Tackling Summer (17 page)

She didn’t appreciate the little grin on her father’s face as she turned away and hurried down the hall.

***

Maddox sneezed for the umpteenth time in the cab of the giant swather. Alfalfa dust swirled around making his nose and eyes itch. He’d been working out in the hayloft for two months and not had this much trouble, but being cooped up in the tiny, sweltering space as he cut the ripe hay had made him a mess. Sweat trickled down his neck and back. His hair was tied up in a most unmanly fashion on top of his head with the hairband Chanel had given him at the branding.

Muscles he’d never felt before screamed from days in the saddle. Maddox shifted on the uncomfortable seat. It was sometime after lunch, and the sun was too high for it to be quitting time. Unable to stand it a moment longer, he decided to park at the end of the row and hike down to the nearby pond, though he’d never seen it. Chanel had pointed off in the direction of a cluster of trees at the edge of the field one day while talking about fishing in Mackey Pond. How hard could it be to find? He’d take a quick dip to cool off and then hit the tractor again.

The day was still as Maddox crashed through the trees and brush. All the critters had holed up to avoid the heat. Maddox wished he were back on campus in an air-conditioned gym. He could be pumping iron in relative comfort right now. When the large pond came into view, he stripped his t-shirt over his head. There was a rickety looking wooden dock with an ancient rowboat tied to it. The water was a bit scummy around the perimeter of the pond, but a pipe at the far end created enough movement to keep the center relatively clear. At this point, Maddox could care less about pond scum. He just needed to knock off a layer of sweat and alfalfa dust.

Not paying attention to where his work boots were clomping, he tripped over something soft, but solid. Maddox stumbled, but used to fighting to keep his footing on the football field, caught himself with one hand before he could hit the ground. A high-pitched mewling sound made him look back over his shoulder. A mound of brown fur a little larger than the calves they’d branded in May stared at him with big glassy eyes. His brain said deer, but this thing didn’t look quite right. Maddox studied it for a moment longer until he heard something large crashing through the trees. There was no mistaking the mother moose coming his way faster than any linebacker he’d ever seen.

“Shit!” Maddox hollered in shock and in hope of scaring the beast, but it kept running on those long, skinny legs.
 

He took off toward the pond, dropping his shirt in the process, and didn’t look back until he hit the dock. Head lowered, the moose continued to charge toward him and before he knew it, her hooves were striking the wood of the dock. Maddox plunged into the murky water and stroked to the middle of the pond. Finally, he paused and looked back to see the mother moose standing on the dock, glaring at him. She snorted while he treaded water, his heavy boots pulling him down. How long would she block the dock? Would she pursue him if he tried to exit the pond on the other side?

Knowing he couldn’t tread water forever without ditching the boots, he decided to make his way to the far end of the pond. A moment later, the baby cried luring its mother from the dock. Maddox paused in his swimming to assess where she was heading. She was most definitely keeping an eye on him. As she put more distance between herself and the dock, Maddox changed direction and started back that way. Sensing his plan, the moose whirled around to face the pond again.
 

How in the hell could something so big and gangly move so fast? She held her ground but didn’t move forward, so Maddox decided to keep going. Even getting in the boat would be an improvement. Reaching the dock, he discovered a rebar ladder on its side. He began to climb out of the water, keeping a wary eye on the moose still standing about a hundred yards from the dock. The baby must’ve gotten tired of waiting for its mom, as it ambled out of the trees to stand beside her. Maddox stood motionless on the weathered wood wondering what to do next. He was glad to be out of the water, but he was stuck until those moose moved on.

Something pulled at the skin on his stomach, and he looked down to see a shiny black worm clinging to him. A case of the willies zipped through him with a shudder. The movement provoked the mother moose, and she headed his way again.

Grumbling a curse, Maddox dove into the rowboat praying there was an oar or two inside. He shoved the rusty boat away from the dock with every ounce of strength he had, sending him sailing back toward the middle of the pond. Finding a set of oars, he positioned them in the rings on either side of the boat and rowed until he hit the weeds at the far end of the pond. He sat there staring back at his new nemesis, debating once again if she’d race around the pond if he attempted an exit.

The drone of an ATV was music to his ears. A moment later, Chanel drove through the trees from the hayfield side, Soda perched on the seat behind her. Maddox watched her assess the situation and immediately start fumbling with a bag strapped to the front rack of the four-wheeler. A second later, two sharp gunshots pierced the air. The moose turned and loped off the dock, sweeping past her baby, who fell into step beside her as they disappeared into the trees.
 

Maddox released a deep sigh, scrubbing his hands over his face. He’d just been held hostage by a moose.

Chanel buzzed over to his end of the pond and killed the motor. When Maddox removed his hands, he was greeted with the biggest smile he’d ever seen her wear. It took his breath away despite the laughter dancing in her eyes as she shook her head back and forth.

“How on earth did you get yourself into this one?”

Maddox rowed the boat to shore and drug it up far enough, so it wouldn’t slide back into the water. “I just wanted to cool off.”

“Where’s your shirt?”

“Dropped it over there,” he gestured to where the moose had disappeared. “And I’ll be damned if I go look for it.”

Still sitting astride the four-wheeler, laughter rolled from deep within Chanel. She gasped for air and wiped her eyes. Concerned, Soda worked her way into her owner’s lap and gave her a couple of quick licks on the face.

“Stop, get down,” Chanel managed to say to the dog, who hopped lightly to the ground. After a moment, she managed to sober up a bit. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just this was the last place I thought I’d find you. When I saw the swather parked I wondered if it broke down or—,” she stopped midsentence and leaned forward squinting at his stomach. “Is that a leech?”

“Gah!” Maddox jumped when he remembered the black worm stuck to his belly. “How do I get it off?” The nasty thing had swollen to twice the size it had been when he discovered it.

“Hang on,” Chanel said getting off the ATV and approaching him. “Stand still and relax. I’m going to slide my nail between its sucker and your skin and flick it away.” In one swift motion, Chanel did just that. When the leech hit the ground she squished it with her boot, making Maddox shudder once again. A small trickle of blood ran down his stomach from the small wound the leech created.

“We need to find your shirt,” Chanel said. Her eyes roved over his skin, igniting it as if she were touching him.

“The moose can have it. I’ve got more at the house.” There was no way he was going back over there.

Chanel laughed. “Don’t worry, Soda and I will protect you if needed, but I’m almost positive she’s on the other side of the hayfield by now. C’mon.” She jumped back on the four-wheeler and looked at him expectantly. When he didn’t move, her brows moved down into a frown. He could see the impatience coming as her knuckles turned white on the handlebars. “We need to keep moving on this hay. I just came out here to check on you, make sure you weren’t having any technical difficulties.”
 

Another smirk crossed her face. “And I’ll be damned if you weren’t.”

Man up, Maddox coached himself. So what if he was almost killed by a raging, overgrown deer and attacked by a bloodsucking worm. It was time to get back to work. What he really wanted was to throw up and take a nap. The feeling intensified when he realized he’d been saved twice from wild animals with gunfire. Good God, this really was the Wild West.
 

Swallowing the bile creeping up his throat, Maddox nodded, mostly to convince himself everything was okay and climbed on the four-wheeler, fighting the urge to grab her body and hold it close for comfort.
 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“Up next, folks, we’ve got a real treat for you. The dynamic cousin duo from the Double O Ranch reunited in the arena after a three-year hiatus. Chanel and Seth Eber. Let’s give them a big round of hometown applause!” The announcer’s deep voice echoed over the fairgrounds, followed by claps, whoops, and hollers from the stands.

Chanel grinned at Seth as they rode into the arena. He winked at her in response. They’d been practicing every night for two weeks and had their rhythm down pat. They settled their horses in the boxes on either side of the chute, and the barrier ropes were strung over the front of the boxes.
 

“You ready?” Chanel said to Seth.

“As I’m going to be.” He pressed his straw Stetson further onto his head.

Chanel nodded at the cowboy running the chute, and he released the steer. It shot down the arena. Spurring their horses, the cousins galloped after it, Chanel’s rope swinging, waiting for the right time to release her loop over its wide horns. She snagged it within seconds, taking a quick dally and spinning the animal around to present Seth with its heels. The crowd’s cheers and the hard rock music pounding from the speakers made her adrenaline soar. Damn, she missed rodeoing.
 

Seth flicked his loop at the steer’s heels, just barely missing.

“Oh, so close. No time for the Eber cousins, no time. Better luck next year, guys.” The announcer sounded truly disappointed.

Seth threw Chanel a pained look. “Sorry.”

She shrugged and laughed as they trotted toward the exit gate. “Doesn’t matter. The rush was totally worth it.”

“Maybe next year you should team up with a real man.” The shout came from behind the bucking shoots.

Chanel turned to spot the speaker and saw Clint MacIntosh, a former high school classmate. He still had a round baby face and had grown a beer gut to go with it. Matched his dad’s, she thought. Even in their younger days he’d been a major jerk face and was the leader when it came to ridiculing Seth.

“Just ignore him,” Seth said in a low voice.

Chanel seethed but kept her mouth shut and followed her cousin to their horse trailer. They dismounted and removed the bridles from the horses’ mouths.

“Chel, it’s okay. I’m used to it. People lob those things at me in Eugene too. It comes with the territory.” Seth caught her by the elbow, forcing her to look at him.

“It’s not right. I’d like nothing more than to walk over there and pop him in the mouth.” Chanel glared toward the chutes where Clint and several others were laughing and spitting chewing tobacco on the ground.
 

“Let it go. You’ve still got breakaway coming up. Don’t lose your focus.”

Taking a deep breath, Chanel placed a hand on Vivi’s neck. Just touching the horse brought her blood pressure down.

“I’m going to find Maddox. You coming?” Seth turned toward the stands.

Chanel shook her head. “Nah, think I’ll hang here ‘til it’s my turn again.” She needed some time to get centered. Kicking some ass in her event would make her feel much better.

Seth gave her a quick hug. “You’ve got this.”

***

Maddox settled onto the hard bench and took a long drink from his Coke. Christine picked at some nachos beside him. After caravanning into town with Jerry driving a truck pulling a horse trailer, followed by Mitch’s and Fritz’s pickups, everyone scattered when they reached the fairgrounds. Seth and Chanel had stayed in the lot behind the chutes to get their horses ready for team roping. Jessi launched herself from the truck and disappeared before it could idle to a complete stop. Maddox knew she’d be barrel racing later on in the program. Mitch and Fritz were helping with the stock, and Jerry was holding court at the beer garden. He’d muttered something to Maddox about being conned into the wild cow milking event and needing some fortification. When they’d first pulled in, Maddox had seen David from a distance gathered with a group of people near a camper and cluster of horse trailers. The other man hadn’t spared a glance for his family, but Maddox knew he knew they were there. If you could see them, they could see you. He was grateful Christine hadn’t abandoned him and hoped Seth and Chanel would join them after their event.

This was his first rodeo, and he was excited to see what the fuss was all about. All of the Eber kids had been putting in some serious practice time outside of their working hours. Jessi had conned him into rolling big barrels into place in the arena, so she could race around them on her horse. Before he’d sat in a saddle, he would have thought the activity simple, but after biting the dust twice during his short riding career, he’d developed a new respect for equine sports.

Before David left Maddox released steers from the chute for him to wrestle—which he had to admit piqued his interest, but he wasn’t brave enough to ask about it as it looked like a good way to get injured. And, of course, he’d pumped countless animals through the chute for Seth and Chanel to rope. But nothing prepared him for the first bucking bronc to burst into the arena.
 

He almost dropped his cheeseburger as he watched the cowboy—sans padding and saddle—cling to the beast with one hand as it writhed and kicked beneath him. The first one rode until a whistle blew. Christine whispered that the goal was to hang on for eight seconds, and on top of that, the riders were judged for style. The last part went right over Maddox’s head. How much style could a guy pull off when he was just trying to survive? He was still reeling from the idea that someone would get on a horse
wanting
it to try to pitch him. His entire riding career had been hoping to hell he
wouldn’t
be thrown. After being dumped twice, he was even more intent on it not happening again. The next cowboy wasn’t so lucky and was tossed on his head, barely managing to escape the stomping hooves. Maddox cringed knowing the pain that would shoot through the man’s body after an impact like that. They played rough on the field, but no human could dish out the intensity of a thousand pound animal.