“Nothing important.” I shot a glare at Mikey and Jake, a silent warning for them to behave.
“Okay then…”
“Want a beer, Sierra?” Jake piped up.
She shook her head. “No, I’m all right. I was going to put Pancho in the trailer, then I’m probably going to take Lucky around a few laps to loosen up before the rodeo starts.”
I pushed off the pickup. “Good idea. I’ll come with you.”
Colter and Reid agreed in unison. They got up from their chairs, and we all went our separate ways, leaving Mikey and Jake alone.
“This next pair of cowboys comes from our home state of Montana. Put your hands together for Hayden Watkins and Keenan Chase!” The rodeo announcer called out our names as the rhythm of drums from a country rock song played over the speakers.
Keenan and I backed our horses into the roping boxes as the arena erupted into a chorus of cheers. Peanut shookher head as we settled into a ready position at the back corner of the box.
I looked over to Keenan, and he dipped his chin, letting me know he was set, his rope at the ready. Taking a deep breath, I nodded, and the steer was released from the chute between us.
I gently squeezed my calves against Peanut’s side, signaling for her to burst out of the box and follow behind the steer. I swung my rope over my head, waiting for the perfect window to throw the rope over the steer’s horns.
Team roping required precision—if you threw your rope even a hundredth of a second too soon or too late, you could miss.
The loop floated in the air, finally dropping over the steer’s head. I pulled the rope tight, dallying it around my saddle horn. Peanut pulled ahead of the steer along the arena fence, and she took a turn toward the inside of the arena to turn the animal’s trajectory, giving Keenan access to the hind legs.
I watched as he swung his rope a few times over his head and then released the loop, catching the hind legs of the steer.
“Five-point-nine seconds!” the rodeo announcer hollered, and cheers erupted from the crowd.
When I looked past the arena fence, the world seemed to still as I made eye contact with emerald-green eyes. Sierra clapped and then placed her fingers in her mouth, letting out a loud whistle for us.
After letting Peanut cool down, I took all her equipment off and put her in one of the temporary stalls for the rest of the rodeo.
Barrel racing would be starting soon, so I went to check on Sierra.
Sheshould have been warming up Lucky by now, but I couldn’t see her anywhere.
I spotted her at the stables, pacing back and forth so much I was sure she’d wear a trail into the dirt. Jogging over to her, I called out, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She was never like this before a competition. Sierra was always calm and locked in. Something had to have happened. She looked like she was on the verge of frustrated tears, hands on her hips as she continued walking in circles.
“Sierra. Tell me what happened.” I placed my hands on her shoulders to stop her.
Her eyes flicked up to me, then she took a deep breath. “I left for a second to grab something, and I came back to this.” She lifted one of the straps on her saddle. At first, I didn’t think anything was wrong, but then I noticed the frays. Someone had cut the strap, just enough that if used while riding, it would have snapped.
“You can use mine.” The offer was immediate, instinctive.
“But—”
I cut her off. “You can use mine, because racing with this one is too much of a risk, and you’ve come too far to get injured. But we also need to report this.”
Sierra nodded, like she knew arguing with me would be pointless.
“Wait here, and I’ll grab my saddle.”
I did my best to keep my cool as I marched away from the stables toward the parking lot, but I was sure smoke was billowing from my ears.
“Yo, Hayden, wait up! What’s wrong, man?” Keenan asked, trying to keep up as I walked with long strides to the horse trailer.
“Someone tampered with Sierra’s saddle. It’s a good thing she actually inspects her equipment now, because if she’d ridden Lucky with that saddle, either one of them could have gotten seriously hurt.”
