Cowgirl Up (24 page)

“I’ll save you a seat,” Mary Leah said.

“See you then,” Del said.

“Are we ready to head out too?” Mary Leah asked.

“Yeah, let me get Shadow and we can race him home.”

Coal walked to the barn and opened the stall door for Shadow. “Let’s go home, big boy,” she said and he trotted ahead of her and when she reached the car, he took off at a full gallop.

“We will never beat him, you know,” Coal said with a chuckle.

“I know, but it’s still fun,” Mary Leah said as she gunned the engine.

Chapter Sixteen

The big day arrived, and when everyone was packed and the horses were loaded into the trailer, the crew of the MC2 left for Dallas. Coal, Mary Leah, and Melissa would get them settled into their hotel while Harley, Gene, and Lucas arranged for the horses at the rodeo arena. Gene had volunteered to sleep in the small camper housed in the front of the trailer to keep a close eye on the horses while the rest stayed at the hotel.

Coal was certain Gene had not slept the night before, being so excited about the rodeo, and she hoped he would get a nap in on the two-hour ride to Dallas. She drove Melissa’s truck, following the trailer, and Melissa and Mary Leah kept up a friendly banter.

“What time is your first event tomorrow?” Mary Leah asked.

“The barrel racing begins at ten and then team roping at four,” she answered. “The finals for the bulldogging and bronco riding are all on Sunday morning.”

Melissa chuckled. “That means Gene will bouncing off the walls all weekend.”

“He is a bit excited,” she agreed.

“I thought once we all got settled we could go out for a nice meal and get a good night’s rest,” Melissa suggested.

“That sounds really good to me. I’m starving all of a sudden,” Mary Leah said.

“I know just the place to take care of that,” Melissa said as the Dallas city limits came into view.

“What do you have in mind?” Mary Leah asked.

“I was thinking the Saltgrass,” Melissa answered.

“That’s a great choice.”

“I hope they have good-sized portions,” Coal said.

“I guarantee you won’t leave there hungry,” Melissa promised.

When Harley exited the interstate to drive to the rodeo grounds, Melissa directed Coal to the next exit for the hotel. Melissa walked inside to start checking them in as Coal and Mary Leah got a luggage cart and began unloading the bags. When they pushed the cart inside, Melissa met them at the front desk.

“All set,” she said as she handed Mary Leah a packet of keys. “We can take this upstairs, if you will park the truck and meet us on the third floor.”

“I’ll be right back then,” Coal said.

Melissa and Mary Leah pushed the cart toward the elevator. “How has she been sleeping?” Melissa asked.

“Much better since she began her sessions with Del. I really hope she can relax and have some fun this weekend,” Mary Leah answered.

“I hope you both can,” Melissa said with a grin.

They stopped in front of room 322. “This is your room and I’m two doors down,” she said as she prompted her sister to open the door with one of the electronic keys. “I’ll meet the boys downstairs to give them their keys and then we should plan to meet at six for dinner. I’ll call for a reservation so we should be all set.”

Coal arrived just as Mary Leah was taking off the first bag. She picked up the remaining two bags and looked at Melissa. “Hang on a second and I’ll take your bags for you.”

“Don’t be silly, Coal, I can handle this. Go on in and relax. We’re going to meet at six for dinner.”

“Okay, boss,” she said and followed Mary Leah into the room with a huge king-sized bed.

“Would you look at that,” Mary Leah said and let out a low whistle.

Coal set the bags on the bed and turned to see what her lover was admiring. A large whirlpool tub was the centerpiece to the bathroom and a bucket of chilled champagne sat beside the marble tub.

“Wow, should we take advantage of this now or later? We have three hours before we meet the others for dinner,” she said.

“Let’s wait until we get back from dinner. Then we can completely relax and enjoy the evening together,” Mary Leah suggested.

She unzipped the first bag. “That’s fine with me. I want to unpack these bags and make sure everything is ready for tomorrow. Then maybe we can catch a quick nap before we shower and dress for dinner.”

“As usual, you must be reading my mind,” Mary Leah answered. “Is there anything I need to iron for you?”

“An outfit for tonight if you don’t mind, and I’ll put the rest of our clothing away and get the bathroom set up.”

“Deal, but it’s going to cost you,” Mary Leah teased, approaching her.

“What’s the price?”

“One of your kisses,” she teased.

She dropped the jeans in her hands back on the bed and turned to take Mary Leah in her arms for a deep passionate kiss. When she ended the kiss, she smiled at her lover and said, “I will gladly pay that price any time.”

“I will definitely keep that in mind,” Mary Leah said, and with a swat to Coal’s backside, she walked to the closet to take out the ironing board and iron. “Starch?” she asked.

“Will it cost more?” she teased.

“Of course,” she teased back.

“Starch then, please.” She smiled.

†

After a great meal, the women drove back to the hotel while Harley and Lucas dropped Gene off at the arena for the night.

They had agreed to meet at seven in the hotel for breakfast, so when they arrived at the arena, Harley looked at Gene and said, “Be ready at six thirty and I’ll come get you for breakfast. Get some sleep tonight too, so you’ll be well rested for the competition.”

“Yes, Harley,” he said as he stepped out of the truck.

†

Mary Leah started the bath and opened the bottle of champagne as Coal set out her clothes for the next day and set the alarm on her phone. Mary Leah poured glasses of the sparkling champagne and placed them on the edge of the tub.

They stripped out of the remainder of their clothing and slipped into the warm water. “This is heavenly,” Mary Leah said, positioning herself in front of Coal.

“Thanks for a great night,” she said and offered her glass to Mary Leah.

“The first of many more to come,” Mary Leah said and touched her glass to Coal’s.

†

They made love slowly for several hours and feeling beautifully content, Coal fell asleep in Mary Leah’s arms.

When the alarm sounded the next morning, she stretched next to Mary Leah and kissed her lover awake. “Will you shower with me?”

“I’d love that,” Mary Leah said as she sat up on the edge of the bed.

Coal followed her into the large shower and kissed Mary Leah deeply, hands roaming over her lover’s body.

Mary Leah chuckled. “You keep that up and we will be late for breakfast.”

“We could skip breakfast,” she said as she caressed Mary Leah’s back with a soapy cloth.

“You have a big day today, so no skipping breakfast.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Coal said.

†

“I forgot how handsome you look all dressed up,” Mary Leah said from the bed as she watched Coal fasten the pearl snaps on the green paisley western shirt.

“That is very sweet of you to say,” Coal said, tucking the shirt inside her jeans and fastening her belt. “Will you grab my hat for me?”

Mary Leah climbed from the bed and walked to the closet to retrieve the new gray felt Stetson she had bought for her. She handed her the hat and asked, “All set?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said. She walked to the door and held it open for Mary Leah. “After you, ma’am.”

Coal’s two racing events were first on tap for the day. The barrel racing would be first, followed closely by the pole bending. Then the bull riding would begin, and late afternoon the steer wrestling would occur. The roping competition and bronco riding would conclude on Sunday.

After breakfast, they rode to the rodeo grounds and Gene raced ahead of the group to get Shadow from his stall as she pulled her tack from the trailer. “Good luck,” Mary Leah said with a hug and then she and Melissa walked to the bleachers. They met Del at the entrance to the bleachers.

“Good morning, have I missed anything?”

“No, Del, you’re just in time to help us find good seats,” Melissa said as she led them up the steps.

Lucas held her saddle and bridle as Coal leaned down to fasten the brown leather chaps to her legs. She was all set, and as she walked to where Gene was holding Shadow, she heard the overhead announcement that the barrel race event would be starting in ten minutes. Harley pinned the paper competitor number on the back of her shirt as her heart began to race. She had pulled the fifth run so she mounted Shadow and rode him into a practice ring to warm up.

Once she settled onto his back, Coal’s nerves calmed. Riding him was as natural as breathing to her, and she was confident that he would give her his best runs today. A grin formed on her face as they cantered easily in the ring.

“She looks ready to go,” Harley said as he slapped Gene on the back. “I hope you are that confident when your events start.”

“I will be, boss,” Gene said with a grin and they took up seats on the railing of the arena to watch.

†

Coal watched as the sun gleamed off a beautiful palomino mare that cantered in front of them. The horse and rider, a feisty woman named Shelly Brewster, would more than likely be their top competition in both events. The horse was quick, and if ridden properly, they would give them a run for their money. But Coal knew the weakness in the team was the rider. Shelly was a spoiled, rich daddy’s girl. Her dad could buy the best horse money could buy, but her lack of practice showed in her performance. She had drawn second run so Coal would know her run time before her turn.

†

“You look more nervous than Coal,” Melissa told her sister as they waited for the competition to begin. “Relax, she will do fine.”

“I know, I just want her to kick Shelly’s ass this year,” Mary Leah said.

“Who is Shelly?” Del asked.

Venom flowed through Mary Leah’s voice as she answered Del. “A spoiled rich kid who thinks daddy’s money can buy her anything.”

“You like her that much, huh?” Del teased.

“Uh-hmm,” Mary Leah said.

Del was about to speak again when the first competitor was announced. They sat back and watched as the competition began. The first run was clean but not an incredibly fast run. Shadow shouldn’t have problems beating that time.

The next competitor stepped to the starting line and was introduced to the crowd. She waved like a beauty queen in a parade. Del turned to Mary Leah. “A bit cheesy isn’t she?”

“That was actually pretty mild for Shelly,” Melissa said.

Shelly took off from the starting line and made it through the right-hand barrel fairly well, but her boot caught the second barrel. It didn’t topple over, which would have meant a time penalty, but it threw her horse off stride. The crowd watched as her horse raced for the final barrel, and after rounding it, Shelly used her reins to whip the horse’s flanks urging more speed.

Watching Shelly’s run from outside the ring, Coal growled, “Damn, I hate when she does that.”

“If she’d give the horse her head it would run faster,” Harley said. “Whipping it is totally uncalled for.”

She watched as the horse broke the plane of the finish line and she looked up at the time. Faster than the first run, but still not a blazing time. “We can beat that,” she said into Shadow’s ear as she reached down to pat his neck.

The next rider dumped a barrel and Coal moved into the rotation with a rider ahead of her. The dirt around the barrels was becoming soft from all the turns ahead of her so she would need to be careful not to slip in too close. She watched as a cowboy lifted the barrel back into place and listened as the announcer introduced the next rider.