Right Back On

Thirty

"Ride 'em, cowgirl!" Blake hollered, giving me a thumbs up from her position across the fence. Wyatt grinned next to her, loose posture in the saddle emanating his easy demeanor. Kellan sent me a half smile and a confident nod and I turned back to the task at hand.

A pretty blonde had just moved up into the box, ready to take her turn at breakaway. She gave a signal, the chute was opened and a scrawny calf burst through, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake. The cowgirl urged her horse to take off after him and began swinging her rope like a lunatic. She let it fly but the calf jumped straight through when her horse didn't stop fast enough. A chorus of ohs sounded from the crowd as she picked up and recoiled her dirty rope, expression grim.

This blonde was one of many who dropped the ball during breakaway that night. So far, only four out of the ten competitors had caught successfully, and one of those had broken the barrier so her run didn't count.

I drew in a deep breath, determined to not let the failures of my competition psych me out.

Blake and Kellan's run had gone extremely well, landing them in fourth for the night. That explained the robust cheering coming from their side of the fence as I walked Winston into the box. He felt calm underneath of me, but I could tell he was itching to run.

One more deep breath later, I gave a short nod to the chute operator and my calf was released. The large framed black calf had white speckles peppering his back that were gone like a flash of light the second the headgate opened for him. His heels caught the side of the chute with a resounding clank and Winston took my leaning forward as his signal to take off too. In just a few strides, we had almost caught up to the animal and I pitched my rope around his neck and leaned back hard. Always the perfect listener, Winston stopped on a dime and the rope tightened enough to be released, making it a clean catch.

The entire crowd cheered, but Blake and Kellan's shouts could easily be heard over everyone else's.

"Atta girl!"

"That's my best friend! Whoo!"

Another trio of familiar voices met my ears and I glanced up to the stands to find my brothers and Tommy waving like maniacs and screaming their heads off in the second row. The grin that had spread across my face after my successful run widened at the sight of them. All of my favorite boys were officially there, save for Landon and Justin, who I hadn't seen in months.

They clattered down from the stands the second I exited the arena, rope in hand. Blake, Kellan and Wyatt were still waiting on the outside when I made my way back around.

"You did it! I'm so damn proud of you!" Blake screeched, squeezing me so hard I couldn't breathe. 

"Looks like it's a good night for this family!" Kellan grinned, giving me a much gentler hug.

"Hot damn, Little R, you know how to get it done!" Wyatt cheered, squeezing my shoulders in a side hug.

"Thanks, guys," I giggled, unable to hide my excitement.

I turned around when Tommy bellowed my name to see him speed walking towards us, my brothers on his tail. He had an extra large cup of Pepsi in his right hand that he was raising above his head like a trophy. "I didn't know you were such a cowgirl!"

"You watched me at the other rodeo!" I laughed, leaning down to accept his hug.

"Yeah, but team roping's different. This was all you, and you rocked it!"