I jumped off the horse, sprinting to his side. I slid on my knees until I was next to his head.
His eyes were closed. I was freaking out, the ringing in my ears deafening. “Colton!” I screamed again. I cupped his face with my left hand and gave him a hard slap with my right.
He immediately snapped his eyes open. “Oh, ow! Can’t a man catch his breath?”
Dean and Alan were cackling. Jimmy casually rode up on his horse, shaking his head. Dennis strode beside us, rolling his eyes.
AnnaJane’s hand was on my shoulder. “He’s just teasin’. Don’t worry, Ally!”
Colton was smiling, breathing hard, and the dirt had stuck to his sweat, making his teeth look brilliantly white. He had worked hard to finish the ride and came out the other side unscathed.
Me, on the other hand?
I couldn’t catch my breath, my hands were clammy, and it felt like someone had dumped cold water down my spine.
The scene was all too familiar, and I wasn’t sure I couldhandle it again.
~~~
I promised myself that night that I would only stay for Ellie’s National Anthem performance. I was rodeoed out for the day. I sat on the front row, phone aimed directly at her, smiling like a chimp.
Jimmy, Alan, Erin, Dennis, AnnaJane, and the rest of the kids were at Cash’s baseball game, a rare occurrence for him to have such an audience. Colton was exhausted, and Jo was excited to watch old western movies with him while he recovered.
I had to go to meet Billy, take a few pictures, approve the script, and do all the other fun admin tasks I was assigned.
Which meant I was on my own to watch Ellie perform.
Honestly, the solidarity was welcome. After what happened this afternoon and how I tolerated it, I knew I needed to get a handle on my emotions if I was going to be with Colton. His whole life was rodeo; it would be a modern miracle if he went his entire career without a fall.
Even the thought of it made my hands clammy again.
Ellie walked confidently into the middle of the arena, her pink sparkly dress and cowgirl hat a perfect contrast to the dirt. She didn’t hesitate before singing the most gorgeous, tear-jerking rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that I had everheard.
I whooped and screamed when it ended, forgetting I was still recording.
The audience roared with me, giving her the recognition she deserved. She gave a cute little curtsy and walked off.
I sent the video to Martha, feeling guilty for how long it had been since I’d called her. I vowed to give her a call when I had my next spare minute.
Ellie found me a few minutes later, accepting all the high-fives and compliments as easily as Colton did.
Gosh, I admired that.
“Ellie!” I greeted her as she threw her little arms around my legs. “That was amazing! I got the whole thing on video!”
She smiled. “Yay, we can show it to Mommy tonight!”
“Oh, for sure.” I looked back at our seats. “Do you want to watch the show or get out of here?”
“Does get out of here include stoppin’ for ice cream?”
I fought back a smile as I thought seriously. “I don’t think we’re allowed home for at least half an hour, so we’d better stop.”
In AnnaJane’s old minivan, we made our way to Rodeo Loco Snacks and Ice Cream shop. We parked, and she led me to the walk-up window to order our ice cream.
I hadn’t had ice cream inyears. I was practically salivating when Ellie ordered a banana split. I ordered three scoops of strawberry in a massive waffle cone.
“This is a cute place,” I said, mostly to myself as we took a seat in one of the outdoor tables. “Do you like living in Oklahoma?” It was warm out there. It was eight o’clock, and Iwas sweating.
