3. Carl
Carl
The bright arena lights beat down on my shoulders, forcing me to squint as I looked for my partner. Amos wasn’t usually hard to find in a crowd.
Yup, there he was, jaw-jacking with some of the contestants.
“All right, folks!” the announcer’s voice boomed over the crackling speakers.
“Looks like we’ve got a late entry for the steer decorating contest. Give it up for Carl from the Harrison Logging Camp, stepping in to keep the roster full!
He’ll be teamed up with Amos today. Give those two lumberjacks a hand. ”
I flashed an easy grin for everyone in the stands.
Amos jogged over, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Good to see you, man. You taking the ribbon end or the horn end?”
“I’ll take the ribbon end,” I rumbled. “You’re uglier. The steer will probably respect you more.”
Amos barked a laugh, shaking his head. “Fair enough. Just don’t trip over your own boots. The auto shop boys have been practicing.” We both looked over to where Rusty and his new assistant were strutting around with their chests puffed out.
“Don’t worry about them. We got this,” I told him confidently. I’d caught more than one steer in my life. It wasn’t so hard once you knew which direction they normally went.
There were six teams of two lined up in the dirt. The rules were simple enough. Grab your assigned steer, tie a ribbon to its tail, and get it across the finish line first. It was low stakes. Just local guys making fools of themselves for charity.
The starting buzzer blared.
Amos lunged forward, wrapping his thick arms around the neck of a stubborn black-and-white steer. He dug his heels in, hauling the animal to a halt. I moved in quickly behind it, the green ribbon ready in my hands.
I had the knot half-tied, focused entirely on my task, when a pinprick of awareness ran up my spine, landing at the base of my neck.
I glanced over my left shoulder and there she was.
The photographer with the wild brown curls.
She was at the edge of the arena, her camera pointed directly at me.
Well, hello sunshine.
My brain completely short-circuited. My fingers went slack. And I’d be kidding if I told you I didn’t forget what I was supposed to be doing right then. A fine woman can do that to a man. And she was… well, she was the finest creature I’d ever seen before in my life.
The steer jerked, ripping right out of my grip.
“Carl! What the hell?” Amos yelled as the steer bolted forward, dragging him two feet through the mud.
I shook off the distraction.
“Sorry, man.”
“Are you looking at women right now!” he hollered, loud enough for the whole arena to hear.
“Uh, just one,” I lobbed back at him.
I couldn’t resist looking at her one more time. I turned with my hands on my hips and flashed a wide, teasing grin straight into her lens, offering her a slow wink before I sprinted after Amos and our steer.
Damn, it was hard to concentrate knowing a woman like that was watching.
“Hold him steady!” I barked a few seconds later, grabbing the steer’s flank.
We boxed the animal in against the rails. I looped the green ribbon, pulled it tight, and slapped the steer on the rump.
Done.
Amos grabbed the halter, and we jogged our steer across the finish line just ahead of the mechanics’ team. Take that, Rusty.
The crowd cheered as we took our place in the first place spot, but my blood was thumping for a completely different reason.
I didn’t know who she was, but I was about to find out.
I was standing there with my chest puffed out, hoping the gal with wild curls was still aiming her camera in my direction.
“Dude, what happened back there?” Amos asked quietly while we stood there on display.
“You called it, man. I got distracted by a pretty lady.”
His eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah? Anyone I know?”
Red Oak Mountain was a small town, and we all knew each other here.
“Naw. She’s with the rodeo. It’s the woman taking pictures.”
Amos scanned the crowd, looking for her.
“Don’t be so obvious, dude.”
He laughed at that. “You’re saying that to me after you went dumb and dumber in the middle of a ribbon roundup?”
I chuckled back. Point taken.
Right then, a distressed bellow cut through our conversation. It looked like there was some trouble afoot.
A latch hadn’t been properly secured over by the livestock gate, and I looked up in time to see a young steer bolt out the open gate into the main rodeo grounds.
The poor thing got spooked, probably from the crowds and noise. I trotted over to it, leaving the charity event behind.
“Hey. Easy now,” I rumbled, dropping my voice to a steady murmur.
The steer stopped ten feet away. It tossed its head and let out an anxious snort, a wild look in its eyes.
I took a slow step forward. “You’re all right, buddy. Nobody’s hurting you.”
The steer hesitated and let out a low bellow, telling me all about how scared it was.
“You’re okay, dude. Let’s just head back where we came from.”
After a minute of coaxing, he let me grab his lead and guide him back.
When I returned to the winner’s circle, Amos asked, “Where’d you learn how to do that?”
I shrugged. “I haven’t always been a lumberjack.”
I looked around the charity arena, trying to find her again. The event was finishing now, and the crowd was getting antsy on the bleachers.
Then I noticed the black barrel of that camera lens still pointed right at me. The sexy photographer looked like she’d been tracking me the whole time.
“Let’s hear it for Carl, folks!” the announcer boomed, chuckling into his microphone. “Turns out the man’s not only good at chopping down trees. He can handle a steer, too.”
The crowd erupted into a fresh round of applause and laughter.
It was my cue. The good-time guy cue. I turned toward the stands, throwing my head back and letting out a loud, easy laugh. I waved to the crowd, flashing the big smile they all wanted to see.
I pointed at the donation tent and hollered, “Make sure to drop a twenty in the box before you go. Eric needs all the help he can get wrangling those wounded vets of his.”
Everyone cheered even louder, and I watched as a line developed by the donation tent.
As the stadium cleared out, my eyes drifted right back to the fence line.
She was still watching.
And that made my blood stir faster.
I didn’t care that she wasn’t from around here, or that she might be leaving soon.
I just knew I needed to meet her.