s reins and swung into the saddle.
Dalton tightened Rosco’s cinch, checked his front and rear skid boots, then stood there, his mind retracing every word of the fight with Raney and wondering what he could have said differently. Was this really the end for them? He couldn’t accept that. But he didn’t regret any of his decisions, either. She was putting hidden meanings on every move he’d made, and she thought he didn’t trust her?
Alejandro leaned down and said, “You better get your head straight, pendejo, or we will lose this thing.”
Overhead, the loudspeaker blared as the first rider went through the gate. Dalton heard his and Rosco’s names listed as “on deck,” and nodded to Alejandro. “You’re right,” he said, and mounted up.
Doing what he’d done in Iraq and later in Huntsville, Dalton shut his mind to the noise around him and concentrated on breathing. In and out, slow and steady. Pushing all the pain and fear and fury deep inside so he could focus only on the here and now. If this was to be the end of him and Raney, so be it. But he’d go out on the ride of his life.
Bending down, he stroked Rosco’s neck. “We’ve got this, boy. We can do it.” Then the in gate opened, and Dalton sent him into the arena.
He felt a shiver of excitement run through the colt as they crossed the time line and walked into the back of the herd, flushing half of the cows out into the working area. Spotting the heifer he wanted, Dalton kept his eyes fixed on her as the other cows started to regroup. Alejandro got the message. He and Mike cleared the working area by sending the stragglers back to the handlers keeping the herd bunched along the back wall.
Dalton pointed the colt at the chosen heifer, dropped his rein hand to Rosco’s neck, and gripped the horn with his right hand as the horse jumped into action, mirroring the cow’s movements to keep her from getting back to the herd.
She didn’t put up much of a fight and within twenty seconds had almost slowed to a standstill. Dalton immediately lifted the reins, put his right hand on Rosco’s neck to signal him to quit, then turned to find the next cow. He spotted her hiding deep inside the herd.
Hoping she would offer a better challenge, he sent Rosco forward, moving slowly so they didn’t spook the other cows. After he reached the heifer he wanted, he had Rosco drive her toward the outside until she broke from the herd. Then he dropped his rein hand to the colt’s neck again, grabbed the horn, and let Rosco do his magic.
This one was livelier and had Rosco scrambling. Dalton kept a tight grip on the horn as the colt darted and lunged to keep the cow from slipping past him and back to the herd. After almost thirty seconds, the heifer finally tired. Dalton signaled Rosco to let her go and went after the third cow. He got her into the working area and held her until the buzzer sounded and the ride was over.
Dalton thanked the other handlers, shook Alejandro’s hand, then reined Rosco toward the exit gate. “Good boy,”
