“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
The Bible verse came suddenly and comforted his spirit. He pocketed his phone, shed his gear and headed into town. There was a dance, there were bars, there were plenty of places to go to find out what he most wanted to know. Based on how quickly the farmer types had circled, Lucky figured Natalie was well-known and well-liked in Selena. Before he met up with her again, he wanted a little history, some semblance of equal footing.
On her and her cousin Tisha .
He drove down the middle of town, intent on stopping somewhere but seeing no place where he’d feel comfortable. The tent on the fairgrounds holding tonight’s dance was too crowded and upbeat, the bars in town too crowded and dark. He turned around and cruised again. Finally, he settled on a 1950s-style diner on the edge of town with plenty of horse trailers in the parking lot. Surely he’d run into not only peers but also locals inside. As long as the three farmer types were content to stab chicken-fried steaks instead of him, he’d be good.
He didn’t even make it inside the door.
“Lucky Welch. Wow, I enjoyed watching you! Where you going next?”
The man was a young local and today had been his first competition. Travis Needham, Lucky remembered. He had spunk but was as clumsy as a puppy. He hadn’t known how to handle his draw, scored dead last and had enjoyed every minute of the rodeo. Lucky envied him. The first few years he and Marcus rodeoed had been magic.
“Not sure,” Lucky said as he looked around. There were plenty of familiar faces, but most were seated at tables with no empty spaces.
“Join us,” Travis invited. Us looked to be a young woman and older man, both looking a lot like Travis.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth . His grandfather had actually been talking about horses when he shared the proverb, but today Lucky knew it had more than one meaning. “Thanks.” He sat next to Travis and directly across from the older man. Putting out his hand, he said, “I’m Luc—”
“I know who you are, son.” The man put down his fork and returned the handshake. “Travis has been talking about you for months, ever since you accepted the invitation to headline the rodeo. I’m Fred Needham. Guess you can tell by looking, these two belong to me. Sure enjoyed seeing a pro today.”
“Selena holds a nice rodeo.”
“I’ve seen you compete quite a few times.” Travis’s sister didn’t hold out her hand although she’d set her fork aside the moment he sat down. If anything, she looked a bit reticent.
“Allison, don’t bring it up,” Travis urged.
“Bring what up?” Lucky asked.
“I was at the rodeo, the Denton rodeo,” she whispered. “I’m sorry, so sorry.”
Denton…six months ago, where everything went wrong.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, too.” He looked at Allison. She looked right back at him, and he got the feeling that if it had been up to her, he would not have been invited to join them. He didn’t know why. He’d never seen her before. “Did you know Marcus?”
“I knew him because of Tisha.”
Fred frowned. Lucky waited a moment, trying to figure out if the frown came because of Marcus or Tisha. If he were a father, he’d keep his daughters away from men like Marcus and his sons away from women like Tisha.
Finally, Travis filled in the silence. “Allison and Tisha were roommates for a while. Allison used to rodeo. She was in Denton cheering on a friend.”
Allison nodded. “I used to rodeo. When I practice, I can do the cloverleaf in eighteen seconds without touching a single barrel. When it’s the real thing, the barrels move in front of me.”
Travis nodded. “I’ve seen them sprout legs. Ain’t pretty. Now, the way you ride that bull is magic, Lucky. I didn’t realize your mama had been a one-time rodeo queen here in Selena.”
“I told him,” Fred said. “He just didn’t listen.”
A harried waitress found their table, refilled the Needhams’ iced teas, cleared plates and took Lucky’s order.
Travis took a long drink and then said, “Man, it was a treat to have you competing. This turned out to be the biggest rodeo Selena ever hosted. We had cowboys show up today who always bypass us in favor of Lubbock.”
Lucky smiled. “I had fun.”
“Where’d you learn to sit the bull? My dad’s always helped me, plus all the guys around here do bull outs on Saturday night.”
“You know where Delaney is?”
Fred nodded. “It’s about forty-five miles west of here. Not much there.”
“My grandparents lived there. Grandpa actually competed against the legend Jim Shoulders. I don’t think Grandpa ever won a thing, but man, he loved the bulls. He taught my brother and me what equipment to buy, which hand to favor, how to get off and how to get away.”
“How old were you?” Allison asked.
“He started us when we were ten, but it was mostly play. Then, when we hit thirteen, he took us as far as we’d let him.”
“Only forty-five miles from here.” Travis shook his head. “I had no idea you were so close.”
“It’s a small world,” Lucky agreed. “My mom even went to high school here in Selena.”
There wouldn’t be a better opportunity, so he looked at Allison and said, “So, you traveled with Tisha. Did you know my brother?”
Allison paled. “Tisha was just beginning to date him when I was bunking with her. Pretty soon I didn’t bunk with her anymore. I went on my own—”
“Came back home,” Fred interrupted.
“—soon after they started getting serious.”
“I tried to warn you about that girl,” Fred said.
Allison’s lips pressed together in a look of agitation Lucky knew all too well. “Dad,” she said. “Leave it be.”
“Is that how Marcus met Natalie Crosby, through Tisha?”
“Natalie knew Marcus?” Allison looked surprised. “Really? I didn’t know.”
This was not the response Lucky was hoping for. He’d been thinking he’d hit pay dirt. Really, who would know better than an ex-roommate of Tisha’s?
“Yeah, I think Natalie knew Marcus. We, the family, are still trying to put together the last few months of his life. He wasn’t at home. We’re not sure where he was staying. Guess it wasn’t here.”
“No,” Travis said. “I’d have known if he was here.”
Lucky’s food arrived. He really
