The Perfect Ride

Chapter 17

***
This past week in Florida went by too fast. It was now. May 9th, and we were about to do our final show. Jess and I had spent a lot of time at the beach and trying new restaurants down here. We didn't habe much seafood up in Montana, but I loved it. As for Roz, she was 7 weeks pregnant. She talked to Cody, and just as we suspected, he wanted nothing to do with the pregnancy. She said she was fine with it, but I could tell it hurt, and I couldn't really blame her. Her doctor also told her to stop riding once she hit 12 weeks, so that was when she was going to tell David Walsh. Right now, Jess, Cody, and I were the only ones who knew about the baby, and we were going to keep it that way.

We were currently getting ready for the show tonight. It was 5:00. I was done and waiting for Roz when my phone rang. It was my mom. I answered.

S- hey, mama!

M- hey, baby. what're you up too?

S- just waiting for Roz to finish up. what about you? at the grounds?

M- yeah. ellie is doing your trick riding class right now. all the kids miss you though.

S- i miss them too. i can't wait to be back there soon. we leave Florida tonight and are on the road to cali. i don't know how long that trip will take, but no shows until next friday.

M- that will be a long ride. is Jess with you?

S- on the bus, he is. now, no. he's with the guys.

M- well, daddy and i can't wait to see you guys.

S- i miss you all. and Jess actually just walked in.

M- oh, so did ell. she wants to say hi.

S- oh, mama. tell her ill text her later. jess needs roz and i.

M- oh, okay, love you.

S- i love you too.

I hung up the phone and met Jess and Roz at the door.

"I wanted to get you guys coffee before the show" He says. "Or, your case, Roz, a tea".

"Yeah, let's go" She says. We were always going to Starbucks that were in the venues. We walked up and ordered then walked to some empty seats in the arena.

"Fire pit looks good tonight" Jess says looking down to the arena. Roz and I used a fire ring and fire pit in our show. They were testing them right now.

"Yeah. I'm not happy about hitting that 12 week mark. I love that pit" Roz jokes. She really was happy about a baby, but not about not riding.

"Well, I guess it's up to me" I say and nudge her. She smiled.

"I hope it's a boy. Make him a bull rider" Jess says.

"Oh, no. No. If I have to raise a child with no man, it's gotta be a girl, because I don't know how to raise a boy" She says. I honestly saw her as a boy mom.

"Well, she can still ride bulls" Jess jokes.

"I'll teach her how to trick ride like Auntie Sadie" I say.

"Oh, a daredevil? Just what I need" She replies. We loved getting to talk about the baby with her.

"She is going to be the most amazing child" I say. "I'll be Auntie Sadie".

"And Uncle Jess" Jess says with a smile. The thought of him with a baby made my ovaries burst.

"Still got so long to go" She says. "December 11th is my due date. That seems like a lifetime away".

"The tour ends that month too" Jess adds. My face got hot.

"Let's not think about the tour ending. Let's just...take all this in while we can" I say leaning into Jess. He kissed the top of my head.

"Agreed" He says.

"Well, ya'll ready to go?" Roz asks. We nod and all stand up. We walked backstage and parted ways. I was wearing my white costume today and Roz had black. We went to get Buck and Mingo and took our places. When the lights went down, the fire started. I stood up on the back of Buck and the intro played out. Minutes later, we were galloping through the arena with fans cheering. Roz rode through the fire ring while I circled the stadium. The feeling I had doing this was the kind of high you couldn't achieve anywhere else. It was amazing. I never wanted to stop feeling this way. I was on top of the world, and I never wanted to come back down.