The Rodeo
Maria was wiping down counters when Annabelle popped her head in. “I’m gonna head down to the fairgrounds,” she said. “Wish me luck!”
“Of course,” Maria said. “You’ll be great! You’ve certainly been practicing a lot.”
Annabelle grimaced. “I hope so. I’ve been practicing so many hours, I had to get Will and Blaise to help with the ranch guests. Thankfully there haven’t been many of them since the Becks left.”
“I saw you riding yesterday,” Maria said. “You looked great.”
“Thanks!” Annabelle said. “Neil’s been giving me a lot of advice, and it’s been really helpful.”
“And a lot of flowers, from what I’ve heard,” Jessie chimed in from across the kitchen. “Pat says there’s a vase on every flat surface in the house.” She chuckled.
Annabelle laughed. “He’s been very attentive. Actually, he’s waiting for me right now. I’d better go. See you at the rodeo!”
She disappeared, and Jessie turned to Maria. “You better go up to the house and change, if you’re riding with the family. They’re probably leaving soon.”
“We’re almost done anyway,” Maria protested.
“I’ll finish up. Go on!”
Maria started for the house in her ATV. Annabelle and Neil were just leaving as she came along. Annabelle waved.
The whole Annabelle and Neil thing still felt sudden.
Hopefully Annabelle wasn’t just rebounding to Neil, and Neil was interested in her as a person and not just as one of the rich, attractive Austins.
Not that it was Maria’s business. Neil seemed attentive to Annabelle and protective of her interests.
Maria should give both of them the benefit of the doubt—after all, Tim had encouraged her to try trusting people.
She should stop expecting all guys to act like Seth.
The guys she’d gotten to know so far in Montana seemed solid.
Except for whoever was sabotaging the ranch, that is.
Jessie had been careful to leave the kitchen locked, so nothing else had happened in there, but ranch equipment kept turning up broken.
One day it was the big sprinkler for one of the hay fields.
Thankfully that was insured, but it was a pain getting it fixed.
The detectives hadn’t been able to find anything, and Owen and Vera Beck had gone, so they weren’t suspects this time.
The Becks had left a letter renewing their offer. Grandma Austin had taken the letter by one corner and dropped it in the trash, then remembered she had agreed to discuss ranch business with the family. She restored the letter to an obscure place on the back of her desk to be discussed later.
Probably nothing would come of it, even when the family discussed it.
Although Russell and Steph seemed dissatisfied with Patricia’s choices, they didn’t seem likely to strong-arm her into selling the ranch.
Maria certainly didn’t want to be part of that discussion.
She still had to figure out what to do about Patricia’s offer to give her a share in the ranch and cancel her family’s debt.
She hadn’t talked to Dad or Grandma about it. They might feel obliged to tell her to stay on the ranch, even if it meant losing her. She didn’t want to put that burden on them.
In her room, frantically searching through her clothes, Maria couldn’t find anything that seemed Western. She felt silly wearing Sunday clothes, and her casual clothes were mostly jeans and T-shirts with sneakers.
Savannah popped her head in the doorway. “Dad wants to leave soon. Are you about ready?”
“I’ll hurry,” Maria said. “I just don’t have anything Western to wear. Is that all right?”
“You oughtta have something Western at a rodeo,” Savannah said. “You could wear one of my hats.”
Alas, the hat, when brought, was too small for Maria.
“It’s all right,” Maria said, now dressed in a blue T-shirt and her knee-length denim skirt. “I don’t have to look Western.”
“I can call Annabelle and ask if you can borrow something from her,” Savannah said.
“No, don’t bother,” Maria was saying, when a yell came from downstairs.
“You girls ready?”It was Uncle Russell.
Savannah called back. “I’m just trying to find something Western for Maria to wear!”
“She can borrow a pair of my boots,” Grandma Austin’s voice came from below. “Tell her to come to my room.”
Maria entered the room with some trepidation. She had never been in Grandma Austin’s bedroom, with its imposing canopy bed and huge walk-in closet. Grandma Austin was dressed and ready, with a Stetson secured under her chin by a cord. “What size are you?” she asked.
“Eight and a half.”
“Then I’ve got a special pair of boots for you. These were your mother’s.” Grandma Austin stood on tiptoe to lift a dusty box from the top shelf of her closet. “Try them on.”
Maria opened the box to see a perfect pair of brown boots with turquoise stitching. They must have been a fancy pair for special occasions. The boots she saw most of the ranch hands wearing were plain and scuffed.
“She didn’t take them with her when she left,” Grandma Austin said. “I always hoped someday she’d come back for them. But she said she’d made her choice.”
Her voice was sad. Maria was growing to understand more why she had been upset about her daughter leaving the ranch. But that didn’t excuse the way she had treated Dad and Maria.
“I remember when I gave them to her.” Patricia’s eyes had a faraway look. “It was her birthday. The ranch had been going through a tough spell, and finances were tight. But your grandfather and I saved up to buy these boots for her. She was so surprised, her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.”
So at some point, before she’d pushed her daughter away, Patricia had been the kind of mom who saved and sacrificed for her. That sounded like real affection in her voice. Somewhere, deep down, she must have still loved Amy despite her choice to marry Maria’s dad.
Maria ran a finger carefully over the leather. “I don’t want to mess them up.”
“Nonsense!” Grandma Austin reverted to her usual brisk self. “Boots were made to be worn. Your mother wore these, barrel racing in the rodeo. She did well. I was proud of her. It helped me feel better about never having been in the rodeo myself.”
That was unexpected. Maria had always heard from her dad that Patricia Austin was a notable horsewoman. “Why weren’t you ever in the rodeo?”
“Too scared,” Grandma Austin said. Her mouth twisted in a half smile. “Not of riding, mind you. I was terrified of competing. So I never did. Now, I wish I had. Maybe someday you will.”
If Maria stayed. But how could she stay, leaving Dad and Grandma in Michigan?
“Wow,” Maria said. “I wouldn’t have thought of you as being scared of anything.”
“I hide it well,” Grandma Austin said dryly. “Now put the boots on and let’s go. Russell’s chomping at the bit to get out of here.”
Thankfully, they fit. Maria glanced in Grandma Austin’s full-length mirror. Maybe Mom had looked in that same mirror to check her shoes. They looked amazing.
“Thank you so much, Grandma Austin,” Maria said. “These are really special.”
Grandma Austin just bustled out of the room, Maria at her heels.
§
Crowds of people milled around at the site of the rodeo, on the county fairgrounds.
The air smelled like dust and barns and fried food—not the most appealing combination, but Maria breathed it in eagerly.
So this was a real live rodeo. Her mom had probably been to this same one, years ago.
It probably hadn’t changed much since then.
There were carnival rides and food trucks.
There were stock trailers and campers for people who drove from far away.
The Austins would watch the rodeo from the grandstand on the other side of the fairgrounds. None of the people who had come with Maria were competing—Savannah was still young, and Uncle Russell was out of shape—but a lot of the younger ranch people were.
Although Maria didn’t know much about the sport of rodeo, she intended to cheer for the Rocker A with all her might. Especially Annabelle, who had been working so hard and stressing so much.
They’d come early and hoped the grandstand wouldn’t be too packed yet. The junior rodeo was going on now, little kids competing against each other. Savannah considered herself too old for that. “I’m gonna wait until I can compete with the grown-ups,” she said. “Tim’s gonna teach me to be a pro.”
“You might do better with professional lessons,” Uncle Russell said, steering Savannah around a golf cart as the Austins walked through the fairgrounds. “Tim’s good, but it isn’t his job to teach rodeo. I don’t know why Annabelle’s competing—she’s never cared about rodeo before.”
“Now, Russell, have you listened to a thing Annabelle has said recently?” Aunt Steph protested. She was wearing a fancy flowered dress and pearls with white jeweled cowgirl boots. “She wants to get ready for the Miss Rodeo Montana pageant. This is good practice for that.”
“Well, I hope she’s been practicing,” Uncle Russell said. “I know Elijah has.”
How had Uncle Russell not noticed Annabelle’s rodeo preparations? Savannah wasn’t the only Austin who routinely got ignored.
Uncle Russell walked along, his thumbs in his belt loops. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Elijah got the highest score on the ranch this time.”
“Elijah?” Grandma Austin asked. “He won’t beat Tim.”
“What kind of thing is that to assume about your own grandson?” Uncle Russell grumbled. “The kid’s a fantastic rider. He’s not top hand for nothing.”
“Yes, but Tim’s better,” Grandma Austin said.
“Mom, you always put Tim ahead of your grandchildren,” Aunt Steph said, “and I don’t understand why!”
“Now, don’t get emotional, Stephanie,” Grandma Austin said. “I don’t put Tim ahead of my grandchildren. You and Russell and the grandchildren will inherit the ranch, and you know that. But I’m telling you a fact. Tim’s our best rider.”
“I wonder if the Montana Rider ever comes to the rodeo,” Savannah said, taking a picture of a horse and rider that were going by as the Austins approached the grandstand. “Maybe he comes disguised as a regular person.”