Chapter 10 Hayden
CHAPTER TEN
hayden
When we arrived at the rodeo grounds, Colter, Reid, Mikey, and Jake were already there. Keenan texted, letting me know he was about twenty minutes out.
The group of us would be camping out at the rodeo grounds for the weekend. Jake normally bunked with me in my trailer, but with Sierra coming with us, he tagged along with Colter and Reid. Ellison stayed home this time, even though she was normally on the road with us a lot.
“All right, who wants a beer?” Jake pulled out a set of lawn chairs, setting them up next to Colter’s pickup.
Colter raised his hand, and Jake tossed him a can before giving Mikey one, too.
“Reid? Hayden?” He held up a beer in each hand.
“Ah, why the hell not? Just one, though.” Reid put his hands up so he was ready to catch the beer.
I shook my head. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Does your lady want one? Maybe the dog wants a drink, too.” Jake tipped his head toward Sierra and Pancho.
She appeared to be looking for something in the cab of the pickup. Pancho was gnawing on a chew toy at her feet, behaving for once.
“She’s not my lady, and you can ask her yourself when she gets over here.”
Jake shrugged, cracking his can before plopping into a lawn chair. “So, are we allowed to ask questions about her yet?”
“Ooh, I have some questions!” Mikey raised his hand and started waving it around.
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes. “You each get one question.”
Reid scrubbed his face, scrunching his nose. “I don’t think I want to participate in this.”
“Wait, does that mean I can steal his question and have two?” Jake asked, leaning forward in his seat.
I shook my head. “No.”
Mikey groaned. “You’re no fun, Haydie.”
“I don’t have to answer any of your questions, so you should just be happy I’m letting you ask.”
Jake spread his legs as he leaned back into his chair. “Fair enough. Okay, what’s the story between you two?”
Loaded question.
Blowing a raspberry, I leaned against Colter’s truck.
“We met in high school. She moved to Goldfinch at the beginning of our freshman year, and we became really close. It was her, me, and Keenan pretty much all through high school. I convinced her to join high school rodeo. She rode one of our horses, so she was always at my house practicing. Then I went to college, she left, and we just fell out of touch, I guess.” I was leaving out a lot, but Jake should have been more specific with his question if he wanted all the details.
Mikey tapped his fingers against his lips. “So, did you guys date or what?”
I shook my head.
“But I thought she was your ex?” he asked.
Making a buzzer noise, I put my hands in an X gesture. “You already asked your question.”
His eyes lit up. “Oh, so you didn’t date, but you did—”
The jingle of Pancho’s bell cut him off.
“What are you guys talking about?” Sierra’s eyes narrowed as she approached us. “Pancho, down.”
“Nothing important.” I shot a glare at Mikey and Jake, a silent warning for them to behave.
“Okay then…”
“Want a beer, Sierra?” Jake piped up.
She shook her head. “No, I’m all right. I was going to put Pancho in the trailer, then I’m probably going to take Lucky around a few laps to loosen up before the rodeo starts.”
I pushed off the pickup. “Good idea. I’ll come with you.”
Colter and Reid agreed in unison. They got up from their chairs, and we all went our separate ways, leaving Mikey and Jake alone.
“This next pair of cowboys comes from our home state of Montana. Put your hands together for Hayden Watkins and Keenan Chase!” The rodeo announcer called out our names as the rhythm of drums from a country rock song played over the speakers.
Keenan and I backed our horses into the roping boxes as the arena erupted into a chorus of cheers. Peanut shook her head as we settled into a ready position at the back corner of the box.
I looked over to Keenan, and he dipped his chin, letting me know he was set, his rope at the ready. Taking a deep breath, I nodded, and the steer was released from the chute between us.
I gently squeezed my calves against Peanut’s side, signaling for her to burst out of the box and follow behind the steer. I swung my rope over my head, waiting for the perfect window to throw the rope over the steer’s horns.
Team roping required precision—if you threw your rope even a hundredth of a second too soon or too late, you could miss.
The loop floated in the air, finally dropping over the steer’s head.
I pulled the rope tight, dallying it around my saddle horn.
Peanut pulled ahead of the steer along the arena fence, and she took a turn toward the inside of the arena to turn the animal’s trajectory, giving Keenan access to the hind legs.
I watched as he swung his rope a few times over his head and then released the loop, catching the hind legs of the steer.
“Five-point-nine seconds!” the rodeo announcer hollered, and cheers erupted from the crowd.
When I looked past the arena fence, the world seemed to still as I made eye contact with emerald-green eyes. Sierra clapped and then placed her fingers in her mouth, letting out a loud whistle for us.
After letting Peanut cool down, I took all her equipment off and put her in one of the temporary stalls for the rest of the rodeo.
Barrel racing would be starting soon, so I went to check on Sierra.
She should have been warming up Lucky by now, but I couldn’t see her anywhere.
I spotted her at the stables, pacing back and forth so much I was sure she’d wear a trail into the dirt. Jogging over to her, I called out, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She was never like this before a competition. Sierra was always calm and locked in. Something had to have happened. She looked like she was on the verge of frustrated tears, hands on her hips as she continued walking in circles.
“Sierra. Tell me what happened.” I placed my hands on her shoulders to stop her.
Her eyes flicked up to me, then she took a deep breath.
“I left for a second to grab something, and I came back to this.” She lifted one of the straps on her saddle.
At first, I didn’t think anything was wrong, but then I noticed the frays.
Someone had cut the strap, just enough that if used while riding, it would have snapped.
“You can use mine.” The offer was immediate, instinctive.
“But—”
I cut her off. “You can use mine, because racing with this one is too much of a risk, and you’ve come too far to get injured. But we also need to report this.”
Sierra nodded, like she knew arguing with me would be pointless.
“Wait here, and I’ll grab my saddle.”
I did my best to keep my cool as I marched away from the stables toward the parking lot, but I was sure smoke was billowing from my ears.
“Yo, Hayden, wait up! What’s wrong, man?” Keenan asked, trying to keep up as I walked with long strides to the horse trailer.
“Someone tampered with Sierra’s saddle. It’s a good thing she actually inspects her equipment now, because if she’d ridden Lucky with that saddle, either one of them could have gotten seriously hurt.”
When we were younger, Sierra would get in such a rush to race that she would sometimes skip steps, not taking the time to check everything.
It took her saddle slipping down the side of her horse to finally make her realize that it was okay—necessary even—to take the time to double-check, hell, even triple-check her equipment before a race.
“Seriously?” Keenan matched my urgent pace. “Who would do that?”
“I have no idea, but after I get her my saddle, we’re going to report it.”
Keenan vocalized what I was concerned about. “Are they going to be able to do anything?”
“They’d better fucking try. Whoever it was committed a crime, and she could have gotten seriously hurt. And so soon after her trailer burned down in Goldfinch?”
He hummed in agreement. “Yeah, that’s odd. Could it just be a coincidence, though? Or a jealous competitor? She is one of the best in the world right now.”
“I mean, we haven’t heard anything back about the trailer.
They found a cigarette butt as the cause of the fire, and that could easily have been negligence.
But a tampered saddle? I find it hard to believe that’s accidental.
That leather’s tough. And jealousy is no excuse for destruction of property,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, no, you’re right,” he agreed. “You think someone is targeting her, though.” It came out as more of a statement than a question.
I didn’t want to think about that.
“I’m just looking out for her. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
We’d reached the trailer by now, and I lifted my spare saddle off the rack in the back, inspecting it for anything out of the ordinary before heaving it over my shoulder to carry back to Sierra.
“You didn’t do anything with the saddle, right?” I asked her when we got back.
She shook her head. “No. Haven’t touched it.”
“Good. We need to report this to the rodeo association and the police.”
Her face blanched. “Are you sure? I mean, it could have just been—”
“An accident?” I cut her off, shaking my head. “No. You know just as well as me, Skip. This was intentional. A cut like that doesn’t just happen. It’s day one of three. Better to play it safe than regret it later.”
“Okay.” Her shoulders drooped, but she didn’t argue.
I knew Sierra didn’t like to get the police involved in her life, considering what she’d gone through as a kid, but reporting the saddle was important. Her dad may have been in prison, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t after her.
I set the saddle down, hooking a finger under her chin and tilting her face up toward mine. “Focus on racing, and I’ll take care of it, yeah?”
She rolled her lips between her teeth and nodded.
After I confirmed she was okay, I made Keenan stay with her while I went to report the incident to the stock contractor.
Unfortunately, since neither I nor Sierra were around when it happened, nothing might come out of it, but I still needed to try.
We at least had the evidence that the saddle was cut, so that was a start.
I would also be making a police report, because there was no way I was going to gamble with Sierra’s safety. Maybe there were fingerprints on it that could trace back to whoever did this.
By the time I got back from talking to the stock contractor, rodeo secretary, and police officers stationed at the rodeo, the barrel racing had started.
“Running next on Ace’s Lucky Charm, we’ve got one tough cowgirl out of Goldfinch, Montana. Let her hear you, folks! We’ve got Sierra Bayley!” the rodeo announcer called out as Sierra and Lucky exploded out of the alleyway, racing down the arena toward the first barrel.
Dust rose in the air, surrounding the pair in a cloud as she maneuvered around the first barrel.
They cut through the dust like a knife, heading toward the next barrel as fast as a flash of light.
Her hair billowed behind her underneath her cowboy hat, and her face was set in determination.
They were a lethal pair, all muscle and athleticism.
Her turns were tight but skilled enough not to knock over the barrels. After rounding the second barrel, the pair made their way to the third and final barrel.
“Let’s help her home! Come on, Sierra!” the announcer cried over the loudspeaker.
Lucky’s muscles rippled as he sprinted the homestretch, Sierra urging him on with gentle kicks and control on the reins.
When they crossed the time barrier, the announcer called out, “Fifteen-point-six-seven! That time will move her up to the top of the leaderboard!”
Sierra leaned forward in her saddle, patting Lucky’s neck with a brilliant smile on her face as they exited the arena.