Cowgirl Up (16 page)

“I wish
I could, Trin. I’ve got to roll into Vegas next weekend. All the vets working
the finals have to show up a week early in order to attend meetings, review a
few things, and make sure things are set up with safety for the animals and
contestants alike.”

“Oh.”
Her bubble burst.

“If it
weren’t for that, I’d jump on the offer in a heartbeat.”

She forced
a smile back into her voice. “That’s okay. The finals will be right around the
corner and you’ll be stuck with me for ten days straight.”

He
groaned dramatically.

She
laughed. “That bad, huh?”

“Let’s
look on the bright side. I’d rather hang around you than these damn calves.” He
ruined the grumpy effect with a chuckle. “Yeah, it’s a date.”

“Great!
I can’t wait.” Hope surged along with bright sparks of happiness.

“Just
ride your heart out on Shannon’s mare and earn the points, honey. The rest will
fall into place.”

“You’re
a wise man, Cody.” She spoke with conviction.

“Maybe
you did hit your head after all. I’ve been called many things in my life. Never
wise.”

She
rubbed at a smudge of dirt on her knee. “That’s because the women are too busy
ogling your rear to consider much else and the men don’t want to add to your
already oversized ego.”

He
laughed once more. “Trin, you’re one of a kind.”

“Lord,
I hope so.” She joined him in chuckling. “I’d better let you get back to work
before those evil baby calves do some damage.”

“Yep.”

“Thanks
again.”

“Welcome.”

“Talk
to you soon.”

“Bet on
it.” He clicked off.

Trinity
hit the disconnect button, sat back in her seat, and sighed.

For the
first time in a while, peace settled on her shoulders. How many times had she
told herself that everything would be okay? That things would work themselves
out? Dozens? Now, with Cody’s words combined with the outpouring of support
from her fellow barrel racers, she believed. She hadn’t come this far, made
this many sacrifices for nothing.

This is my year, my finals. Get
through those and I can make the first step in the rest of my life.

A few
months back, she couldn’t wait to achieve her dream, then walk away in order to
start over again. Now, she started to question those very plans. Maybe, just
maybe, Madeleine had been right. Trinity had a good thing going and pain was
definitely portable. She’d known something grand awaited her in the world.
Somewhere besides Kentucky.

She
glanced around her small room and blew out air. Kentucky wasn’t so bad. In
fact, the place had grown on her. Rolling green hills, horses galore, and a
laid back attitude on life. All positives in her book.

The
pros of staying began to outweigh the cons. More confused than before, she
didn’t miss the fact that the scale had started to tip. Decisions were no
longer black and white. A large quantity of grayness entered the picture,
making what appeared clear three months ago turn all murky.

With
more questions than answers, Trinity shook her head. All this thinking did
little except drive her nearly insane. Better to just go with the flow for now,
take a wait-and-see philosophy, and get back on the right path when she
stumbled across it.

One day at a time. That’s all anyone can do.

“She
likes to cut the corner, so you have to keep her honest through each turn.”
Shannon held onto the mare’s bridle.

“Okay.”
Trinity nodded, put her foot in the stirrup, and settled into the saddle.
Sitting up, she gathered the reins while focusing on Shannon and the
information she rattled off about the black mare named Tinker.

Still
humbled and touched by the outpouring from last year’s national barrel racing
champion, Trinity almost felt the whole experience surreal. She sat astride
Shannon’s back-up barrel horse in Cheyenne, Wyoming, just a couple hours before
the huge rodeo started.

“Use
your heels to keep her off the barrels. She normally responds to foot pressure
great, but occasionally gets too excited to pay attention to the details.”

“She’s
humming already.” Trinity collected the mare who danced under her. So much
different than Legacy. The mare’s short height and smaller stature felt odd
beneath Trinity. For years, she’d only ridden her huge stallion. To ride
another mount could only be called awkward.

“She
gets wired when she sees barrels. Wants to rush in. I have to keep a tight hold
on her at the start.” Shannon stepped back to give the mare room. “She’s fast,
but not an easy ride.”

“We’ll
make it work.” Trinity repeated the same motto she’d told herself since Shannon
called and offered her back-up mount for the weekend. Her dream of making the
finals revolved around bonding enough with the horse to make good times. By her
calculations, she needed a third or better to be a solid shoe into the top
twenty-five, which is how many barrel racers were invited to the national
finals. A challenge, definitely, but not impossible.

“Yes,
you will. I’ll help you as much as I can. Right now you just need a few rounds
of practice to figure out the ins and outs of Tinker.”

Trinity
patted the mare’s neck and smiled wistfully.

Tinker
reminded her so much of Star that she could barely believe it. From her shiny
black hide, to the white blaze down her face. Tinker carried only one white
sock while Star had the markings on all four feet. Still, the size, the
muscular build, the same color brought out a well of emotion.

Now, as
she guided the mare around the arena at a trot, nearly forgotten memories flew
to the fore. If she closed her eyes, she could almost believe she rode Star
once more, during the happy times, before her life started to crumble.

A tear
escaped. She wiped it away.

Shannon
tilted her head as they headed her way. “What’s wrong?”

Trinity
swallowed, forcing the lump from her throat and pulled the horse to a stop
beside Shannon. “You’re going to think this sounds ridiculous.”

“Try
me.”

“She’s
so much like Star, my mother’s old barrel mare that I used to ride as a teen
until we retired her to broodmare.”

An
understanding smile appeared on Shannon’s face. “Your first horse?”

“Yeah.
One of the best barrel racers of her time. My mother could have went so much
farther with her, if I hadn’t come along.” A twinge of guilt ate at Trinity’s
gut. She knew her mother never blamed her for forcing her to retire in her
prime. Her mother reminded her time and again that Trinity was the best thing
that had ever happened to her. Still…

Shannon
patted Trinity’s leg. “Everything happens for a reason, Trinity. We might not
understand and it might be hard to accept, but we just have to believe.”

Believe.

The
same advice Madeleine gave her.
Time to
cowgirl up.

She
sniffed and pushed her tears aside. Several people had paved the way for her to
make it this far. She wasn’t about to let any of them down.

“Star
was Legacy’s dam, right?”

“Yes.”

“Going
to tell me the story?”

Trinity
grinned slyly. “What story?” She already knew what Shannon wanted to hear. The
same thing everyone else did. Thus far, she’d only spilled the beans to Cody.

“You
know. How you managed to get a breeding to Another Victory Gallop.”

Since
she sat astride Shannon’s back-up barrel horse, Trinity couldn’t deny Shannon
much at the moment, especially something as small as an answer. She rattled off
the story she’d only shared with a couple of people.

“Wow.”
Shannon stared at her with wide eyes and an expression of admiration. “That
took some guts, especially as a teenager.”

“I
thought it was worth the try. Something told me that if I could get her to
agree, the resulting foal would be remarkable.”

“And he
is.”

“Thank
you again for doing this. It’s above and beyond, and I’ll never forget it.”

Shannon
just shrugged. “Like I said, we’re a sorority. We have to look out for one
another. Besides, I think the rest of the world needs a chance to see Legacy
run.”

Trinity
smiled down at Shannon. “I hope they get that opportunity.”

“Then
let’s get a few practice runs in with Tinker.” Shannon stepped back. “You’ll
have to hold her steady, then hang on because she’ll bolt for the first
barrel.”

“Got
it.” Trinity jogged the mare to the starting area, swung her around, and gave
her a couple of seconds to focus on the barrels in front of her. Tinker shook
her head and fought the bit for a second before settling down. “That’s better.
Now go.” Nudging the horse with her heels, Trinity gave her slack rein and held
onto the saddle horn with one hand as Tinker lunged forward. She zipped to the
first barrel, tried to cut in, but Trinity held her off with foot pressure hard
against the horse’s side. The trick worked and they flew to the next barrel,
but the turn there ended up really wide, slowing their time. They improved on
the final barrel, then sped for home.

After
collecting the mare, Trinity walked her back over to Shannon. “She can really
move. It’s just hard to keep her off the barrels.”

“It
takes a bit of practice. Just keep using your feet and you’ll be fine.” Shannon
patted the mare’s neck.

Trinity
blew out a breath. “I figure I need to place no lower than third to be a shoe
in.”

“Tough,
but doable.”

“I hope
so. Because I’ve laid it all on the line for this one chance.” She fiddled with
Tinker’s mane again. “Everyone else has as well.” She nodded her head. “It’ll
work out. It has to.”

Shannon
tiled her head and pursed her lips. “It will. But, if it doesn’t, there’s always
next year.”

Trinity
met Shannon’s eyes. “I haven’t told anyone this yet. This is my one and only
try. I’m retiring after this year. Finals or not.”

Shannon’s
eyes grew big as her mouth dropped open. “Retiring? You can’t be serious.
Legacy is in his prime. Hell, when he’s on, no one can touch him.”

“He’s
nine years old. Not such a young horse anymore.”

“You
love barrel racing. I see it in your face. It’s in your blood too.”

“It was
my dream growing up and my mother’s dream. If she couldn’t make it to the finals,
she wanted me to do it. I’ve dedicated this year to her. Afterward, I intend to
go a different direction.”

“And do
what?”

“That’s
just it. I don’t have a clue,” Trinity admitted.

Shannon
patted her on the leg. “There’s a lot of pressure on your shoulders right now,
not to mention the stress of Legacy’s fall. Just don’t shut one door for all
time when you aren’t absolutely positive you want to not only leave it closed,
but lock it and weld it as well.”

Trinity
sighed. “If only a life map appeared showing me where I’m supposed to go and
what I’m to do along the way.” She grimaced at the first two words.

Shannon
laughed. “If I found a map like that I’d toss it away.”

“Really?”

“Yep.
Who wants to go through every step in a pre-planned life? Personally, I like
the surprises, the rabbit trails, the uniqueness. Seems if things were already
laid out for you, life would be a whole lot more boring and less spontaneous.”

The
words sank in. Trinity considered Shannon’s perception for a long moment, found
it sound, and slowly bobbed her head. “I hadn’t thought about it like that.”

“Hills
and valleys. We all have them.”

“True.”

Tinker
snorted. Shannon rubbed the horse’s neck again. “And if we don’t get another
couple of training runs in, you’ll be winging it this evening.”

“Good
point.” Trinity backed the mare away from Shannon and realigned her with the
course. “Go!” They took off again.

“I can
sleep in my trailer. Not the first time. Or find a hotel. Really. No reason for
you to be put out more than you have already been.”

“Oh,
hush. There’s plenty of room. Besides, the girls sleep over often, especially
when the rodeo is in town.”

Shannon
lived on the outskirts of Cheyenne, Wyoming, so she had the luxury of
trailering her horses home every evening and sleeping in her own bed, instead
of a hotel or pairing up with others in an RV.

Trinity
felt like a burden after Shannon spent most of the afternoon helping her bond
with Tinker. As soon as they finished, Shannon hit the kitchen, cooked up
dinner for her family and insisted Trinity stick around. Reluctantly, Trinity
did so, jumping in and helping her friend prepare and clean up afterward. She
wasn’t sure what Shannon’s family would think of her, but, to her relief, they
accepted her like a long, lost relative. They chatted with her, shared some
laughs, and even cheered for her as she raced Tinker that evening.

“No
sense in paying high hotel prices when you can stay here for free.” Shannon
tugged on her shirtsleeve. “There’s a spare bedroom, complete with bathroom,
that you’re more than welcome to use.”

“Thank
you.” Trinity’s voice carried sincerity. “I’m not used to sleeping anywhere but
the barns.”

Shannon
led the way into the lower level spare bedroom and shut the door behind them.
“I noticed that in Denver. You never leave Legacy for any length of time.”

“No. I
don’t trust people around him. Or he around them.” She bit her lip. “Besides,
he’s all I have.”

Shannon
smiled softly. “Maybe not
all
you
have, but he’s one hell of a horse. Make a great stud if you decide to retire
him from barrel racing.”

“I’ve
considered that. Just don’t know if many people would be interested, especially
in Kentucky.”

“Just
get to the finals. Once the nation sets eyes on Legacy, I bet his stud book
fills up fast.”

“That’s
the plan. Two more races to qualify for the finals.” The light at the end of
the tunnel remained out of reach, but much closer than ever before. “I’ve got
to do better than fourth, though.”

Shannon
waved her hand. “First night jitters. Besides, you’re still getting used to
Tinker. By tomorrow, you’ll have it down pat.” She offered up an encouraging
grin. “Now, you need some rest if you’re going to do well tomorrow.”

“Spoken
like a true mother.” Trinity smiled, enjoying Shannon’s mothering tendencies,
not only with her two sons, but with Trinity too. Shannon might have seven
years of age over Trinity, but her wisdom and kindness went way beyond.

“Yep.
Don’t think that I’d hesitate to put you in time out, either.” She mock
scowled.

Trinity
giggled. “Okay. Okay. I promise to be good.” She held up her hands in defeat.

“That’s
better.” Shannon chuckled then sobered. “You’re always welcome here, Trinity.”

The
words humbled her. “Thanks.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Shannon
left, shutting the door behind her.

Trinity
sat down in a chair in the room, unwilling to chance getting the bed dirty with
any dust remaining on her jeans. She checked the clock, then pulled out her
cell phone, scrolled to find the number, then punched the button.

“Hello?”

“Carmen,
hi. I was just checking on Legacy.”

“Again.”
Carmen chuckled. “That’s the third time today.”

“I
know. It’s just that I’m an overprotective horse parent who’s suffering
separation anxiety being away from her baby.”

“Uh-huh.
Already figured that one out, Trin.” She paused for a brief second. “He’s fine.
Ate like a glutton. Raced Victory up and down the fence a couple of times.
Pretty much a typical day for him.”

“So he
doesn’t miss me?” For some ridiculous reason the silly question slipped out and
she braced herself for a jolt of pain when Carmen unloaded the truth.

Carmen
snorted. “You’re a mess, Trin.”

“I
know. So, did he miss me?”

“Of
course. He eyed me oddly when I brought him his dinner. Refused a peppermint
too.”

Relief
washed over Trinity. She chastised herself. Dumb and a bit childish to hope her
horse missed her when they were separated for the first time ever. But, honest.
“I guess he does like me after all.”