Chapter 7
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Titus
Before any ride, I like to clear my head, check on Phoenix, and chill. I don’t even watch the other competitors because my only competition is myself. My best time is ten point four seconds and I have to get less than that this evening. Beating my record is the only win that matters.
I don’t fuck with anyone around the box or chute beside Lab and I rarely even talk to his ass. I stay focused and in my zone but this evening is different. I need to see her. The hardest thing I had to do this morning was leaving her beautiful, naked body in that bed. I’ve dealt with that regret all day but I can’t take it with me into the dirt. I need to lay my eyes on her and my hands on her body.
Luckily, when I look up from Phoenix, I see her coming around the corner with Lab. He came through in the clutch. When she sees me, that pretty ass smile of hers spreads across her face and her pace quickens. She rushes to me and wraps her arms around me. Her sweet fragrance is refreshing back here amongst the smell of animals, dirt, tobacco, and sweat. As I hold her, I drink her all in then satisfy my craving by kissing her lips.
“You ready for this?” she asks.
“I stay ready.”
“Cole, mount up!” one of the rodeo helpers yells.
“I better hurry up and get to my seat.”
“No, stay back here and watch from the box with Lab. I want you here after these ten seconds.”
“Ten?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back in ten.”
“Cole!” he yells again.
Quickly, she pecks my lips. “Go and see you in ten,” she says.
She rushes over to Lab and I grab Phoenix. I walk her to the box then mount her. The calf I’m roping is in the chute next to me. I check Phoenix’s neck rope and keeper then run my rope through the keeper, under her neck rope, through her reins, and loop it around my saddle. Tie-roping is a game of timing and finesse. The key is getting a good start and throwing your rope fast as hell so my rope has to be perfect.
Phoenix and I are both ready. She’s trotting in place, ready for me. It all happens fast and every minor detail matters. It’s go time and I’m ready for this shit. My rope is in my right hand, my left is on my saddle horn, and my piggin’ string to tie the calf is in my mouth.
The chute opens and the calf flies out into the arena with its head start. Phoenix and I are ready. Her instinct is to run after it but she’s trained to wait on me. There’s a barrier in front of us and it can’t be broken until the calf reaches the advantage point. If we break it prematurely, that’s a ten second penalty and I’ve lost before I’ve even tried.
It’s just a matter of seconds before I ride and my heart pounds in anticipation. The rush I get from this shit is better than any day I spent in the streets. I love it.
My hands grip the rope and my teeth clench my piggin’ string as I watch and wait for the damn barrier to break. As soon as it does, we bolt out. In two seconds, we reach the calf and my loop. Phoenix immediately stops and I hop off and sprint to the calf. As fast as I can, I flank it, getting it on its side. In a flash, I tie its two back legs and one front then secure my knot. I only have to tie three with my piggin’ string. When the tie is secure, I throw my hands up to end the clock.
Nine point six!
Hell yeah!
I did it!
The crowd is roaring and my heart is pumping fast but my mind is stuck on the most important six seconds. My eyes stay glued to the large timer as I step back to Phoenix and remount her. We ride forward a little to create slack in the rope and the seconds tick. In order for my time to stand, the calf has to remain tied for six seconds. If the calf kicks free, it’s a wrap and my nine point six turns to zero.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. It doesn’t break free and my time stands. I fucking did it!
One of the arena helpers unties my knot and I pull my rope in. We ride back through the box. Lab and Quinn are clapping when we enter. I lean into Phoenix’s ear and pat her sides as I congratulate her.
“You did it, girl,” I say and she proudly neighs. I pull her victory carrot out of my pocket and place it into her mouth. “Good job.”
The minute I dismount, Quinn’s pretty ass is all over me. While jumping in my arms, she plants kisses all over my face. “My God! That was fast!” she exclaims. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
The adrenaline from tie-down roping is better than any high. I don’t even fuck with weed anymore because I don’t need it. I’m floating right now, faded from my ride, the roping, and my time. I love this and get paid to do what I love. The only thing better than this is having Quinn with me at this moment. She’s got me hooked in the worst way.
“That first roper was eleven point one. You’re leading,” she boasts. “You’re definitely going to advance.”
“Nine point muthafuckin six,” Lab says before dapping me up. “Nigga,” he utters with pride. He took Phoenix to her spot and secured her for me.
“Thanks.” My arm is still around Quinn and she nuzzles into my side. She glances up at me and I lean in to kiss her. “You were my lucky charm.”
“That was no luck. That was pure speed. You were so fast,” she says with amazement. “Let’s go to the gate to watch the others.”
“Nawl. I don’t watch. I stay back and just listen but you can go watch.”
“No, I’d rather stay back here with you. We can listen.”
She steps in front of me and I wrap my arms around her waist. We stay like this and listen as the next six ropers ride. Ten point seven one. Eleven point twelve. Ten point four eight. Eight point eight. Nine point seven five. And zero. The calf broke free at four seconds on the last rider. I advance to the second round along with the other three top ropers. I compete again on Thursday afternoon, and when I place then, I’ll advance to the finals next week.
After checking on Phoenix, we all join Rini in the dirt deck. As soon as we are seated, a server approaches and I order two Gatorades and a Rodeo burger—a double barbecue burger with bacon and cheese. Tie-down roping makes me hungry as hell. While we eat and drink, we watch the barrel racers and bull riders. Normally, after I compete, I get something to eat and drink then take my ass back to the hotel, but I like this, enjoying the rodeo with Quinn.
During the last bull ride, we make our way to the back. Quinn needs to handle some business with her sponsorship stuff and I need to get Phoenix back to the ranch and let her stretch her legs. Getting through all this traffic is going to be a beast.
“What are we doing to celebrate?” Quinn asks the moment we are all back by the box and chute.
“We can eat somewhere then hit Forty Acres,” Rini suggests before I can answer.
I definitely want to celebrate but in my head that celebration only involves me and Quinn. I’m not on the group thing tonight. Her and her alone is what I’m on. Thankfully, her mind is on the same thing.
“I’m not feeling a crowd tonight. We can definitely hit Forty Acres again but not tonight. Maybe you and Lab can go tonight,” she says, almost pleading with her girl.
“Yeah, ma. Let’s do that. I’m wit just me and you tonight,” Lab says while draping his arm around her. “Come with me; let me show you how we get Phoenix on the trailer.”
“Can I touch her?” she asks, excitedly.
“As long as I can touch you,” he says as they walk away.
The moment they are out of sight, Quinn steps into my space. Her soft hand caresses my beard then she rakes her nails through it. As always, her pretty eyes stare up into mine.
“We do have to celebrate you tonight. What do you have in mind?”
I grip her ass then lick my lips, reminiscing. “What’s on my mind is a replay of last night,” I admit, wishing I could still taste her sweet pussy.
“Before that, Titus,” she says, smiling. “Maybe dinner at the lodge?”
“Let me worry about that. You just handle yo’ business and I’ll come back and scoop you when you’re done.”
“You don’t have to come back. I’ll hop on the Sprinter. There are three of them making constant trips here. Go take care of Phoenix and do your cowboying. I’m good.”
“I’m coming back to get you,” I insist.
“And no you are not,” she insists back. “First of all, I don’t know how long I’m going to be. I have a quick meeting scheduled with Lana in fifteen but there are two more prospects I want to catch too. I’ll let you know when I’m heading back.” After leaning up and kissing me, she adds, “Congrats, again. You did your thing. I can’t wait to see what pre-dessert plans you come up with.”
Quickly, she breaks our embrace then hurries off before I can object. While shaking my head at her, I head over to the small arena stables and find Lab. He’s removing Phoenix’s skid boots. They are made of foam liner and a soft chap leather for comfort and to protect her. They are on her ankles and prevent shifting and rubbing. I walk over to help him. He’s removing the ones from her back legs so I take off the front ones. She only wears them during practice and competitions.
Rini is leaned up against my ride. Lab must have pulled it up to the stable while I was with Quinn. She’s still sipping on that big ass cup. She finished hers during the competitions then grabbed Quinn’s before we left to knock hers off too.
“Where’s Quinn?” she asks.
“Went to go talk to some recruits. She’s going to be here for a minute,” I answer.
“Maybe I should stay here with her?” she says but that shit sounds more like a question I can’t answer. That’s her call.
“Go be with her, ma. When we get back to the ranch, I have to help with her for a minute.”
“Nawl, I’m tipsy and I don’t want to mess up her business shit. I’ll go with y’all. I might need a little nap anyway. I’ll text her.”
While she does her thing, we finish up with Phoenix and I go to the back of the trailer. I step inside, rearrange the hay, then check her food and water dispensers. When I step down, Lab has her standing right in front of the small ramp. I step down, grab her reins, then lead her inside.
“What’s ol’ girl going to do?” I ask him.
“Go back with us. She’s inside.”
“You helped her up?” I ask, concerned about his back. He has to limit bending and avoid lifting anything over ten pounds.
“Nawl.” He grins. “Her drunk ass had that liquid courage shit. She held onto the seat, jumped and crawled her thick ass into the truck. I didn’t help but I enjoyed the view.”
“You wild, bruh.”
After securing Phoenix, I get off the trailer, close and lock it, then get into my ride. It takes me about fifteen minutes but I manage to exit the fairgrounds and head back to the ranch.
When we reach the stables back on the ranch, my cousin Beauden is out here with two of his horse trainers. After parking and getting Phoenix off the trailer, I walk over to holla at him.
“How did you beat me back here?” I ask because he was at the livestock show at the rodeo. He had three hundred head of cattle up for auction today.
“The sale was fast, so after I finalized the papers, I came back. Yelena wants to go to the concert tonight and see Kevo perform. I needed to handle some ranch business before we get ready,” he says, referring to his wife.
One of his trainers walks over with a pretty Appaloosa. She’s caramel with white splotches right above her tail. Although very beautiful, Appaloosas are also fast which makes them an expensive breed. When he walks her to the huge Phoxes Den branded trailer, I turn to Beauden.
“Where’s he taking her?” I ask.
“I sold her. Destry Callahan purchased her this morning.”
“The bull rider?”
“Yeah. He wants a horse to help someone train for barrel racing.”
“Well, Appaloosas are fast as shit. If the racer has skills, he will win,” I say and he nods in agreement.
“You need them to handle Phoenix? They are about to wash and feed my horses. They might as well take care of her.”
“That’s much appreciated. She deserves to be pampered like yours,” I say, almost teasing. Beauden’s horses are in equine heaven. From the stables, the feed, and the daily care, they’re well taken care of and groomed. My girl deserves that treatment, especially after my nine point six today. He motions to another trainer and he runs over. Beauden tells him to take care of Phoenix and he grabs her reins quickly. “Thanks, man.”
“No thanks needed. We’re family. Plus, I’m proud of you. Manning up and handling business is harder than people think.”
“’Preciate that, real shit,” I say while nodding. Changing my mentality and learning a new skill was hard as fuck. I struggled a lot when I first got out but I eventually got my shit together and found my way. It feels good to hear my cousin acknowledge my hard work. I’ve always looked up to him. There aren’t too many black cowboys sitting on land like this. Twenty-two thousand acres and it’s all his. This is what this shit is all about. He’s straight and his family will be straight for years to come. This is what I want for me and mine, a fucking legacy.
“When do you compete again?”
“Thursday evening. Last one 'til the finals. I’m going to chill a little ’til then. Maybe enjoy the rodeo.”
“Or maybe spend time with Quinn Jaxson,” he says and my eyebrows furrow.
How does he know about me and her?
As if reading my face, he says, “I saw you two today and at the barbecue last night. She’s a good one for you.”
“I agree and I need to do something with her tonight to celebrate. Maybe a nice ass restaurant or something.”
“Or you can plan something around here. The kitchen can prepare anything and the ranch hands can set anything up. We plan private events for the lodgers, just talk with them.”
“Bet. Thanks again, Beau.”
“No problem. Just keep repping. The Phoxes Den doesn’t sponsor just anybody.”
We dap it up and he gets back to his horses. I walk through the stable and see the trainer washing Phoenix. When I make it back to my truck, Lab and Rini are still inside. I hop in and drive us back to the lodge. As soon as I’m inside, I speak with the lodge manager.