"You ready for your run?" A deep, drawled voice asked from beside where Maleena stood next to her trailer. Turning her head, Maleena saw it was Cody. A smile rose to her lips.

         Maleena sucked in a breath before shaking her arms, looking back out to the arena. "Not at all." She let out an airy chuckle, trying to literally shake out her nerves.

         A chuckling Cody rested both of his hands on the side of Maleena's arms. She immediately stopped her bouncing up and down to look at him. "You're goin' to do great. And I am going to be sitting right next to the gate to be the first person congratulating you after your winning ride." The smile on his lips told Maleena he was confident her ride would go well. 

         Rolling her eyes to shrug off the compliment, Maleena said, "Great, now I feel pressured to ride well." She said it with a smile so Cody knew she wasn't upset.  

          "You will, I have faith in you." Cody gave Maleena's shoulders a slight squeeze. 

          "Thank you. I appreciate it. Stryker is really good at what he does. He just seems a little anxious today, so my nerves must be rubbing off on him." Maleena looked over her shoulder to her brown and white Appaloosa gelding standing at attention next to his spot tied to the trailer. 

         Cody dropped his arms, turning Maleena's attention back to him. "Do you need help gettin' anything else ready?" Cody asked, looking around them.

          "No, I think I am good. Just waiting for them to finish with the bronc rides so I can get out there and warm up." Maleena chuckled, more butterflies starting to swarm in her stomach. This time, she knew they were not from her nervousness; they were because she was staring into the eyes of a very handsome, and very sweet, young man. Just then, the thought of Dillion, her boyfriend, crossed her mind, and Maleena blinked, tearing her eyes away from Cody's. "Thank you, though." The thought of him mad her scan around the arena. Dillion was supposed to be here tonight to watch her ride, but like always, he was no where to be found. 

           "You're welcome." Cody smiled. Lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck, Cody motioned to Maleena with the other. "Well, you look great." He let out an almost embarrassed chuckle, as if he meant to keep the comment to himself. 

          Maleena kept her head down, staring at her boots, as she felt a blush rising to her cheeks. "Thanks." She replied, shyly. 

        "And now up next, we have our rodeo girls...our barrel racers. Come on, ladies, it's time to saddle up and get out here to warm up." The announcer called over the speaker. 

        "Well, that's my cue." Maleena pointed backwards over her shoulder. "Better get Stryker's bridle on." Pausing momentarily, Maleena asked, bravely, "Would you like to stick around to help me hold him?" 

        "Absolutely." Cody replied a little too eagerly. 

         Maleena turned to her trailer to grab Stryker's blue and brown tooled bridle that matched her saddle and breastcollar. By the time she had grabbed it, Cody had already untied Stryker from the trailer, patiently holding his lead rope. 

        With nervous hands, Maleena took off Stryker's halter, slipping the bit of his bridle into his mouth before fixing his ears in the headstall. Taking the reins over his head, to rest on the saddle horn, Maleena checked her cinches, making sure they were as tight as they were fixing to get, before she mounted up. 

         "Would you like a leg up?" Cody asked, shyly, from beside Maleena. 

        Knowing she didn't need one, but not wanting to refuse his offer, Maleena bent her left leg, grabbing onto her saddle as  Cody hoisted her up. Once she was secure in the saddle, Maleena tucked her toes into her stirrups before grabbing both of her reins in one hand, turning Stryker to the left. 

         "Wish us luck." Maleena smiled, looking back at Cody over her shoulder. Once he gave her a smile and a thumbs up, Maleena turned her attention back to the arena. Looking around the stands once more, she still didn't see Dillion. Taking a deep breath to not let it bother her, Maleena focused on warming up.

       Stryker wasn't too sure about being in a new arena with new horses, new riders, and a new crowd, but with Maleena keeping him calm, he was a trooper like always. 

          Soon, the warm up time was over with, and the barrel racers all filed out, waiting their turn to show off their speed around the barrels. 

          With each person that ran, Maleena got more and more nervous as her turn got closer and closer. She knew it wasn't smart for to ride her horse in a rodeo right after they moved here, but Maleena trusted Stryker to do what he is trained for. 

           Tapping her fingers on her horn, Maleena bit her lip as she watched a twenty three year old racer turn quickly around each barrels. Her blonde hair matched her Palomino's mane. As she spurred her horse off the third barrel, the crowd's cheers were deafening; she was clearly the local favorite. 

          Maleena's eyes turned up to the time board. 16.04 seconds. That would be a tough time to beat, but again, Maleena kept telling herself that this was just a practice run for her to get back into racing. It had been about a month since she was able to compete, so she needed the practice. 

         A voice to her right drew her attention away from the competition. "Hey, Cody." Maleena found herself grinning. "You could have warned me that the riders were this good!" She teased. 

         "Well, I didn't want you to be nervous." Cody shot back. "Plus, I know you can put them all to shame." He shot her a friendly wink. 

         "Stop sayin' that. You haven't even seen me ride." Maleena chuckled. Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, Maleena pulled it out, checking to see who it was. She had a text from Dillion, telling her he was running late, but would be there soon. After his first message came in, a second one followed immediately after, asking her when she was riding. When she shot back, "Now," she let out an audible sigh.

          "Everything alright?" Cody drew Maleena's focus back to him.

          "Yeah. Just someone breakin' a promise is all. Would you mind holdin' my phone for me, please? I need to go get lined up." Maleena handed Cody her phone when he nodded in response. Without another word, Maleena pushed her hat down over her head, tightening her stampeded strings as she waited for the announcer to call her name. 

            "Next up, we have a new rider joining us tonight. This is 17 year old Maleena Lackley riding Stryker." She was announced. A few cheers and claps scattered across the crowd at Maleena's unfamiliar name, but one person's voice stood out. 

          From the fence, next to the gate, Maleena could clearly hear Cody shout, "Go Maleena!" 

          With a determined look on her face, Maleena spurred Stryker, barely slowing as they rounded the first barrel. Stryker knew his job, but was a little slow coming off the first turn. Maleena encouraged him as they closed in on the next barrel. "Come on, buddy." She mumbled as she turned him to the left around the second barrel. 

          The crowd cheered louder now once they saw how fast the duo was. A grin rose to Maleena's lips as she knew this was a great run for her. 

        Slowing him once they got passed the timer by the gate, Maleena reached down to pat Stryker, telling him he did a great job, she saw something roll across the dirt right in front of them. Glancing up really quick, Maleena saw the plastic cup flying across the ground right in time to feel Stryker about to spook. As she began to sit back down to grab her reins, Stryker veered to the right just as Maleena was leaning to the left. Before she could slow her horse down, Maleena went flying off his side, landing hard on the ground. 

           Considering that the entire scene happened in a matter of two seconds, it took a little bit for Maleena to really realize what happened. She had heard the crowd gasp in unison right as Maleena scraped against the arena dirt. The next thing Maleena heard was Cody's voice calling after her, running into the arena just as she had peeled herself up off the floor. 

          "You okay? Don't get up." Cody had a hand on Maleena's back. 

          "I'm fine." Maleena shrugged his hand off, standing up and dusting herself off. "I just want to get out of here." She kept her head down to hide how red her face and neck was from embarrassment. Walking towards where Stryker stood, all alert, Maleena jerked his reins off the arena dirt, leading him out. 

           Cody jogged beside Maleena to keep up with her fast pace as she sped walked out of the arena. "Maleena, you're bleeding." He carefully grabbed her left forearm, lifting it up so she could see the arena burn.

           "I'm fine, Cody." Again, she jerked her arm free from his hold. 

           Maleena walked straight to her trailer to start untacking Stryker. Knowing Maleena was embarrassed, Cody silently stood next to her, doing whatever he could to help her. Once she was finished, Cody turned to Maleena, "Maleena, your arm looks really bad. Please let me get you cleaned up." 

          Giving herself a second to cool off, Maleena took a deep breath. Now that it had been a few minutes since her accident, the adrenaline had worn off, and the pain began to set in. "Alright. But first, do y'all have anywhere I can keep Stryker? He doesn't like staying in the trailer." 

          "Yeah. You can keep him in one of the stalls in the barn. Follow me." Cody offered. 

          As Maleena and Cody were walking to the barn, Maleena heard the announcer list the winners. The third place spot was already announced, and he was announcing the second place winner. "Second place, with a time of 16.04 seconds goes to Aisley Kane." Right in Maleena's line of sight, she could see the 23 year old blonde from earlier throw her hat to the ground, shooting up from the stands in disbelief. 

          "Second place?! But I had the quickest time!" Aisley shouted.

          "And in first place, y'all, this was a close one, with a ride of 16.01 seconds...the newbie here, Maleena Lackley!" The announcer loudly rejoiced.

           Maleena hadn't heard her name being called because she was too engrossed noticing that Aisley was glaring bullets at her. Before Maleena and Cody could get to the safety of the barn, Aisley waltzed her way over to them, folding her arms over her chest, demanding that Maleena and Cody stop walking and talk to her. 

           Stryker stopped walking when Maleena did. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cody stand closer to her, about to wrap an arm around her waist in a protective motion. 

         "I don't know who you are, or where you are from, but just so you know, I win. I always win. Everyone knows it. So, just so we are clear, I was the winner tonight. We all saw your time. It was like an amateur 18 seconds. They only said that you won because they felt sorry for you because of your little fall you took, but don't worry. The second I talk to the people in charge, it'll be my name on that check, not yours." Aisley spat in Maleena's face.   

         Maleena opened her mouth to apologize, but Cody's voice spoke up. "Aisley, Maleena won fair and square. Everyone knows it. It's okay to lose one time. And technically, you didn't even lose. You got second place, so how about you leave her alone?" His voice wasn't mean in the slightest regard. In fact, it was incredibly kind. Cody took yet another step closer to Maleena. 

         "Well, come on out to the arena, winners, to get your prize." The announcer said, interrupting the tense situation between Aisley, Cody, and Maleena. 

          "Well, come on. Aren't you goin' to come get your prize?" Aisley taunted. 

          "No, I'm not. You're right, Aisley. You won tonight. I'm sorry I got in the way of that." Maleena broke down, timid, as she walked past Aisley. A hard shove to her shoulder told Maleena that Aisley had purposely ran into her. 

          "You okay?" Cody asked Maleena, seeing she was clearly upset. 

          "Yeah. Just sore and extremely embarrassed." Maleena responded. 

          "Embarrassed? Why? Because your horse spooked and you got thrown? Come on. You won tonight! Be happy." Cody playfully nudged her shoulder, making a grin rise to her lips. 

           "Yeah, I guess." Maleena grinned up at Cody just as they entered the barn. 

            "Here ya go. Stryker can stay in here. There's water and hay already in there." Cody opened one of the stall doors in the far left, back of the barn. "Now, let's go get you cleaned up." He said, leading Maleena back to the barn office where they had talked the other night. After punching in a code to the keypad on the door, Cody walked in. 

           Once inside, Cody flipped on the light switch, immediately walking straight to the first aid box behind the desk. "Take a seat on the couch there." He said, nodding his head back to the brown leather couch by the door. 

         Maleena turned, moving a blanket and pillow off the couch. She had started to wonder if maybe Cody had slept there the night before, again. He seemed to know his way around the grounds pretty well; part of Maleena wondered if Cody lived there part time or something. Despite the feeling that she had known him forever, Maleena realized how little she really knew about Cody. But something about him intrigued her; she wanted to know everything about him. She had never felt that way about a guy before; somehow, Maleena knew that Cody and her would make really good friends one day. 

          "Here ya go. Some Tylenol and water." Cody came over and sat next to Maleena on the couch, handing the pill and cup of water to Maleena.

          "Thanks." She replied, swallowing the pill, chasing it down with some water. 

          "Oh, and here's your phone, too, before I forget." Cody reached into his pocket, grabbing Maleena's phone. "I'm going to go get some paper towels for your arm. It looks pretty bad." Cody stood up off the couch to walk to the attached bathroom. 

         As he was gone, Maleena scrolled through her phone notifications. There was several texts from Dillion saying he was at the rodeo grounds, waiting for her to ride. In the last text, Dillion asked where she was, and Maleena texted back, "In the barn office. Got thrown tonight, so I'm getting fixed up." 

         Just as Maleena sent the text, Cody walked out of the bathroom with a handful of wet and dry paper towels, sitting back down next to Maleena. Carefully picking up her arm, Cody ever so softly wiped the blood and dirt off of Maleena's forearms and hands. "You really got banged up, huh?" Cody commented. As he wiped a tender spot on her arm, Maleena winced. "Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." 

        "No, it's fine. Thank you for being careful." Maleena looked down at her hand that Cody was delicately holding, wiping every speck of dirt and blood off of. 

         Cody nodded, standing up to get some band-aids. "Hey, I apologize for Aisley tonight. Don't let her get to you. She is all talk and cannot stand the thought of losing to anybody in any way. But she had no right for treating you that way. You won fair and square, no questions asked. It was an amazing ride, by the way. We will have to stop by the announcer's block to get your check." 

           "Thanks. And I appreciate you standing up for me." Maleena watched as Cody carefully wrapped the gauze bandage around her forearm. Before Cody could reply, Maleena heard a noise to her right. Looking to see what it was, Maleena saw Dillion walking into the office. "Dill-"

           Dillion's eyes looked down at where Maleena and Cody were sitting, seeing Maleena's hand in Dillion's as he helped her. "Who the heck are you and what the heck do you think you're doing? Get your hands off my girlfriend!" Dillion shouted, grabbing Maleena's wrist, making her stand up. Cody followed, shooting up from his spot at the couch. 

          "Maleena got thrown. I'm just helping her. Relax, man." Cody took a step closer to Dillion and Maleena. 

           "I can help her myself." Dillion growled. "Maleena, let's go. We are leaving." He yanked on Maleena's wrist, pulling her out of the office, never slowing his walk as he led her to his truck. 

           "Get in, we are goin' home." Dillion demanded as he fumbled for his keys.

          "No. No we are not. I am tired of you bossing me around, tellin' me where we are goin' and what we are doin'." Maleena stood her ground, crossing her arms. Her stubbornness drew Dillion's attention away from unlocking his truck, and back to his girlfriend. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I would be in if my parents found out that I invited you here? I am still grounded, remember. My parents let me ride tonight as long as I came straight home. So be thankful I am breaking their rules just to see you. I really didn't want to spend my night with you by fighting." 

        "Who is that guy you were shacked up with in the office?" Dillion came around to the other side of his truck to stand next to Maleena, completely ignoring everything else she had said. 

          "Who, Cody? He is just a friend of mine. He knows Chandler." 

          "Y'all looked pretty comfortable there sittin' together on the couch." Dillion said defensively. 

          "Really? You're goin' to do this now? Did you even see my ride tonight? No, you didn't because you weren't here. I won tonight, but you didn't even see." Taking a step closer, Maleena didn't even care to lower her voice. "If you were here, none of this would have happened, but like usual, you weren't here. So, where were you? Where have you been this past week?"

          "I've been...at work, Mal." Dillion backed down, lowering his voice. "I've been busy. You know that." 

           "At ten o'clock at night? I doubt that, Dillion." 

           Maleena had caught him in a lie, and now she knew it. Rolling her eyes, Maleena turned to walk back to her trailer. As she did, she felt two arms wrap around her from behind. 

           "Baby, please don't do this. I'm sorry I didn't get to see you ride tonight." Dillion tucked his nose into Maleena's neck, dropping a kiss on her neck. "I love you, Maleena. I do." 

            Maleena pulled back, throwing his arms off of her. With a scoff, she turned around, glaring at her boyfriend. "Just go, Dillion. Go wherever you go after we fight. You seem a whole lot happier there than when you are with me. So, please. Just leave me alone." Before he could say anything in response, Maleena turned and walked away. Only a few feet from her, she saw Cody. He emerged from his spot beside her horse trailer. 

           "Hey, is everything alright?" Cody held out his arms to hug her. Looking over her shoulder, Maleena saw Dillion watching her. 

         Just to upset Dillion, Maleena tightly wrapped her arms around Cody, holding him a second longer than she probably should have. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks though." Maleena smiled, turning to walk towards the barn to fetch her horse. She wasn't surprised when Cody followed her. 

          "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but honestly, I was worried about you after that guy drug you out of the office." They were walking slowly due to Maleena being sore because of her fall. "Who is he?" 

        "His name is Dillion, and he is my boyfriend..." Maleena practically scoffed when she said it because recently, Cody had been more of a boyfriend to her than Dillion had.

         Cody seemed to hesitate for a second as if questioning if he should ask his next question. "Does he usually treat you like that?" 

          "When we first started dating, no, but recently, all we do is fight." Maleena spoke the truth, entering the barn to get Stryker.

          "How long have y'all been together?" Cody asked next, holding the sliding stall door open for Maleena. 

          "Umm since late May, so almost three months?" She answered in almost a question as she counted in her head. "Things have been really rough between us this past month or so. Every time we have a big fight, he runs off somewhere and turns off his phone. But then when the morning comes around, everything is fine between us again." 

          Cody was quiet. "Can I ask why you two are together, then? It doesn't seem like he is treating you really well." 

          Maleena hesitated, having to think over an answer. 

         Cody waved a hand in the air as if to silently apologize. "Sorry. I know we don't know each other that well. It isn't my place to pry."

          Maleena chuckled, stopping beside her trailer. "No, it's fine. I didn't answer right away because I was trying to find a good reason why we are still together. I guess the only reason is because he is my first boyfriend, and his parents really like me, so I reckon everyone just assumes we will stay together, but honestly, I feel like the chemistry isn't there anymore." She told Cody truthfully. As she grabbed a brush from the tack room in her trailer, Maleena began to wonder why her and Dillion really were together, but also, why she hadn't broken up with him yet.