Within Your Crowd

"I'm impressed. I'd like to hear you play sometime. Apropos of nothing, my mom also went to Rice and is a first rate piano player."

"Yeah, I know. They had an alumni event a couple of years ago, and she played Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue.' It was lovely. Because of something she said, I talked to her later and wound up going out to dinner with her."

I raised my eyebrows at that and gave her a look.

"Everyone, especially my dad, has been pushing for me to perform professionally. I don't really want to – I love music, and I love to play but I don't want to be work. Dad is putting a guilt trip on me for all the money he spent for college but, damn it, I don't care. When I talked to your mom, she told me she went through the same thing: she loves to perform, but for fun. So she just decided to do what she felt was right and that gave me the backbone for myself.

"Dad's mad at me and now he's pushing me to go out with this guy I really don't like. He'll be here tonight and I guess I'll have to dance with him, but I won't enjoy it. I do like your mom; she's both talented and sweet. I never saw her again after that dinner."

Guests started arriving and she took off. I sat by myself over a beer then Maddie came back with a nice looking young couple. The young man was obviously her brother. I assumed the lady was his girlfriend. He was tall, slim, but with a hint of being like a coiled spring: relaxed but ready to explode into movement in an instant. He had short, ash blond hair that curled close to his scalp. The girl was medium height, with a cute face and a look of the pixie in her.

"Billy, this is my brother, Bobby and his friend, Katie. Bob, this is Billy Ray Lamar. He and his folks have a ranch over by Johnson City. Please take care of him, maybe bore him by talking about rodeo, like you do with me all the time," she finished with a twinkle in her eyes and a sassy grin. She flounced away and left me alone with the couple.

Bobby grabbed a couple of cokes and another beer for me, and we sat back down at the table.

I asked him in a teasing voice, "Maddie says you really like riding bulls?"

He grimaced at the thought and then realized what I'd said. "You call her Maddie? She doesn't let anyone call her that. She even makes me call her Madison."

"She said it was okay. I didn't know there was anything wrong with it," I said, laughing to myself remembering what her dad had said.

He looked at me for a minute, trying to figure me out. He shrugged and answered my question. "I guess Madison told you I hate the bastards! I'm not ashamed to say they scare the shit out of me. I can ride the meanest, orneriest bronc and feeling nothing but an affinity for it and the thrill of becoming part of something so wild."

He blushed at this as he looked at Katie. I don't know if was from the mild profanity or from what he had said.

"Well, you can have anything that bucks. Sure, I can ride, but I'm useless without a lasso in my hands."

We talked about rodeo stuff for a while. It turned out that Katie was a serious barrel racer. From what Bobby said, I gathered she also like pole bending: riding between six stakes something like a slalom course.

Maddie came back and sat with us, and we chatted, all of us getting to know each other. Katie was real sweet but painfully shy. A band set up and started playing.

Maddie took my hand, "Come on cowboy, and show me how light on your feet you are."

It was a two step, a dance I actually did well. We went around the floor a couple of times, and then stopped for a minute in front of the band. When the number finished, the band leader looked down at Madison and lifted an eyebrow. Maddie shook her head no, then when he gave her a "come hither" motion with his hand, she looked at me, shrugged, and stepped up on the stage.

With his arm around her, he told the crowd, "We are here tonight to welcome Madison back home after her years of college." He whispered something in her ear, she nodded, and then he continued, "Madison and I are going to do the George Jones, Emmylou Harris duet of "Here We Are."

The band led off and they started the song:

"Did you say that you've been searching for a place you've never been,

Here it is darlin', here it is.

And when you're down there on the bottom, and you're looking out for friends,

Here I am darlin' here I am."

I was really impressed, not with the band leader, I'd been listening to his vocals, and he was first rate. However, Maddie really surprised me. She sang with a clear, sweet contralto, lower than her speaking voice. They performed well, together. It was clearly something they had done before.

After that, the guy playing the fiddle handed it to her. She tuned it quickly and stood by the mike with the woman that had been playing keyboard. They did Sara Evan's "Coalmine" with the keyboard player doing the vocals and Maddie on the fiddle with the band filling in behind them. She sang well, but she was great with the fiddle.

She stepped down as the band moved on to a waltz. Moving right into my arms we moved slowly around the flow. Her face was flushed with some beads of sweat around her hairline. All in all, she looked ravishing and felt even better. After that number, she led me back to the table.

"I have some things to do," and after giving me a quick kiss on the cheek, she walked towards the house. I chatted with Bobby and Katie for a half-hour or so and then saw Maddie dancing with a guy. I didn't like how close he was holding her – though it did look like she kept trying to push him away. I watched for a couple more minutes, wondering what the hell I was doing here.

Bobby could see I was getting aggravated, and said, "That's Thomas Martin Kendall. He lives in Dallas and has a lot more money than dad does. I think he's a pompous ass, every time he introduces himself, he says Thomas Martin, like anyone cares. Dad wants Madison to marry him, but I don't think she really likes him. It's making all of us kind of pissed off at dad.

I looked out at the dance floor and saw them standing talking instead of dancing. I had enough of this and walked over to where my truck and trailer was parked. I saw two large, beefy guys standing there and two more materialized behind me. Madison's dad stepped out from behind the trailer and stood in front of me.

"You dumb shit, I told you not to stay here tonight. Did you think I was bullshitting you? Madison is going to be engaged later tonight, and you are not going to be there for that. I don't ever want to see you around here ever again." He nodded to one of the men and walked away.

I could see what was going to happen, so I tried to be proactive. I kicked out at the one to my right front and caught him solidly in the knee. I tried to swing at the other one in front when what felt like a sledge hammer landed on my kidney. I fell to the ground and felt boots kicking at me. I tried to cover up but saw a boot coming at my head and couldn't stop it.

Chapter 3

I woke up feeling like shit. I was dizzy and had a hard time reading the clock on the dashboard. The numbers finally swam into focus: 9:07. I'd been out for a couple of hours. I felt nauseous and opened the door, falling out as I did. I was able to get on my hands and knees splatter my dinner and several beers all over what felt like asphalt. Finally, I was able to grab hold of the truck and pull myself up.

Looking around I could see I was in the parking lot of an office complex. I was under a light pole and could see myself reflected in the window of the truck. There was no way to make light of it – I looked like shit! My shirt was seriously torn, and I had a couple of rips in my almost new black jeans. I always traveled with a large bottle of water and used most of it to drink and clean up as best I could. I hurt all over, with scraped skin over one side of my face, one ear was much larger than normal, some ribs that were giving me much more pain than I liked and places hurt that I knew were going to produce a kaleidoscope of colors on my body.

I was still feeling dopey, and pulled out of the parking lot over to FM 620 Road South towards Bee Cave. I knew there was a hospital on Highway 71, and I had thoughts about stopping there to get checked out. I drove for a couple of minutes getting more and more pissed. I saw an open tavern by the side of the rode, so I pulled in, thinking a beer might perk me up.

It was a slow night; the place was almost empty. I sat on a stool at the dark end of the bar and held a finger up to ask for a beer. I took a long pull from the mug, thinking about what had happened. Yeah, I was really attracted to Madison, but I didn't need this kind of grief. Hell, the reality was that I hardly knew her. I was highly pissed at her dad and the jerk-off that was probably engaged to her by this time. I had another beer then went back out to the truck. I sat there, not really thinking, then took off driving back to the ranchette.

I parked a ways off from the entrance; I was sure they would be watching for me. I cut straight across the grass to the pool area, which was in back of the temporary stage that had been set up. I wound up at the back of the stage which was about three feet off the ground. The equipment and drum set was blocking the way, but I could see dip shit on his knee saying something with a glass of what must be champagne in his hand. Madison was standing there looking embarrassed and her parents were standing next to them.

I jumped up on the stage and walked over to them. Madison gasped, "Billy!" and Thomas Martin looked scared. I took the glass from his hand and toasted the presumably soon to be affianced, "Maddie, I hope you have a long and happy future with this piss ant. I thought there was something between us, I guess I was wrong. I'm not big on the social graces, so I'll leave. You're not for me. I'll have a few beers, and I'll be okay."

I took a sip of the sparkling wine. Not bad! I threw the rest in dip shit's face and turned to walk away. Her dad grabbed my arm and yelled something, but I was past giving a shit, way past. I grabbed his offending arm and caught him on the point of his chin with a short uppercut that had my weight behind it. I jumped off the stage leaving ...I didn't know what carnage behind me. I walked directly towards my truck expecting someone to come after me, but no one did.

I was wired now. I'd figured on stopping at the Lakeway Regional Medical Center, but I didn't feel like I had anything seriously wrong. My ribs were hurting but they couldn't be broken, or I'd never have been able to get that punch off. I drove straight home and found that mom and dad had already gone to bed.

I had a hunch that Mr. Townsend might sic the police on me so it would most likely be best for me to skip out of town for a while. It didn't seem like things were going to be fun for a long time anyway. I grabbed a couple of suit cases and packed whatever. I went to bed, lying awake for a long time. I tried to figure out what had happened, but I didn't seem to be able to put it together. Everything was fuzzy and the shot of Jack I'd taken for the pain hadn't helped.

I knew immediately what I was going to do. I had always liked performing at the rodeos, but I began to feel guilty, that I should be helping dad. Life on the road had starting paling, even if I liked the rodeo itself. Sometimes crappy motels and eateries were all there was. I wasn't the best but I was pretty good. I wouldn't make a lot of money, but I was sure I'd get by. I finally dozed off but woke early when I heard mom downstairs.

I took a quick shower, got dressed and carried the suitcases down the stairs. Mom heard the noise from the kitchen and came into the living room, just as I was setting the suitcases down. She gasped when she saw the marks on my face, walked over, and gave me a tight hug but didn't say anything. I finally pulled back and could see she was crying. I took her hand and led her to the kitchen and asked if she could fix me some breakfast.

I told her what had happened, at least the highlights. "I don't think anything will come of it, but I feel like taking off for a while. I'm going to be on the rodeo circuit in the northwest and Canada. I need to find a partner for the team roping. I know a couple of guys, one that's a good friend that might be able to work with me. So I'll drive up to Sheridan first and talk to him. If nothing else he can work with me while I get my form back.

Dad came in from taking care of the horses, and I gave him a short version of what had happened. I told him what he was going to do. He shook his head, and said, "I'll miss you boy! I learned a long time ago that a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Do you need anything, money?"

"No, I'm okay. I'll call you every week or so. I'll find a couple of horses up there, but I would like to take the small horse trailer, the blue four stall one, okay?"

"Sure son." He shook my hand then hugged me. Mom didn't want to let go, so finally I picked her up and set her back a step.

I took the suitcases out to my own truck. It was a Ford 250 with a diesel engine and a club cab. I grabbed a couple of saddles, tack, horse blankets, and all the other stuff I would need, and threw it under the lid in the back of the truck. I jumped in the truck heading over to I-10. I figured I'd take that to I-25 and north to I-90 and on up to Sheridan. I was on the road by seven.

During the day, I was able to keep my mind off Madison – I wasn't thinking of her as Maddie anymore. At night, in the dark loneliness of some anonymous motel room, she was with me almost as a physical presence. I couldn't explain an interest in her that was almost obsessive. The reality was that I'd known her only a very few hours. There was something about her that struck a chord in me. I gave up worrying about her and let my mind slip into nighttime fantasies that left me with vague longings when I woke up each day.

I took my time; stopping frequently and stretched my legs. I felt a little better each day and the bruises and swelling gradually went down. Part of my not being in a hurry was I wanted to look more respectable, not like some down and out cowboy brawler. I arrived in Buffalo on the first of June and went straight to my friend's ranch. The ranch was about halfway between Buffalo and Sheridan and a few miles west at the end of the road. He, along with his folks and a younger brother had a nice horse ranch on 285 acres.

Rick, Rick Klein, was glad to see me – we chatted with his parents for a while – then we went to the Lodore Saloon in Story, a couple of miles west of the interstate. It's a great place with a lot of character. It was the better part of a hundred years old. From the thirties to through the fifties they had all the great bands in: Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Lawrence Welk, and many others.

We had a couple of beers in the bar, and I told Rick what my plans were. "Anyway, Rick, do you think you could break free and hit the circuit this summer?"

"Billy, I'd sure like to. But I'm getting married in a little over a month. I'm sure Debra wouldn't want to spend her honeymoon at the Calgary Stampede."

"Damn, that's good news, Rick. Is she from around here?"

"Yeah, her dad owns the ranch just south of us. It's quite a bit larger, and they mostly work cattle. They are real nice folks and Debra is a Western girl all the way. You'll probably meet her tomorrow. She got a mare she's had since she was a kid and wants to put her out to pasture. I've got a couple of mares she wants to ride. It's gonna cost me some money though; I don't think she'd be too happy if I made her pay. How 'bout you? You'll need a couple of horses too. I've got some I've been training, but they need work.

"I'll make you a deal, you help me train horses when you have time, and you can use what you want for the summer. Hell, you train roping horses better than I do anyway."

"Well, if you're sure. That would work well for me. I've got some money but I'll need to win some by the end of the summer."

"Okay, Billy. I've got another idea. I can't go but talk to my brother, Eddie. He finished high school this year, but he was the state champ at tie-down and second in team roping. He's a big kid with large hands and a big ego. Don't misunderstand, he's a great kid, but he thinks nothing can stop him."

"Sure, I'll talk to him. We can trade off on the team roping, taking turns being the header and heeler so that he gets more experience, and enter individually for the tie-down and help each other with the horses. We'll need two horses for each event and maybe trade one off once in a while."

We went back and I met his brother. We chatted for a bit then got down to business and worked on roping. I wanted to see his skills and attitude. He was an artist with the rope, and I didn't see any problem in working with him. I saw I few things he could work on to shave a little time here and there. The horses needed a lot of work.

The next day we tried some tie-down. I was impressed, that kid was stronger than hell. I was better than him on the horse, but we could work on that. He knew he was good but still had a positive attitude about getting better. He was eighteen and I was twenty eight, but he acted like I was in my thirties. Me, an old man? Again, the horses needed a lot of work.

In the end, we decided on working with four horses for each event. Whenever we were in the area we could come back and swap out horses. I met Debra and liked her a lot. She was very level headed, knew what she wanted out of life and in marrying Rick. She had some ideas of how the two ranches could work together and make more money.

After a couple of weeks of hard work, we felt like we were ready to give a try at real competition. We decided on the one at Belt, Montana, a small town a little way east of Great Falls. I thought I'd feel strange after not having competed for several years, but it was like old home week. Between Eddie and me, we knew enough people to always have someone to talk to.

We got fourth in the Team Roping for a little under two hundred fifty dollars and both of us were just out of the money in the Tie-Down. Basically, that would just cover expenses, but still we were pretty happy. The following week we were at Chinook, Montana. We went directly there; it was too far to drive back to the ranch. Eddie did great with a third in Tie-Down for almost four hundred dollars, but we were out of the money on Team Roping. We had agreed that we would pool the winnings and expenses and split anything left down the middle.

We decided to take a couple of weeks off and work with the horses and then take a shot at the Sheridan Rodeo in mid-July. Rick was glad to see us, and we talked over more than a few beers about how things went. We thought we could pick up time by working with the horses on a few things. We decided to change mounts for the Tie-Down but keep the same two for Team Roping. We also decided I'd stick at header and Eddie would stay at heeler.

We worked hard on the horses doing everything we could to improve our times. We knew Sheridan was a favorite stop of some of the big name pros, so if we were to wind up in the money, we'd best have everything just right. The horses were looking good, and we slept the sleep of the just each night. We were close to the ranch, so we wouldn't need to spend anything on hotels or restaurants so anything we won would be gravy. We knew there would be tough competition, but we had high hopes.

I called home every four or five days. No one had ever stopped by or called about the "incident" at the Townsends. I was getting more successful at blocking Madison (I refused to think of her as Maddie) out of my active thoughts and to some extent my dreams, but I knew I was kidding myself. I'd really tried to figure out why I was so hung up on her. At the rodeos in Montana, I'd met a couple of girls – drank beer with them and danced – but somehow I couldn't work up the enthusiasm for going any further.