Page 56 of Roping My Rival

My chewing slows as I search his face. “Well…you’re my roping partner and a friend. It’s a warm day, and if I’m thirsty, you probably are too. I’m just being a decent person.”

He remains quiet again, and I’m so damn confused about this guy. I bought him water, not a new saddle. It’s not a big deal, but he seems to think it is. When his gaze finally meets mine again, I hold the messy sandwich out in invitation. Dane takes it and huffs in annoyance as the sauce drips on his hand. He still takes a bite, though, before handing it back to me.

“Good, right?” I ask as he chews.

He nods as he steals a napkin to wipe his hands and mouth.

“It is. Messy though.”

“Sometimes the best things are messy.”

I don’t know why those words tumbled out, but they did, and I can’t take them back. Our gazes lock, and I’m pretty sure I’ve pissed him off. He turns away, drinking from the water I brought him, and once I’m finished eating, he stands.

“We should get back.”

I agree with a nod and walk next to him as we travel through the concessions and back to our horses. Several of the ropers stop to congratulate us. Dane says nothing more than thanks and shakes hands when offered, but that’s it.

Once back at our horses, he clears his throat as we untie and head towards the rodeo ring.

“Do you really know all those cowboys that stopped us?”

“Most of them. They’ve all been around since I have.”

“How do you…I mean…do you just talk to them?”

“I didn’t at first. I’m kind of shy, but most of the time I’d sit with them at the banquets or the bars after events, and someone would talk to me. Then it got easier.”

Thinking back on all those years he never joined us, I wonder if he regrets it now. Now isn’t the time for that line of questioning, though, because we have an event to win.

Team roping has a smaller field than tie-down, but the field is still deep. We’re in the second of two flights, which is both good and bad. Sometimes watching too many clean runs can get to you. Thankfully, Dane seems unaffected by all the times posted so far as we move to the chutes for our flight.

We’re the last team to go out tonight. It was just luck of the draw, and we settle into our spots. With each team out, we inch closer, and I steal a glance at Dane.

He turns his head to meet my glance.

“Don’t doubt this. We’re gonna win, Burke.”

“Yeah, we will.”

He faces forward again, and so do I. We load into our chutes, me on the right of the steer and him on the left. I’m an anomaly in the fact that I prefer to be on the right, even though data shows the chance of me catching clean is lower. It’s all I’ve done, and it works for me, so data can take a hike. Petey is coiled and ready to go with the signal. In my periphery, I spot Dane, set and ready. This is it.

I nod to the official, and we’re out clean. Petey damn near drives himself, and after my rope lands clean around the steer’s neck, Petey stops and moves to pull the steer and face its feet to Dane. He has the harder throw with a steer fighting to break free and bouncing all over, but he gets it. We face each other across the ring, the steer caught between us, until the flag is lowered. It’s a clean run, but was it fast enough?

The official in the ring comes out to loosen the steer from our ropes and, as it trots down to the exit, we hear the announcer’s voice—finally.

“Ladies and gentlemen, for the first time ever at this rodeo, we have a tie for first place! Please give these gentlemen in the ring a round of applause because they share first place with the team of Stone and Wallace!”

Dane smiles and waves at the crowd and even manages a polite nod to the other team, but that smile isn’t real. It may be new to me seeing Dane smile, but something isn’t right.

He remains silent at the trailer while we take care of the horses and opts to stay with them while I head to the booth to sign for our winnings.

“Do you want to join the guys at the bar tonight? A bunch of them are heading for beers shortly and invited us.”

Dane shakes his head. “If it’s okay with you, I’d just like to get to our hotel. It’s been a long day.”

“Of course.”

We agreed to drive out early in the morning for the next destination anyway, so it’s probably the best thing to do. There’s a stock contractor with a mostly empty barn this weekend, close to our hotel, that I arranged for the horses.