“Sure, but you must call me Melissa,” she said as they walked away from the group.
“What’s that all about?” Mary Leah asked.
“She wants to ask Melissa about hiring her for the MC2,” she said.
“That’s interesting,” Mary Leah said.
“Why is that?” Coal asked.
Mary Leah leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “She and Del have been talking about her quite a bit.”
“That is interesting,” she said and turned to look at them talking. “I think she would make a good addition to our team.”
“I better get going,” Gene said.
“Come on, I’ll walk with you,” Lucas said.
“Good luck, boys,” Harley said as Melissa and Stormy returned.
Coal noticed Stormy wearing a smile, so she assumed their talk was positive. “Hang on guys,” she said and rushed to catch up with them.
“What do you think about her coming to work with us?” Melissa asked Coal and Harley.
“I think she would be a good addition,” Coal answered.
Harley smiled. “If she works like Coal does, I agree.”
“She’s coming out tomorrow night to talk. I want to talk about her with Stan too.”
“You ready to share your house again?” she teased.
“You turned out well, so yeah, I think it would be nice to have another woman in the house again.”
“Point taken,” Coal said as she moved to the railing to watch for Gene.
“When will you get ready to rope?” Mary Leah asked.
“I’ll go saddle him up after Gene’s ride.”
“Are you nervous?”
“No, not really, I’m ready to be done and headed for home,” she answered.
They watched as Gene put in a good ride. Not as exceptional as his first, but good enough to put him in the top position. Coal hoped the score would stand up through the rest of the riders. “That’s my cue to get a move on, “I’ll be back in a few.”
“Do you want some help?” Harley asked.
“Sure,” Coal said as she picked up her tack.
They both knew she didn’t need help, but she wasn’t going to turn down his offer. “Do you miss competing?” she asked.
“I miss the excitement, but I know these old bones couldn’t take that kind of abuse any longer, so I will enjoy watching you young ones compete,” he said, opening the stall gate for her.
She led Shadow from the stall and saddled him while Harley placed the bridle over the horse’s head. “Will you fasten my rope, while I finish?”
“No problem,” Harley said. “You got your gloves?”
“In my back pocket,” she answered.
“There, you’re all set,” he said, handing the reins to her and they emerged from the barn.
She looked up at the scoreboard to find Gene still in first place and Stormy about to ride. She tied Shadow’s reins to the trailer and walked over to stand beside Mary Leah. They watched as the chute gate opened and the horse burst out of the gate. Coal could tell immediately that she was in trouble. Her body was too far forward on the horse and she struggled to regain her balance on the horse without success. The horse turned violently to the left and Stormy’s body shifted in an awkward position, wrenching her shoulder. The pain must have been intense as she lost her grip and flew from the horse’s back, further jarring her damaged shoulder. She cringed as the crowd erupted in painful moans.
Stormy regained her feet and the way she held her right shoulder as she walked made it evident that her shoulder had been injured, possibly dislocated. One of the rodeo clowns rushed to her aid and ushered her out a small side gate.
†
Harley rushed off to assist, having experienced the trauma of a dislocation before. He knew all too painfully well what would have to be done to put the shoulder back in place. When he reached the small medical station under the grandstand the staff were already busy preparing an ice pack and locating a large ace bandage. Stormy looked up from the chair she was seated in when Harley arrived, her faced soaked with the perspiration of intense pain.
“Just hang on, it will feel better in a few minutes,” he said.
“That shoulder has to be put back in place,” the medic said.
“Yeah, we know,” he answered. Harley took her hand. “It’s going to hurt like hell for a few seconds, but it’s got to be done.”
The medic took her right hand in his and lifted it to a ninety-degree angle to her body, and placed a hand on her shoulder to feel when the joint slipped back into place. He looked at Stormy, who nodded she was ready, and he slowly lifted her arm and the joint slipped back into place.
“Fuck,” she ground out between gritted teeth. She felt a
clunk
as her shoulder slipped back into place and tears filled her eyes.
“All done,” Harley said as he continued to hold her hand. He was fuming mad that Big Bob hadn’t even sent anyone to check on her condition.
“Let’s get her iced and wrapped,” the medic said. “I want to get some ibuprofen in her and you can take her home.” The medic placed her arm in a sling and turned back to Harley. “Keep her in a sling and if you have a pillow, it may provide some additional comfort if you slip it between her arm and the side of her body.”
Harley waited until the staff wrapped the ace bandage around a large ice bag draped over her injured shoulder, and then walked her back to her truck. “You sit here and relax. I will load your horse and get you home,” he told her as Coal helped her into the passenger’s seat.
“Take her to the MC2,” Melissa said. “Get her set up in Coal’s old room.”
“Do you still have some Tylenol left?” she asked Mary Leah.
“Yes, there are four left,” she answered.
“How about giving her one of them to help ease the pain,” Coal said.
“Hold up a second, she’s already had a dose of ibuprofen,” Harley said.
“Take them with you and give her a dose if the ibuprofen doesn’t kick in soon,” Del said.
Mary Leah rummaged in her purse to get the pill while Del retrieved a bottle of water. Coal gave her the bottle of pills and water while Gene and Harley loaded her horse and gear into the trailer.
“Do you need me to go with you?” Gene asked.
“No, you stay for the festivities and pick up your winnings. I can handle this,” Harley answered. “Is your pillow in the trailer?”
“Yes, do you need it?” Gene asked.
“Yes, please.” He waited for Gene to return with the pillow and tucked it beneath her arm.
“Thanks,” she told Gene and Harley.
The announcer called Lucas as the next rider. “Go watch him, and I’ll see you all later tonight,” Harley said.
“Take care, Stormy,” Coal said.
“Thanks,” she answered as Coal closed the door behind her.
Coal watched Harley pull the small trailer from the grounds and then walked to the arena to watch Lucas ride.
Fueled by his earlier disappointing ride, Lucas completed the ride of his life and moved into first place with Gene several points behind him. Their scores held on through the rest of the riders and they captured the top two spots.
“Top Cowboy, here we come,” Gene said as he gave Lucas a high five.
“We have one more piece of business to handle and then we can all celebrate,” she reminded him.
“I’ll be right back,” Gene said as he ran to the stables to prepare his horse.
“I’ll load up the rest of the gear and my horse while you two warm up. When you’re done, we can load the rest and be ready to roll after the ceremony,” Lucas said.
“Good idea,” Melissa agreed. “Ladies, shall we take our seats?”
“Good luck, Coal,” Mary Leah said and followed them to the stands.
Coal slipped on her roping gloves and turned Shadow toward the warm-up ring. They entered and started to canter around the ring to stretch Shadow’s muscles. Gene joined them a few minutes later and they both threw a few times at a fixed target to loosen up their shoulders.
“Let’s do this,” she said when they were ready to go. They rode to the opposite end of the arena and stood in line until it was their turn to rope.
They watched as Bubba headed the steer cleanly, but his partner allowed the steer to kick out a hind leg. The penalty took them out of a competitive time, and Coal knew she couldn’t make the same mistake.
When it was finally their turn, she and Gene entered the arena together. They backed into position and when she nodded she was set, Gene nodded to the chute to release the steer. Gene shot out after the steer like a cannon as Shadow lunged into action. Coal heard the whirring of her lasso over her head, and when Gene turned the steer, she focused on the hind feet and threw her rope. It landed in perfect position. She dallied her rope, guiding Shadow back, stretching the steer into position.
She looked over at Gene who was grinning broadly. They both knew it was a near-perfect run. When the judge lifted the flag, she moved Shadow forward to loosen the rope to allow the steer to kick out and Gene retrieved his rope.
They cantered together to the end of the arena to exit. They walked over to the watering trough to give the horses a drink, and then rode back to the trailer to unsaddle and load their horses and gear.
“You did good, big boy,” she said to Shadow as she slipped a halter over his head and took the lead to load him into the trailer.
After the final team competed, Gene and Coal remained in first place. She, Gene, and Lucas joined the others in the stands to await the final ceremony.
“Great job you two,” Melissa crowed when they arrived.
“Thanks, boss,” Coal said, taking a seat beside Mary Leah.
†
After the awards ceremony, the crew departed with handsome paychecks and the Top Cowboy trophy. Melissa also accepted Stormy’s winnings in her absence, much to the chagrin of Big Bob. Melissa was determined to prevent him from getting his hands on her earnings when he couldn’t be bothered to leave the shade of the stands to check on his injured rider. She decided then that the MC2 just added another rider.
“Would you mind if I ride back with Del?” Mary Leah asked her.
“Of course not,” Coal answered with a smile. “Are you coming out to the ranch?” she asked Del.
“I thought I might. To check to make sure Stormy is getting along,” Del said with a light flush to her cheeks.
“We’ll see you there then,” Melissa said as she climbed in behind the wheel as Coal removed her chaps and climbed inside the truck.
†
“Give Harley a call and see if we need to bring anything home. Check on Stormy too, please,” Melissa said.
Harley answered on the third ring. “Hey Coal, what’s up?”
“The boss wants to know if we need to bring anything home, and to check on Stormy,” Coal explained.
“I’ve kept her on ice, and she refuses to lie down and rest, so she’s watching me destroy the boss lady’s kitchen.”
“Oh dear Lord, what are you doing?”
“Cooking dinner,” he chuckled.
“What are you cooking?”
“Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and green beans,” he answered.