17. Isabelle
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
isabelle
T he rodeo we traveled to this week was located in a small town tucked away in the mountains of central Montana. The next couple weekends were a small taste of what life was like for the guys, except normally they were constantly on the road, not just leaving on the weekends.
I had to admit, though, these trips were a nice break from all of the wedding planning we had been doing. There wasn’t a lot left to do, just last minute tasks and preparations, but after a year of it all, I think we all deserved some weekend getaways. It was also nice to get out of Silver Creek, because there was only so much you could do in a tiny town like that. And while Miles City was close—only about a twenty minute drive—it was still a small town itself.
After the branding—and especially horseback riding with Reid—I was beginning to imagine what it would be like to live out in the country rather than in the city. Out here in Montana, it was at least two hours to the nearest big city, and four hours to a large airport. But it had a peacefulness to it, a type of serenity you couldn’t find where I was from.
I sat up in the grandstands with Ellison, Caitlin, and Cora. After the bachelorette party, Erin and Sloane went back to Texas, since there was still a while until the wedding and they didn’t have flexible jobs like I did.
Cora’s husband, Wyatt, had traveled up here to compete in the rodeo, even though it was smaller than the ones he normally competed in. Cora explained that it was easier for him to be traveling here and be close for the wedding than drive a day or more to come from whatever out-of-state rodeo he was at.
The rodeo was in full-swing, the bareback riding and saddle bronc riding having already happened, and they were starting the tie-down roping. Jake’s event.
“Folks, up next we’ve got a local cowboy. He grew up around these parts, and he’s back to compete today! Jake Flynn!” the announcer introduced Jake as he rode his horse into the roping box.
I turned to Ellison. “I didn’t know Jake was from here.”
“Yeah, he grew up here and went to college at SGU with Colter. They were in the same graduating class,” she replied.
“Is that why he moved to Silver Creek, then?” I asked, curious about how the Silver Creek boys became the Silver Creek boys .
“They all kind of made their way out there. I’m not sure if that was always the plan, but Colter moved back to run the ranch and Reid has always been his roping partner, so I guess it made sense for him to go out there after he graduated. Jake just followed.” She laughed.
“His family had quite the reputation, and he dealt with it a bit in college and after he first moved to eastern Montana. It’s followed him around for a while,” Caitlin added. “I’m not sure if he’s ever gotten past the judgment from some of the people in Silver Creek even.”
“Oh?” Cora and I both craned our necks to look at her, but she just shrugged.
“He’s such an easy-going guy. I’m surprised.” Ellison looked at Caitlin.
“I don’t think he lets it get to him. Or tries not to at least.” Again, she shrugged. “Men, they’re pretty good at bottling up what they’re feeling.”
Our conversation was interrupted as we looked up to see Jake starting his run. He was on his horse, swinging his rope, but he also had a smaller string of rope between his teeth to tie down the calf with. After catching the calf around the neck, Jake stopped his horse, jerking the calf so he could hop down and run over to tie the legs. Ellison had explained how it worked, and at this point I’d seen enough of the event that I understood the gist of it.
A person gasped from behind us, and I watched as a girl turned to her friend and whined, “Oh my God, that’s so cruel. They’re gonna break its neck!”
Ellison rolled her eyes beside me, no doubt holding her tongue from saying something in response to the girl.
“That’s just not right.” The friend wrinkled her nose, her voice grating like nails on a chalkboard.
They must not have been from around here, or had never watched a rodeo before. I mean, I had my concerns when I first started coming to rodeos with Ellison, but I asked questions and did my research. Injury to the animals was rare, and rodeo wasn’t meant to be an act of cruelty by any means.
“Why are you even here then?” Ellison huffed under her breath .
“It’s funny how they say that kind of thing about roping, but they absolutely love bull riding.” Cora snorted beside me.
I brought my attention back to the rodeo as Jake was returning to his horse, mounting it and urging it forward to release the tension in the rope. If the calf broke free before six seconds was up, then he’d get a no time.
“Eight-point-five seconds, folks!” The announcer called out his time, and we all stood and cheered for Jake.
At some point, the girls behind us had left, and I wondered if they’d be back for the bull riding or not.
We watched the next couple events, having sporadic conversations about the wedding and family, until they were about to start the team roping.
There were eight teams competing, with Colter and Reid sixth in the lineup.
There weren’t many big competitors here for Colter and Reid, at least not in the sense that they’d seen them at the NFR before.
A couple of the teams missed and another broke the barrier, but the times were fairly quick, clocking in the five-second range.
“Oh, look, they’re up next.” Cora pointed to the arena. Her husband and his partner had received a five-point-two and were near the top of the standings.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got some more Montana cowboys up next. They’re three-time NFR qualifiers, and they also have an NFR average championship under their belt. Let’s hear it for Colter Carson and Reid Lawson!”
The guitar riff of an old country song started to play and the crowd went wild as Colter and Reid mounted their horses and guided them to the boxes. Colter swung his rope as he went to warm up his arm, and shortly after they entered the box, the barrier was strung across the front of it with the steer in the chute.
The camera zoomed in on them, and I watched as Reid looked over at Colter, taking a deep breath before lifting his chin and adjusting his rope.
Colter met his eyes and then trained his eyes forward, nodding his head before the steer was released. Everything moved so fast, yet it seemed as though time was moving in slow motion. Colter roped the head easily, but my eyes were trained on Reid. He followed close behind, and as Colter’s horse turned the steer, Reid threw his rope and seconds later had a legal catch.
“Four-point-nine seconds, ladies and gentlemen! We’ve got ourselves a new leader on the board! That’s how we do it here in Montana, folks.”
I grinned at Ellison as the boys exited the arena and the announcer called out the next team roping pair.
“I knew they had it in the bag.” She smirked.
The bull riding wrapped up, and Mikey scored an eighty-three on his ride, which wasn’t a win but still a respectable score. The girls and I stood at the base of the grandstands by the panels, waiting to meet the guys when they came out of the arena.
I ran over to Reid once he left the gates, throwing my arms around him and pulling him in.
“Hey, Is.” He held me close.
“Now, who is this, Reid? I don’t think we’ve officially met.” An older man, who walked over with Reid, interrupted us. “ I’m John.”
I shook his hand. “Isabelle.”
“Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Miss Isabelle. This young man here is a good one.” He leaned close to whisper to me, “Keep him around.”
I blinked, slightly taken aback by the last statement, but he wasn’t wrong. Reid really was a good guy. And I planned to keep him in my life as long as I could.
“Thank you for coming today.” Reid turned to John, nodding, but the older man pulled him in for a hug. It was a long one too; a hug that lingered.
“I’m proud of you, son. Keep doing what you’re doing.” A glimmer of what looked like sadness shone in the man’s eyes. “Well, I’d better get going. It’s a long drive back to Miles City.”
“Yes, sir. Be safe out there.”
“You too. Stay out of trouble, and I’ll see you the next time you come in!” John waved and went on his way.
“Isn’t he the one who owns the bar in Miles City?” I asked Reid once the older man was out of earshot. I’d seen him a couple times when we’d all been hanging out at the local bar.
“Yeah, that’s Rudy,” he replied. It all clicked. Of course. He was the bar’s namesake. “It means a lot to me that he comes to rodeos to watch—especially the ones that are a bit out of the way for him.”
“He’s not family, is he?” I didn’t think Reid had any family members named John or Rudy. He didn’t talk about his family a lot, but I was sure he would have mentioned him, because they seemed to have a good relationship.
“Not blood, no, but he’s still family to me.” Reid’s voice turned soft, as though he was drowning in a memory. “He’s an important person in my life.”