Page 6 of Faith for the Cowboy
“Are you just in town only for the event?” He didn’t say that he hoped she would stay longer.
Harper turned to look at him, her camera momentarily forgotten. Her gaze assessed him, and Lawson felt like he was under a microscope. "That's right," she replied, her tone guarded. "I'm just here to cover the rodeo for the magazine. Then I’ll move on to the next event.” Like always.
Lawson nodded, his cowboy hat casting a shadow over his rugged features. "Well, I hope you find our rodeo to your liking. We work hard on this event, and we take pride in what we do here."
Harper raised an eyebrow, her expression skeptical. "Is that so? I've heard a few things about rodeo cowboys. I thought the only thing they take pride in is the score on their ride."
Lawson didn’t hide the flash of irritation that crossed his face. "I reckon there's more to us than meets the eye," he replied, his voice tinged with defensiveness.
Harper's gaze remained unyielding. "I'll believe it when I see it."
With that, she turned back to her camera, signaling the conversation was over. She couldn’t deny that she was intrigued by this man who worked his family’s ranch but kept it a secret that he competed in rodeos. What exactly did that say about him?
As she captured the event, she noticed how Lawson Macklin made his way into her camera lens throughout the day. It wasn’t her fault he was everywhere. And it wasn’t his fault that he looked so good on camera. Still, she needed to keep her focus on her work, and far away from the handsome cowboy who captured her attention more than she wanted to admit.
4
The event at the ranch from a couple weeks past was a distant memory as Lawson watched the competitors before him at another rodeo. A pit settled in his stomach, but it wasn’t the thought of the eight-second ride ahead of him this time that concerned him.
He had been dishonest with his family.
Before now, he had only omitted the fact that he was training for rodeos. But this weekend he had told them an outright lie.
He desperately wanted to compete in the rodeo in Dallas — two hours from home—but he couldn’t get away without an excuse. So he told them he was going to look at some cattle. No one questioned him since that was part of his job on the ranch. Now he felt terrible.
Lawson hung his hand and rubbed his temples between his thumb and middle finger. Why was he lying to his family as a grown man? He could make his own decisions, and they couldn’t stop him.
No, it wasn’t because they would stop him. What terrified him was the look he knew his mom would give him when she heard the news. Also, he couldn’t be sure if his brothers would laugh in his face or join him to compete. And he didn’t know which would be worse.
“Hey man,” a familiar voice said before his heavy hand came crashing down on Lawson’s shoulder. “You ready to do this again?”
Lawson grinned at Riley and pushed thoughts of his family aside. “You bet I am.”
Riley chuckled. “Nothing like that first taste of it, huh? Once you do it, you have to do it again.”
Lawson nodded. “That’s exactly how I feel. Don’t know if I can get enough of it.” He sighed, knowing it was true and knowing that meant eventually he would have to tell his family.
“Sorry I didn’t make it out to the event at Whispering Oaks the other week,” Riley said. “Amelia’s family had a gathering we had to be at.”
“I get it. You’re a family man now. I wouldn’t be surprised if you two start having your own family soon.”
Riley smiled. “I can’t say anything yet.”
Lawson laughed. “Well, then that tells me that there’s something to not tell. Good luck, man.”
“Thanks, Law. Good luck to you. I saw the bull you drew today. You’re gonna need all the luck you can get.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m ready,” he called out after his friend. Riley lifted a hand in a thumbs-up.
“Are you sure about that?”
Lawson whipped around to see Harper standing close by, her camera in hand. “Yeah, I'm sure I’m ready. I think I was born ready for this. It just took me a long time to figure it out.”
Harper smiled. “I don’t think anyone is ever really ready to sit on a bull that’s going to kick and buck until they fall off. But okay.” She shrugged.
Lawson tilted his head. “For someone who works at rodeos, you don’t seem to have a very high opinion of rodeo cowboys.”
She didn’t smile as she looked away. “Let’s just say it’s complicated.”
