Taming the Lonesome Cowboy

One

LaRiah Dolson couldn’t believe how much she was enjoying herself. She couldn’t stop smiling as she watched the events of the rodeo taking place in the arena below the stand where she sat with her closest friend Hailey. “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” she told her friend as she snapped a few pictures of the arena below with her phone. Then the two of them posed for a few selfies that LaRiah would post to her Instagram account.

“I told you that you would like it,” Hailey replied keeping her eyes on the roping event. “Dad said that after the show we can go down and meet some of the people involved.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and you’ll get to see up close why cowboys are the sexiest men on the planet.”

LaRiah laughed as she rolled her eyes. “I disagree. Professional men in business suits are sexier.”

“We’ll see if you still feel that way after you meet Luke and some of the others.”

“Who is Luke?”

“He’s an ex-bull rider turned rancher, and he is so gorgeous. He’s got thick almost jet-black hair, eyes as blue as the sky on a clear day, and a nice strong jaw line. Not to mention a great butt.”

“Just your type.”

“Well yeah, but he’s a bit too old for me. My father would lose his mind if I showed interest in a forty-year-old man. I just like looking at him. Some of the guys who work for him are just as hot though. The guy who just won the roping event is one of them.”

“Which one do you have your eye on?” LaRiah asked, raising her eyebrow as she turned to look at the arena again.

“None of them. I’m in love with Brian. He’s the only man for me, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t look at and appreciate all the other men I come across.”

They continued to watch the show until the last young man roped his calf. Then they jumped to their feet and cheered along with the rest of the crowd. As things quieted down, again and they took their seats. LaRiah got serious. “You’re not trying to set me up with some cowboy to keep me here in Texas, are you?”

Hailey threw her arm around LaRiah’s shoulders and hugged her close. “As much as I want you to stay here, I would not hook you up with a cowboy whose ranch could be miles away. What sense would that make? If I were going to set you up with anyone it would be one of Brian’s friends, so you would be in the city with me. Besides we both know that your sister isn’t going to let you veer off the path she has set for you.”

LaRiah grimaced and nodded. Hailey was right. Edye would never let her do what she wanted. LaRiah’s life was set. At the end of summer, she would return to Chicago and start at Pritzker School of Medicine just the way Edye wanted.

Edye had sacrificed a lot to take on the responsibility of raising LaRiah and her sister Rose. It hadn’t been an easy job. She and Rose rebelled in a lot of ways. Rose eventually took off and didn’t tell anyone where she was until she was certain that she wouldn’t have to run back home.

LaRiah got into trouble all through high school and thought she saw the silver lining when she moved into a dorm for college. Then she failed her freshman year from partying. After that she changed her major several times, adding years to her education until Edye told her she wouldn’t help pay for anything else. LaRiah ended up getting a degree in biology and Edye convinced her that the best thing to do would be to go to medical school. Since she didn’t have a plan of her own, LaRiah agreed.

In return for Edye’s selflessness, LaRiah felt she owed it to her to follow through on the plan they had made for her life even if she wasn’t sure that it was the right choice.

“Come on,” Hailey said, rising and moving down their row to get to the exit. “Let’s go find my father. The show’s almost over.”

Two

Wyatt Clemmons was proud of the job he had done in the calf roping competition. He won first place, but he was ready to try his hand and bronco riding. He spotted Luke coming towards him as he removed his chaps. “Congratulations Wyatt. That was great.” Wyatt nodded. “What’s wrong?” Luke asked seeing the sour expression on Wyatt’s face.

“Nothing. I won’t compete in any more roping events. I’m done with it. I want to ride broncos. When am I going to be ready for that?”

“Soon. I promise. You’re almost ready. Remember what I told you. When you can stay on one of my horses for eight seconds, you’ll be ready to enter your first bronco riding competition.”

Wyatt nodded. Luke was right and he knew it. That’s why Wyatt had gone to him for training. Luke Stanley was one of the world’s best bull riders. With his guidance Wyatt was sure to do well too.

“Luke?” a man called from beyond them.

Luke turned and walked away. “Dennis. It’s good to see you,” his boss said shaking the man’s hand.

Wyatt recognized the man. He had seen him a few times when he accompanied Luke to the rodeo. Dennis Bradley was the man behind the rodeo. He footed the bill or arranged the finances for every rodeo in the southwest region. Luke was hoping to supply the horses and bulls for the rodeo circuit in the area and to do that he had to wow Dennis with his stock.

Wyatt put his chaps away while keeping an eye on Luke and Dennis. They talked for a few minutes and the Dennis shook Luke’s hand and walked away.

“Well?” Wyatt inquired as Luke walked back to where he stood.

“We’re going to talk at the party tonight.”

“That’s good, right?”

Luke shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “I think so, but I’m going to need some help from you.”

“Sure,” Wyatt responded.

“His daughter and her friend will be with him. I need you to keep them occupied. I don’t want any distractions while I talk to him.”

“Keep them occupied, how?”

“I don’t care. I just need Dennis’ undivided attention for a while, okay?”

Wyatt nodded. “Okay.” Luke grinned and slapped him on the shoulder as he walked away.

How was he going to keep them occupied? He had no clue. He wasn’t good with people. He preferred the company of animals. Wyatt grabbed his bag and took it to the cab of the truck. He and Luke would be attending the party and then heading home to the ranch right after.

He returned to their stalls to check the horses before going to the hotel to clean up for the party. As he got closer to one of their stalls he heard a feminine voice, “You are magnificent, aren’t you?”

The voice belonged to a pretty African American woman who was stroking the nose of one of Luke’s horses. Wyatt watched her for a moment. Her long thick hair was pulled back from her face in a pony tail that was nearly as long as the horse’s tail. She had beautiful copper skin. “Who are you? You shouldn’t be back here,” Wyatt said.

“I have a pass,” she told him, holding up the visitor pass on the lanyard around her neck. “Who are you?”

She displayed a VIP pass which meant she was some rich kid who daddy bought his way backstage. “A competitor and that’s my horse you’re touching.” Well, it wasn’t his horse, but he was responsible for it. Tootsie whinnied, shaking her head as if she were agreeing with him.

She turned and faced him and when their eyes met, Wyatt felt naked, stripped raw and vulnerable. Then she smiled and his heart hammered in his chest. “You won the roping contest. Congratulations.”

Wyatt wasn’t sure what was happening to him, but he felt off kilter. He swallowed, “Thanks.”

“What’s his name?” she asked, looking at the horse again.

“HER name is Tootsie.”

“Why Tootsie?” she asked, looking at him again as she stroked the horse again.

“You’d have to ask Luke. He’s her actual owner.”

“You said she was yours.”

“She’s my responsibility. I work for him.”

“As what a trainer”

“No.” He paused, knowing that once she knew she’d dismiss him or look down her nose at him. “I’m a ranch hand. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have work to do.” Wyatt moved around her and opened the gate, going into the stall with Tootsie.

“Okay,” she said drawing the word out before walking away.

Wyatt wanted to apologize for his rudeness but what difference did it make? He was never going to see her again. He put the pretty girl out of his mind and got to work. He had several horses to tend to before he could go back to his room to clean up for the party.

Three

LaRiah stepped out of the bathroom, twirling in a circle. “What do you think?” she asked Hailey.

“I still can’t believe that you are going to wear that,” Hailey said spraying perfume on her wrists and neck.

LaRiah looked down at her purple and pink plaid shirt, dark blue jeans, and lavender tinted boots. “What’s wrong with this?”

“Nothing except you look like you should be jumping into one of those clown barrels in the center of the arena.”

LaRiah’s mouth fell open. “Are you saying that I look like a clown?”

Hailey made a face and humped her shoulders. “If the shoe fits.”

“Well, I’m not changing. I think I look cute,” LaRiah said putting on her lavender straw cowboy hat.

“Well, you will get a lot of attention,” Hailey said and then she squinted her eyes. “Wait a minute. Does this get up,” she said waving her hand up and down at LaRiah’s outfit, “…have anything to do with the guy I saw you talking to backstage?”

LaRiah curled her lip as if she smelled something awful. “Absolutely not!”

“Mmm, hmm,” Hailey said with an eyebrow raised.

“It doesn’t. I admit he was nice looking, but he was also odd. First he lied about being the horse’s owner and then when he admitted that he wasn’t he acted angry with me as if I had done something wrong. I’m not interested in seeing him again. I just thought that I’d try to look like a cowgirl.”

“Well, you certainly do.”

A knock sounded on Hailey’s bedroom door. “Come in,” she called out.

Her father stepped inside, grinning as he took in LaRiah’s ensemble. “My, my don’t you look fetching.” LaRiah smiled and gave Hailey an I told you so look. “Brian’s here. So, if you two are ready, we can get going.”

“We’ll be right down, daddy,” Hailey told him. As soon as he closed the door, she asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to rethink your outfit?”

**

Wyatt spotted her the minute she stepped into the room. Of course, he wasn’t the only one. Just about every man in the room was looking at her. He couldn’t deny how beautiful she looked as she crossed the room behind Dennis and some others. Her hair was different than she’d worn it earlier. It was silky straight, hanging almost to the waist of her lavender close-fitting dress.

Luke and Wyatt stood at Dennis introduced them to his party. “Luke, this is my wife Amanda, my daughter, Hailey, her boyfriend Brian and Hailey friend LaRiah.”

Luke introduced him. “This is Wyatt. He won the roping contest and works for me on the ranch.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Dennis said as he pulled out the chair for his wife. Luke moved around the table to pull out the chair for LaRiah and since Brian did the same for his girlfriend, there wasn’t much for Wyatt to do, but take his seat beside LaRiah.

“Dennis, I’m a bit envious of you now,” Luke said as he sat down.

“Why?” Dennis asked.

“Well, I’ve seen pictures of your beautiful wife, but your daughter and her friend are stunning as well. I hope to someday be surround by so much beauty,” Luke told him. The women all smiled and thanked him for his compliment.

Wyatt was quiet, thinking about his conversation with Luke before they came down to the party. “Do you really need me to go to the party?” Wyatt asked him.

“Yes. Besides, you have to get over this aversion you have to being with other people. Part of the life that you want includes socializing and rubbing elbows for sponsors and the public.”

Wyatt knew what Luke was saying was the truth, but he wasn’t good with people. It came from all the problems of his childhood. He didn’t trust anyone outside of the people on the ranch.

In his experience, people lied and used one another to get what they wanted, even family. His father died at the hands of family and his mother was in prison for life. What family he had, had never cared about him, they took him in to get their hands on the land that he inherited.

Wyatt was used and abused and tossed aside after they had what they wanted. Luke had been a friend of his father’s and when Wyatt had nothing left, he’d take him in and given him a home. Wyatt trusted and respected Luke and that was the reason that Wyatt sat at the table now.

Luke was engaged in conversation with Dennis and his wife. Brian and Hailey talked to each other, but he and LaRiah were both quiet, only joining the conversation when addressed by others at the table.

Dennis bragged about his daughter’s accomplishments in school and that she would be working for him. “Beautiful and smart,” Luke said with a smile. “What about you, LaRiah. What are your plans for the future?”

Wyatt was grateful for the question. It gave him the opportunity to look at her. She dabbed her napkin at the corners of her mouth before speaking. “I’m – supposed to start medical school in Chicago in the fall.”

“Supposed to?” Luke questioned.

“It’s my sister’s plan. I’m not sure that’s what I want to do.”

“It’s your future, shouldn’t you have a say in how you live it?” Wyatt said.

LaRiah met his gaze as if she was offended by the question. “I don’t mean to make it sound like she’s forcing medical school on me.”

“But that’s exactly what you did,” Wyatt replied. “Either you’re doing this because you want to or not.”

LaRiah’s eyes sparked with fire. “And I suppose being a ranch hand is your dream career?”

“No, but it puts me in a position to get what I want. I’m not some spoiled little princess. I have no problem doing hard work and for your information there is nothing wrong with being a ranch hand. You couldn’t do the kind of work that I do for more than a day before quitting.”

“And you could use a lesson in manners,” LaRiah told him sternly.”

Luke cleared his throat, loudly. Wyatt and LaRiah both snapped out of the antagonistic space that had blocked out everything around them.

Wyatt closed his eyes and lowered his head. “I apologize for my rudeness. He pushed his chair back and left the table and the party without another word. He was certain that Luke would give him an earful later.

Four

The rest of the evening was ruined as far as LaRiah was concerned. Wyatt had a problem with her. One that she didn’t understand. He assumed that she came from money. She apologized to everyone at the table for her part in the argument and remained quiet after that.

Immersed in her own thoughts about what Wyatt had said. He thought she was some rich entitled person probably because she was friends with Hailey. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Even though her sister made a good living, she didn’t raise LaRiah and Rose to believe that they were entitled to anything. They worked for everything the same way Edye had.

Luke was a gentleman and apologized a few times for Wyatt’s behavior and LaRiah believed he was sincere. Especially since it seemed that Dennis and his family, including LaRiah, were invited to come to the ranch.

When Dennis and Brian took the women to the dance floor, LaRiah got a chance to speak to Luke alone. “What is Wyatt’s problem with me? He was rude when I met him earlier backstage.”

Luke looked into her eyes. “I don’t think he’s got a problem with you necessarily. He’s a loner and he doesn’t trust easily.”

“Well, he seemed to think that I’m some rich kid. I’m not. I know what hard work is and I’m not afraid of it and I’ll prove it if I have to.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Yes, I do. I don’t like people making assumptions about my character. While we are visiting the ranch, put me to work. I want to do the same job that he does.”

Luke sighed. “Why do this?”

“Because he said that I couldn’t. Call it a bet. You said that you would throw a party on our last night, right?”

“Yeah.”

“If I do his job for a week without quitting, he has to come to the party dressed as a princess. I’ll even provide the costume for him.”

Luke snickered. “I’d like to see that, but I can’t say for certain that he’ll agree to your terms.”

“I’ll give you my number and if he agrees, you call me and let me know.”

“What if you give up before the week is over. What does he get?”

“I’ll come to the party dressed as a rodeo clown,” LaRiah said with a huge grin.

“I don’t know about this. I mean – I’m trying to conduct business with Dennis. I don’t want to jeopardize that relationship.”

“Jeopardize what?” Dennis asked as he and his wife returned to the table. Luke quickly explained. Hailey’s dad smiled, looking at the determined look on LaRiah’s face. He had gotten to know her well during his daughter’s four years at college with her. “I won’t let whatever is happening between LaRiah and Wyatt interfere with our business if you don’t.”

Luke let out a breath of relief. “Alright. I’ll discuss this bet with Wyatt and let you know what he has to say about it.”

**

Wyatt was loading the last of their horses into a trailer when Luke found him. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Luke held up his hand, stopping him. “I know your sorry, kid. Even though I should kick you in the butt, I’m not going to. Dennis and I are still planning to talk business next week when he and his family come to stay at the ranch. By the way, LaRiah wants to make a bet with you.”

“A bet?”

“Yeah. She’s going to work as a ranch hand for a week and if she does, you have to attend the party I’m throwing before they leave wearing a princess outfit that she’s providing.”

“What if she quits?” Wyatt asked, wondering what Luke might have put on the table.

“She’s willing to come to the party dressed as a rodeo clown. LaRiah’s expecting a call from me by noon tomorrow to tell her.”

Wyatt thought about it for a second or two. “Call her and tell her that I accept her bet, but I provide her costume if she loses.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Because I get the feeling that you like her and this bet might seal your fate with her,” Luke told him honestly. “I saw the way you were looking at her when she entered the room tonight.”

“So, she’s pretty, but it just goes along with the point I’m making. She’s one of those girls that gets everything she wants because of her looks. Make the call,” Wyatt said, checking the gate on the trailer and moving around the side to get in the passenger seat.

Luke sighed taking his phone out of his pocket. “Okay, kid.”

**

“I can’t believe you’re going to do this,” Hailey said as she sat on the bed in LaRiah’s room. “He thinks you’re a spoiled rich kid, so what? You know who you are. Who cares what he thinks?”

LaRiah had just finished her call with Luke. Wyatt had agreed to the bet. She grabbed her brush off the dresser and began putting her hair in a ponytail. “You can’t understand what its like to have someone take one look at you and decide who you are based on what you look like.”

“It’s not like he said something racist, Ri-Ri.”

“He may as well have. It’s the same concept. He judged me based off what I look like and I’m going to show him that anything he can do, I can do better.”

Hailey nodded her head. “Okay. You know I’ve got your back, but it’s not fair that you’re working when you could be having fun with me.”

“The fun will be seeing Wyatt wearing that princess costume with full make up when I’m done with him,” LaRiah said, grinning.

“You know taking care of horses isn’t an easy job. You might want to go to YouTube and watch some videos about what you’re getting into.”

LaRiah grabbed her laptop and joined Hailey on the bed. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“Well, I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night,” LaRiah said as her friend left her.