Rodeo Dreams
by Laura Lutes
The hot afternoon sun beat down on Chase Blackwell's
shoulders as he sipped his can of coke. His black
Stetson was pulled down to shade his eyes from the
bright sun and his gloves were shoved in his back
pocket. His left hand was holding his dirty blond
hair off his sweaty neck and he was sitting on the
top railing of the fence around the stock pens
atching the bulls and the broncos. It was lunch
break and most of the riders had gone back to their
trailers to get ready for the next events. The music
of Shania Twain and Keith Urban was blaring from the
announcers booth above the arena and the stands were
half empty as people rushed to get more hot dogs and
cold drinks before the show started. The steer
wrestling was next, then the bull riding. The bull
riding was the show everyone had been waiting for.
It was going to be Chase's first time riding in a real
stampede. He was used to riding the bulls at home on
the ranch for fun but his father, Alex Blackwell, had
finally convinced him to try competition. Chase hadn't
thought it would be all that different from at home but
it was. It was a whole lot different and he already
had butterflies. He had drawn one of the meanest bulls
in the bunch and he was the youngest kid in the group.
It didn't help that he was up against Ken Brooks. Brooks
was one of the best bull riders in Canada and someone that
Chase had looked up to since he was a kid. Brooks was
expected to win hands down and everybody knew it. Brooks
was always at the Williams Lake Stampede because he had
been born and raised in Williams Lake and he loved coming
back to visit and put on a show. This was the first time
Chase had ever been near him and he had been watching him
joke around with the other riders. He was still too
nervous to go up and introduce himself. Every time one
of his Dad's ranch hands had called him over, he had
pretended that he was busy or that he hadn't heard. Chase
had grown up hearing how great Ken was and Chase was way too
shy to just go up and introduce himself.
He grimaced slightly as he drained the last drop of his coke.
He regretted it immediately. It was his fourth and last can
and he didn't have any more money. Chase knew he was going
to be thirsty again before long. He kicked his legs over
the rail and slid down to the ground before crushing the can
and chucking it into a nearby garbage bin. He was wandering
towards the barns behind the stock pens when he heard the
music cut off and the announcer call everybody back to the
stands. They were almost full again but a few people were
still rushing to their seats.
As he was entering the barn he saw Red and Joey, two of his
Dad's ranch hands, holding a bay mare while a guy on the
other side saddled her up. Red turned his head slightly
and grinned when he saw Chase. "Hey! Chase! Have you been
avoiding us?" He turned to look at the guy behind the horse,
"Ken this is the kid we've been telling you about. He's
gonna be a better bull rider than you one day!" Chase could
feel a blush creeping up his cheeks as Ken Brooks stuck his
head out from behind the mare.
"You must be Chase. The guys have been telling me all about
you but whenever I try to meet you, you seem to be busy."
He grinned slightly and pushed his hat further up on his
forehead. Chase nodded his head and pulled his hat further
down, hoping that plus the dim lighting in the barn would hide
his blush. Joey smirked a bit, "yeah, he's a little shy, poor
kid!" Chase frowned at that comment knowing that Joey didn't
like him and would pick a fight if he could. Joey was a bit
older than Chase, but Chase could still beat Joey when it
came to bull riding or just about anything else they did on
the ranch.
"Oh come on Joey, give it up." Red groaned. The last
time Joey and Chase had had words the had ended up in a
fist fight on the floor.
Joey snorted angrily as he stalked towards the door of
the barn, "whatever, I'll just kick the kid's butt in
the bull riding."
Chase bunched his hands into fists and started after him
but a strong hand grabbed his shoulder holding him back.
"If you want to get anywhere in this sport, you have to ignore
what other people say and concentrate on what you have to
do," Ken said quietly. "There's always gonna be someone
who doesn't like you and tries to make you fail, but you
have to deal with it without punching their face in." He
grinned slightly and almost as an afterthought added, "of
course it can be entertaining!" Chase grinned back at him.
"So, are you doing the steer wrestling?" He questioned
pointing towards the mare. Ken nodded as he turned to finish
tightening the girth on the saddle.
"Red convinced me to do it with him. Of course, knowing Red,
I'll probably end up getting killed. He's always been a bit
reckless!"
"Red? Reckless? What are you talking about? My hands are
all calm, polite and efficient!" Alex Blackwell grinned
as he walked in. "I've never had any problems with Red.
He is a model ranch hand!" Red groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Okay, point taken. Can we pick on someone else now?"
Alex grinned, "We were just gettin' started!" Ken met Chase's
eyes and they both started to laugh. Alex slung his arm around
Chase's shoulder and started to pull him towards the door.
"See you guy's later, I just have to give Chase his pep talk
before riding. Oh, and Red? Please don't kill Ken."
Red laughed and threw his gloves after them while Ken
grabbed his own gloves before Red could throw those to.
"Hey, Chase! Good Luck!" Ken called after them. Chase
turned and waved a hand in the air before they turned
the corner and disappeared into the sunlight.
An hour later Chase was slowly walking towards the chutes.
Every step he took was accompanied by the nervous slapping
of his gloves against his leg and the sound of his heart
beating faster and faster. He was sure everyone could
hear it but he kept going. If he backed out of this, he
would never be able to look at Ken or his Dad, or even Red
or Joey, again. As he approached the chute he could see
the bull being herded in and he slowly started to pull on
his gloves, one finger at a time. The leather was cool
and smooth against his hot skin and he tugged them until
they were snug.
Everything around him was loud and bustling, but he didn't
hear any of it. Red helped him to the top of the chute
and he took a deep breath before sliding down to the mountain
of muscle below him. As he grabbed the leather and pulled
his hat down further on his head, he couldn't help grinning.
This was it. The speakers crackled to life, "AND NOW! From
our very own town of Williams Lake we have CHASE BLACKWELL
riding BLACK THUNDER!" There was a loud buzz and the gate
crashed open. Chase felt like he was riding an avalanche
as the bull crashed into the arena and flew into the air.
Instantly Chase was caught in a whirlwind of muscle, pounding
hooves and jolting bones. He lost his hat and held on for
dear life as he was spun and jolted around. Had the buzzer
gone? Chase hit the ground and rolled to his feet in a cloud
of dust. The crowd was cheering and he waved shyly before
sliding through the rails. His Dad grabbed him in a headlock
and Red punched his shoulder.
"I knew you could do it Kid! What did I tell ya?" Red
shouted, laughing. Alex draped his arm around Chase's
shoulder and smiled at his son. "Good job Chase, I'm proud
of you!" As Chase pulled out of the headlock he quickly
searched the surrounding faces, looking for Ken Brooks.
He saw Ken leaning against the fence of the arena and all
noise faded away as their eyes met. Brooks' mouth was curved
in a smile and his green eyes were laughing. He nodded once
to Chase tugging at his hat before turning into the crowd.
Chase's grin grew even wider. Ken Brooks thought he was all
right and that was the best feeling in the world.
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