8. Conner

Conner whistled a song while he prepared Zephyr for their event.

I wish that we had more time today. That was fun.

He was surprised by the thought. Conner had actually enjoyed spending time with Beth and Taryn. Even though the little girl talked a million miles an hour and filled him in on every minute of her life's story, he had enjoyed every second of it. She was a very mature, intelligent little girl.

It's too bad that most adults don't have the sense that she does.

Gideon sauntered over with a huge smile. "I saw you talking to Beth and Taryn earlier."

"Yeah. Beth and I went out last night and had a good time. She introduced me to her daughter today since I had complimented her so much on her riding. Taryn is quite the talker. We actually spent the afternoon together."

"Kelly isn't going to like that." Gideon grinned.

"I told her exactly how I felt about her this morning. Maybe she'll get the hint and back off."

"Yeah, right," Gideon said. "Have you met her?"

"True." Conner sighed. "She is determined to get what she wants, no matter what."

"Yep. And you are what she wants. At least for the minute." Gideon laughed and said slyly, "You know, if you pretended that you were in love with her, she would get bored and leave you alone."

"I don't have that kind of good luck. I would pretend that I was in love with her, and the next thing I would know, I'd be drugged and in Las Vegas saying ‘I do' in front of a preacher dressed up like Elvis Presley."

Gideon laughed. "Probably. So, you had a good time last night and this afternoon with Beth, huh."

Conner scratched his head and frowned. "There is something so familiar about her. It's not just how she looks. It's her mannerisms. How she talks. Even her sense of humor. I just can't figure it out."

Gideon looked at him and said, "You really don't remember, do you?"

"Remember what?"

The rodeo clown shook his head. "It's not important."

"My buddy says that I either met her here before at an event or I've seen her doppelganger."

Gideon raised his eyebrows and said, "That could be. It's said that every person in the world has a twin."

"I feel sorry for my twin." Conner laughed. Then, he became serious again. "You know, though, since the first time I saw Taryn, I thought that she looked familiar. I just figured it out. She actually looks a lot like my mother did when she was a little girl."

"That's a weird coincidence," Gideon said.

"I know."

"What does your gut say?"

"My gut says there is more to the story, and it's going to drive me up the wall until I can figure it out," Conner said.

"You will. I have faith," Gideon said. "Right now, I have to go put on my make-up and get into my clown clothes."

"It's said that people will never know that the real heroes of the rodeo hide behind a mask."

"All heroes hide behind masks," Gideon said. "Superman, Spiderman, Batman, and The Black Panther all have masks."

"So does Deadpool," Conner said.

Kelly walked by, blatantly staring at him. She hesitated for a second like she was deciding whether to come over and talk to him. Apparently, she decided not to and kept going to her horse.

Maybe she did finally figure out that I'm not into her and I never will be,Conner thought. Then he laughed to himself. Yeah, right. She's just trying to figure out a different angle.

The lights flooded the arena and Kelly rode out, waving to the crowd. Her horse, Princess, bowed to the crowd and did all of her tricks. TheStar-Spangled Banner was sung by a tiny little girl with the most powerful voice Conner had ever heard. The emcee said a prayer, asking that the cowboys and cowgirls be kept safe that night. Then, the events began.

Taryn was smiling and joking around with her friend. Then, when it was her turn to barrel race, a mask of seriousness replaced the smiles, and she and Pegasus made their way to the starting point. She nodded her head and the clock started.

The two of them executed the turns around the barrels perfectly. They tucked in close to the barrels. Dirt flew out from under Pegasus' hooves. When the duo dashed to the finish line the time was called – seventeen point two seconds.

That's an amazing time, especially for a little one,Conner thought.

Jenna was up next. She had a magnificent quarter horse who was very talented. Time was called when they raced to the finish line – seventeen point one seconds.

Jenna and Taryn jumped up and down hugging each other. They won first and second place. Conner was pleased that Taryn was able to celebrate her friend's win, even though that put Taryn in second place.

That girl has a great heart.

Conner had a great night as well. He ended up with a bull named Angel. The name was ironic because it was one of the meanest bulls that he had ever come up against. Despite the bull's best effort, Conner managed to stay on for the full eight seconds. He slid off as Gideon and the other clown ran up to chase the bull back into the chute.

His heart raced while he waited to hear the results -- first place. He was disappointed when he only scored a third-place win in the unsaddled bronc event. However, he scored second with the saddled bronc event and first in the steer wrestling, or bulldogging, event. Conner was the bulldogger, and he was randomly matched with a hazer, whose job was to keep the steer running in a straight line. The bulldogger rode their horse, full speed, to the side of the steer. They slid off their horse, grabbed the steer's horns, and wrestled it to the ground. It was as dangerous as bull riding.

Conner's mother asked him a million times why he would risk his life to do the events. He always grinned and said, "I love the adrenaline rush. I love the challenge and the danger."

"You are going to come home broken into little pieces," she would always say.

"A happy million pieces," he replied.

He knew that his mother wanted him to find someone, fall in love, and settle down. However, he really didn't see that happening any time soon. He didn't have time in his life for a woman. He might be too old for love by the time he retired.

Taryn rushed up to him after the night's events were over.

"Did you see me?" she asked, jumping up and down.

"I did. You were great," Conner said, holding out his hand for a fist bump.

She grinned and bumped it enthusiastically.

"Have you taken care of Pegasus?" he asked.

"Yep. He's got hay and water. I brushed him and gave him an apple. I also told him what a great horse he was and how much I love him."

"Awesome. Do you want to help me brush Zephyr?"

"Sure," she said enthusiastically.

Conner watched curiously as Taryn put her hand on the horse's face. Zephyr put his forehead up against Taryn's as though the two of them were communicating silently.

"I've never seen him do that with a stranger before," Conner said. "You must be special."

"I'm not a stranger. I'm his friend," Taryn said, gently brushing Zephyr's side.

Conner caught a glimpse of Kelly staring at them out of the corner of his eye. She had a very ugly look on her face and knew that she was furious. He couldn't help but remember Zephyr's reaction to Kelly earlier and compare it to how he reacted to Taryn.

Kelly is probably thinking the same thing. I hope that she doesn't do anything stupid and go after Taryn.

He watched the rodeo queen slip into the shadows and turned his attention back to Taryn and Zephyr. Beth walked up to them.

"There you are," she said. "I figured that I would find you here when you didn't come to the stands."

"Sorry, Mom. I should have asked you."

Beth smiled at Taryn and patted her on the back. She turned her attention to Conner. "You are just trying to kill yourself out there, aren't you?"

"You've been talking to my mother," Conner said. "She insists that someday I'm going to go home in a million different pieces."

"She's not wrong," Beth replied. "At least for now, Taryn is sticking to barrel racing and breakaway roping. I know she wants to participate in bull riding, too, but hasn't to protect my heart."

Conner laughed. "If I die in the rodeo, at least I'll die doing something that I love. How many people spend their whole lives wishing that they could do something fun but never dare to go out and do it? I dread the thought of being on my death bed wondering what if I had done this or what if I had done that."

Beth grimaced and her face flushed. Conner briefly wondered what that was about. His thoughts were cut off when Zephyr nudged him, looking for a treat.

Conner pulled an apple out of his pocket and handed it to Taryn. She bit off chunks to feed to the horse, who gently nibbled it from her hand.

"You must be magic. He's never that nice when he takes it from me," Conner said.

Beth bit her lip. Conner wondered what was bugging her.

"We both did well tonight," Conner said. "How about some sandwiches from the deli and some ice cream after that?"

Taryn turned to Beth, her face shining. "Mom, can we?"

"Sure," Beth said.

"Why don't I follow you to your house, and then I'll drive. It makes more sense than you following me all over town."

Beth hesitated for a second and then said, "Sure."

The three of them had a great time, with Taryn once again talking nonstop about her life, school, and everything she loved to do. Beth and Conner didn't have a chance to do more than smile and nod.

Finally, she took a breath and said, "Tell me about your home."

"When we aren't driving around, Zephyr and I live in a town called Angel's Creek in New Mexico. All of my family lives there. My brother and his wife have a little boy and two little girls. They keep him busy."

He told her a little about his family there and some of the fun he had when he was home. Once the last bite of the waffle cone was devoured, Conner drove them back to Beth's house.

"Can Conner come in and read with me?" Taryn asked. "Mom and I take turns reading from a book."

Beth sighed and said, "If Conner wants to."

"Sounds fun," Conner said. He was actually shocked by the idea that hanging out with Taryn and reading with her did sound fun. He had never done anything so domesticated his entire life.

Taryn hugged him before she went into her room to brush her teeth and go to bed. That was another first for Conner. He had never been hugged by a female under the age of eighteen before, except for his nieces.

"Sorry about that," Beth said. "I've never seen her take to anyone like that before. She is usually quiet and reserved."

"Taryn? That's hard to imagine," Conner said.

"I know. She has really opened up to you."

"She's a sweet girl," Conner replied.

Beth smiled. "She is." She told him how Taryn always got straight A's at school and loved to play basketball and soccer. The more Beth talked about Taryn, the more Conner got the feeling that there was something important that she wasn't telling him, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it might be.

She handed Conner a beer and they stepped out onto the back deck.

They talked about Wyoming and all the beautiful places there were to visit besides just Yellowstone National Park. After a while, a comfortable silence surrounded them.

"It's a beautiful night out," she said.

"Yes, it is," he replied. "Just like you are."

She smiled at him. He moaned low in the back of his throat and touched her face. An overwhelming need exploded inside of him and he couldn't stop himself. He closed his eyes when his lips pressed against hers. A flood of emotions exploded inside of him. His heart beat faster, and he trembled with a want that he had never felt before.