Page 2 of Blue Moon Cowboy
He touched his fingers to the brim of his hat in another polite gesture that was becoming familiar to her in person and not just something she’d seen in the movies. “My pleasure, ma’am. Be safe and enjoy the rodeo.”
Lainey walked over to the carriage, forcing herself not to turn and see if the cowboy was watching her or if he’d walked away.
After another dozen photos of Liz, Lainey made her way to her seat and was surprised to see several members of Liz’s extended family sitting there. She’d met a few of them over the past week while Lainey had taken photos of Liz at the ranch that had been in the woman’s family for more than a hundred years. She’d spent time at the ranch studying the photos that hung on the walls and graced the top of the old piano in the living room and now recognized many of the faces of those seated around her.
Grateful the ticket was for an aisle seat, Lainey settled in, ready to watch the rodeo. She had, in vague and general terms, an idea of how each event worked, but it was different to watch in person from a seat that had a great view of the arena.
She managed to sit through the first three events without taking a single photo, but when the saddle bronc riding began, every creative, artistic cell in her body screamed to snap photos of the action.
Lainey had never shot a sporting event, choosing to focus on portraits and, occasionally, a landscape. She didn’t have the right lens, or even the right settings dialed in on her camera, but when a bucking horse came near the section of seats where shesat, she focused on the rider’s face and snapped one shot after another.
When she lowered her camera, she realized one of the men helping the saddle bronc rider get off his horse looked familiar.
“Give that cowboy a hand, folks, he’s earned the top score so far,” the announcer boomed. “And while you’re at it, give our pickup men a hand for their hard work. That’s father and son duo Jason and Shaun Price!”
The crowd whistled and clapped. Lainey studied the cowboy she’d met earlier as he waved a hand to the crowd. The other cowboy, dressed exactly like him in a pale blue shirt, dark blue jeans, matching chaps, black boots, and a black hat, didn’t really look much like him. The younger man had hair the color of a shiny new penny, and his features were different, but she could see that the two men shared similar mannerisms.
Perhaps the frosty fox had a red-headed wife. That would explain his son’s hair and looks.
The thought of Jason Price being married made Lainey feel slightly agitated, and the agitation made her more than a little irritated with herself. For all she knew, the man had a dozen children and a beautiful wife waiting for him at home. Or in the crowd.
Her interest in him was clearly misplaced, and it would do her well to remember most people her age and his were happily wed.
With a deep, cleansing breath, Lainey lectured herself to put down her camera and enjoy the rodeo, but she couldn’t do it.
Instead, she snapped photos during the rest of the saddle bronc riding, breakaway roping, barrel racing, and bull riding.
The bulls made her flinch and gasp each time they bucked off a rider. She had been shocked to see Jason and his son out there on their horses, ready to assist where needed and to chase the bulls behind the chutes.
Without even realizing what she was doing, she focused her camera on Jason and took a few shots before she came to her senses and stowed her camera in her bag. When the last bull rider got bucked off, Lainey stood and made her way out of the grandstands. She walked to the far edge of the parking lot where she’d left her van.
She’d purchased the travel van, gently used, from a couple in Virginia who had planned to tour the United States. They’d bought the van and made it as far as Kentucky, where the husband had suffered a debilitating stroke. The van had remained parked behind their house for years, unused. Lainey had a friend who was a mechanic go with her to check it out. Athena, one of the best mechanics she’d ever met, had gone over the vehicle, declared it only in need of a tune-up, and told Lainey she’d be an idiot to pass up the sweet deal.
So, Lainey had purchased the van, and Athena had gotten it ready for the open road. Lainey had been living in it for the past three years as she went from one photography project to the next. It was compact enough that she could easily park it just about anywhere, but it had a sofa that made into a bed, a small kitchen area, and a tiny bathroom at the back of the van.
Lainey had learned right away to park at truck stops when possible and use their showers. They were generally clean and private, and the parking lots were well lit. She always parked as close to one of the light posts as possible, preferably within view of the truck stop doors.
Occasionally, the person she was photographing would invite her to stay in their home for the duration of her visit. Like now, she’d been invited to stay in Liz’s rambling adobe ranch house that had two wings full of bedrooms.
Lainey had been delighted with the lovely room she’d been given to use with a luxurious king bed and a private bathroom with a soaking tub.
Once she got out of the congested traffic of those leaving the rodeo venue, Lainey drove to Liz’s ranch, admiring the desert landscape on her way there and thinking about the woman’s story.
Liz and her husband had been high school sweethearts and had wed soon after they graduated. Peter worked days alongside Liz at the ranch and went to business school in the evenings. They’d only been married a year when they welcomed Andrew, the first of their four children.
By the time Peter graduated, Liz’s parents had passed away within months of each other and left the ranch to her as their only child and heir. She thrived on the ranch work, while Peter had a head for business. Young and full of ambition, they increased the profits of their enterprise and were even able to purchase a neighboring property without taking out a loan.
Then, Peter had died on his way to a cattleman’s meeting when a distracted driver had run a stop sign and hit him head-on. Liz had been only twenty-nine when it happened. People had expected her to sell the ranch or remarry to have a man at the helm, but she’d forged ahead, raising her children on her own, and running the ranch just like she and Peter had dreamed about.
Today, the ranch continued to thrive and was known in the region for excellent beef cattle as well as solid cutting horses, all because Liz refused to give up when others expected her to.
Which was why Lainey had chosen her as one of the women to be represented in the book she was working on.Pillars of the Westfocused on the matriarchs who were the glue that held their families together. Lainey had photographed women who’d done everything from making boots and operating a livestock auction to owning a barbecue sauce company.
Liz was the first rancher Lainey had interviewed and photographed, and she was enjoying every moment of theexperience. The western way of life had always intrigued her, even if she didn’t fully understand it.
When she pulled up at the house, Lainey found the place buzzing with people. Liz’s family had planned a party to celebrate the honor of her being named the grand marshal, and also the end of the rodeo, in which many of them had been involved as volunteers or board members.
Although Liz’s daughter Margot had wanted to have the meal catered, Liz had insisted it be a potluck with everyone contributing their favorite dishes.
