Chapter 22 Sierra
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
sierra
The weather in Oregon was pleasant; the temperature was in the mid-seventies with a gentle breeze and little cloud cover.
I adjusted my cowboy hat, brushing the baby hairs out of my face as I peered out into the arena. The action had started not too long ago, and they were flying through the events, having already finished up bareback riding and half of steer wrestling.
There were three events between team roping and barrel racing—saddle bronc, breakaway roping, and tie-down roping—so even though I’d be riding around the rodeo grounds to keep Lucky warm before our race, I’d be lucky enough to get to watch Hayden and Keenan’s run, especially since they were fairly early in the lineup.
The boys left me alone earlier, heading to warm up their horses, so I was enjoying the little bit of calm I had, though it didn’t seem to last very long.
As soon as the team roping began, one of the rare barrel racers who was actually nice to me—Haley—walked up beside me, her hands in the pockets of her jeans.
“Hey, Sierra.”
I was convinced a majority of the girls saw me as competition or a threat, so they kept their distance. Then again, I hardly ever made an effort to talk to them. I preferred to keep to myself, not letting anybody too close.
While there weren’t any inherent threats to the people I befriended, I didn’t want to let my guard down only to regret it later. I had to keep the people I cared about safe, and if there were fewer people for me to care about, that task would be much easier.
“Hi, Haley.” My eyes swept over her. Her light-brown hair was pulled back into a neat braid, and she lifted her cowboy hat to brush some stray strands out of her eyes.
“Have you been here for very long? In Oregon, I mean?”
I shook my head. “No, we got here late last night. I had some loose ends to tie up in Montana, so we didn’t make the trip early.” Granted, those ends were tied a couple weeks ago, but taking a break from traveling for a short bit was nice.
“Ah, I see. My fiancé and I got here a couple days ago.”
If I remembered correctly, Haley was from somewhere in Saskatchewan, so they had an even farther distance to travel. It made sense that they’d want a couple days to recover before all the action began.
“I’m glad you guys made it okay.”
“Oh, yeah. We definitely didn’t have to leave so early, but between you and me, I like dragging Bodhi around to do a little shopping. And he doesn’t complain that I make his wallet so much lighter.” She winked and shot me a grin before letting out a small giggle.
I returned her smile, shaking my head with amusement.
We stood in silence for a bit, watching the event.
“All right, folks. Our next roping team is a couple of cowboys from Montana. Hayden Watkins and Keenan Chase! Let’s see what they’ve got!”
As the pair backed their horses into the roping boxes, Haley nudged me gently with her elbow. “Isn’t that the team roper you’re always hanging around?” When I nodded, she continued. “Is he your boyfriend?”
I puffed out a breath, trying to conceal a laugh. “No. Keenan is like an annoying brother.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, I meant the other one. His partner. Hayden.”
Sucking on the inside of my cheek, I averted my eyes. “Hayden’s just a friend.”
In the arena, Hayden had already roped the steer’s horns, turning Peanut Butter around the corner for Keenan. He roped the hind legs with ease, and the announcer called out, “Five-point-six seconds for Hayden Watkins and Keenan Chase! Let them hear you!”
Haley shot me a look of understanding. “I see. Well, he seems like a good one, Sierra. Glad to catch up. I’ll see you around?” Her eyes flicked to the arena, and we exchanged parting pleasantries before heading in opposite directions.
Fate must not have been on my side, because despite my pleasant conversation with Haley, shortly after she left, another one of the barrel racers shoved past me. Michaela Monroe.
Her blonde hair was curled into too-tight ringlets that fell mid-back. She looked like a beacon with her glittery, neon-pink button-up and stark white cowboy hat. However, instead of leading me to safety like a lighthouse, she was a siren song, steering me to imminent doom.
Michaela was one of my biggest barrel racing competitors at the moment. We’d been flip-flopping positions in the standings all year. She also happened to be a Grade-A bitch, always picking apart my appearance and performances.
“Oh, sorry, Sierra.” She stopped a few feet away before spinning around on her heel to face me, gaze fixed on me, no doubt scrutinizing something. “Your hair’s gotten so long. I can’t believe it doesn’t get in the way while you ride.”
I kept my gaze locked on the arena as I bit back a sarcastic comment, resisting the urge to ask how her tight curls don’t give her a massive headache. I could be the bigger person…sometimes.
“Pure skill,” I deadpanned, suddenly finding something on my nails to inspect.
She hummed, a subtle, patronizing mannerism that I’d gotten used to in our years of competing against each other. “Where have you competed this year? I haven’t seen you around that much.”
My eyes flicked toward her. “I’ve been in Montana the last few months.”
“I was wondering where you were when I didn’t see you in Reno or Cheyenne.
Thought you might have disappeared off the face of the Earth again after Houston.
Or maybe you just weren’t good enough to make it to those ones.
” She let out a snicker that to any bystander would have sounded like we were old friends having a good time. However, I knew better.
“No, I just had different priorities this year. Clearly, it’s been working out for me. Where are you sitting in the standings?”
The corners of her mouth fell into a frown. “Apparently. I’m sixteenth, but there’s still a lot of season left. Anything can happen, you know.”
“That’s so true.” Turning on a saccharine charm, I rotated my body toward her. “Well, Michaela, it’s always such a pleasure catching up with you. I’d better go warm up my horse. Good luck out there today.”
I heard her scoff as I walked away, my lips curling up in a satisfied grin.
Lucky chuffed and pawed at the ground when I approached him to warm up.
I took my time securing his tack, careful to double-check the straps for any damage, going as far as to triple-check the saddle was tight enough and wouldn’t slip.
With the announcer and roar of the crowd in the background, I rode Lucky around a warmup pen a few times at a lope. We didn’t do that for very long, but once we were going, we didn’t stop moving, continuing to walk around the rodeo grounds because otherwise he got impatient and restless.
“Go get ’em, cowgirl.” Hayden winked as he passed by me and Lucky as we stood in the queue for our race. The rider immediately before us had just finished, exiting the alleyway. Her time was decent, but I knew I could beat it easily.
I shot him a lopsided smirk before leading Lucky toward the alleyway.
“Sierra Bayley from the state of Montana! Here she comes!” The pounding of my heartbeat in my ears drowned out the crackle of the announcer’s voice on the speakers and the roar of the crowd.
Lucky sped down the alleyway into the arena, and I guided him toward the first barrel, cutting around it with ease. Dust rose into the air, surrounding us in a hazy cloud. The second barrel came easy, too, and Lucky glided around it like it was nothing.
He ran toward the final barrel with my gentle kicks urging him on. Our position was solid, and we should have been able to make it around the last barrel without a hitch.
“Let her hear you, folks! Help her around the third and final barrel!” The announcer called out his encouragement as we approached the turn.
Everything was fine, until it wasn’t. As we rounded the turn, my saddle started to slide ever so slightly. I gritted my teeth, willing all my strength into staying upright.
This can’t be happening right now.
I engaged my core as we raced to the end of the arena past the time barrier without a hitch.
“Let’s give her fifteen-oh-three!”
I huffed out a breath of relief as Lucky slowed to a walk, and we exited the arena. As I hopped off his back, Keenan and Hayden approached us.
“Damn, Skippy, thought we were about to have a repeat of Bridgers!” Keenan tugged on my braid.
I whipped it away out of his grasp, jabbing a finger into his chest, though my tone was anything but aggressive. “Watch your mouth, Chase. We don’t speak of that day.”
“Hey, I gotta hand it to you, though. You managed to finish the run without falling. That takes one strong cowgirl to do that.”
Hayden nodded in agreement. “She’s always been the toughest one out of all of us.”