Trent Reedy - Divided We Fall

“She’s a beauty,” he said.

“Lot of muscle in the flank,” Mr. Wells agreed. “Could be a good barrel horse.”

“She’s got a lot of jiggle in her,” Sweeney said. “I like that.”

Mr. Wells frowned and looked from Sweeney to the horse and back. Then he shook his head. “Eric, did I ever tell you never to date my daughter?”

Sweeney gave a little chuckle. “Several times, sir.”

Mr. Wells nodded. “Good.”

One girl after another rode out, each displaying a different flag for the sponsor she was promoting.

“Ladies and gentlemen, next up is Becca Wells, carrying the beautiful dark blue flag of Idahayew, proudly displaying our state motto Esto Perpetua , which is Latin fer ‘Let it be forever.’ ”

Becca and Lightning came out of the gate and rode around the arena at a fast gallop, but unlike a lot of the other girls who bounced around and sometimes lost their hats, she rode smooth and fluid. She smiled the whole time, with her belt buckle shining and her reddish-brown hair and that big Idaho flag both fluttering in the breeze. She went through the center of the sponsor line and stopped her horse a few paces in front.

“And Idahayew will be forever, ladies and gentlemen, no matter what problems this great state may face. Idahayew will be forever because all of us as the people of Idahayew will continue to work to make this state great. That’s why we take this moment to salute all of Idahayew’s brave men and women, and all of America’s brave men and women who are serving in our armed forces tonight. Whether they are serving in Iran, Pakistan, or right here at home, they are fighting fer our freedom, so that we all might live our lives as we wish. They make it possible fer us to enjoy the heritage and traditions of our wonderful sport of rodeo, and so, as Miss Layna Thompson enters the arena carrying Old Glory, our American flag, won’t you join with me in standing and removing yer hat, as Layna’s sister Laura sings fer us our national anthem.”

The girl in the announcer’s booth sang sweeter than I’d heard our anthem in a long time, even without music to back her up. As I listened, I wanted to get back to that pride I’d felt when I first enlisted, but the memories of Fed troops trying to arrest the governor, of being chased by the FBI, and of Schmidty’s secret war bunker and all those things that he’d said kept creeping into the back of my mind.

I tried to shake off these thoughts and enjoy the rodeo. After the calf roping ended, JoBell stood up. “I’m going to see if Becca needs help getting ready.”

I watched her go, admiring her butt in her cowgirl jeans.

“Hey guys.” Cal sat down with a Mountain Dew in one hand and a paper plate with a massive cheeseburger in the other.

“Whoa!” Sweeney said. “Got yourself a double, big guy?”

Cal put the plate on the bench beside him. He took a swig of pop and then belched, covering his mouth with his hand. “A double is my single. Triple cheeseburger here.” He took a huge bite and chewed for a while. “Big day at the lake. The boss let us all have one last flight in the seaplane. He even let me take the yoke for a little bit once we were up. Then we cleaned and put away the kayaks and everything for the season.”

We watched the saddle bronc riding and the steer wrestling events. After a long while I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath of that smoky, earthy rodeo smell.

“Having fun?” Sweeney asked.

I opened my eyes. “Yeah. This is good.”

“You deserve it, buddy.”

Finally it was time for the barrel racing. “Becca’s second in the order,” JoBell said as she sat down next to me again and took my hand. “I love the barrel racing. Definitely my favorite event. Plus it’s like the only one that’s all for the girls.”

The first cowgirl rode into the arena and then kicked her horse into a gallop past the starting line. She circled her horse around the barrel to her left, then rode over and went around the barrel that had been to her right.

“She cut that too wide,” Mr. Wells said. “She’s losing time.”

As the rider’s horse rounded the third and last barrel, it stumbled a little, disqualifying her from the event. She trotted back slowly toward the gate.

“Becca’s up now,” JoBell said.

Lightning trotted through the gate into the arena with Becca smiling in the saddle. She leaned forward and patted the horse’s neck, whispering something into its ears. Then she kicked her horse into a gallop, riding smooth like in the grand entry, but even faster. She guided Lightning through a tight loop around the left barrel and then they shot off to round the second.

“Come on, Becca,” I whispered. “Come on. You got this.”

JoBell squeezed my hand as Becca and Lightning circled the last barrel and bolted toward the finish line.

“Thatta girl! Go, go, go!” Mr. Wells shouted. Everyone cheered as Lightning crossed the line and trotted out of the arena.

“Well, folks,” said the announcer. “Becca Wells is the blazing-fast cowgirl who takes the lead in tonight’s barrel racing with a time of seventeen point five nine seconds. Outstanding.”

I stood up and stretched. No use watching the rest of the barrel runs. Nobody was beating that time. “I’m going to go help Becca get Lightning brushed down and everything. You guys coming?”

“I want to watch some more of this,” JoBell said. “Tell her I said good job.”

Sweeney and Cal waved me off.

I left the arena and headed off into the shadows by the rows of horse trailers. Becca was nowhere to be seen, but Lightning was tied to the side of her trailer with the saddle already off. As I approached, I could hear Becca messing around inside the trailer, putting stuff away.

She stepped out of the little side door near the front and wiped her hands on her jeans before she leaned back against the trailer. “You did good tonight, Lightning. Real good.” She stroked the horse’s forehead. “That was a good ride. I wonder if he’ll notice.”

“If who will notice what?” I asked.

She jumped and Lightning jerked her head up. “Danny,” Becca said. “What are you doing sneaking up on me like that!? You about gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry,” I said.

Becca smiled. “No, you’re not.”

“You’re right. I came to see if you needed any help, and to tell you that was an awesome ride.”

“I’ve had better rides,” she said. “It’s not my best time.” She shrugged and looked down, and I’m not gonna lie, but with her little pout and the way the light from the arena shined on her red-brown hair, Becca looked really pretty. Not for the first time, I thought about setting her up with somebody. She should have someone. It was too bad Sweeney was… well, the way he was.

She tossed me a brush. “I’ll get the bridle off, if you want to brush her down.”

I started brushing Lightning’s rump, while Becca took out the horse’s bit and removed the bridle.

“I’m going to take this all apart so I can clean it better,” she said as she unhooked the bit from the bridle, dangling the metal piece by the reins. “Are you nervous about your bull ride?”

“Naw,” I answered. I never really got too nervous until I was in the chute getting on the bull. Then during the ride, there was no time to be worried or to be thinking about anything. I straightened my lucky cowboy hat on my head and said something that had been creeping around at the edge of my thoughts all evening. “But I don’t know, Becca. I don’t know if I’m very into this tonight. I’m not so sure it’s a great idea for me to get back on the bull.”

“But you’re so good at it,” she said.

“I hope you’re right. It’s just, we’re seniors now, and I was already feeling like this was our last chance for all of us to have fun together, here where we all grew up, I mean. Now with all this stuff that’s happened since Boise, maybe we’ve already missed our chance. Maybe it’s been stolen from us.” I rested my head against Lightning’s flank. “I wanted to live my life, you know? But now…”