Ride Me Cowboy by Alycia Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

jumped up on the
fence just as Curtis and Troy, our clowns, shooed him out of the ring. I raised
my hat again and took another round of applause before I finally headed for the
gate. I’d never been high on any kind of drug, but I couldn’t imagine that it
could even come close to this. When I glanced up in the stands and saw Lexi and
Lydia on their feet cheering for me, I got another shot of the rush. I told
myself it was because I’d never really had family in the stands cheering for me
– at least, not since my mother died. But mostly, if I was being honest, I had
to admit that when I looked up at Lexi, the rest of the people in the stadium
disappeared. I did notice my dad sitting firmly rooted to his spot. I don’t
think his hands even bothered to pretend to clap. Oh well, I didn’t care. It
was nice to have people here, and I was going to feed off of that for now.
    When all was said and done, I ended up finishing
second, which thrilled the shit out of me. The guy who drew Stacks actually
rode him, so of course he won because of Stacks’ high rank. It was a little bit
disappointing to know that could have been me if I’d drawn him. It also could
have been me in the dirt on my ass though, too, so I should be happy for what I
did get. Second qualified me to move on. I was
confident that as long as I kept giving it 100%, one of these days the stars
would all line up just right and I’d be going down in history as one of the
greatest riders of all time like Lane Frost or Freckles Brown. I got my buckle
and my check and then I started breaking down and loading up my equipment. As I
was loading up my horse Sarge , my family found me.
    “Mark! You were amazing!” Lydia said. She gave me a
hug and a kiss on the cheek.
    “Thank you,” I told her. Lexi was smiling at me.
God, she’s so pretty.
    “You really were,” she said. “I never thought I’d
enjoy something like this, but I had a great time.”
    “Good. Thank you both for being here. You too, Dad.” Dad made eye contact with me and gave me a
quick nod. I wasn’t foolish enough to think that I’d get any better than that.
Oh well, at least he was here, right? “Hey! Y’all want to go out to dinner and
celebrate? It’s on me.”
      Lydia was
still smiling and she looked like she was going to say yes. My father had
different ideas, however, and he didn’t seem to be concerned at all with what
Lydia wanted to do. “No. We’re too damned old for all that. Sitting on this
damned hard bench all day was quite enough and now we have a three hour ride
home. Thanks, but no thanks.” Lydia looked irked, but she didn’t say anything.
I was used to Dad, so I expected it, but I was embarrassed when I saw the look
on Lexi’s face. She recovered it quickly, but the disapproval was there.
    Dad drove home again and at least I got to have Lexi
to talk to in the backseat. She had all kinds of questions about the rodeo and
how bull riding is scored and she actually listened and acted like she cared about my answers.
    When we got close to the house, she looked at the
time and said, “It’s early yet. I could stand going out for a celebratory drink
if you want.” For a second I considered the fact that she was my stepsister, then
I tried to decide whether or not she was just feeling bad for me because my dad
was an ass; then I decided I didn’t care about any of it, I wanted to go out
and have a drink with her.
    “That sounds great,” I said. “I’ll just shower when
we get home so I don’t smell like a bull.”
    “You don’t smell like a bull,” Dad said from the
front seat. “You smell like an ass.” He laughed heartily at his own joke. I
chuckled. Lexi and Lydia were smart enough to see it for what it was: a not so
subtle put down. Neither of them laughed.
    While I showered, Lexi “cleaned up.” She looked
fresh to me, but I guess a woman who has sat on a wooden bench in a rodeo arena
was probably not feeling that way. I was waiting for her at the