Page 38 of The Pieces We've Lost

I tried to hide a smile. It felt nice to have everything validated. If a complete stranger could see my feelings for Colter, I wasn’t going completely crazy. I could stop worrying about what might happen and just live in the moment for once. Relax.

I learned that her husband was also a team roper competing tonight. They had two kids, but the older one was hanging out with his grandparents. The younger one, the baby girl whose name was Olivia, was too fussy to be away from her mother for long periods of time, hence why she was with Cora.

“You never know, maybe taking her to rodeos all the time will inspire her to be like her dad one day,” I found myself saying without a hint of sadness.

“Maybe.” She smiled at the thought, looking at her daughter with all of the love in the world.

“Trust me, if you keep bringing her to these events, she will fall in love with it. She’ll never want to leave the arena. Her dad will be her hero.”

I thought back to my days as a kid, following my dad around in my cowboy boots and snap shirts. There were still happy memories, if I searched hard enough for them, dug through the pain and trauma. Seeing Cora and her daughter gave me hope that maybe one day I’d love rodeo again and I’d bring my kids here. Coming here today, without feeling an obligation to my mother, was a start. Baby steps.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

colter

We were gearing up to rope in the semifinals after a brutal morning of waiting. Our semifinals group was good. There would be big competition tonight. Luckily, the team from Oklahoma was in the second semifinal group tomorrow, so we wouldn’t have to compete against them. There was a good chance, though, that they would make it to the championship round, so if we advanced, we would have to be on our game in two days.

Wyatt and his roping partner had also made it to the semifinals and they were competing against us tonight. He had caught me earlier today before the rodeo had begun and wished me luck. If there was any competitor to have in your corner, it was Wyatt.

We were competing in the fourth spot out of ten today, early in the lineup. This meant we needed to do our absolute best because we wouldn’t have an idea of what times to beat. This usually stressed me out, not having a goal time, but today I was calm and relaxed.

The events flew by, seemingly much quicker thannormal even though there were more competitors this round, and the announcers were preparing to start the team roping.

Bullet was restless. He hated waiting.

“It’s almost time, buddy. Be patient.” I gave him an assuring pat.

The first two teams had already taken their turns. The first duo, a couple of cowboys from Austin, clocked a five-point-six, a respectable time. The second team’s heeler missed, giving them a no time and no shot at the gold buckle.

The third team was preparing to go, backing their horses into the boxes. They looked determined. I’d never seen them before and wasn’t sure where they were from.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got ourselves a couple cowboys from Kansas just starting their rookie season. Let’s give ’em a hand, folks.”

Well, that explains it.It was rare for cowboys and cowgirls in their first season to compete here. They had to be decently good to get an invite.

I watched as the header gave the signal to open the chute and then his horse took off. They roped the steer quickly and easily. They were smooth, I had to give them that.

“Five-point-eight for the cowboys from Kansas!” the announcer called out. “Oh, but I’ve got some bad news for y’all. It appears they broke the barrier. Unfortunately, that’s going to be an extra ten seconds added on to their time. Let’s not let them leave without anything, give them a hand as they exit the arena.”

Cheers and whistles erupted in the arena. That was one thing about rodeo, you never left with yourhead hung too low. People always cheered you on, win or lose, catch or no catch.

“Let’s do this, buddy.” Reid clapped me on the back as he walked past.

We had work to do. I gave him a nod of acknowledgment before mounting my horse and following Reid to the box.

“This next team comes from Silver Creek, Montana. If you missed them in the third series, you’ll want to be paying attention to them tonight. They may be young, but they’ve got a lot of fire. Colter Carson and Reid Lawson, folks!” The announcer introduced us as I backed into the box.

Deep breath. You’ve got this.I controlled my breathing, steadying my heart rate until it was merely a light drum in my chest.

I nodded and the chute opened, the steer sprinting ahead. I kicked Bullet twice, his signal to get going. I swung the rope over my head three times, waiting for the perfect moment to throw and…Catch! Yes! C’mon, Reid,I thought. I turned the steer for Reid to have access to the hind legs, and he threw his rope perfectly, legally catching both.

“Clean! These boys are hot,hot, HOT!”

I looked up at the clock as the announcer boomed, “Five-point-two seconds! How about we give a great big round of applause for these cowboys from Silver Creek, Montana!”

The last six competitors’ runs wrapped up before I could even comprehend what had just happened. It was one of our best runs yet and it was still so early in the year. I genuinely believed that by the NFR, we could be running in the three-second range. The record for team roping was three-point-three seconds, which wasincredible. I wasn’t trying to break any records today, though, so five-point-two was all good with me. I knew we had won the round, so Reid and I prepared to do our victory lap.

“Your semifinal round winners for tonight are Colter Carson and Reid Lawson! Let’s help them as they take a lap around the arena, folks!” The announcer called us out as our horses took off running.

---