Gabe (Men of Clifton Montana Book 2) (14 page)

“You
beat her every year. The one year she has the chance to win, since you aren’t
competing, and she beats herself,” Gabe whispered then he
chuckled when she nodded in agreement and gave a low
giggle.

She
laughed outright when she heard Olivia announce with a snicker, “Oh, that’s too
bad.”

Emma
leaned forward to look to Wyatt. She watched him raise his head from the
program only briefly to lo
ok to where Stephanie was
riding off, but went right back to the program. Jake and
Becca
laughed too. No one cared for
Stephanie.

The
afternoon moved on and soon it was time for Gabe, Jake, and Wyatt to compete.
Tie-down roping was first, Gabe’s event. Emm
a sat on
the edge of her seat awaiting her husband’s appearance.
When the announcer said his name over the loud speakers, a
row of women behind her started screaming for him.
She turned to glare at them, but
they paid her no mind. She turned back to see hi
m
sitting in the roping box with the calf ready to go in the chute.

“What
goes on here, Emma?”
Becca
asked.

“The
calf will be released from the enclosed chute next to the box. There’s a rope
barrier stretched across the front of the chute, so when the ride
r is ready to start, he signals with a nod of his head. The
calf will get a slight head start, so as soon as it breaks the barrier, the
cowboy charges after the calf. He tosses his rope around the calf’s neck,
bringing it to a stop. The cowboy jumps off hi
s
horse, runs to the calf, lays it on its side, and ties three of its legs
together with a
piggin
’ string, which is just a small
rope. The calf has to stay tied for a minimum of six seconds in order for the
tie-down to qualify. The cowboy who completes the
entire sequence the fastest is the winner. If the rider jumps the gun, there’s
a ten second penalty,” Emma explained. “Also, the horse has a lot to do with
how well he does. His horse has to know to back up and keep the rope tight once
the calf is roped.
There’s no better horse than
Gabe’s Dandy at doing just what he needs him to do.”

Emma
beamed as she watched Gabe give the nod, and then the calf shot out of the
chute. Gabe, a second behind him, twirled the rope over his head and tossed it.
It went over t
he calf’s neck, Gabe jumped off Dandy,
and the horse pulled the rope tight. Gabe grabbed the legs of the calf, tied
three of them, and stood up throwing his hands in the air. The crowd roared.
The announcer proclaimed it a new record. Gabe bowed to the cro
wd and mounted Dandy. He rode the horse over to the rail
below where she was sitting. He tugged his hat in her direction with a proud
smile. She felt a blush rise on her cheeks, but she grinned at him with pride.
The women behind her screamed again.

Olivia
burst out laughing. “What are they, rodeo groupies?”

“That’s
exactly what they are. Buckle Bunnies, some people call them. They follow the
circuit and love the cowboys.” Emma rolled her eyes.

Soon
they were watching Jake in the Reining competition. Emma l
oved watching this event. The rider maneuvered his horse in
figure eights, changing its gait from first one lead foot to the other, and
then he would make the horse spin in circles. Then the rider would run his
horse in a straight line as fast as possible,
stop
the horse, and have it back up. If not done in a straight line, the judges
deducted points. Jake’s horse, Midnight, was the horse to beat. She noticed
Becca
was on the edge of her seat. The
women behind them were yelling Jake’s name. Emma chuckled. T
hey had no idea Gabe’s wife and Jake’s fiancée sat right in
front of them.

At the
end of the Reining competition, the voice over the speakers announced Jake the
winner. He waved his hat in the air at
Becca
. The Buckle Bunnies called out his name. It was ob
vious to Emma now they thought Jake and Gabe had been
waving at them. She laughed.
Becca
glanced at her and laughed along
with her. Olivia just shook her head. The Cutting Horse competition was next,
so Emma elbowed Olivia. “This is Wyatt’s event. He’s the
best. Just watch,” Emma told her with an eager grin.

When
Wyatt’s name sounded over the speakers, it seemed like the entire crowd
screamed his name. Emma,
Becca
, and Olivia grinned and
applauded along with the others. They sat forward and watched as a gro
up of cows trotted into the arena.

Emma
explained to her friends what was going to happen. “The cutting horse, that’s
the kind of horse
Wyatt
is riding. It has a terrific cow
sense and is able to respond quickly, and turn sharply. A cutting horse’s job
is
to keep a cow from returning to the herd. Any
breed can be used, but most cowboys prefer Quarter horses. The horse and rider
select and separate a cow from the group. When the cow tries to return to
the herd, the rider loosens the reins, puts his hand on t
he saddle horn, and leaves it entirely to the horse to work
at keeping the cow apart from the rest. The best horses seem to really love
doing this job, and do it with real style. A contestant has two and a half
minutes to show what their horse can do. Typi
cally, a
rider cuts three cows during a run, but only two cows is acceptable too. A
judge awards points to the cutter based on a scale ranging from sixty to
eighty, with seventy considered average. The horse turns with the cow, while
the rider sits centere
d over the horse, keeping his
eyes focused on the cow’s neck to anticipate the cow’s next move. The team of
horse and rider are judged on how well the horse moves in relation to the
cow. The rider can use his legs to steady his horse, and keep him from fal
ling in on the cow or drifting towards the herd throughout
the run. No horse is better at this than Cochise.”

They
watched as Wyatt rode into the arena on a beautiful black and white horse. The
horse and rider moved easily as one. Wyatt let the horse pick
out the cow and together they went to work. It always
amazed Emma how any rider was able to stay on his horse as it bounced back and
forth to stop the cow from getting back to the herd. Dust flew from the floor
as Cochise’s hooves dug in as he shifted in f
ront of
the cow moving it to the back of the arena, and then picked out another one.
Wyatt had his horse remove three cows from the herd in record time. At the end
of the cutting competition, the announcer named Wyatt as the winner.

Later
that night, they
were heading home to Clifton. Emma
rested her head against the back of the seat. She was exhausted, but it had
been a good day. Gabe took her hand in his and she glanced over at him. She
smiled.

“
Are
you tired, darlin’?” he
murmured.

“I am,
and I have to p
ee,” she said with a bashful sigh.

“Again?
We just stopped not more than ten minutes ago.”

“If you
had something pressing on your bladder, you’d have to go a lot too.”

Gabe
groaned, but pulled into a rest area and walked her to the restroom. She was
back
out in a few minutes. He hugged her close. “Do
you think we can make it home before you have to stop again?”

“I
seriously doubt it, but I’ll try.” Emma huffed and started toward the truck.
She heard Gabe chuckle behind her as he followed, making her smile.

* * * *

Two days
later, Emma wanted to ride. She knew she had to do it soon or she wouldn’t be
able to get up into the saddle. Now to convince Gabe she was able to go alone.
She saw him leading a horse out of the barn, and he stopped when he noticed
her.

“Hey.”
Gabe smiled and her heart hit her stomach.

“Hey,
yourself, I’m going for a ride.” She noticed his shoulders immediately stiffen.
“Before you say anything, I’m more than capable of going on my own. I’ll take
Ginger. You know how gentle she is. I
’ll only be gone
an hour and I’ll take the two-way radio. This will be my last ride before the
baby.” She needed some time alone and she wanted him to see that. She saw him
take a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh.

“All
right, but please don’t be l
onger than an hour. If
you are, I will come looking for you and turn you over my knee.” He narrowed
his eyes at her.

She
rolled her lips in to keep from laughing and nodded her head then stepped up to
him and kissed him. Gabe pulled her to him and deepened
the kiss. “I want to show you something first,” he told her leading her
to a stall in the back, where he stopped her in front of one, and nodded toward
it. She frowned at him, and then looked into the stall. She gasped when she saw
the beautiful horse sta
nding there, and then glanced
back at Gabe. He was grinning at her. “She’s yours, baby. I know how you love
Paints. I saw her and knew I had to get her for you.”

“When though?
How? We just got back from the competition.”

“I saw
her last month at Ryder’s. I
had him bring her over
while we were gone. She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Gabe grinned with obvious
pride.

Emma
threw her arms around him and kissed him. “You are so getting lucky when I get
back, Gabriel Stone.” She smiled up at him.

Gabe
burst out laughing
. “I’ll be waiting for you.” He
winked at her.

She had
one of the ranch hands saddle Ginger, and then she walked her out to the north
pasture. The sun was high in the sky beating down on her shoulders. The tall
grass was already beginning to brown. Being h
igher in
the mountains, winter set in quickly. The air here was cooler and it whipped
around her. She couldn’t believe Gabe bought the Paint for her. She shook her
head in amazement at his generosity. Paints weren’t cheap, but the ones Ryder
sold definitel
y went for high prices. Smiling, she
dismounted Ginger so she could walk for a while. She heard a loud crack shatter
the peacefulness of the pasture, and looked around. She knew what it was. Being
a country girl, she knew a gunshot when she heard one. Who
was shooting and where? Was Wyatt or Jake shooting at
something on their properties? Ginger nervously pranced. Emma talked to her
softly to calm her.

Once she
settled down, Emma put her foot in the stirrup to mount up when she heard
another crack and almos
t at the same instance, felt a
burning sensation in the back of her shoulder. Gasping, she lost her balance
and fell to the ground knocking the wind out of her. Ginger took off running
toward home. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire. She could feel the
blood soaking the back of her blouse. Should she be
bleeding so much? She knew she was losing consciousness and the two-way radio
was on the saddle. “Gabe…” she whispered before passing out.

* * * *

Gabe
walked from the barn heading toward the house when
he
heard a shot. His blood ran cold at the sound. Emma. He started running back
into the barn when he heard a second shot. He yelled for two of his men to
mount up. As he ran for his horse, he grabbed the two-way radio and tried
calling Emma. There was no
answer. He then took out
his cell phone, called Jake and explained what was going on. There was no proof
something had happened to Emma but he wasn’t taking a chance. He hung up after
Jake told him he’d be right there. He knew Jake would call Wyatt. He ha
d to get Dandy saddled. He’d wait before calling Sam
Garrett, Clifton’s Sheriff.

Gabe
swung up on Dandy and spurred him into a run out of the barn. His two ranch
hands were right behind him. They halted at the top of the ridge. He sent them
off in differen
t directions in search of Emma. “You
call me immediately if you find her,” he ordered them. Both men nodded in
acknowledgement and rode off.

He took
his binoculars out and used them to search the pasture. He saw Ginger running
toward him, and his heart sto
pped. Emma wasn’t on the
horse. Ginger would return to the barn. She was the least of his worries. He
peered through the binoculars again and saw Emma lying on the ground. He
spurred Dandy on, running him at full speed. When he got to Emma, he jumped off
D
andy before he came to a complete stop.