Land of Enchantment by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online

then.'
    'That's hard luck,' she commented sympathetically.
    'Heck! If it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all.' His weathered face twisted into a smile. 'That's how I got my name.'
    'Lefty? I don't understand.'
    'My left arm has been broken over a dozen times. The boys were going to chip in and buy me a permanent cast,' he chortled, and Diana's blonde head tilted back to join his laughter.
    Just as the night before, after the parade and the national anthem, the first event was saddle bronc riding. The winning ride was by the cowboy who had stopped Diana in the stables, Jack Evans. His swagger was even more pronounced than it had been when she met him.
    'Why doesn't Lije ride bucking horses?' she asked, turning to Lefty as they cleared the arena for the calf roping.
    'He's too big. A good bronc rider is usually lean and only average height. You gotta be small and wiry like me to stay on those sun-fishin' horses,' Lefty announced proudly. 'Not that Lije couldn't stay on, he just couldn't rack up the points with any consistency. Now bull-ridin' is something different. It's still better to be smaller, but he can use his strength to make the ride. Lije may not make day money in the event, but he'll end up somewhere in the placings.'
    'What's day money?'
    'A cowboy rides in a particular event every night. The one with the highest score, like in bronc and bull-ridin' or the fastest time for calf-ropin' or steer-wrestlin', wins that day's prize money. But the scores accumulate each day so at the end of the rodeo the cowboy who's consistently done the best in a particular event gets the big prize.'
    Diana's questions set off a running commentary from Lefty as he explained the various technicalities of each event. He pointed out the string barrier that allowed the calf a head start before the roper was permitted to go after him. If the roping horse broke the barrier, there was a ten-second penalty added to his roping time. After the catch had been made, the calf had to be on his feet before the cowboy could throw him back on the ground and tie his feet.
    It continued on through the bareback riding event, where Lefty told her that the rider had to have his feet above the horse's shoulders as the horse came out of the chute or he was disqualified. The rider's free hand could never touch the horse, which was the reason he waved it in the air above him so the judges could see he didn't touch the horse, as well as to give him a certain amount of balance.
    'Why does Lije let other cowboys ride his horse?' Diana asked as the steer wrestling began.
    'He don't exactly "let" them ride his horse,' Lefty smiled. 'You see, Lije's got himself a valuable piece of horseflesh there, 'cause it's probably the best dogging horse around. Them boys pay to use his horse, so much for each go-round or a percentage of the purse if they win on him. That red horse of his makes Lije a pretty fair profit. I don't know how many offers he's had to buy that stallion, but the price is going up in the five figure range now. That Lije Masters has a pretty smart head on his shoulders.' He winked confidentially at Diana. 'With that horse and Lije's own natural know-how, those two could take it all this year and end up at the National Finals Rodeo in Denver.'
    Lefty fell silent during the bull-riding event, sensing the reason for Diana's clenched hands and pale face. After Lije's successful ride, she smiled weakly at the older cowboy, who nodded and patted her hand comfortingly before signalling that it was time for them to leave to meet Lije.
     

 
    Chapter Four
     
    LEFTY persuaded Lije that even with his restricted mobility, he was capable of taking care of the horses. Lije agreed to the offer, although he unsaddled them before they left.
    'Would you mind waiting a few minutes outside my camper while I change my clothes?' Lije asked as he and Diana walked towards some parked vehicles near the stables. He glanced ruefully at the dirt stains on his white