The Life of Riley

Chapter 6: this aint my first rodeo

"June open the door please!" Jack bellowed from the kitchen.

"Righto!" June ran from the bedroom and slid down the short hallway to the door. She reached up and was greeted by Poppy and two men.

One of the men had fiery red hair, it was curly at the top and short at the side. His teeth were very straight and white, but one of his front teeth had a chip on the corner. He stuck out his hand with a smile;

"G'day, you must be June, I'm Lochie." He greeted, shaking June's hand.

"Yes I am June, nice to meet you Lochie." June recited, just like her mum had taught her.

The other man had spiked blonde hair, spraying from beneath his the band of his hat. His green eyes looked like two forests, he didn't have chipped teeth either. He too put out his hand.

"Hi June, I'm Eddie, nice to meet you."

"Hi Eddie, nice to meet you." June grinned wrapping her arms around Poppy's legs.

"Heya kiddo nice to see ya." Poppy hoisted her up onto her hip.

"Is your Dad in?" Lochie asked softly.

"He's not my Dad, he's my Uncle Jack, yes he is, he's in the kitchen." June informed and the four of them trundled down into the kitchen.

Jack turned around at the sound of multiple pairs of boots.
"Fellas g'day." Jack put out his hand.

"Lochie."

"Eddie."

"Jack."

"We saw you on Regret this morning, very impressive mate." Lochie stated slumping down into a chair.

"Thanks." Jack scoffed. "Had a bit of practice."

"Rodeo?" Eddie asked.

"Used to yeah." Jack replied

"Bulls or broncs?" Lochie inquired.

"Both, mostly bulls though, my sister was a much better horseman, or horsewoman I should say." said Jack, handing the two of them a steel mug.

"That your mum June?" Poppy tickled her chest.

"Sure is!" June giggled.

"So, where you fellas from?" Jack asked.

"Here, grew up in Jindabyne, went through school together, rodeo together, same footy team." Eddie began.

"Than we both got a job here when we were 20." Lochie finished. "We're 23 now."

"Me too, I'm from SA, what about you Poppy?" Jack turned to the girl at the table.

Poppy contained her blush when he looked at her, "Well, Dad's been here forever, Grandpa and Great Granddad before him so, yeah, I went to school with em too, Dad won't let me rodeo, or play footy."

They all laugh. Jack wondered for a moment about Lenny and Carl, he'd ring them later, let them know just how beautiful the mountains are and how special June turned out to be.

"How 'bout you mob stay for tea? We've got plenty." Jack motioned to the sausages sizzling on the stove.

"That'd be good." Lochie smiled, setting June on his lap.

So the five of them spoke of rodeos and footy matches they'd lost because of the umpire. They spoke of horses and musters, they spoke of poetry and family and they laughed harder than Jack ever thought he could.

After a few beers, their bottle caps laying under the kitchen table and the clock had reached nine, Jack knew more about Lochie and Eddie than Poppy.

"Goodnight Kiddo." Jack drew June close, kissing her head.

"Night Uncle Jack." She brushed his cheek with her eyelashes and he smiled.

"Seeya in the morning." He handed her up to Poppy who swiftly took her to bed.

"So," Eddie had a cheeky grin. "I wanna see you ride a bull."

"No you don't." Jack fell into a hot flush.

"Yes we do, we have a bull down the yards," Lochie informed.

"Boys I haven't done this since I was 19, I can't just jump on a bull." Jack explained.

"Bull riding is like riding a bike, you never forget." Lochie grinned.

"I can't do it, I won't do it." Jack slammed his fist against his knee.

"Jack you're a cowboy, you always will be a cowboy, we'll look after you." Eddie told him.

Jack could feel the horn in his chest, he heard his leg snap and the crowd gasp. He could feel his throbbing body scrambling for his hat before he nodded staring his new mates dead in the eyes.

"Let's do it." He snarled, rising to his feet.

"That-a-boy, Pop, we're going down to the chute, seeya in a sec." Lochie yelled slapping a quivering Jack's shoulder.

Poppy's eyes flashed with fear, her breath hitched slightly; "be careful." She said softly.

"You comin'?" Jack asked.
How could she refuse?

"Sure." She swallowed worriedly.

•••

"So, this here is Ranch, our biggest and most wild fella on the property,  he's our only bull to go to American so we called him Ranch, only two blokes have held the eight," Eddie explained.

"The first one, lost his life, cracked his neck with one flick. The second is 34 years old and runs the supermarket in town, good bloke, but gets terrible white line fever." Lochie added.

"I can't hurt myself, I've got a little girl in there." Jack pointed out, reminding himself more than anyone.

"She'll be right mate." Lochie helped Jack up into the chute.

The bull thrashed his head, his 15 inch horns slamming against the metal. Jack squeezed his eyes shut as his legs wrapped around the smooth leather.

"I've never done this without chaps." He chuckled nervously.

"Righto, Eddie will jump in with his timer, then he'll push him out the gate, I'll will open the chute and catch you when ya hit the fence alright?" Lochie explained thoroughly.

"Lochie." Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Settle down, this ain't my first rodeo."

Adrenaline flashed, a sly grin curled onto Jack's lips, "LETS GO!" Jack nodded and Lochie opened the chute.

Under the mountain moonlight, time slowed down. Jack relaxed, his body moving with Rango's every flick, kick and roll. He took his hat from his head and swung it above his head, a smile stretched across his face. Eddie and Lochie's jaws were in the dirt and Poppy covered her eyes, but just like he said it wasn't Jack's first rodeo.

The swift motion of dismounting a bull was one of Jack's perfected skills. He slipped down the bull and bolted to the fence, grabbing Lochie's shirt and clambering onto the fence.

"Holy shit! That was unreal!" Lochie chorused, hailing Jack over the fence.

"Thanks," Jack heaved, drawing the air into his lungs. "I can't believe I did that."

"I fuckin' can! Jack that was unbelievable." Eddie slapped his shoulder.

"Can you not do that again?" Poppy fussed and the boys laughed.

"Thanks for tonight guys, I appreciate it but I got a little girl to love so I'll seeya in the morning." And with that Jack pushed his hat back onto his head and trundled back to the cottage.