Coralee was sick of being on the road and wanted nothing more than to skip the show in Albuquerque and head back to Montana. She was heartily tired of the long drives, although it was only eight hours to Albuquerque it may as well have been eighteen. Being cooped up in the truck was driving her crazy and she understood why Coronado would buck when she took him out of the trailer to walk him, If she could, she would be bucking, too.
Katie, however, was looking forward to the next show. She noticed Coralee wasn't complaining much but she seemed edgier. Neither girl was the type to fuss and grumble, but Coralee had taken over the driving, saying that just sitting in the passenger seat was driving her crazy. Katie gratefully surrendered the wheel, but something was bothering her sister, and she didn't know how to draw it out of her.
Two more shows, Coralee told herself, a sixteen-hour drive that we split up into two days, then after the show in Missoula we can go home and park the trailer and leave it. How does Travis endure being on the road for days at a time? This is driving me nuts, my back is hurting and even the horses are getting impatient. Just two more shows, Coralee, and the last one is in Montana--and home.
It was early in the evening when they got to Albuquerque. The first thing they did was see to their horses and get them fed. Coralee managed to arrange some time to work with her horse in the early morning, she could use it and so could he. The warmup time seemed to suit them both, even though the hour seemed over early.
It was only after the horses were taken care of that they checked into the Ramada Inn and changed out of their traveling clothes. There was a Mexican food restaurant next door and soon they were seated at a table and drinking the one margarita they allowed themselves. Too much alcohol would interfere with their sleep and the show: Katie was determined to see if she could score a first.
The next morning Coralee gave the sleeping Katie a look of envy as she got up and went to work out with her horse. She saddled him and led him out of the stall to take advantage of the precious fifteen minutes she had been allotted to work with him.
Coronado was feeling frisky, and it wasn't hard to convince him to go through his paces. Though she knew he would rather be in his stall munching his mash he seemed to like these early morning workouts. She knew that she benefited, too.
"Hey girl," someone called out and she turned and saw Bob watching her, "You and that horse are looking pretty good, think you'll get yourself another first place?"
"I hope so, my horse is seeming pretty happy, but I've got to let him eat or he won't forgive me." She gave him a smile that was the twin of her sister's.
"Buenos dias, sweetheart," Bill appeared, leading his horse, "Are you going to get that first place tonight? That little bay of yours is one hell of a horse."
"Yeah, he is, I'm lucky to have him, he's put me into an entirely different class. I have to work just to keep up with him."
"Don't forget to give yourself credit," he told her, "I've watched your shows and you're good. You care about what you're doing, nothing half-ass about it. You've put in a lot of work, and it shows."
Coralee smiled, grateful for the praise. Travis would give her compliments, but he accompanied them with instructions for improvements. She appreciated his words, she told herself, because he was helping to make her the rider that she was but sometimes she wished he would be a little less critical.
"Well, we've got to get going," said Bob, "Hey, if you've never been here before, Albuquerque is a great town. Why don't we meet for dinner after the show then go to a bar I know that has great music and dancing. How about it?"
Yeah, she thought, I know what you want and I bet my sister will be more than willing. I kind of wish I was fucking someone tonight, too. No nooky for me until we get back to Montana.
"Sure," she said out loud, "that sounds great, and I know Katie will want to. Good luck with your events tonight, guys. Loser buys the first round."
She got back to the hotel room and found Katie still asleep, so she left her alone. Then, after she showered and dressed, she rolled Katie out of bed, saying, "Wakey, wakey, time to get up, sleepyhead. I've fed the horses, but we've got stalls to clean, horses to bathe, and a competition to get ready for. Get up and get dressed, I'm starved, and I want food. Get your ass in gear and let's get going.
"Fuck you, Coralee," Katie moaned, "I could use some more sleep, leave me alone."
"Nope, you're getting up, we need to eat. Take a shower. Oh, Bob and Bill have invited us to dinner after the show, and then we're going dancing."
"Great!" Katie perked up at this, "That will give me a chance to go another round with that cowboy. Too bad they're in Oklahoma, I could make it work if they were in Wyoming. Too bad Bill's married, he'd suit you, you know. I like Travis but he's nearly twice your age, that can't be fun."
"Travis is a lot of fun, you just don't know him. And he's good in bed, too, big sister, I have no complaints."
"So you say," Katie replied, "I think he's got you bedazzled. Let me take my shower then we can go get food."
Breakfast became brunch, and then, with full stomachs, they went to the arena and checked on the horses. They decided to skip giving them a full bath and settled for cleaning their hooves. They would groom them before the show--sometimes Coronado liked to roll in his stall.
They wandered around downtown Albuquerque to combat boredom and nerves, then returned to their hotel room to get ready. After they took care of themselves, they went to the arena to ready their horses—the appearance of the horse was as important as the appearance of the rider and they took extra care in grooming.
As high as her confidence might be, Coralee was a bundle of nerves before every show. She envied Katie for her easygoing nature, but after many shows in her life, she believed that her nerves gave an edge to her performance. For Katie, the shows were for fun, but with the acquisition of her new horse, Coralee took the shows and her performance more seriously.
"Got second place this time," Katie sang out when she finished her turn, "Maybe you're rubbing off on me. I don't think I'll ever be as hardcore as you are about it."
Katie stayed with Coralee until her name was called, "You go, girl," she told her and Coralee touched her hat in acknowledgment.
She didn't think she would do as well, she didn't get the high she had in Las Vegas, but she was awarded first place anyway. She was pleased, but secretly thought she could have done better. Maybe it was all the time on the road that interfered with her concentration. Whatever it was, she was glad it was over and grateful for the days off they'd have before the show in Missoula.
Bob and Bill showed up as the girls were seeing to their horses. They'd load the gear in their trailer, but wouldn't load their horses until it was time to leave. Though they could have done it themselves, they were happy to take advantage of the boy's offer to help.
Katie took Bob's arm, leaving Coralee with Bill. "I'm ready for a night on the town, boys," she said, "I got my first second place, Coralee got her first, and we're hungry and hankering after a night of drinking and dancing."
"Well, looks like you're stuck with me, girl," Bill said to Coralee, "But I'm married and you're engaged so maybe that makes sense."
"I've been too wound up," answered Coralee, "I just want to have fun and maybe have one more margarita than I should along with a long night of dancing. We've got to drive to Missoula, but there's only one more show. Unless Travis comes up with something I'm taking time off!"
The boys knew Albuquerque and every restaurant and bar in town. The restaurant they picked had good, cheap Mexican food and surprisingly good margaritas. They paid for dinner and Coralee decided she'd make sure that she paid for at least one round of drinks.
The bar they chose was dark, dingy, and popular with the locals. A Tejano band was playing upbeat music and the dance floor was full. They found an empty table and four chairs and flagged down a waitress who brought beers for the boys and margaritas for the girls.
Finally, Katie could stand to sit no more. "Come on," she told Bob, "I want to dance, get your ass out of that chair and dance with me." She dragged the willing Bob out of his chair and on the dance floor.
Bill watched them for a moment then took Coralee's hand. "Come on," he told her, "We're both spoken for, so it won't hurt us to dance. Unless you don't know how, of course."
"You think Montana cowgirls don't know how to dance, cowboy? The only different thing is the music." She stood up and took his hand, "I'll show you how to dance."
What happened later was a blur. Maybe too many margaritas, maybe too many slow and close dances, but Katie and Bob disappeared and when they could not find them, they knew what they were up to.
"Damn," Bill said, "I wonder which hotel room they've gone to? We better find out now before we wind up interrupting something." He dialed his phone, saying "Pick it up, Bob, like now. Oh, hey buddy," Someone had answered their phone, "Hey, where are you? Our hotel room? Okay, later." He looked at Coralee, "Well, they're in our room, is there an extra bed in yours so I don't have to get another room?"
"As long as you behave yourself, sure."
"Who says I'm going to behave myself?" he grinned and Coralee noticed how sexy his smile was, as if she was seeing it for the first time. "Come on, they haven't called last call yet, let's get some more dancing in."
Last call was announced, but they decided they'd had enough to drink. They walked out in the desert at night, admiring what stars they could see despite the bright city lights.
"Ever been to Santa Fe?" Bill asked and she shook her head. "You'd love it. It's smaller and cleaner than Albuquerque and safe to walk the streets at night. There's an old adobe church that's the oldest structure in town. You can feel the history of Santa Fe. It's a haven for artists but it's expensive. If you can make it, Santa Fe will welcome you with open arms. If I could make the money I needed, I think I'd move my family there."
"It sounds like you love it," she answered, "You haven't said such glowing things about Albuquerque."
"Well, Albuquerque is a great place to party," he looked down at her, "Hey, I'm tired, can we go back to the hotel room so we can get some sleep?"
He put his arm around her as they walked, but she paid no attention to it. They reached the Ramada and went up to her room—she was grateful the maid had cleaned it up.
"Well, we don't have any alcohol, there's no mini bar and we don't like beer. We've got bottled water in the fridge."
"I'll take one," Bill said, and she handed him one then opened one for herself.
She was feeling suddenly awkward, aware of the look he was giving her, had he looked at her like that in the bar?
He took a drink from his bottle and then set it down. Gently, he removed hers and set it next to his, then took carefully took her in his arms, as if he were afraid he might scare her.
She could feel herself trembling in his arms, afraid of what he might do, afraid of what she would do. She held her breath, wondering what he might do when she had her answer.
He put his lips down on hers and she felt herself responding. She didn't mean to but she loved the soft touch of his lips on hers. It wasn't that she hadn't kissed anyone with a beard before, but something about Bill made her feel like she was doing it for the first time.
He pulled away, then slowly began to unbutton her vest and then her blouse and she was doing nothing to stop him.