Chapter One #2
Without even realizing what she was doing, she focused her camera on Jason and took a few shots before she came to her senses and stowed her camera in her bag.
When the last bull rider got bucked off, Lainey stood and made her way out of the grandstands.
She walked to the far edge of the parking lot where she’d left her van.
She’d purchased the travel van, gently used, from a couple in Virginia who had planned to tour the United States.
They’d bought the van and made it as far as Kentucky, where the husband had suffered a debilitating stroke.
The van had remained parked behind their house for years, unused.
Lainey had a friend who was a mechanic go with her to check it out.
Athena, one of the best mechanics she’d ever met, had gone over the vehicle, declared it only in need of a tune-up, and told Lainey she’d be an idiot to pass up the sweet deal.
So, Lainey had purchased the van, and Athena had gotten it ready for the open road.
Lainey had been living in it for the past three years as she went from one photography project to the next.
It was compact enough that she could easily park it just about anywhere, but it had a sofa that made into a bed, a small kitchen area, and a tiny bathroom at the back of the van.
Lainey had learned right away to park at truck stops when possible and use their showers. They were generally clean and private, and the parking lots were well lit. She always parked as close to one of the light posts as possible, preferably within view of the truck stop doors.
Occasionally, the person she was photographing would invite her to stay in their home for the duration of her visit. Like now, she’d been invited to stay in Liz’s rambling adobe ranch house that had two wings full of bedrooms.
Lainey had been delighted with the lovely room she’d been given to use with a luxurious king bed and a private bathroom with a soaking tub.
Once she got out of the congested traffic of those leaving the rodeo venue, Lainey drove to Liz’s ranch, admiring the desert landscape on her way there and thinking about the woman’s story.
Liz and her husband had been high school sweethearts and had wed soon after they graduated. Peter worked days alongside Liz at the ranch and went to business school in the evenings. They’d only been married a year when they welcomed Andrew, the first of their four children.
By the time Peter graduated, Liz’s parents had passed away within months of each other and left the ranch to her as their only child and heir.
She thrived on the ranch work, while Peter had a head for business.
Young and full of ambition, they increased the profits of their enterprise and were even able to purchase a neighboring property without taking out a loan.
Then, Peter had died on his way to a cattleman’s meeting when a distracted driver had run a stop sign and hit him head-on.
Liz had been only twenty-nine when it happened.
People had expected her to sell the ranch or remarry to have a man at the helm, but she’d forged ahead, raising her children on her own, and running the ranch just like she and Peter had dreamed about.
Today, the ranch continued to thrive and was known in the region for excellent beef cattle as well as solid cutting horses, all because Liz refused to give up when others expected her to.
Which was why Lainey had chosen her as one of the women to be represented in the book she was working on.
Pillars of the West focused on the matriarchs who were the glue that held their families together.
Lainey had photographed women who’d done everything from making boots and operating a livestock auction to owning a barbecue sauce company.
Liz was the first rancher Lainey had interviewed and photographed, and she was enjoying every moment of the experience. The western way of life had always intrigued her, even if she didn’t fully understand it.
When she pulled up at the house, Lainey found the place buzzing with people. Liz’s family had planned a party to celebrate the honor of her being named the grand marshal, and also the end of the rodeo, in which many of them had been involved as volunteers or board members.
Although Liz’s daughter Margot had wanted to have the meal catered, Liz had insisted it be a potluck with everyone contributing their favorite dishes.
Lainey had even managed to put together an easy no-bake dessert. She used to enjoy cooking when she was younger, but she wasn’t a fan of trying to make anything complicated in her tiny van kitchen.
Besides, there were so many fascinating things to do other than slave over a hot stove.
Lainey got out of the van and made her way to the back door of the house, where she cleaned her boots before she went inside to the guest room she’d called hers for the last week. She hurried to take a shower and wash her hair, letting it air dry as she decided what to wear.
Thanks to Liz’s kindness, all but the clothes Lainey had worn that day were washed and neatly folded, waiting to be repacked in her suitcase.
The evening would likely be cool, now that the sun had gone down, but she also wanted to look nice for the party.
Lainey chose a burgundy dress with a knit top and layers of lace on the skirt.
To give it more western flair, she added a silver concho belt that had been a gift from a woman she’d interviewed in New Mexico.
Maria Velez had started her own small jewelry store forty years ago.
It now employed three dozen people in four different locations, and had made her a wonderful addition to Lainey’s Pillars of the West book.
Lainey settled silver hoops in her ears and fastened a simple silver chain around her neck, then laid out a classic denim jacket in case she needed it later.
After finger-combing her wavy hair, she applied a little mascara and lip gloss, touched her pulse points with her favorite perfume, and tucked her phone into the pocket of her skirt.
She slid the strap of her camera over her head and right shoulder, shifting the camera to rest against her back.
It was out of the way but available when she wanted to take a photo.
She grabbed her jacket and left her room, making her way through the house to the kitchen.
It was full of people, some she’d met, but also several strangers.
“Lainey!” Andrew’s wife, Karen, smiled and motioned her over to where the woman was placing bacon-wrapped smoked sausages on a platter that already held a dish of barbecue sauce.
“What can I do to help?” Lainey asked as she reached back and grabbed her camera, then snapped a few photos. The typical women-in-the-kitchen scene compelled her to capture the moment.
“Take this platter outside? Guests are still arriving, but everyone should be here soon,” Karen said, quickly arranging the last of the appetizers, then lifting the platter and holding it out to Lainey.
Lainey replaced the lens cap, and shifted the camera behind her back and then picked up the platter.
On her way out the patio door, she tossed her jacket over the back of a dining chair.
Outside, the backyard was full of tables, folding chairs, and people.
That morning, she’d helped Karen and Margot and their daughters with the decorations while Andrew and the other men set up the tables and chairs and hauled in grills.
Voices blended in a happy cacophony as Lainey looked around to see people laughing, smiling, and embracing as though they hadn’t seen each other in years, instead of earlier in the day at the parade or rodeo.
After she placed the platter on the table, Lainey took her camera in hand and snapped several photos. The back of her neck tingled, and she froze in place before slowly turning to her left. There, speaking to Andrew like they were old friends, was the cowboy she’d bumped into earlier.
Standing next to him was the red-haired younger man she’d heard the announcer say was his son. She zoomed in on the two of them and took a few photos, then hurried back into the kitchen. Maybe she’d stay in the house and avoid Jason Price.
She wasn’t sure she could handle another interaction with the handsome cowboy.