Zane Wayne Pt. 02

"You are going to beat her again next weekend aren't you?"

"You are damned right I am!"

Chapter 3

The first rodeo of the season was under our belt, and now it was time to get back to work. I sat with Lindsay and Ron at the breakfast table talking about our day and week.

"Zane, it is time for the first haying. It is fairly simple. One person gets to ride on the tractor all week, the other guy gets to work his ass off."

"OK Ron. I will drive slow so you can take your time throwing those bales."

Ron sat there drinking his coffee and contemplated what I had said. He finally looked at Lindsay.

"Did Zane get kicked in the head at the rodeo this weekend?"

Lindsay decided it was her turn to tease me for once.

"No, but Tricia Foor flirted with him and he has been kinda goo goo ever since."

"Ah, he is in love then. That is worse than getting kicked in the head by a horse."

"I don't think it is love, but definitely lust, lots of lust."

I finally had to stick up for myself.

"Oh please, I don't even know who you are talking about. Yes Ron, I will eat dust all week and stack them bales. Lindsay, I won't have time to help you train Lady until after dinner. Do you mind waiting that long for me?"

"Actually I was going to work her out this morning and then again after lunch. I am willing to go again after dinner though if you feel like it."

Shit, I knew this wasn't going to go well.

"Don't do that please."

"Do what?"

"You should only work Lady an hour a day."

"Why? Tricia is going to be practicing hard all week. If I am going to beat her I need to practice hard too."

"Overworking a horse will do more harm than good. An hour a day is all she needs. Plus, you need to study for your boards."

"No, I need to practice so I can beat Tricia again."

"No you don't. What you NEED to do is pass your boards so you can realize your dream. And what you NEED to do is make Lady's health your main priority."

Now she was pissed and hurt.

"You just want me to lose so you can spend an evening with fake tits in her camper."

Now I was pissed, how could she even think like that. I stood up and took my dish to the kitchen. Before I walked out the door I turned and gave her one last shot.

"If you really think that, do whatever you want. I don't care. Ron, I am going to feed and water the horse and start cutting hay."

I stormed off to the barn and started to feed and water the horses. How the hell could she even think that way? Fuck I was mad. Mad that she would neglect studying for her boards. Mad because she was willing to risk Lady's health, and mad that she would even think I would want to spend time with Tricia over her.

As soon as I was done with morning chores, I jumped on the tractor and started mowing hay. Haying is long, hot monotonous work. I worked through lunch mowing all thirty acres in four hours. Instead of going in the house and facing Lindsay, I unhooked the mower and backed up to the rake.

Raking goes much faster so I was able to wrap up haying for the day by five. I quickly did my evening chores, took a quick shower and headed to the house for dinner. No matter how angry or hurt I was, I would not insult the family by not showing up for dinner on time.

I took my normal seat at the table, beside Belle and directly across from Lindsay. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked like shit. My anger quickly turned to shame knowing I was the source of my love's sadness.

The tension at dinner was palpable, no one spoke much. I ate very slowly so I could concentrate on my food instead of table conversation.

When everyone was finally finished, I took my plate to the kitchen.

"Thank you for dinner Belle." I said very softly.

I slipped out the back door feeling as low as I had ever felt in my entire life.

I heard the back door slam behind me.

"Zane!"

Lindsay ran at me sobbing. I reached out and pulled her into my arms. We just stood there and held each other. I pressed my cheek against hers and let her cry until she was done.

She looked up at me with tears streaming down her face.

"I am sorry."

She broke my heart, I caused this beautiful wonderful woman so much pain today. I should have found a way to handle it differently.

"I am too, come on."

I grabbed her by the hand and led her towards the path to the ridge. Once we got to the fallen log, I sat down and patted the ground in front of me and opened my arms. She sat down and leaned back against me. I encircled my arms around her and held her tight to me.

"I know your......."

"Shhhhh, let's not talk. I just want to hold you for a while."

She snuggled back into me and said "OK."

We just sat there for an hour, not talking at all. I just held her tightly while we watched the sun creep towards the horizon.

As much as I enjoyed it, I had to move. You can only sit so long before your legs start falling asleep. I stood up and held my hand out to her.

She looked up at me and smiled. When I pulled her up to standing, I didn't stop and pulled her right into my arms. One arm circled around her lower back, the other reached up and softly cupped the back of her neck.

I leaned down until our lips were almost touching. Not kissing her was torturing me. I could tell that she wanted me to kiss her, but I had made her a promise. Finally she whispered to me.

"Why did you stop?"

"I promised you I would not kiss you again unless you asked me to."

She looked into my eyes and gave me a soft, almost teasing smile.

Her arms were behind my shoulders holding me tightly. She pulled me down while reaching up and kissed me, so incredibly softly. We took our time, there was no hurry, no roaming hands. We just stood there and kissed very slowly and very softly.

We finally stopped and just held each other. I was in heaven and hell at the same time. I held an angel in my arms, but I knew that soon she would be gone.

**************************************

What an amazing end to such a shitty day.

Zane was right, but I let my insecurities and pride get in my way.

When he looked me in the eyes and said "I don't care." My whole world crumbled around me. Nothing else mattered to me. I ran to my room, crawled into bed and cried my eyes out.

It wasn't long before my grandmother knocked on my door. She came and sat on the side of my bed.

"You two are sure making a mess of things aren't you?"

"Grandma, he said he didn't care."

"That man cares more about you than life itself and you know it. What is the real issue?"

"Tricia wants him."

"Ok, what does that have to do with anything?"

"She wanted Zane to have a drink with her, but he told her he couldn't because he was celebrating my win with me. She said next week when she won he could celebrate with her, in her camper and they could get to know each other better."

"Oh, and Zane seems interested in her?"

"No, not at all."

"So what are you worried about?"

"Tricia gets everything she wants. She always has the best horses and has always beaten me, and now she is after Zane. She is beautiful, rich, sexy and everything I am not."

"I hate to tell you, but you are beautiful and sexy too, and many things that Tricia will never be."

"Pfft, I don't feel like it."

"So you think if she beats you this weekend, Zane will take her up on her offer to see the inside of her camper?"

"I know it sounds stupid, but for the first time in my life I am jealous. Zane isn't even mine to be jealous over, but that doesn't mean I want someone else to have him."

"So, instead you decided to lash out at him. Think for a moment how you made him feel when you said that."

"Fuck, why does this have to be so hard?"

"Because for the first time in your life, there is a man you truly care about in your life and you don't know how to handle it."

"And yet I can't have him."

"Sure you can, you just have to work it out."

"We already talked about it. He won't hold me back, and neither of us are interested in a long distance relationship."

"Well darling. I can't tell you what to do, but I will tell you this. If you fight and push him away, you will only push him into the arms of another woman."

"I know grandma. I just don't know what to do."

"Well, you can probably start by apologizing to him. Then continue to be his friend and see what happens."

"How did you get so wise? I will talk with him when he comes in for lunch."

"Well I learned a long long time ago that men are a real pain in the ass, but once you get them trained they aren't half bad."

"I don't think there would be any training of Zane."

"Are you kidding, he is wrapped around your little finger already. Now how about coming down and studying until lunch is ready."

"Thanks Grandma."

I grabbed my study material and studied at the dining room table. At eleven I decided to go up and freshen up a little so I looked presentable when Zane came in for lunch.

I started watching for him to come in from the pasture. It looked like he was almost done cutting. I thought he would come in for lunch, then rake. Finally I saw him start driving in, so I decided to wait for him on the back porch.

I could make out the look on his face, he was still pretty upset. He didn't even look towards the house. Instead he hooked the rake onto the tractor and took off back towards the pasture.

Fuck, he hates me, cant even face me to have lunch. The afternoon drug on forever. I would cry and watch him going back and forth from my bedroom window. Mom came home from work and gave me the same basic talk that grandma did.

I hoped he would come in for dinner, he has to eat right? My heart stopped when he came in for dinner and sat across from me. He barely looked at me during dinner, and didn't really talk to anyone. Finally as soon as we were done he picked up his plate, took it to the kitchen and snuck out the back door.

The tears were rolling down my face when my mom said to me.

"If you love him, don't let him walk away. Go."

I was up and running out the back door after him. He was walking slowly towards the stables with his head down. I yelled his name, and when he turned I knew everything would be alright. Instead of anger, the look on his face turned to joy and relief as I ran to him. He swallowed me up into his arms.

After a few minutes of holding each other he took my hand and led me up the path to our spot on the ridge. He sat down and invited me to sit with him. When I sat down he snuggled me into his arms. I went to apologize again and he shushed me, just wanting to hold and snuggle with me.

It was the best hour of my life. We just sat there watching the sun fade. He held me in his arms in such a way I knew everything between us had been forgiven, and we were stronger because of it.

The icing on the cake was when we shared the most romantic kiss ever. I wish we could have stayed like that for hours.

*****************************

The rest of the week flew by. Ron drove the tractor two speeds, fast and faster. He worked me hard, and by the end of Thursday we had fifteen hundred bales put up in the barn. Ready for a winter that was still a long way off.

Lindsay and I were close as ever, but we still tried to keep our love in check. We watched the sunset from the ridge every night, but the only affection we shared was holding hands on the trail while we walked up and down the mountainside.

Friday afternoon we were again loaded in the motorhome and on the road to Cody. Only this time it was just Lindsay and I. Friday evening was a repeat of the prior week with me eating all of Lindsay's leftovers, as well as her friends much to their amusement.

Things were going pretty smoothly until Tricia decided to butt into our conversation.

"Hey Lindsay, how was your week?"

She was a little wary wondering where this friendly side of Tricia had come from.

"It was actually a great week. How about you?"

"Hard, we trained three to four hours a day all week."

"I feel like a slouch. I only trained for an hour a day, and I even took Monday off."

"Well, good luck, we will see how our times end up."

I looked at Lindsay and gave her a nod to say, "See, I told you."

My theory would be proven right the next day. Lindsay drew the first run of the day while Tricia drew the last.

Lindsay seemed more relaxed today and ran a 17.10. She was disappointed, but I assured her that it was a time to be proud of. No one else came close to challenging her, until finally Tricia was the only rider between her and her second win in a row.

Tricia had an annoying smirk on her face as she mounted her horse and looked over at us. She was confident and cocky, used to getting her way and winning easily. As she crossed the finish line, her smirk disappeared when it was announced she ran a 17.4.

Lindsay immediately screamed and threw her arms around my neck. I didn't want to rub it in too much, but I had to tease her.

"So, Tricia practiced three hours a day and ran much slower huh."

She leaned up and kissed my cheek.

"Yes oh wise one."

She stepped back and started bowing down to me in mock homage.

"Ok, stop that or you will give me a big head."

She laughed at me, "Remember, I have seen you naked. I already know you have a big head."

"My god woman, you are horrible."

"Come on, let's go celebrate."

At the party, once again, Lindsay was on cloud nine basking in the attention and congratulations.

Tricia was not happy and kept looking over at Lindsay with fake smiles.

And then came the moment I had feared the most.

Rodeo guys liked to drink and blow off steam, and many of them like me enjoy a good fight once in a while. The problem was I was on probation and couldn't afford to get into any type of trouble.

"What kind of name is Zane Wayne? Don't they use real names down in Texas?"

I tried to ignore him, but he wasn't going to drop it.

"What is the matter Texas boy, are you yellow and deaf?"

I noticed he had a tattoo of Chris LeDoux on his arm and thought I may be able to diffuse the situation.

"Well, you see I am conflicted."

"What the fuck are you conflicted about Texas boy?"

"Well, normally I would think you're just another douche bag, and beat your ass into a mud puddle. But then I saw you have a tattoo of one of my heroes, Chris LeDoux. So see, I am conflicted. Do I beat your ass into a mud puddle, or give you a drink of my whiskey?"

Now he was curious. He didn't expect the conversation to go this way.

"You ride?"

"I did for years, I miss it terribly."

"Why aren't you anymore?"

"That ugly word called responsibility. The Elliot ranch needs me, and I can't afford to be down for even a day."

"What kind of whiskey?"

"Tonight, Crown Royal Vanilla, I felt like a pussy today."

"Well, anyone who rides and likes Chris LeDoux can't be half bad, and Crown Royal is good no matter what the flavor is. So I think we can be friends."

"Well friend, have a drink on me."

He stuck out his hand, "Jebediah"

"Holy fuck, and you made fun of my name?"

My new friend drug me around and introduced me to his bull riding friends. We passed my bottle around until it was gone, and then someone produced another. Everyone was getting wound up and then a classic Garth Brooks song came on. Soon I was singing at the top of my lungs along with twenty other bullriders.

♫ The competition's getting younger. ♬

♬ Tougher broncs, you know I can't recall ♬

♬ The worn out tape of Chris LeDoux, lonely women and bad booze ♬

♬ Seem to be the only friends I've left at all ♬

It felt great to be accepted as a normal guy again. Yeah I was accepted and treated as part of the family at the Elliot's. But singing and drinking with a bunch of guys was different.

I saw Tricia and Lindsay talking. I didn't like Tricia, but the whiskey was working on me. Damn I had to admit she looked good. She changed out of her jeans into a pair of daisy dukes so short you could see the bottom of her ass cheeks. She kept her cowboy boots on and wore a flannel shirt she had half unbuttoned, leaving little to the imagination. Yeah she was a rich spoiled brat, but she had the body of a stripper and the face of a Hollywood actress. It was hard not to look.

A little while I felt a hand encircle mine, "Hey Zane, a word?"

I found Tricia looking at me like she wanted to rip my clothes off, and I am sure she did. She pulled me off to the side, and stepped in close to me. I saw Lindsay watching us with a concerned look on her face.

"So, how about we go in and have that drink now?"

"Sorry Trish, not tonight. I just made a bunch of new friends."

"I want to be your friend."

"Do you?"

"Look Zane, I am going to be honest with you. I want to fuck the hell out of you, but before I do, I am going to give you the most amazing blow job you have had in your life. And if you are wondering, yes I swallow."

I groaned a little to myself before she continued.

"If it makes you feel any better, Lindsay gave me her blessing."

"I didn't know I needed her blessing to do anything."

"You don't, so how about it?"

"Tricia, I am sorry, I can't."

"What are you, gay?"

I laughed a little. "Not even close. You are smoking hot, and a few years ago I would have you bent over the table in there pounding away. But I am in a different place right now, and just can't do it."

She stepped back and gave me the same smirk she had on earlier today before she made her run.

"You will regret this, Zane."

With that she turned and walked away. I slowly worked my way back to Lindsay, by then things were starting to get a little crazy and wild.

I looked at her.

"Want to call it a night?"

She shook her head in agreement and we made our way back. I made sure she locked the motorhome when she was safely inside, and I went and found my bed in the trailer.

************************

As I lay there in bed, I thought once again what a fairy tale my life had turned into. Zane was right about the training, and it felt great to win for the second week in a row. Something I had never done before.

There were a few tense moments tonight though.

The first was when one of the bull riders wanted to pick a fight with Zane. But in true Zane fashion, he ended up making friends with him instead and spent the night singing and drinking with them all.

Then Tricia asked to talk to me.

"Hey Linds, can I have a moment of your time?"

"Sure Tricia, what's up?

"I was wondering if Zane was your man or not?"

"No, we are just very good friends."

"OK, so you wouldnt mind if I fucked him then would you?"

My stomach lurched in my throat and I had to resist the urges that came over me. The urge to puke, and the urge to smash my fist into her perfectly beautiful face. Instead, I trusted my Zane.

"Nope, knock yourself out. Just let me know how he is, for curiosity's sake."

A little while later, I saw Tricia corner Zane, and even though I knew better, I started getting nervous. When she smirked at him and walked away, I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. The days of Tricia getting everything and anyone she wanted were finally over.

The next morning, we were both moving a little slow. Neither of us was too hungover, but it had been a long emotional day and evening. By mid morning we were on the road, both of us in a great mood.

We were chatting back and forth, and I decided to be bold and get a little personal.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course, I am an open book for you."

"What did you and Tricia talk about last night?"

"She said she wanted to fuck me after she gave me a blowjob."

"What did you say?"