“We will!”
I checked the time. “So sorry, duty calls.”
“Tell my boys good luck for me,” Jo called.
“I will!”
I made my way behind the chutes, where Billy was taking some behind-the-scenes footage as I had asked her to. She smiled and waved erratically when she saw me.
“Did you have a good day, Billy?”
She nodded. “Did you know this town goes berserk for rodeo weekend?”
I had seen signs up and down Main Street. “Did you go to the fair?”
Again, she nodded so hard her glasses almost fell off. “I almost threw up on the Ferris wheel!”
I laughed. “That’s not good!”
“Oh, it was so much fun!”
“I’m ready for my close-up,” said a voice behind me.
I spun around and saw Dean Nash smiling brightly. “Dean, how are you?”
He threw his chin toward Billy. “Your friend here said it was time for my interview. Is now a good time?”
Billy lifted her camera and gave me a thumbs-up. Dean was wearing a button-up shirt with the Agri-Corp logo. Though he wasn’t wearing the new vest we had bought, as their event didn’t require them, he was standing a few feet in front of the giant Agri-Corp trailer.
It was a perfect shot.
“Let’s talk Team Roping.”
He dramatically pretended to wipe sweat off his forehead. “Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you would want to talk about Mutton Bustin’!”
Billy laughed hard, making the camera shake.
He chuckled. “Sorry, go on.”
“Team Roping is unique because it’s a two-person event. How vital is the synchronization between you and your partner, and twin, Alan? How long does it take to truly trust each other in the arena?”
Alan appeared behind him and put his hands on his twin’s back. Dean jumped in surprise and spun around. “It took a while to get this kid to focus, but now that he’s gettin’ married soon, he’s figurin’ it out.”
Dean rolled his eyes.
It was a good thing Dean had a mustache, and Alan kept his hair shorter; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart. They were obviously identical twins, their movements almost constantly unconsciously synced.
“No, but honestly,” Dean continued, nudging his brother, “trust is everythin’. You gotta trust the rope, the horse, and the guy on the other side. I rope the head, so I gotta know Alan is back there ready to grab the feet.”
“Takes years to figure it out,” Alan jumped in. “You can’t guess what he’s gonna do; you just have to know he’s got your back. If you don’t trust him, you’re not ropin’ cattle, you’re either makin’ a fool of yourself or falling off your horse.”
This was better than I could’ve imagined. “Being a part of the Nash family legacy, how do you decide which events to attend? Is it purely strategic, based on potential prize money, or a rigorous path already written out for you?”
They shrugged at the same time.
“Well, prize money helps pay the bills, so that matters. Some cowboys choose a circuit, like Southern, and stick to it. We did that one year,” Dean explained.
Alan nodded, resting his elbow on his brother’s shoulder. “But as you know, Dad works for Agri-Corp, and they wanted to travel the country as much as possible. Spread the sponsorship across the country. We figured we could hitch a ride, and have been followin’ them this whole season.”
