Into My Own

Twenty-Two

Oakley and I looked like quite the pair. We were both dressed to the nines in our fancy jeans and western shirts. She had applied glitter all over our faces and hair once we got to her car.

"I'm gonna be sneezing glitter for the next two weeks!" I choked.

"Oh shush, you baby," she grinned. "Now get in."

She sped all the way to the rodeo grounds and we met up with Blake at her horse trailer.

"Guess what?!" Oakley screeched.

"You did it!" Blake shouted, giving me a once over and then a hug. "I'm so glad I won't have to be the only one dressed like an idiot now!"

"You look frickin' great. Shut up," Oakley chastised.

And she did look great! Her face was also coated in glitter and makeup. She woke a red, white and blue rodeo ensemble--chaps, silk shirt and all. Her white hat covered her loose brown curls which also shone with glitter.

"Okay, so Kellan already brought some horses over," she said, getting down to business. "They're in the trailer here."

The gate opened for us to see two horses--one black and one blue roan.

Oakley gasped. "They're so pretty! I want the black one!"

"Okay. They're both geldings," Blake explained. "The black one's name is Curtis and the roan is Winston."

"Who named them?" I asked curiously.

"Kellan," she giggled. "By the way, they're both gentle as kittens."

I carefully stepped into the trailer to retrieve Winston. He sniffed my hand and let out a low nicker. I rubbed his sleek forehead and slowly untied the rope. "Good boy."

He backed easily out of the trailer and I lead him in a large circle while Oakley grabbed Curtis.

"Tie them to the side of the trailer. They're already brushed--just gotta saddle up," Blake instructed.

"Which horse are you riding?" Oakley questioned.

"My usual parade horse. His name's Randy." She pointed out a beautiful bay.

"Did Kellan name him too?" I chuckled.

"Actually, yeah. I wanted to name him Pistol," she rolled her eyes.

We all got a laugh out of that one.

After being shown where everything was stored, we began saddling up. The tack was beautifully made--custom, I assumed.

Curtis and Winston stood quietly. Neither of us had any problems.

"I guess you've been around horses before," Blake addressed me.

"Yeah. I like to ride. Just not in competitions."

Once we finished, we took the boys in a circle and mounted up. It felt good to be on a horse, especially in such a nice saddle.

Winston was well behaved and responded to cues perfectly.

"Hey, put them back. We gotta glitter up," Blake called with an obvious eye roll.