Jourdanton, TX
I hugged Cassi goodbye before she got in her truck. Good thing Rob always took his four hauler. I stood there as she drove off. Going to miss her but she's going to be with him.
Rob came up behind me. "Come on Ry lets get our horses warmed up." He told me. I turned on my heel and followed him. Once Dixie was tacked up I warmed her up and practiced a few rounds.
Rob timed me before he practiced roping. "Come on I need a team roping partner for just this once." He whined. "You know I don't rope." I told him.
"Just this once." He plead. I crossed my arms. "Your cute when you do that." He commented. The bored look on my face made it clear I wasn't saying yes.
"One night Rylin. You won't have to tomorrow night." He dealt. The annoyed look on my face continued. Dixie snorted impatiently. I turned her and started back towards the stalls.
"Rylin." Rob called. I ignored him as I rode off. Once back at the stalls I dismounted and untacked Dixie. Then brushed her off. A clattering sound echoed throughout. Dixie reared and whinnied loudly as she crow hopped in place.
I grabbed onto her halter trying to calm her. She bucked as I tried. Then I led her out. She broke free and ran. I grabbed a lead and ran after her. Once at the end I looked left then right.
I couldn't see her. I continued to the trailers. I went around the entire lot, not finding her. Finally, I went back to the camper area. I walked down the way, looking. Then, at the very last one, there she was.
I walked down and found out it was Jase's. He was sitting on the step, drinking. I approached cautiously about what could happen. He didn't acknowledge me as I slipped the rope off and put the lead on her.
She bobbed her head, then nudged him. He looked up at her and me. He stood and set the bottle down. I started backing up. Dix stopped me from allowing him to put his hand against my cheek.
His other hand took my arm, holding me in place. "Why are you scared of me?" He asked as his hand enclosed tighter on my arm.
I realized he felt that I was tensing up. His hand moved from my face to my other arm. He squeezed that one tight. I tried to move away. "Calm down, and I'll release." He said.
I looked up into his eyes. My body started untensing. Little by little, he released. Once he had a slight hold, I didn't try to rip away from him.
He finally let me go and turned back and went back to his alcoholic beverage. I led Dixie away back to the stalls. He was testing me. Seeing if I'd react like the other women would when he touched them.
The redness was still in his eyes that much I could see. He didn't stumble or anything when he walked towards me.
I bathed Dixie and got her cleaned up for tonight's run. Tonight's the only night I'm running. I mounted and warmed her up and practiced a bit before it was time.
Once it was my turn, I looked over to the side, seeing Jase leaning against the railing. He looked more sober than usual. I nodded and ran Dix to the first barrel, cutting it perfectly.
Then to the second and finally the third, before she bolted for the finish. Once across I slowed her down and turned her back. I got a perfect time. I rode her over to the stalls and dismounted.
I fed her and my other horse before almost running into a man. I looked up, finding dark green eyes. Those don't belong to Rob or Jase. I backed up, almost tripping on something.
"What's wrong, baby girl?" Alex Trusey asked. I fell back on a hay bale. He put his body over me with his hands resting on the wall behind us. "How about you and I do a little dance?" He asked.
I tried to get away from him. He held me in place. "Now we're going to do this my way and only my way." He told me. I tried to get free again. His grip tightened.
Then he was pulled away from me. I got up and away from Alex. Once I was a safe distance away and out of his view, I sank to the ground and sighed.
A few minutes later, boots on gravel made me jump out of my skin. I jumped up from where I was and was about to run when someone grabbed me. I struggled as the person refused to let me go.
"Calm down. It's only me." I stopped when I heard that familiar slur. He loosened his grip on me. I calmed down, leaning my head back on him. "Come on, I'll walk you to your trailer." He said.
I let him walk me back. "You're not as drunk tonight as you usually are," I said as we walked along. He wasn't even stumbling at all. "I've got certain reasons." He said as we neared it.
Once there, I unlocked the door and turned around. "Thank you," I told him. "No problem." He replied. He was silently standing there. "Um." He started.
"Um, would you like to go to breakfast with me once I get out of my drunken state?" He asked me. "Any chance to get out and away from Rob. He's awesome and all, but I've got to have time away from him." I answered.
"Then how about we take a stroll in the morning?" He asked. "Before I start drinking." "How about a horseback ride?" I asked him. "Let's decide that in the morning." He said before letting me go inside.
"Good night, Rylin." He said before walking. "Night, Jase," I replied quietly, where he couldn't hear. I closed the door and leaned against it.
My inner teenage girl was squealing. I got a shower. As I stepped out, Wyatt called. "Hey, baby, cuz."
"Hey Wy. How's life?" I asked.
"Could be better. I heard you're traveling with Rob."
"Yeah. Might have to find someone less irritating."
He chuckled. "Like who?"
"Well. Let's just say Alex Trusey is at the top of my hit list and Jase Hunter is at the very bottom below Rob."
"How'd he manage that?" Wyatt asked me.
"All I'm saying is that he's been nice to me. At the last rodeo, I was kind to him and he was kind back."
"Least he's not on my hit list. What else did he do?"
"He caught Dixie earlier today, then after I rode Alex pulled a stunt, and Jase jumped him. I noticed today that he was more sober than he usually is."
Wyatt mumbled something into the phone that I couldn't hear. "I'm still going to warn you about him."
"Ok. I'll be careful," I told him.
"Love you cuz."
"You too, Wy."
We hung up, and I stepped out of the bathroom. I fixed my bed for the night and curled up to sleep.