Hot Rod Ford On Tour 4

Rodeo Austin was tactically placed to overlap with Rodeo Houston to ensure they got the brightest stars from the Houston show as well as tour stalwarts who hadn't made it into the exclusive Houston show. Hot as two-dollar pistols, the team of Ford-Anderson performed in the Austin show on the night the almost 90-year-old Willie Nelson performed, and both got choked up by his performance. Willie was the emperor of country music, or at least the Austin/Texas/Outlaw side, and he sounded as great as always. They led the applause after each song, and the pleas for an encore at the end.

Willie capped the kind of day you rarely experience on the tour. Rod rode his second bronc in the slack, but he was up in the show for team roping and tie down, and they smoked everyone in all three events. They were up again three days later in the finals, so they decided to board their horses with a friend of Carl's and enjoy central Texas for a few days.

Roy Birkelbach's horse training facility was south of Giddings, closer to Northrup and the 'Home of the Wends' in Serbin. They took a backroad that led directly to Roy's from the Lee County fairgrounds and the covered rodeo arena that hosted USTRA team ropings, calf roping jackpots, barrel races, and even PBR bulling riding events.

Rod was a passing acquaintance with a particularly choice barrel racer from Giddings, and he heard her tell her friends she was heading home for a few weeks after Houston and Austin to work with her horse.

Kathy had a particularly plush little round butt atop strong, shapely legs, at least based on the times he had seen her in shorts. She wasn't as plush up top, but she had a tiny waist, and her perky breasts seemed to fit her petite 5'3" frame perfectly. Rod knew her because she loved to dance, always arriving with a group of girls, and never leaving the dance with anyone else.

She was a 'good girl,' and there were so many good looking 'bad girls' around, she had never received his full attention. 'Why chase something hard to catch when so many are chasing you?' he asked himself. There was another reason: she was the kind with whom you'd develop a relationship beyond the 'friend with benefits' or 'fuck buddy' associations to which he had restricted himself after Hailey.

In addition to the unmarried barrel racers and breakaway ropers he had made friends with, every town had an after rodeo dance, or he would be invited to a nightclub by a local buckle bunny or bunnies. He didn't lack companionship, and his sexual assignations didn't affect his performance in the arena, but it was like eating twinkies; tasty but unfulfilling.

Carl talked to him from time to time, caught him up on Hartland Beef and his newest ranch, but mentioning Hailey was a good way to get Rod to put on his headphones and zone out. Carl did manage to give him a few details each time before he went behind his wall, but he didn't want to hear it.

But on the short trip from Austin to Giddings, Carl pursued it anyway, and got Rod's dander up.

"Look, partner, she made her choice in Belgium and made it very clear that I wasn't it. I'm not going to go back there, so there's no need to tell me about her. I wish her a good life and success in her sport, but I don't see her in my world ever again!"

"Even if she knows she made a stupid mistake and got caught in a trap?"

"Which stupid mistake? I told her Almir was the wrong horse for her. She was warned over and over before and during her affair that Abdullah was a user and abuser of young women, but she spread her legs anyway, and got used! What a shock!

"I offered to help her get out, and so did Caroline and Adeline, and it still took months of being trotted out like a show pony at affairs, and abused out of the public eye, before Adeline could convince her to accept sanctuary. Hell, by that time the dashing sheikh was tired of her anyway, so when his daddy insisted, he sent what was left of her back home.

"Don't you see the women I'm with day after day? How about Caroline and Peyton? Do I look like a guy who needs to go chasing after some asshole's discards? She's damaged goods to me, so shut the fuck up about her!"

Carl drove on through the night for several minutes before quietly saying, "For someone who doesn't care, you sure are touchy about her."

"Fuck you - she's in my past and getting more distant by the minute, so let sleeping dogs lie!"

Carl made the turn to Roy's, and snuck one more in. "Okay, but I'd think you'd want to know that Smoke's injury was the result of a vet injecting him with drugs that caused inflammation in his foreleg. That's what opened the door for the Almir, and the sheikh. Now that he's home and under Angie's care, he's improving rapidly."

"I figured. Everyone told me, and her, that he was an unscrupulous bastard, but she picked him anyway. A rich royal with million to spend on dressing her up, and a fortune in jewelry to show off on her body - her dream guy! If she had shipped Smoke home like I told her to in Belgium, she might have caught on before he used her up and tossed her in the scrap heap.

"Oh well. We all live with the consequences of our choices."

"That's easily the harshest take I've heard yet. She didn't set out to have someone take control of her and misuse her. She's unsophisticated and more than a little naïve when it comes to the high-flying set, but it never once crossed my mind that she did it for the money and infamy!"

"Shows how naïve and unsophisticated you are, Carl. If you hang with the Hiltons and their set, you'll lose that naivete pretty quickly."

Carl applied the brakes, having run up on the Birkelbach Training Center sign before seeing it. Even in the dark, the headlights made it clear they were at a racehorse training facility. One barn was well lit, and they saw someone standing by an open door waving. When they got close the headlights illuminated a female with straight dark hair hanging to her waist.

The turned on a couple of outdoor spotlights and gestured for them to park alongside the barn. When they dropped out of the cab, she introduced herself as Nancy, Roy's better half, and gave them a quick tour of the pens and stables before offering to help them feed and water the horses.

Carl was about to say no when Rod replied, "Sure! We're carrying four, including my spare calf horse, and I'd appreciate help with my three."

She chatted him up as they backed the horses out one by one, and led them to their stalls. She was quick, efficient, and expert, and full of questions and opinions. "I've been keeping up with you on the tour ever since San Antonio, but we've kept up with your football success for years. My husband is from Poteet and I'm from Jourdanton, so Cowtown having so much success was a happy surprise. Roy subscribed to some streaming service that carried your games, and we'd come home and watch CHS after we finished watching the Buffaloes.

"Which reminds me - do you know Kathy Kriegel, our local girl who is out barrel racing and calf roping? We're good friends with her parents, Bonnie and Bobbie."

"Sure, I know her, but I wouldn't say we're friends. She's more standoffish around men, but runs with a pack of girls like herself. They come to a lot of dances together, and her parents will be glad to know, they leave the same way."

Nancy looked around, spotted Carl across the way watering his horse, leaned in, and teased, "Unlike you, Hot Rod! Yardbarker and Rodeo Life both cover your shenanigans in depth - especially when it comes to the Hilton sisters! You do get around, don't you?"

Rod leaned closer and huskily replied, "Why Miss Nancy, don't yawl know most of that juicy, salacious gossip is just made up? I barely know the Hilton's, and if I was getting all the p... lovin' they claim, I'd never get any sleep!" Then he hit her with that smile, and she giggled.

"You're incorrigible! Let's get Carl and go to the house, you liar!"

Nancy had a very nice body, based on the tight jeans and sweater she wore. Rod had held to his 'no married pussy' vow all along and he wasn't changing it now, but she was a tempting little flirt.

Roy was small and wiry, like a former jockey should be, and he was more than a little bit beat up from those years, and from training hare-brained racehorses too. Most weren't, but the percentage of crazies was much higher than with cowponies, just as it was with barrel horses.

They gathered around the kitchen table for a beer, which Rod declined in favor of a Dr. Pepper. They revisited Rod's football glory, and their success on the Texas part of the tour, before Roy asked if he knew Kathy Kriegel. He admitted he knew her, but not well, and asked if she had always been a cowgirl or had other interests in school

"No, she was a lot like you; participated in just about everything our school offered. Band, twirler, student government, and yearbook, but she also played guard in basketball, was the setter in volleyball, and ran all three relays in track. She was good at everything, and we were all surprised when she decided to spend a year chasing the NFR before starting college at Texas State, which offered her a full ride academic scholarship.

"She's not off to the best start, but it's early, so we still have hope for her. What's your opinion on her as a barrel racer and roper?"

Rod grimaced and then said, "Understand, this is my uninformed opinion, and I don't want her and her gang angry at me the rest of the year, so what I say is confidential, okay?"

The Birkelbachs nodded their agreement, and Carl leaned back in his chair with a smile. Rod was bullshitting them a little. He, and every other male on the tour had noticed Kathy Kriegel, he had danced with her more than once, and he had mentioned her before tonight on the way down. He wondered how Rod would play this.

"Nancy, remember what I said about her coming to the dances with a group of girls, and she always left with them. That's makes her parents proud, I'm sure, but what I see when she's running barrels or roping is more of the same."

Nancy leaned back in her chair, and he could see her pondering his words, but Roy looked puzzled. "I'm not sure what you mean," he finally said.

"He's saying what you told Romero last week, Roy. Remember that?"

Recognition hit Roy, and he nodded. "Yeah, I can see that in her. She always wanted to be perfect! I remember her slapping her thigh after a bad pass went off her hands, as if she should have gotten it. Her coaches and teammates always told her to 'take a chill pill' or something like that, meaning to relax.

"She's cute as kitten, but she's never going to enjoy life if she doesn't learn not to be so hard on herself."

Nancy eyed Rod speculatively, thinking perhaps Rod could break her out of her shell. Kathy had never encountered anything like Rod here in Giddings, that's for sure!

They adjourned to bed after questions about coffee and breakfast preferences, and whether they had plans for tomorrow. They didn't, so she volunteered to show them around. Carl rolled his eyes and asked, "Okay, but what will we do after 8:30?"

Carl slept in the guest room, Rod in the room recently vacated by their son, a plebe at the US Military Academy at West Point. That was a great achievement, as Rod was aware; the Air Force Academy had talked to him a few times, and it was one of his final five schools. But they weren't as flexible as UT, which wanted him bad enough to reclassify his class if he stuck with rodeo for a year.

The coffee was strong, the biscuits with sausage gravy and eggs were delicious, and they had another guest. As soon as Rod saw her he grinned internally, but acted surprised to see her. "Hey, Kathy K, what are you doing here?"

"Hey, Hot Rod. I'm your official guide for the day, or as long as it takes to show you all the sights of interest here in beautiful Lee County!" She rolled her eyes at that and said, "We should be through in an hour or so."

"Ha! Carl said by 8:30."

"Yeah, that is probably right. When do you want to go?"

"I kind of slept in, so I need to take care of my horses first. I'll come back up when I'm done."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to come with you. You have some of the prettiest horses on the tour."

"No pony out there is as beautiful as your mare, KK, even if she is a bit flighty sometimes."

"Sometimes?" she snorted. "It's either under 15 or +10 with her! I can't remember what I was thinking when I told Daddy 'She's the one!' but I think it was something about how good I'd look on a horse like that. And now I'm stuck with her - they can't afford another horse, and neither can I."

"I saw a set of barrels in the barn. Is Nancy a barrel racer?"

"She was, but not in several years. Why?"

"I'll tell ya after the grand tour!"

"An hour or so" turned into a delicious barbeque lunch at the City Meat Market, and then the old train tunnel and haunted bridge near Dime Box, before they pulled into the Birkelbach's drive. Kathy knew she'd never laughed so much, or had a date anywhere near as much fun as spending time with Hot Rod Ford. She also knew she should keep him at arm's length, but he was just so damn handsome and sexy...

"Wanta go get your girl in my rig, set up some barrels, and see what I can do with her?" he asked. She didn't really want him to refocus on her horse, but if it meant riding in his 'pussy wagon' and spending more time with him, she'd do it.

After she climbed in and settled, he heard her giggle and asked what was so funny. "I'm trying to picture what my girlfriends would say if I pulled up in your rig. You are the devil incarnate to them, what with your wild, wicked ways and powers of seduction."

He chuckled. "Well, I guess that explains my batting average in even getting them to dance. But you danced with me a couple of times. Are you not afraid of my wild and wicked seductive powers?"

She giggled again, "Well, yes, but I like to play with fire, a little bit, sometimes."

He liked that. She had a lot more personality than he had noticed, and she was really cute in that wholesome girl-next-door way. She was small, probably 5'3' and 110 pounds or so, had a very nice, athletic shape, moved with grace and quickness, and was in the athlete's low range of the BMI index. Even the more old fashioned haircut she wore fit her face, and when it was pulled back and tucked through her cap into a ponytail, her face was even prettier than he had cataloged her.

He had never seen her without a pair of jeans and a conservative shirt or blouse, but she made those look good, so he suspected she would rock short-shorts or a mini-dress quite well.

Rod used his saddle to warm the shiny white mare up, trotted and then hustled through the pattern with her, and then walked her back, as if getting a running start entering the arena. "Hiya!" he called, and she came flying into the arena. She spotted the barrel and raced to it, slowed up just enough, ducked around the barrel and sprinted toward the next. She did the same thing on the second, and then the third, before accelerating to the finish line and out of the pen.

Kathy's mouth was still hanging open when he trotted Moonbeam back in. "What did you do to my horse?" she asked in shock.

"Nothing, literally. I yelled for her to go, sat back and let her run the pattern. She's pretty good, Kathy."

"But why doesn't she do that with me?" she asked plaintively.

"Do you let her?" he replied.

"What do you mean, Rod?" There was a touch of exasperation, but mostly curiosity.

"When I've watched you run, you are constantly on your reins, spurring her, and holding her head up. Why? Don't you trust her? She's pretty good on the pattern without help."

Kathy stared at him some more, so he said, "Let's adjust my stirrups and you run a cloverleaf with her. But lose reins, no spurring, and you can only yell to tell her to start."

He hoisted her up, adjusted the stirrups, and reminded her no reins and no spurring. Moonbeam didn't trust Kathy as much as Rod, but when she kept the reins lax on the first barrel she accelerated to two, and then to three. She almost overran three, but caught herself and made a good turn before racing home.

Kathy brought her back, stopped by Rod, and declared, "It can't be that simple!"

"Your horse ain't an Ivy League neurotic, KK. She's unbelievably well trained and athletic, but she doesn't like much direction. I know that's hard for someone as anal as you to accept, but it's a fact, in my opinion," he teased.

She kicked at him and disagreed with the anal nametag, but he just raised his eyebrows in disbelief, and she conceded. "Okay, okay, but I can't help myself! I like to be in control."

"Even to go from not placing to good money?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

She made a face at him, but then shook her head no. "I may be anal, but I'm not stupid. If she's harder headed than me and wants to do it without my help, I'll let her run!"

While that was going on, Carl, the Birkelbachs, and the Kriegels all walked down to the pen. A dirty-blonde look alike spoke to Kathy. "We were watching from the porch, darling. You looked really fast!"

Kathy rode over and said, "Let's see if she can do it again before we celebrate. Rod came up with this crazy scheme that goes against all my training, so let's give him another test."

Roy pulled out a stopwatch, just for the hell of it, given that this was set up longer than a standard course.

"Hiya!" and the white mare came a running; a fast first barrel, a clean and fast second, and an exceptional turn on three caused Kathy to whoop again as her horse raced for home.

Kathy rode back, dropped off her horse, and began kissing and hugging her. "I'm so sorry, Moonbeam! I can't believe I said all those cruel things about you, when it was me all the time! I'm an idiot, but can you forgive me? Please?"

The horse nuzzled her in return, and Dad asked, "So what was the big find no one else could see?"

"That I was riding her too hard, if you can believe it! Rod made the first run with a lose rein, and she was flying. I tried it his way, and, well, you saw!"

Rod felt the eyes of every adult, sizing him up. He shrugged and said, "Kathy and Moonbeam are a good team. They are still getting to know each other, so she would have figured it out soon enough."

Nancy's gaze switched to Kathy, who looking at Rod in that adoring way. "Oh, shit! Our good girl is in trouble!"

Her prognostication was correct, though Rod made her work for her deflowering. They went out to eat that night, at Kathy's favorite restaurant, and drew a crowd of her friends and admirers from high school. She introduced him as "Rod, my date," and he enjoyed anonymity while Kathy played the celebrity.

She was at home here, these were her friends, and a whole different side of her emerged. On the tour she was shy, or at least reserved, and she never opened up in public. Here, she was bubbly, vivacious, with a great sense of humor that she unleashed on others as teasing and jokes. Her dress was knee length with a high neckline, but when she exposed a little leg she didn't even seem to notice.

It had only been ten months since graduation, but they had a lot to catch her up on, and she reciprocated with tales Rod didn't expect. He only saw her on a horse or with her gang, but apparently more than a few cowboys had made run at her, and she had fended off the propositions of several 'dirty old men!' Her three high school besties were still in town, commuting to Blinn College in Brenham, and working part time. Word got to them that Kathy was at Shubert's, so they showed up and the reunion was underway.

Rod had long ago finished the best CFS (chicken fried steak) he'd eaten in a restaurant, and was sipping iced tea and listening. Kathy would try to loop him back in from time to time, but the tales were for and about her, so he maintained his status as interested observer. And he was: Kathy unleashed was a very cute and desirable girl. He wondered which of these guys had tasted her treats, but all seemed more friend than lover.