Junior pulled his horse to a stop, and everyone clapped as he jumped down.
“Thank you.” He smiled at the group. His eyes seemed to zero in on me, and his smile turned up into the sly look that I was starting to think might just be involuntary.
“I’m glad you all enjoyed that little display.” He moved his eyes away from me. “I wish I could tell you that you’ll all be able to ride like that at the end of our time together, but my family has been training for years to learn how to compete in the rodeo.”
“What we will work on is learning how to handle a horse, how to lean into each turn, and how to do a few simple tricks that will impress your friends and family.” He winked, and a few of the people laughed.
“The biggest thing that I’ll share with you is just an appreciation for the sport of riding.” He continued. “Most people think it’s just about tricks and speed. Jumps and wearing cowboy hats and spurs. There’s so much more, and I hope you leave here knowing that. So let’s get started.”
The women clapped, and I saw one of them actually twirl her hair around her finger. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn’t. I thought girls only did that in movies.
“Will we get to ride with you?” She stepped closer to where Junior was standing and looked up at him with a half smile. Her finger was still in her hair.
“I believe we have enough horses for everyone to ride on their own.” He replied.
“But what if we get scared?” She continued. “They’re such big and strong animals. Anything can happen.” Did she really bat her eyes at him? Suddenly I wasn’t as worried about him hitting on our guest. I was worried it might be the other way around.
Why hadn’t I thought of that? I’d just admitted he was a handsome man. He was wearing gloves right now so there was no way for the women to know if he was single or married. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t even know if he was single. I mean, I’d like to think he was single considering he asked me out. But on the other hand, I did accuse him of being promiscuous. Maybe it didn’t matter to him if he was single or not.
“I’m sure everything will be alright.” Junior took a step back. “And I can assure you that we will make sure you all are comfortable with the horses before we get started.”
Thank goodness someone else asked another question, and he moved on to answer. The whole time was taken up with questions as Junior explained the rules of rodeo riding and why it is considered a sport in the field. All in all, it was a very interesting lesson. I did indeed learn a few things that I wouldn’thave expected, and I even thought about looking to see when the next rodeo would be coming into town. Not because I wanted to see him ride in it or anything like that. More so because I felt I would appreciate it now.
The time flew by so fast that I didn’t realize I had been out here longer than I planned. I started to head right back to my office, but I noticed the same girl hanging off to the side while Junior talked to one of the couples.
“Did you enjoy the lesson?” I went over to ask.
“I definitely enjoyed the instruction.” She looked past me at Junior. “And to think when my friends suggested a dude ranch I thought they were crazy, but I’m glad they talked me into it.”
“So you’re liking all the activities here?” I pushed.
“What?” She brought her eyes back to me. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you were enjoying all the activities here?” I repeated.
“Are there any other activities?” She laughed. “I will say I am enjoying the show.”
“The show?”
“All the rugged men that are everywhere.” She bit the side of her lip. “It’s like a buffet. All you have to do is pick your favorite and I’ve got a taste for that one right there.” She pointed to Junior.
“The workers aren’t really supposed to get involved with the guests.” I mentioned.
“Involved?” Her laughter was louder this time. “I’m not really looking to settle down here, but if he could ride me like he did that horse, I might change my mind.”
Good gracious. What the crap was I supposed to do? Should I tell her that I work for the ranch and we couldn’t have that sort of thing going on? Would that cause her to leave a bad review? Have women been throwing themselves at all our employeesand I didn’t know it? I started to rethink the upcoming reviews. Perhaps I needed to ask a few additional questions if this was what was going on.
“There you are, beautiful.” Junior walked up beside us. His arm went around my waist as if he had done it a hundred times. “I was worried you wouldn’t make it.” His gaze was completely on me.
“I..um…I…” I had no clue how I was supposed to respond.
He looked back at the other woman. “I hope any additional questions you have can wait until tomorrow. I really need to get Iron Rocket cooled down and back in his stall.”
“Um, sure.” She looked between us.
“Walk me back?” He faced me with that signature smile.
“Okay?” That seemed like the right response.
