Chapter Thirty-Seven
Pete
Saturday
Emma and I helped get Elroy into the corral where Lacey was ready to saddle him up. We’d gotten so much accomplished in the last two weeks. I couldn’t believe Elroy was about to race in his first rodeo. The girls were miracle workers, getting him trained and prepared way ahead of schedule. That didn’t help my nerves, though. I was always on edge the day one of my horses competed for the first time.
Lacey wasn’t talking much, which was her way on the day of competition.
“Good luck, Lacey,” Emma said, smiling at her.
Lacey dipped her head into a nod, but didn’t answer.
I told her good luck, too, before Emma and I went to find a seat in the stands. We waited through “The Star Spangled Banner” and a few riders racing around the barrels set up in a cloverleaf pattern before it was finally Lacey’s turn. This competition was bigger than her last one, so there was an electric eye.
“I’m so damned nervous,” Emma said. “I hope we made the right choice putting Elroy out there. He’s still a baby.”
“If Lace says he’s ready, he’s ready.” I’d seen the little guy running around the barrels we set up on the ranch. He’d looked good. Lacey knew what she was doing. I had a dull ache in my gut, but I always did before she raced. I’d only seen her fall once, and that was back when we were in middle school. She’d jumped right up and got back to work, pushing even harder. That was just how she was.
The announcer boomed Lacey’s name over the loudspeaker. I slid to the edge of my seat, keeping my eyes on the arena. Lacey and Elroy came out. I couldn’t see the expression on her face from way up here, but I knew it was grim and determined from years of watching her do her thing. All of a sudden, she and Elroy broke into a sprint, aiming for the first barrel, the one to the right.
“Come on Lacey!” Emma shouted, pumping her fists.
I turned, watching her so closely, I missed Lacey running Elroy around the next barrel. I put my eyes on the area in time to see her and Elroy hug the last barrel.
“Go, Lacey!” I shouted.
“Finish strong!” Emma screamed, a few seconds after I did.
Lacey bent low over Elroy, kicking gently at his sides to get him up to a sprint, the two of them racing over the finish line and out of the arena.
At the announcement of time — just shy of eighteen seconds, making it a personal best for Lacey — Emma let out a triumphant whoop and turned to hug me. I hugged her back, grinning to see her so happy for Lacey.
Over the last two weeks of getting Elroy ready for the rodeo, I’d watched the girls get closer and closer. Nothing made me happier. They were two of the most important people in my life. I wanted them to be the best of friends. If I wasn’t careful, they might take over the farm and tell me to get the hell out.
We rushed out of the stands to find Lacey back near the corral, pulling the saddle off of Elroy.
Emma ran to her, squealing, and they hugged. “You did so great!”
I hugged her next. “Who knew little Elroy could race like that?”
Lacey couldn’t wipe the mile-wide smile from her face, her brown eyes glittering. “He did just fine. He’s gonna be a good little racer. We might want to hang onto him.”
“We should celebrate tonight,” Emma said, looking at Lacey first, then me. “Let’s get funnel cakes and play games and just have some good old-fashioned fun.”
Lacey and I shared a look and a laugh at how excited Emma seemed by that. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the rest of the day than with the two of them, joking and filling our bellies. I wanted Emma to myself, but I had tonight back at the hotel for that. She’d started staying over at the house most weekends, too, and there was nothing better than waking up to find her snuggled in next to me in the mornings. She smiled to beat all every single time I made her breakfast.
“Let me put Elroy up, and we can go see how the fair is,” Lacey said.
We waited for her by the entrance to the midway, the smell of grease and sugar riding on the breeze.
“I can’t wait to have three or four funnel cakes,” Emma said, her green eyes wide, and I laughed.
“You ain’t kidding, either. I saw the way you ate last time.”
She pushed me a little, giggling herself. “There’s nothing wrong with a girl having a good appetite.”
Lacey came up to join us. The girls laced arms and took off, leaving me in the damned dust, the two of them chattering about how well Elroy had done and what they needed to do to keep him on track. I went along after them, taking in the sights and sounds. There were a lot of people out here, even with the rodeo still going on. Emma went straight to a booth where she could get a funnel cake, ordering one with powdered sugar. I stepped up to pay before she could pull money out of her pocket.
“Damn, I’ll take one, too, if he’s paying,” Lacey said to the attendant.
I laughed and handed the man behind the counter a couple more dollars to pay for Lacey’s. He handed them their funnel cakes.
“You gonna share any of that?” I asked Emma, who dug right in, tearing off a piece and putting it in her mouth before it’d even cooled. “Or should I get my own?”
She giggled, hiding her full mouth behind her sugar-dusted fingers. “You should probably get your own.”
I gave a look to Lacey, who pulled her plate of fried dough out of reach.
“Don’t think you’re gonna share with me, either, Pete Gains.”
“Well, goddamn!” I said, but couldn’t hold back the laughter when they both started giggling. We walked on, me stealing little bites of funnel cake from Emma’s plate in between her tearing off big chunks and sticking it into her mouth. As soon as they were done, we jumped on the Ferris wheel, the three of us cramming into a single car, with me in the middle.
“Damn, Pete!” Lacey complained, sticking her elbow into my ribs to get me to move over. “I didn’t remember your ass being so wide the last time we rode a Ferris wheel together.”
I elbowed her right back. “We were kids then, Lacey. Your ass was narrower, too!”
We kept up the ribbing the whole way, Emma laughing at us as we moved back and forth in the seat, trying to get it to swing as wildly as we could. After the ride ended, we wandered the midway, trying our hands at some of the games. Emma had a second funnel cake by then. She pointed at a stuffed horse hanging from one of the booths.
“That one looks like Elroy!” she said, and turned those gleaming green eyes at me, the smile on her face as bright as the flashing lights that had just come on as the sun went down. She had a little sugar on the side of her mouth.
“It does indeed,” I agreed and laid some money down to win it for her. It was the ring toss, which wasn’t my best game. I threw the first of three rings and didn’t get close. The second toss was better, and the third was worse than the first. “Shit!”
Lacey shoved me hard in the middle of the back. “Want me to win the horse for her since you can’t seem to?”
“I’ll win the stuffed toy for my girlfriend, thank you,” I said, giving her a nasty look before setting more money down. I won the damned thing on the second toss this time. I turned to hand the stuffed horse to my best girl, loving the way she grinned and hugged it to herself. She got up on her tiptoes to kiss me on the lips. She tasted like powdered sugar.
“Y’all want something to drink?” she asked. “I need something to cut through all that sugar.”
I gave her a ten dollar bill. “Grab me a beer if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll take a beer, too.”
I gave Emma another five and she went off, cutting across the midway to one of the booths that sold alcohol.
“How’re things between the two of you?” Lacey asked, looking over at me, her dark eyes gleaming in the flashing lights. “I know they got rough a few weeks ago.”
“We’re good now,” I said.
“I’m glad to see you so happy together.” I could see she meant it.
“I am, too. I almost lost her because of you, though.” I shoved her a little and she belted me one on the arm.
“The hell you did.”
“I’m glad you and her are such good friends. I’d really didn’t want to choose between you.” I smiled at her. She was already giving me a nasty face, expecting the exact smartass dig to come out of my mouth that I had planned. “I’d have hated to see you go, Lacey, after all we’ve been through.”
She just rolled her eyes, but I could see she was happy about the way things had turned out, too.