Chapter 22 His First Rodeo
Hallie didn’t know how much Terry had seen or overheard at the Cactus, but Terry was bound to use any small scrap of information she had.
Everyone was preparing to go to the rodeo the next morning, so there was no time to have a proper talk anyways.
By the time Hallie got dressed and came downstairs, Terry had already left, though she would probably be seen skulking around the rodeo grounds.
At least Luke was in a great mood. Not surprisingly, he went gaga for the rodeo. It was everything he had probably dreamed of in his perfect cowboy fantasy world and more.
“This is awesome,” he said as they arrived at the grounds.
He was trying to remain cool, but Hallie knew all about his cowboy fantasy, and she could tell he was as excited as a ten-year-old kid at a fair.
He was wearing one of his colorful European shirts with a pair of jeans and his white cowboy hat, which admittedly was useful in the glaring sun, without looking too much like a poser.
Every few minutes he kept glancing back to stare at some cowboy wearing chaps and a giant Stetson hat or a cowgirl with a fancy belt buckle and snakeskin boots.
“Wait, what are those?” Stopping abruptly, he began to pull Hallie towards one of the food stands.
“Tater twisters,” she explained, feeling pride in being able to teach the ‘sophisticated city guy’ something new. “It’s a potato on a stick, and it’s very good.”
“Let’s get some!”
The smiling teenage girl in the stand began to recite all the flavors they had.
“Salt and vinegar, chicken salt—”
“Chicken salt!” Luke exclaimed. “That sounds very unique. We’ll have one of those. What other flavors do you have?”
“Cool ranch, nacho cheese, sour cream and onion, and barbecue.”
“What do you normally get?” Luke asked, turning to Hallie.
“I like sour cream and onion,” she replied, “but sometimes nacho cheese is good too.”
“We’ll take both of those,” Luke said to the girl, “and add another cool ranch flavored one for me,” he gave Hallie a wink.
They walked away with two tater twisters each, and Hallie had to admit she was impressed.
Not that she couldn’t buy herself two tater twisters if she wanted to, but if this had been a real date, Luke would have definitely scored some points.
They found a seat in the middle of the bleachers, not too far from the earthen arena. The warm-up for the main event was just beginning, with teenage boys trying not to get bucked off fairly mild-mannered horses.
Luke seemed torn between watching the action and admiring his seasoned potato snack that spiraled around the stick like some space-age construction.
“This is delicious!” he said, “I’m going to introduce these to Sarkadia.”
“I’m glad you like them,” Hallie said, smiling. She was almost starting to enjoy the day, despite being there with Luke, or maybe because he wasn’t being difficult for once.
“How long do you think I’d last riding a wild horse like that?” Luke wondered.
“Uh... sorry to burst your bubble, but I should probably tell you the truth: these horses aren’t wild.”
“What do you mean they aren’t wild?”
“No, riding a wild horse is too dangerous,” she explained.
“This here looks dangerous enough,” Luke remarked.
They watched as another cowboy came shooting out on a madly bucking palomino. He managed to stay on for ten seconds, despite the horse’s wild gyrations. The crowd cheered, and Luke applauded in his refined manner.
“By the way, I don’t have an STD,” he said, leaning down towards Hallie. “In case you were wondering.”
“Why don’t you say that louder so everyone can hear?”
“Hey, it’s not like I said I have an STD.”
“I don’t need to know that much information about you.”
“Not even if I said I was attracted to you?”
Hallie gave him a quizzical look. “Which one of your personas is attracted to me? The nice guy who’s liked by my parents, the smooth-talking ladies’ man, or the jerk who is the real you?”
Luke spread his arms wide. “It wouldn’t be any fun if I gave it away.”
“Ha! You don’t even deny that the real you is a jerk!”
“Yeah, I don’t deny it. But maybe you’re secretly hoping that I’m not a jerk. And what if the truth is I’m nice somewhere deep down inside?” He was using a slightly sarcastic tone, and anyway Hallie didn’t buy any of it. She didn’t have a response to that nonsense.
“Ouch,” Luke said, watching as a young man fell to the ground, thrown by a spirited horse. The cowboy nearly face-planted into the dirt, using his forearms to break his fall. He quickly rolled over and got up, waving to the crowd with a shy smile.
“At least when you’re playing polo the horse isn’t trying to throw you off,” Luke commented.
Hallie stared at him, this time in surprise. “You play polo?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged carelessly, although it seemed for a second like he regretted saying that. “My family is rich.”
“Good for you.”
He took a bite of his potato snack and looked at Hallie as if he suddenly had a new idea. “Doesn’t that appeal to you?”
“Why should it?” she asked. “I don’t care how much money you have.” She figured he was fairly loaded, what with his Porsche that had newly arrived from the city, but how rich did someone have to be to keep a polo pony? It didn’t matter anyway.
“Aren’t you interested in material gain?” he prodded, “Isn’t that the reason you’re playing this scheme to begin with?”
Hallie pretended to watch the rodeo action, not really seeing it. She was bursting with embarrassment because she had to resort to such ruses just to regain her parents’ love. “It’s not about that,” she said.
“I see.” Luke nodded sagely as if he understood something deep. “So what’s your biggest motivation, getting your parents to notice you or defeating your sister?”
“None of your business,” she grumbled.
He nodded again, even more annoyingly. “So I ask you, which one of us is the bigger jerk?”
“Shut up! I can’t believe I’m even talking about this with you.”
Suddenly, a female voice reached her from somewhere below. “Hey, Hallie, can’t you hear me? Have you lost all your senses in addition to losing your brains?”
Hallie turned her head slowly to find her sister waving her arms wildly. She must have been in a daze not to notice her. The people in the bleachers below started yelling at Terry to be quiet.
“What do you want?” Hallie shouted irritably.
Terry motioned for her to come down. Hallie heaved a deep sigh. This talk would have to happen eventually, and she needed to know exactly how much Terry had seen.
“I’ll be right back,” she said to Luke, “Guard our seats, okay?”
A slight crease formed along his forehead. “Are you sure?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Hallie had a bad feeling that Terry already knew too much, and she had to assess the damage. Luke seemed antsy about being left alone, which was strange. Normally, he would take the opportunity to meet more women, but she didn’t have time to worry about him right now.