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“If she ever wanted to learn, I’d be the one to teach her,” Hunter shot back, the air thick with static around the three of us.
I laughed nervously as Hunter’s arm around my shoulders tightened. No need to start a fight. “Thanks for the offer, Graham, but I’m good.”
“Your loss, sweetheart.”
I wasn’t sure what had gone down between these two guys, but it was clear they didn’t like each other. From the way Hunter glared at him until Graham turned his attention to the guys on his other side, I had a feeling they weren’t going to be friends any time soon.
“I see you’re playing nice with the other boys,” I said in a low voice, quirking an eyebrow at him.
Hunter’s cheeks were red and splotchy. He pursed his lips and huffed as he removed his arm from around my shoulders. “Graham’s an Oakie.” He must’ve seen the confusion in my eyes because he went on. “You know? One of those troubled kids that live on the Sweet Oak Boys Ranch, where I board my horse. He’s a total jerk. I’m not going to sit here and watch him hit on my best friend. You could do a million times better than him.”
I couldn’t help but smile down at my lap. Any stinging sensation left over from Hunter’s earlier friend comment had been soothed by this new protective side of him. It was kind of nice to have him standing guard.
There was no time left to be hit on by any of Hunter’s other cowboy friends. The crowd had swelled around us and the ceremony was about to start. A short man wearing a bowler hat strolled to the middle of the arena and tapped on the microphone. He then cleared his throat and the arena went quiet. I glanced over my shoulder, looking for Beth and Lexi. Whatever errand they’d had to run was going to make them miss sitting with all the cowboys. Lexi was going to freak when she found out.
“Welcome to the ninety-first annual Rock Valley 4H County Fair,” the man said in a voice that rumbled like thunder. The audience applauded and whistled. Some stomped their boots on the metal bleachers. When the noise died down again, he stepped back up to the mic and gave us an appreciative glance. “Thank you all for coming. We’ve got a great lineup of events this week. From mutton busting to tractor pulls, pie eating contests to craft shows, I think everyone will find something to their taste. We’ve got all the talented young folks of Rock Valley on display here.”
I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of frustration. This was yet another reminder of my utter lack of skills and talents and passions. Every kid here, from the tiny little elementary school aged ones to the high schoolers had a skill they were presenting at the fair. I had nothing. It was really pathetic.
Still, now wasn’t the time to dwell on the things I couldn’t change. As the guy droned on about events this week and how the judging was going to work, my gaze landed on Beth and Lexi finally arriving at the arena. It was about time. They crouched down low as they walked toward us in an attempt to stay out of people’s views. I scooched closer to Hunter so they could squeeze in on the bleacher and put a little more space between me and Graham.
“What were you doing?” I whispered out of the side of my mouth. “You almost missed it.”
Lexi’s eyes grew wide as she twisted her torso to stare at the guys surrounding us. “Um...obviously we died because this is exactly what I imagined heaven to look like. Hellooooo, boys.”
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There was no taking her anywhere.
I groaned in embarrassment and massaged my forehead with my fingertips but didn’t miss the amused glint in Hunter’s gaze as we made eye contact. He bumped me playfully with his shoulder and immediately my frustration with Lexi’s obsession went away.
He was good like that.
“Now that you all are aware of the rules,” the bowler hat man said from the mic, recapturing my attention, “I’d like to invite Ms. Rebecca Gentry up to announce this year’s Junior Rodeo Queen competitors.”
A spattering of applause welcomed the tall, thin woman who strolled through the dirt-covered arena with a clipboard in hand as if she were gracing the courts of England. Her long, full-length black dress swished around her ankles and her dark gray hair was pulled back in a severe bun at the base of her neck. She looked completely out of place in an arena full of denim and leather and rhinestones. And when she stepped in front of the microphone, her dark eyes swept over the crowd in a disapproving way that made me want to sit up a bit straighter.
“The Junior Rodeo Queen competition has always maintained a prestige that cannot be matched in any other youth event,” she said in a honeyed voice that was smooth and low. “Thanks to our generous local sponsors, the prize that awaits the winner is a scholarship and an internship in any government office of the winner’s choosing. The lady who is crowned Junior Rodeo Queen will be well-deserving of the title. She will be poised with unparalleled character and depth. She is devoted to her town and the people in it.”
Hunter elbowed me. “Hey, sounds like you.”
I snorted, elbowing him back. “Which part? The unparalleled character or depth? Or maybe you’re talking about the poise. I did manage to trip over my own feet at the diner yesterday.”
“All of the above.” He grinned at me. “You’d look good wearing a crown.”
“Yeah, well I’m not interested in a cowgirl rendition of Game of Thrones,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “Beauty queens are bad enough. Beauty queens that know how to work a shot gun and use a hunting knife are downright terrifying.”
He shuddered and ran a hand over his head. “When you put it that way...”
“Best stay away. Stay far, far away,” I said in a deadpanned tone.
The grin that tugged at his lips as he shot me an amused look made warmth explode inside of me. I’d missed this so much.
“And now, I’d like to introduce this year’s competitors of the Junior Rodeo Queen competition,” Ms. Gentry announced, looking down at her clipboard. “Please come up as I state your name and form an orderly line. Hold the applause until the end. No need to stir up a commotion.”
“Ms. Gentry seems like a barrel of fun,” I whispered to Lexi beside me. “Are you sure you don’t want to enter the competition?”
She laughed nervously, grasping the bottom hem of her shirt in her hands. “No, I think I’m good. I’m more of a behind-the-scenes kind of gal. You know—hair and makeup and stuff.”
