The Ranger's Rodeo Rebel (12 page)

Chapter Fifteen

The Jacksonville rodeo grounds were nestled in the Diablo mountain range, halfway between the Bay Area and the Central Valley. It was pretty country, Chance thought. Different from the Sierra foothills, with more oaks and fewer pine trees. Warmer, too.

Caro had caught a ride to the rodeo grounds with one of the girls. He shouldn't have felt grateful that she wanted to ride with her friends. He should have insisted she go with him, but he didn't. When she'd collapsed against him the night before, he'd nearly gasped from the reaction her touch had ignited. The thought of sitting next to her for the six-hour drive to the Jacksonville rodeo grounds was unbearable.

“So you're flying solo this weekend, huh?”

Chance turned to see who'd spoken, smiling when he caught sight of Bill walking toward him. They'd been reintroduced at the last rodeo, but it was as if Chance had never stopped competing on the high school rodeo circuit where they'd both started out. Bill was still the wisecracking funny man he'd always been.

“Yup. Gonna be performing on my own. Hope I don't run you down.”

“Nah,” the little man said, shaking his hand. Tonight his face would be covered with black makeup and the cowboy hat he currently wore would be replaced with a backward baseball cap. He'd be wearing clothes three times too big, too. Bill was one of the best barrel men in the industry, someone who wasn't afraid to throw himself in front of a fifteen-hundred-pound animal and who would do whatever it took to keep someone safe. Chance respected that more than Bill probably knew.

“Cutting things kind of close, aren't you?” he said with a wide smile. “Rodeo starts in a couple hours.”

“We decided to leave this morning.” He frowned. “For security reasons.”

Bill's face darkened. “You really think that guy will come after Caro again?”

“
That guy
needs his ass kicked,” Chance muttered. “He sent her a text this week.” Just thinking about it sent his blood pressure soaring. “Told her he couldn't wait to see her perform this weekend.”

Bill stroked his face. “Hasn't she got a restraining order against him or something?”

“Restraining orders only do so much.” Chance tipped his cowboy hat back. “So, yes, we think there's a good chance he'll be here. It's a public event, and as long as he stays at least a thousand feet away, technically, he can do whatever he wants.” He looked around, taking in the barren hills, the flat terrain and the aluminum grandstands that seemed to jut up out of nowhere. An elementary school sat in the distance, and beyond that, the only residential area of town. Jacksonville was truly a single-stoplight town with one grocery store, a tiny strip mall and not much else. “At least we should be able to see him coming.”

“And everyone knows what he looks like,” Bill said with a nod.

Chance had asked Caro for a picture of James. They'd distributed it to every person they could think of via social media, asking everyone to share. They hoped it would keep people on the alert.

“Extra eyes on the ground should help,” he said, turning back to the trailer. “My plan is to set up a corral by our rig. The other girls are going to stay with friends. Caro's staying with me. That's why I pulled in next to you. I was hoping I could use one side of your trailer as a wall. I can make a bigger corral that way.”

“Sure,” Bill said.

They set to work, but it didn't take them long to erect the portable panels Chance had brought. Having to use only three sides helped. He'd be able to pull the work trailer in and out when he performed. Caro and the other girls arrived shortly thereafter, and Chance did his best to ignore her while keeping an eye out for James. They filled hay bags and water buckets. Finally, they unloaded the horses.

“Guess we should probably get ready,” Caro said, gazing up at him with trepidation in her eyes. It killed him every time. He hated seeing her worried. Hated that some lowlife putz of a man could wreak such havoc with her nerves. She had enough on her plate as it was.

“Don't think about it,” he said. “He sent you that text to mess with your mind, that's all. I doubt he'll be here this weekend.”

She tried to put on a brave face, and damn it, he admired her for it. “I'm going to head over to Lori's trailer and get ready.”

He needed to get ready, too. The trailer was part of the act, which meant he'd need to pull it closer to the arena.

His first solo performance.

Okay, yes, that had him a little on edge, too. He'd been practicing for weeks, all of it leading up to this moment, and as his brother had said, there was no dress rehearsal in this business. You had to dive in and do it, and while Chance hadn't fallen off the horse once this week, there was always the possibility something could go wrong during a live performance.

It didn't take him long to dress, and he wouldn't need to move the trailer until it was time for his act, but that didn't stop his hands from shaking as if he was back on the front lines. He tried to keep himself busy, checking in with the rodeo manager, making sure the pen they'd erected wouldn't fall down, double-and even triple-checking buckets and feed bags. When Chance heard the first roar of the crowd, he nearly jumped, which irritated him to the point he almost bit the head off a little girl who stuck her hand between the metal rails to pet Rio. Her look of terror and distress made him realize he needed to calm down. He wasn't facing a firing squad. Compared to running for his life, this was small potatoes.

From that point forward, he kept himself firmly in hand. They were surrounded by trailers, with cowboys and cowgirls riding by. Chance scanned each person. Ever vigilant. Always on the alert.

“You ready?”

He turned to see Caro standing behind him, looking as sexy as ever in her stop sign–red trick-riding outfit. She'd pulled her long blond hair into a ponytail and applied extra makeup Not that she needed it. Her blue eyes always looked bright, but with eyeliner and mascara, they glowed like the stars in the sky. A ridiculously poetic thing to think, but it was true.

“As ready as I'll ever be.”

She smiled. “See you over there.”

He watched her grab Rio from the pen. She'd already saddled him earlier, so it was a simple thing to slip on his bridle. She mounted up shortly after, beautiful, confident and completely at ease. It made him feel like an idiot for being nervous.

You've faced men with rifles pointed at your head. This is just a little rodeo. And a small-town one at that.

It didn't feel small-town.

Concentrate on the routine.

He did a mental run-through: Teddy in the trailer. Pull into the arena. Let Teddy out. First trick is circle Teddy. Right circle. Left circle. Stop. Rear. Dance on hind legs. Dance on all four legs. Stop. Teddy bares his teeth and smiles at the crowd. Bow. Climb aboard. Stand again. Circle without reins and wave. The girls come in then. They perform. Bill jumps at Caro. He rescues Caro. Caro ropes Bill. Done.

Simple.

With a deep breath and a calm resolve, he untied Teddy and loaded him up. He checked his reflection in the driver-side window to make sure his black cowboy hat wasn't crooked and then climbed into the truck and started the engine.

Ready or not, here I come.

It took a bit to make his way to the arena, but once he was close, rodeo officials cleared a path. He hung back from the rear gate, watching as the last of the saddle bronc riders tried to cover their mounts, all the while keeping an eye on the grandstands, the people milling around, even the people on horseback. This rodeo was a security nightmare, but he had no choice except to roll with it.

His teammates arrived. They lined up next to Caro and Rio outside the arena. Over the previous month, he'd learned their names: Judy, Lori, Ann, Delilah. All of them young, lithe and amazing, but none of them as pretty as Caro. He spotted more than one cowboy eyeing the pretty blonde as she sat atop her horse, waiting. With her hair pulled back and her regal posture, she looked like a vision an artist would sculpt.

Someone tapped his window.

“You ready?” asked one of the rodeo producers.

He gave the thumbs-up.

Through the exterior of the truck, he heard the words, “Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a special treat for you this weekend.”

The surge of adrenaline shooting through him made it hard to breathe. He told himself to relax as someone opened the gate, but he still needed to clutch the steering wheel to steady his hands. The truck's engine strained once the tires sank into the deeper footing. Chance tried to ignore the hundreds of faces staring down at him. His hands gripped the wheel so tight his knuckles started to hurt.

“The Jacksonville rodeo welcomes Chance Reynolds and his amazing rodeo misfit, Teddy!”

That was his cue. He slipped out of the truck and the roar of the crowd nearly made him stumble backward. He could feel their presence, like an invisible force field that touched him and stirred something inside him. He waved as he headed for the back of the trailer.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Chance Reynolds comes from a long line of rodeo performers. The horse he's performing with today is a second-generation trick horse, and you won't believe what he can do.”

Looking into the horse's soulful eyes helped calm his nerves. Teddy had done this act hundreds of times. He'd probably do all the moves without commands, so it was simple for Chance to step back and let the horse out. The crowd cheered when Teddy paused and nodded his head, his long mane flying, one of his front legs pawing the ground. Colt said that happened sometimes, that Teddy loved to perform, and he would ham it up in front of certain crowds. Clearly, today was one of those days.

“Okay, kid, let's do it.”

He motioned for the horse to circle. It was like being at home. Teddy set off with a flick of his head, and when he finished one circle, he changed directions. The crowd roared its approval. Chance gave the command to stop. The audience seemed to hold its breath. Chance lifted his arm. Teddy reared. There were gasps and cries of delight and then more applause, the cheers growing louder as Teddy began to hop, or dance, one hop, two, three. Chance began to relax. It was so easy, his brother's constant schooling coming to his aid. He didn't need to think about the next move. He simply gave the signal for Teddy to stop, and then without him asking, the horse pranced in place. Beautiful to watch. Perfect performance.

Chance blinked. Out of nowhere, he thought of another black horse, a beautiful black mare that his dad had beaten into submission. The image made him wince. She'd been a heck of a performer, too, but Teddy performed out of love, not fear. His brother had done a remarkable job with the rescue, using a kind touch and a gentle heart. And it showed. The horse seemed to read Chance's thoughts, smiling at the crowd all on his own.

“Teddy, bow,” he told the horse, and the animal stretched his front legs apart, his head sinking between his knees.

“How about that, ladies and gentlemen? But it's not over yet. Welcome to the Jacksonville rodeo arena the Galloping Girlz!”

And that was Chance's cue to hop aboard. Trick riders used a line of people holding paper streamers to keep their horses from ducking off the rail. He would join those people, albeit aboard Teddy, and hold out his hand so the girls could slap it on their way by. Carolina circled around behind him, and Chance turned just in time to see Bill the Barrel Man jump out of his can. Chance laughed. Bill wore a black scarf over the bottom half of his face and a hat big enough to cover the state of Wyoming.

“How in the hell...” He had no idea how he'd fit the damn hat into the barrel.

“Here goes,” Chance whispered to himself.

He'd never practiced the routine with Bill, but no one would have known it. It went exactly as it had the previous weekend when Colt had played the part of hero. Caro was perfect, too, screaming when Bill seemed to snatch her off her horse. And sore ankle or not, she landed perfectly. Bill wagged his eyebrows at the crowd, and the audience laughed, booed and happily played along.

It was time.

Chance nudged Teddy forward in Caro and Bill's direction. The horse needed next to no instruction. Caro threw her hand out. Chance leaned down, reached for her, and she flung herself up behind him. Somehow it all worked. Just as they'd practiced.

The crowd thundered their approval.

Chance was acutely aware of Caro's presence, but it was okay this time. He didn't falter. Didn't mess it all up like he had so many times before. Today they were on fire. A team. And it felt...perfect.

They galloped toward the truck and trailer. Caro reached for the rope. She scooped it up smoothly and then stood. This, too, the audience loved, because they'd figured out what she meant to do. Bill made a big production of trying to run away, big hat flopping, pants slipping down, and suddenly Chance wanted to laugh, too. He'd never felt so free before. So at home. So perfectly at ease.

Caro's rope slid around Bill's waist, and the barrel man's arms became pinned to his side. The audience laughed, hooted and cheered. Caro somehow managed to tug Bill off his feet while standing up on Teddy and holding on to Chance. That wasn't supposed to happen. Bill was supposed to fight the rope on his feet, but the barrel man rolled with it. The coup de grâce came as they dragged Bill out the arena. The man had layered his clothes, and they began to slide off him. Bill left behind first his black pants and then what looked like a pair of sweats and then another layer of...something. Boxer shorts, maybe. Chance struggled to keep a straight face as Caro jumped down, and he turned Teddy back toward the arena.

“Ladies and gentlemen, give a hand for Chance Reynolds, will you? And the Galloping Girlz and the wonder horse Teddy!”

The roar of the crowd was something to behold, and as Chance stood in the middle of the arena, waving, smiling and drinking in their applause, he realized he could get used to this. His gaze snagged on Caro standing outside the arena. Even from a distance, he could see the glint of her blue eyes. She grinned at him, and he couldn't help but grin back.