Chapter 80

As he waited, Merry and several of the folks who rode with her came up.

“Good luck, Rio,” Merry said. “We came to cheer you on.”

Rio smiled. “Thanks, Merry, thank y’all.”

“Mark and Caitlin would have come, too, but they have western pleasure coming up. They’re in the warm-up pen getting ready.”

Although Rio appreciated Merry and her crew coming out to support him, he could care less that Mark wasn’t there. “Thanks, Merry.”

Rio was fourth in order of go. When his number was called, Zeke gave Rio’s thigh a slap. “Go for it, cowboy.”