The Perfect Ride

Chapter 22

Our time in Montana had come and gone. We left at about 1AM this morning. I was glad. Being in Oregon would be better and I could avoid my issues for seven more months.

I woke up in the bus at around 6AM. We still weren't in Oregon yet, and we still had about a eight hour trip ahead of us. I peeked into Jess's bunk, and he was sleeping. He could sleep through anything. I checked in on Roz and she was laying there on her phone.

"Hey. Why are you awake?" She asks.

"I don't know. I just woke up. Do you wanna go to the lounge?" I ask. She nods and rolls out of bed. We both grab blankets and pillows and lay on the lounge seats.

"I can't wait to be off this bus. I don't know why it's bothering me so much right now" She says staring up at the ceiling.

"Probably because that little peanut is invading your space more and more each day" I add.

"Yeah" She responds with a sigh.

"What's up, Roz?" I ask her. She was silent for a minute again.

"I'm going to be 10 weeks on Monday. You know what happens when I hit 12" She says.

"I know. But, you've got me, and Jess, and your baby. We'll get through it" I say. She looks over at me.

"This baby should have a father. One that cares about him or her. Because, I can't do it alone" She says.

"Did you not hear what I said?" I ask. "I'm the one who was standing right beside you when the line turned pink, I'm practically the father". That got her to laugh. I held my hand out towards her. She grabbed it. "You're my best friend, Roz. I'm Auntie Sadie. And Uncle Jess. We're family now".

"You're the best. Can I be your new sister?" She asks jokingly. I scoff.

"Yeah, I'm taking applications" I joke back. Our laughter faded.

"Hey, Sadie" I turn and look at Roz. "Ellie will be fine. Give her time".

"Right now, I'm happy right where I am. I'm not worried about Ellie" I say. She nods. We both stay silent and just look out the windows at the rising win over the mountains.

***
Roz and I both woke up to the sound of Jess saying our names.

"You all fell asleep out here?" He asks.

"Uh, yeah. I guess" Roz replies.

"We're here. It's 3:30. You won't have much time for a warmup" He says. "I'm meeting a few of the guys in the locker room for a weight lifting class until 5. You guys going to be okay?".

"Yeah, babe. We'll see you after the show" I say. He leans down and kisses me before leaving the bus. Roz and I get our things gathered and go into the dressing room. We didn't bother warming up, because it would take us about an hour to get ready, and the doors open at 5. We just got dressed and makeup done.

As I was waiting for Roz to get ready, my phone rang. It was my mom.

S- hey, mama. what's up?

M- just making sure you got to oregon okay.

S- yeah, we just got here actually. jess is warming up with the guys. I'm waiting on roz to finish up.

M- well, you guys be careful. ride your hearts out. i love you all.

S- thanks mom. i love you too. and dad and ellie.

M- ill tell him...and her.

S- thanks mom. bye.

M- goodbye, baby.

I hand up and go back into the dressing room.

"Mama said she loves you. Ride your heart out" I say.

"Yeah, cause in two weeks, I won't be riding" She says with a sigh. I chuckle and we start to walk out of the room. On the way to the pen where the horses are, we heard the bulls. Snorting and grunting. Kicking the walls.

"They sound bad today" Roz says.

"They do" I agree. Just then we see a rider. Cooper Davis. One of the best and most known in the business. He was clenching his nose and walking toward us. As he got closer, we realized what was going on.

"Cooper, what happened?" I ask. He stopped. The towel dropped with blood.

"We took out one of the young ones for a test ride. He was not happy. Bucked me right in the nose" He explains. "They're all acting up tonight".

"Is it going to be okay to ride tonight ?" Roz asks.

"They should be, but I don't know. Cody got kicked and a bad bruise on his back too" He adds. Roz and I couldn't care less about him, but my mind went to Jess. Roz could tell that I was worried. 

"Well, I hope you feel better" Roz says.

"Thanks. You girls be safe tonight" He says before walking away. When he was out of sight, I looked to Roz with teary eyes.

"Hey, he's gonna be fine" She says putting her arm around me. "He's Jess Lockwood. It's going to be fine". I let out a deep breath and nod.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. He'll be fine" I say. "Let's go ride". I put on a brave face, but something still felt so wrong about tonight. I was ready to be out of Oregon now.