8. Jake
CHAPTER EIGHT
jake
Ready?” I looked up at Colter and Reid from my spot behind the roping boxes.
The five of us frequently gathered at Reid’s place, because he had an arena we could practice in. Granted, a few practice runs often turned into hours spent drinking beers in the driveway and bullshitting with each other. Play hard after working hard, or whatever the saying is.
Reid’s chin dipped in response as Colter glanced over at him. Then Colter nodded, and I opened the chute, letting the steer run free. Dust flew in the air as Colter’s horse, Bullet, took off after the steer. His rope twirled in the air as he waited for the perfect moment to throw his loop.
Reid wasn’t far behind, and when Colter caught the steer’s horns and turned around the corner, he threw his own rope, catching the hind legs with ease.
“Six-point-three, boys!” Mikey called out after pressing the button on his stopwatch. The time probably wasn’t accurate. It seemed a bit slow, but that was what happened when you trusted Mikey to keep time.
“You sure that’s right?” Colter asked, a teasing glint in his eye. “Seems a bit slow.”
Mikey waved him off. “Shave off half a second and it’s probably fine. I’m a man, not a machine, Carson.”
Reid let out a snort, shaking his head, but the two of them let it go. “Anyone else up for a run or two?” he asked as he circled his horse around. “Hayden? Jake?”
“Sure, why the hell not.” I stood, brushing the dust off my pants. “Wouldn’t hurt to get in a little practice before the rodeo in Goldfinch in a couple weeks.”
“That’s the spirit.” Reid clasped his hands together in approval. “Who do you wanna ride today?”
I didn’t have a horse of my own, so Reid, Colter, and I usually shared when we practiced. Occasionally, I’d borrow one of their horses at events, too, or another competitor who I was close with would let me run theirs.
While Colter, Reid, and Hayden were team ropers, I was a tie-down roper, so the event was a little different. Instead of having a partner, I roped solo, and rather than a steer, the animal I roped was a calf.
“I’ll just run Bullet since you tied up your horse,” I told Reid as Colter rode Bullet over to the fence line.
I grabbed the piggin’ string I’d need for tie-down as well as my normal rope then mounted the horse as Reid loaded a calf into the roping chute. Murmuring soft words of encouragement, I led Bullet into the roping box.
Taking a few deep breaths, I readied my rope over my shoulder, the smaller, piggin’ rope secured between my teeth. I nodded once, and the calf was released from the chute, sprinting straight ahead to the other end of the arena.
Bullet exploded out of the roping box, and I swung my rope in the air, waiting for the right moment to toss the loop over the calf’s neck.
The rope floated through the air and time seemed to still before it settled over the calf’s neck.
I dallied my rope as Bullet came to a halt, and the loop tightened, not allowing the calf to go anywhere.
Quickly dismounting my horse, I ran over to the calf, lifting it slightly off the ground before flanking it so I could tie three of its legs together with the string resting between my teeth.
After the calf’s legs were secure, I threw my arms in the air for the time to stop then headed back to the horse to loosen some of the slack in the rope.
The calf would need to stay tied for six seconds, otherwise there would be a penalty and I’d receive no time.
Although this was just practice, we still followed the rules of the game.
Six seconds passed, and Colter and Reid both ran out into the arena to untie the calf.
“Nine-point-seven seconds, Jakey!” Mikey called out. “Not too shabby, my guy.”
In competition, I’d need to be a bit faster, but for practice, it was a solid, consistent time. The most important thing was that the calf stayed tied and didn’t break loose.
“Anyone else need to get some practice in before we call it a day?” Reid asked. “Going once, going twice…” Met with silence, he clasped his hands together.
“All right, let’s go get a beer or two, boys!” Mikey practically leapt in the air. “First round at Rudy’s is on me.”
“Holding you to that, Mike.” Colter patted his shoulder on the way over to the trailer, Bullet following him. Mikey leaned away from the horse, cowering a bit as the large animal passed him.
“Your whole fear of horses thing will never not be funny.” I chuckled.
Mikey rolled his eyes, kicking dust up from the ground. “Least I’m not afraid of dumb shit like you. Have there been any scares in department stores lately?”
I dug my elbow into his gut and pushed off him, knocking him to the side a bit. “Do you see any department stores around here?”
“Maybe I’ll buy a mannequin just for you, Jakey. Set it up outside your window when you’re least expecting it.”
“Vetoed.” I crossed my arms in an X. “You’d probably end up scaring the shit out of Whitley. Think of the child, man.”
“How is that whole arrangement going?” Reid asked over his shoulder as he and Colter untacked their horses.
“It’s great. Cait’s happy, Whit’s happy, I’m happy.”
“Glad to hear it. I really appreciate you offering to let her stay in the guest house to begin with. You’ve really done us a favor.
You’re a good friend, and I’m grateful she has you right next door,” Colter added.
His expression morphed into something more stern after a couple seconds, though.
“As her brother, though, don’t try anything funny.
I know it’s not a secret that you hated Adam, among other things.
But she’s gone through a lot, and the last thing they need is to get their hearts hurt again. ”
My brows furrowed, but I forced myself to relax, nodding in understanding. “I get it, Colt. You’re a good brother.”
“I just hate to see her unhappy. That asshole put a lot of doubts in her head.” His words came out through gritted teeth, like he was biting back frustration and maybe a bit of hatred for Caitlin’s ex.
We shared those feelings. I may not have had the same kind of relationship with Cait that Colter had, but I’d noticed the way her spark had dulled in that marriage, especially early on.
From what I understood, it started with little comments here and there, but eventually built up to even more. I was well aware it wasn’t my place to step in and play the hero, but if there was anything I could do to help her feel more like herself again, I would in a heartbeat.