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Beth nodded in acceptance while Lexi squealed and jumped up to grab my arm.
“I can’t wait,” she gushed, squeezing my forearm. “But I don’t suppose we have enough time to do a wardrobe change before the event? I’m not loving the white tee and jeans combo for some reason.”
Wardrobe change, my rear.
I shot her a sour look that had her changing course real fast.
“You know what? Never mind. That look is totally in. White tees never go out of style. I’m going to handle your wardrobe and your makeup and your prep work. Beth can handle your PR. Just leave everything to us. And maybe, if you’re really lucky, by the end of this we might even snatch up one of those hot cowboys for you.”
My mouth went dry as I tried to swallow. That wasn’t what I’d had in mind.
I had enough on my plate. Wrangling a cowboy wasn’t on it. But I had the feeling that wouldn’t stop Lexi from trying.
Maybe I hadn’t thought this all the way through.
But it was too late to pull out.
Chapter Seven
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
I stared in horror at the scene in front of me and the six other Junior Rodeo Queen contestants. Seven woolly, stinky sheep stood on a cement pad behind the animal barn, bleating their displeasure as their young owners hung onto their bridles. As I worked backwards in my head, trying to figure out exactly how Lexi and Beth talked me into staying in this contest, someone tugged on the hem of my white tee and I looked over to see Geminia grinning at me.
“You’ve got the wrong animal. It’s, you’ve got to be lambing me.”
I snorted loudly, drawing a displeased expression from Ms. Gentry as she ticked our names off her clipboard. According to her, our first event as Junior Rodeo Queen contestants was to assist the young 4Hers in washing their sheep for judging. A small crowd had gathered nearby to watch, including that guy Graham and several of the rodeo boys I’d seen at the arena yesterday. Hunter stood in the middle of them and waved at me when our gazes met, sending a shot of nerves through me.
“Each of you will assist your 4H contestant in bathing your sheep,” Ms. Gentry said in a loud and dignified voice. “You will be judged on your ability to calm the animal, teamwork skills, and aptitude toward hard work. Please maintain decorum. Even menial tasks deserve a Rodeo Queen’s full attention and effort. I expect you all to do your best work.”
“You’d think we were serving tea to the queen, not washing muck off farm animals,” Geminia whispered in my ear.
I laughed again and this time the dirty look came from Sarah. She stood on the other side of Ms. Gentry, wearing a little red flannel shirt, tied off just above her jeans, with her belly button piercing playing peekaboo every time she moved. Jealousy bubbled up inside of me. The girl looked effortlessly good, no matter what she wore. The hatred was still there when she looked at me, burning strong in her eyes rimmed with thick fake lashes. I quickly pressed my lips together and averted my gaze toward Ms. Gentry as she assigned us to our sheep.
“Ms. Hale, you’ll be at the one on the end with Dennis,” she said, getting to me last.
The sheep she pointed me toward had a black face and dark gray wool. It danced nervously as I walked up beside it. The owner was a little red-headed boy with freckles sprinkled across his nose. Dennis looked to be about seven years old, but I could never tell with little kids. Either way, he gave me a look that was far too superior for a kid that was almost a foot shorter than me.
“Timmy don’t like strangers much. Especially girls,” he said, pursing his lips while looking me up and down. “I’ll try to keep him from biting you, but no promises.”
I threw back my head and groaned. That was just what I needed right now—a bloodthirsty sheep. Glancing over my shoulder at Lexi and Beth, who’d joined Hunter in the pack of cowboys, I mentally gave them both a kick to the shins. Somehow, they’d convinced me this was something I actually wanted to do. There didn’t seem to be any backing out now.
Hunter caught my eyes and winked. He had an amused smile on his face, as if he couldn’t believe I was going to put my hands on this smelly beast. Honestly, I couldn’t either. But at least I had my own cheerleading section. That was more than Sarah could say. I didn’t see any of her girls around. Guess they preferred spending time inside at the mall than getting their manicured hands dirty at the fair.
“Nice sheep. Good sheep.” I turned back to my animal and reached out to pat Timmy’s head.
If I could show it I was a friend, maybe it would cooperate and not take off a finger. The moment my hand touched its wooly fur, it let out a disgruntled bleat so loud that everyone in the crowd watching chuckled.
“So much for being friends,” I grumbled.
“You got to get him wet first,” Dennis said impatiently, pointing to the hose on the ground. “Come on, we ain’t got all day.”
I picked up the hose, ignoring Dennis the Menace’s bossy attitude. When the spray turned on, Timmy began to tap dance. And as I started to wet down his back, he began bleating so loud that anyone in a five-mile radius would’ve thought I was torturing the silly thing.
“Does it ever stop doing that?” I shouted at Dennis.
He shrugged and held Timmy’s head still. “I told ya—he don’t like girls. He thinks you’re smelly.”
I shot Dennis a look, but kept my mouth shut. If anyone was the smelly one here, it was Timmy the sheep. Thankfully, when he was fully wet and the hose had been shut off, he settled down into only the occasional complaint. Dennis directed me to the specialized sheep shampoo and as I began to work it into the wool, I took a moment to check out my competitors.
