The Rancher's Daughter (10 page)

             
She hadn’t kept up on the rodeo for some time.  She wondered if any of her old friends were still competing.  She saw the bright lights light up the night sky as she neared Vegas.  She was careful not to take her eyes off the road until she found her way to her hotel.  She ordered room service and went to her room.  She wanted to wash the sweat off and have a bite to eat before she went out exploring.  The first night of the rodeo was the next day and she knew there would be a lot of people arriving in town.  She wondered how her parents were able to get such a nice suite for her on such short notice.  Then she wondered if they had it planned for some time. 

             
She was just getting out of the shower when she heard a knock at the door.  She quickly wrapped herself in a robe and answered the door.  The smell of steak drifted through the air. She tipped the woman who’d brought it up and sat down at the table to eat.  It was good, too.  She was salivating just looking at it. 

             
She cut into her steak and it was perfectly cooked.  The juices oozed out of it and she realized she hadn’t eaten steak in a long time.  She thought,
I live on a cattle ranch and I haven’t had steak in a year.
  She shook her head at the craziness in it and ate her meal. 

             
She picked out her best snap up shirt and her best jeans.  She dressed in them quickly, tucked her shirt in,
and buckled
her belt.  Hilary had replaced the buckle on her belt with one of her old championship buckles.  She polished her boots before putting them on then combed her hair and set her hat on top of it.  She was sure to blend in with any rodeo people that were in town.  She decided to check out the ticket booth about her tickets and make sure everything went smooth. 

             
She was sure to grab her purse with her pistol before she left the hotel room.  She gave the valet her key and he returned with her truck.  This was one of the upper class hotels, complete with a spa.  She wondered who had the bright idea to fork out this kind of money on her.  She felt almost guilty.  She
really felt like her parents should be enjoying this vacation instead of her.  She would be sure to send them on their own vacation when she got back.

             
The valet returned with her truck and opened the door for her.  She slipped in behind the wheel and put the truck in drive.  She drove around for a few minutes seeing the sights before heading over to the ticket booth at the arena.  She pulled the paper out of her console that Hilary had given her.  It was just a print out receipt proving she had purchased tickets.  She walked up to the ticket window that said will call.  She handed the woman the paper and received a handful of tickets back.  There was a ticket for everyday that the rodeo was in town.  Shock registered on her face. 
Again,
she wondered how on earth her parents had afforded this.  She would be sure to call them when she got back to the hotel room. 

             
Everywhere she
looked,
she saw wedding chapels and casinos.  The neon flashing signs lit up the sky.  There were signs everywhere advertising the rodeo in town.  She saw a group of cowboys exiting one casino and a group of cowgirls entering a restaurant.  She didn’t really know where to begin.  There were so many things to do.  She pulled into a casino parking lot and went in.  They checked her license at the door, and seeing she was over
twenty-one
let her in.  She found a token machine and took a seat.  She didn’t really see the fun in pulling a lever over and over but she thought, when in
Rome
and gave it a try. 

             
After a while, she’d lost more money than she’d won so she decided to give it a rest.  She left the casino and headed back to the hotel.  She fell asleep in her clothes.   She awoke the next morning to the phone ringing.  Someone had scheduled her to have a spa treatment bright and early.  She presumed it was Hilary.  She got
up, washed,
and brushed her teeth.  She headed down stairs and found her way to the  spa. 

             
It was relaxing, though it wasn’t really her idea of a good time.  She was not comfortable at first with taking off her clothes and lying on a table for a message.  She did though and she was happy that it wasn’t a man.  She would have been even more uncomfortable.  The message felt good though.  She hadn’t realized just how tense she’d been. 

             
That night when the rodeo rolled
around,
she was dressed and ready to go.  She climbed in her truck and drove to the arena.  Once
more,
she was astounded at how much money her parents must have spent on this vacation.  She had seats literally ground level and close to the bull chutes.  She was
ecstatic
. 

             
The rodeo started with lights flashing around the arena.  Loud music blasted through the loud speakers.  Mustangs were stampeded through the arena, and people clapped with excitement.  The national anthem was
sung
by a woman with a beautiful voice and the flag girls circled the arena on their horses each holding a flag.  All eyes were glued on the American flag and all right hands rested over the heart of each person in the building.  The prayer was said, and a man sitting on a paint horse holding a microphone entered the arena.  Josey recognized him, because he’d been doing it longer than she could remember.  He was the announcer. 

             
As the rodeo kicked off, Josey although sitting all alone in a crowd of people, was confident.  She was enjoying herself immensely.  Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.

             
Heath sat atop a big black and white paint.  His buddy helped him ready himself.  He heard the announcer say his name and he nodded his head that he was ready.  The gate was opened and he gave it his all.  He spurred rhythmically and kept his self balanced.  He was getting ready to jump off the big black and white paint when his eyes landed on a familiar figure.  In a
flash,
he was hung up.  The
pickup
men struggled to get him free.  He couldn’t think straight his eyes kept roaming the arena looking for the familiar sight.  He had to have imagined her he thought.  He was finally free and the men dropped him to the ground safely on his feet so they could get the horse out of the arena. 

             
His head was spinning and he circle the arena looking for her.  His eyes settled on the woman standing at the rail gripping it for dear life.  She was staring at him and he couldn’t help but stare back.  He realized he was still standing in the arena looking like an idiot and he exited the arena.  He walked past all his buddies who were there to congratulate him.  He headed for the locker room, slinging his rope across the room.  What was she doing here?  Why had she come?  He kicked his bag across the room and sat down on a bench, propping his head in his hands. 

             
The other cowboys in the room ignored him.  They were used to seeing temper tantrums in the locker room.  He got a grip on his feelings and picked up his things.  He shoved his gear in his bag and got prepared himself for the next event.  He’d drawn a bull that had yet to be
ridden
and he knew if he could ride
him,
the score could put him on top.  He had to concentrate and wipe Josey out of his mind.

             
Meanwhile, Josey was returning to her seat.  Everyone was staring at her and she was suddenly
self-conscious
.  The camera spun around the arena and rested on her.  The big screen lit up with her face, and the announcer called attention to her, as one of rodeo’s finest. 
He rattled off something about her days in the rodeo, then asked that she stand up, and wave to everyone. 
She stood up smiled and waved, then the camera was suddenly back on the announcer and she could breathe a sigh of relief but only for a moment.  The people seated beside her started congratulating her and asking her questions.  Then one of them asked if she and Heath were a couple.  Josey stared at the young girl who’d pointed out Josey’s reaction to Heath’s ride and suddenly she couldn’t breathe.  She stood up and headed for the rest room.  She washed her face in the sink and patted it dry with a paper towel.  She waited a while before returning to her seat.  She didn’t want to answer any questions, especially about her and Heath. 

             
She sat down and everyone seemed to since she wasn’t in the mood for talking.  They kept their eyes glued on the rodeo events.  No one dared question her further.  That was fine with her.

             
Josey, was still in shock.  She couldn’t believe that Heath was
rodeoing, again
.  She couldn’t believe he was in the National finals.  Had it really been that long since he’d left?  It had felt like only yesterday.  She sat quietly watching each event. When the
bull riding
, started people got excited.  There was no doubt bull riding had been everyone’s favorite sport.  She hadn’t expected to hear Heath’s name called once more in the
bull-riding
event.  She squeezed her eyes shut.  She didn’t think she could watch.  She feared for him. 

             
The bull he’d drawn the announcer said, has never been ridden.  Josey rubbed her legs from nervousness.  She wasn’t going to watch but she suddenly couldn’t keep her eyes closed.  She inched forward toward the rails and cheered him on.  She watched as he held on and she silently ticked off the eight seconds in her head.  When he rode
it,
the crowd went wild.  People were on their feet, clapping.  Heath jumped off the bull and ran to the rail where he’d seen Josey standing and without even
thinking,
he kissed her.  She was taken by surprise.  The camera zoomed in on them and the crowd went wild again. 

             
Heath broke off the kiss and jumped down from the rail, then got down on one knee and bowed his head,
as
so many
bull riders
do.  He picked up his hat and waved to the crowd as he exited the arena.  His friends all started to tease and taunt him.  “So is that her?” one of them asked.  “I’ve seen you take that picture out before ever event and kiss it for luck. I didn’t see you do that just now.
She’s the girl in the picture, ain’t she?”  “
Yeah, she’s the one.  She just doesn’t know she’s the one.  I think everybody in the world knows it except her.”  Heath said.  “So tell her, she’s the one.  You can’t expect her to know if you haven’t told her.”  “It’s not that simple, I’ve tried hell I even asked her to marry me.  She has kicked me to the curb not once, but twice now.  I don’t know how to get her attention.”  His friend laughed, “I think you got her attention, now.” 

             
The interviewers were waiting outside the door, he knew they wouldn’t want to talk about his ride but instead his kiss. 
So, he made them wait as long as he possibly could. 

             
Josey left the arena as fast as she could.  She saw the cameras and the microphones and she didn’t have any answers for them.  She practically ran out the door and found her truck. 
At least
, she would beat the traffic, she thought. 

             
She returned to her hotel.  Turning on the
TV,
she found the station with the rodeo on and turned it on.  The interviewers were still waiting to talk to Heath and she wanted to hear what he would say. 
So, she left the TV on while she changed into her bedclothes. 
They replayed the kiss again.  She watched in horror as everyone’s eyes were on them.  She was so embarrassed.  If only she’d left when she first lay eyes on him, but she couldn’t. 

             
The interviewer had finally wrangled Heath into a corner.  She started by asking him about his ride.  “So how did it feel to ride a previously unridden bull tonight?” 
She
asked.  “It feels great!  No bull rider could ask for more than to ride the best bull in the circuit at the National Finals.  I feel on top of the
world, right now.”  The reporter used this to shift the focus onto the kiss.  “Um hum, and is that what caused you to jump the rails and kiss Miss Josey Chisholm?”  Heath shrugged.  “Are you two a couple? We were not aware you were taken.”  She rambled on and Heath finally answered.   “I’ve been taken since I was sixteen years old.  I just can’t seem to get the woman who’s got me to see that she’s got me.” 

             
“Well ladies, you heard it from the horse’s mouth.  He’s taken, and I have to say if she didn’t know it before, she knows it now.”  Josey plopped down on the bed.  She had him all along and she didn’t know it.  She had been such a fool.  She took extra care to wear something nice for the rodeo, the next evening.  She put on a knee length white dress, a blue jean jacket and her boots. She combed and curled her hair then set her hat on top of her head.  She even put a dab of make up on, and her lucky earrings. 

             
The drive to the rodeo was a long one.  The
bumper-to-bumper
traffic made it impossible to get in a hurry.  Josey ground her teeth and hit the steering wheel.  She was impatient.  She wanted to see Heath and make her apologies.  She hated how she’d treated him.  Finally, she was able to get into the parking lot and find a spot to park her truck.