Wishing on a Rodeo Moon (Women of Character) (12 page)

She
didn't know what lay ahead, but she was a fighter. Maybe she should start by
returning her friends’ calls. Tye wondered if it was time to reconnect
with her past.

She
looked at her leg, the feelings of uncertainty insidious. It had healed fine,
but inside herself she knew there remained a gaping emptiness, a fear that
wouldn’t let go. Tye still felt as if she was in a dark tunnel. Would she
ever reach the end? Would her life feel complete if she could return to rodeo?

She
needed to recharge. Perhaps bringing her friends back into her life would fill
that empty spot.

A party
would liven things up and help her get back in the groove of things. Then life
could resume some normalcy. Tye knew there was no going back, no fixing the
life she had thrown away ten years ago. But how she wished time could be turned
back! She wanted a second chance with Jake.

Tye
stood in the doorway of her apartment and watched Jake's black pickup truck disappear
down the driveway. She rubbed her damp palms together. Her hands shook
slightly. The time of reckoning, so to speak, had arrived. She had wakened
early this morning and deliberately planned the day right down to the last
moment of daylight.

That thought
gave her a moment's pause. She had never planned anything to the minute in her
life. She had always acted impulsively, not worrying about consequences or
ramifications.

With a
disgusted grunt at her own meandering, Tye walked to the door with determination.
Jake was off to work. The ranch was her playground, and she intended to play.

In the
small mirror beside the front door she caught sight of her own reflection and
saluted herself. "Welcome back, Tye Jenkins, it's been awhile."

First
stop: the barns. Today she would climb on board her baby, Pongo. She hadn't
ridden in three months. Luckily, Ben had brought her favorite equine. Of her
four horses, Pongo had the most patient and gentle nature. He could race and
raise hell with the rest of them, but he would stand for hours, if that's what
was asked of him. Only last year at the county fair he had been the center of
attention, patiently allowing kids of all ages to crawl over, under and around
him. Nothing riled him.

With a
deep and quivering breath, Tye feared that's what she might need. Back to
square one, as if she were learning how to ride all over again. Pushing aside
the self-doubt before it could grip her, she left the house. She would allow
only positive, upbeat thoughts today.

As she
walked around the pool she looked longingly at its clear depths. Already the
day held promise of being a warm one. Tye relished the thought of sliding into
those refreshing depths after her ride. Lightly, she said, "I've got a
date with you later."

She made
her way to the barn, trying to walk without feeling awkward and ungainly. Her
therapist had told her it might take time to move naturally and without effort,
but she felt impatient with how slowly things seemed to be progressing. Some
days went along fine, other days did not. She never knew when her knee would
suddenly give way and she would fall down. It happened less frequently than in
the beginning, but now and again she was caught off guard.

By the
time she visited her doctor in two weeks, she wanted to be able to tell him she
was well on her way to reclaiming her life.

Entering
the barn, Tye found the stalls were empty. Jake must have fed the horses, hers
included, and put them out in the pasture.

Standing
at the edge of the pasture, Tye leaned against the wooden rail and whistled for
Pongo. She would talk to Jake. She didn't expect him to take care of her horse
as well as his own. For the short time she would be here she intended to pull
her own weight.

Pongo
whinnied low and cantered toward her. Tibald and the other two horses watched,
but stayed where they were.

Tye
unhooked the chain and went through the gate. Pongo stood patiently while she
slipped the leather halter over his ears and adjusted the brass buckle.

Tye
pulled several carrots from her back pocket. While Pongo munched them, she
looked him in the eye. "Well, buddy, this is an experiment of sorts.
You're going to have to be patient with me. Do you remember the first time we
went riding when my ankle was broken a couple years back?" She grimaced as
he dipped his head as if in understanding. "Well, keep that sloppy
performance in mind."

Tye
fancied Pongo was paying attention. "It's going to be a bit like that
time, only probably worse. So if I kick you in the ribs or thump you on the
butt, just be your usual good natured self and put up with it. I promise you
some extra carrots." Pongo's ears twitched forward. "Carrots. The
magic word. I knew you'd relate to that."

Tye led
him into the barn. She had noticed earlier the cross ties hanging from the
solid beams in the center of the barn aisle. She snapped the ties on either
side of Pongo's halter to hold him in place.

Tye
briskly rubbed the brush over Pongo's back and across his ribs, her mouth
curving as she remembered the countless times she had ridden his wide barrel of
a back without a saddle.

"No
bareback riding today, my beauty. We’ll save that for another time."

Tye
placed her cherry-red saddle pad and then her roping saddle on his back. Once
the girth was tightened, she unsnapped the cross ties and slipped the bridle
over his ears.

"Come
on, old boy, here we go."

Taking a
fortifying breath, Tye led him outside. It was now or never. She beat back the
fear that she wouldn’t measure up, and placed her left foot in the wide
leather stirrup.

Tye
swung herself onto Pongo's back and settled in her familiar comfortable saddle.
She had a problem picking up the right stirrup because she couldn’t angle
the prosthetic foot. Impatiently, she leaned down and pushed her boot into the
stirrup leather with her hand.

"Don't
give up," she muttered, refusing to be daunted. "Let's walk, buddy.
Just remember, if I fly past your head, don't let it bother you."

They
walked along a dirt path that skirted the fenced pasture. It looked as if it
went on forever through the short, stubby grass.

"God,
I have missed this." Tye felt her confidence rise, and urged Pongo into a
trot over the uneven ground. Almost immediately her body listed to one side.
She stiffened instinctively and Pongo slowed to a walk. Tye wiped the moisture
from her forehead. Leaning down again, she shoved her boot back into the
stirrup. Damn! The last time she’d had a problem keeping her feet in the
stirrups she’d been four years old. She could still hear her daddy yell,
"Tye girl, put your weight in your heels!"

Now she
knew for sure. She needed to work on the basics of riding. Her balance wasn't
right.

Tye
reined Pongo around, heading back toward the barn. God knows what would happen
if she tried a lope or a run.

"I’d
probably end up eating dirt," she muttered. Stubbornly, Tye urged Pongo
into a trot once more, trying to put more downward weight into her prosthesis.

The
second time went better. At least her foot didn’t slip out of the
stirrup. But with mounting frustration, Tye realized she was tilting to one
side.

She left
the path and trotted over a bare, sandy area. She practiced circles to the
right, then the left, determined to find her point of balance. Gritting her
teeth, she righted herself as she again slipped to the side. She couldn't feel
her foot, so unless she kept looking down, she wouldn't know if it had fallen
out of the stirrup.

The sun
had grown warmer while they were out in the field. Tye glanced at her watch.
Ten o'clock. Sweat ran from her hair, dripping down into her eyes. Impatiently,
she wiped it away with an arm. Pongo was likewise streaked with sweat along his
neck and shoulders.

"Okay,
buddy boy, you know I've never been patient. Let's try one more. Just for the
hell of it we'll do a short run. If I fall, I fall." Tye gently nudged the
horse with her left heel. Pongo's ears perked forward and his front end lifted
as his back legs settled into his rocking-chair-smooth lope.

As they
moved across the ground, the warm breeze dried the moisture on Tye's face and
neck. She felt exhilarated and confident. They had done it!

She
circled and trotted past the barn. To her surprise out of the corner of her eye
she saw Jake standing in the doorway. Something in her faltered, hesitated.
Mentally squaring her shoulders, Tye said to the horse, "One figure eight,
Pongo. We've done it hundreds of times." The horse never hesitated.
Smoothly, they circled to the left. When it came time to circle to the right,
Tye abandoned leg aids and used neck-reining alone, placing the reins flat
across his mane. Pongo responded beautifully. Triumph filled Tye like sweet
success. Grinning, she reined Pongo over to the barn where Jake stood.

"Looked
pretty good from where I'm standing," he said encouragingly. He shaded his
eyes with one hand and stared up at her. Tye could see the tiny lines beside
his eyes and read the pleasure on his face.

"Thanks."
she felt uncharacteristically shy, her insides tightening in reaction to his
nearness. Into her mind flashed the remembrance of his body against hers.
"My trot's a little rough ― my balance is off."

"I
was watching. I thought you did great for the first time out. Maybe if you used
a breakaway strap on the stirrup leather to keep the boot in position
―"

Tye clenched
her jaw, her fingers tightening on the leather reins. "I’ve been
riding long enough to know how to keep my feet in the stirrups. I can do it
without straps."

"All
I'm saying is if you use a strap until you figure out your balance, it would be
one less thing to worry about."

Freeing
her boots from the stirrups Tye let her legs hang down. "Do I look
worried, Jake? I’m just a little rusty. I don't need straps. I said I
would ride again and I'll do it my way."

Tye
turned Pongo and urged him into a trot, away from Jake. She blinked hard,
telling herself the glare of the sun combined with some dust had filmed her
eyes with moisture.

What did
Jake know, anyway? He rode for fun. He’d never been interested in
entering a riding competition in his life. If you wanted to win in rodeo, you
had to be better than the competition. How would he know if she was doing it
right or wrong? Tye resented the fact that he was supposed to be at work, yet
was here intruding on her private time.

Having
worked herself into an irate frame of mind, she was determined to find her
center of balance at the trot. She and Pongo did circles, serpentines and
figure eights. Finally, feeling satisfied and knowing they had both done enough
in the rising heat, Tye stopped the horse in front of the barn. She didn't see
Jake anywhere. She swiped the sweat from her forehead, annoyed that he
hadn’t stuck around to see what she’d accomplished.

"The
second half of that went much better, Pongo." Gripping the saddle horn in
case her leg buckled, Tye threw her leg over Pongo's hindquarters and dropped
to the ground. Quickly, she unfastened the girth and placed it on top of the
saddle. "I think I saw a hose somewhere. I'll give you a cool reward for
that wonderful ride."

Tying
Pongo to the rail with baling twine, Tye pulled the saddle from his back and
turned to carry it inside.

Jake was
suddenly behind her, making her catch her breath in surprise. "What are
you doing?" she gasped, her glance straying to his mouth. He stood very
close. A fluttering began in Tye’s stomach, her stray thoughts heating
her cheeks. Would Jake kiss her again? Maybe she should kiss him. Tye felt an
unfamiliar softness creep over her.

"I’ll
take that." Jake reached for the saddle.

Almost
instinctively, Tye jerked it back. "I can handle this myself." She
shook her head in exasperation and turned away from him. Didn’t Jake know
she could take care of this on her own?

#

Jake,
seeing the residue of temper in Tye’s eyes, let out a laugh.
"Lighten up, Tye. Before you get a notion to tear into me, let me make it
clear I've got other things to do then follow you around." He took a step
back. "I'm working on a commission piece, and my workbench is out here.
I'll take the saddle while you hose him down." Jake pulled the saddle from
her hands before she could protest again. He stared at her, daring her to
argue.

A frown
appeared between her brows. "I'm not trying to be difficult, Jake, but
it’s been frustrating, having to start riding all over again. Besides,
I'm used to doing things on my own."

Jake
nodded in agreement. "Yeah, so what? Is there a rule somewhere that says
you can’t have help once in a while? If you’d told me you were
going to ride I would have stuck around earlier."

"The
last thing I need is an audience," she muttered, slapping the dust from
her jeans.

Amused,
Jake lifted a brow. "Do you know something? I think you just like to jump
on anything I say. I was going to suggest we take a ride together."

She
stopped slapping at her jeans and straightened. "Ride together?" She
made it sound like a foreign notion.

"Why
not, if you feel like having company sometimes? I don’t ride as much as I
used to. But I have these horses here and all they do is eat."

Tye
lowered her gaze and bit her lip. "Oh."

Jake
carried the saddle into the barn and dropped it on the saddle tree. When he
walked back outside he handed her the hose. As she began to hose down the
horse, Jake gave her a hard stare. "Why in hell are you so ready to jump
down my throat? If everything I say rubs you wrong I'll make sure I stay out of
your way." Exasperated, he spun around and walked away from her. It was
either that or kiss her, and she didn't look like she was in the kissing mood.
Not like last night, when she’d been all soft, warm and willing. He
muttered under his breath.