“Well, what did you think of him?” Rio Cody asked as he pulled up a chair and joined the owners and staff for dinner in the Chuck Wagon Restaurant on the Stallions and Studs gay dude ranch.

“He’s really well muscled,” Wade Connors said.

“Who is?” asked Charlie Bradley, Wade’s partner, who arrived at the table just after Rio.

“Yeah,” Mack MacIntyre agreed, ignoring Charlie’s question. “Deep chest and nice full butt.”

“Is he going to be a guest here at the ranch? New guy on staff?” Charlie asked as he sat down.

“Bet he rides real sweet,” Lex said.

“He does, he does indeed, real smooth,” Rio agreed.

Charlie looked around the group. “Who the hell are you guys talking about?”

“Bidin’ My Time,” Rio said.

“Bidin’ My Time?” Charlie questioned, looking and sounding confused.

The cowboys laughed.

“What?” Charlie asked, looking around at the men.

“Leave it to my tenderfoot boyfriend. Thinks we’re talkin’ about a man.” Wade put an arm around Charlie’s waist and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Bidin’ My Time is a horse.”

“A horse?”

Charlie still looked perplexed.

“Don’t you let these yahoos put ya down,” Seth Buchanan said, coming to Charlie’s defense. “You had no way a knowin’ we were discussin’ a horse Rio brought in today.”

“I’m glad y’all liked him,” Rio said. “I think I’m gonna buy him.”

That afternoon, Rio had shown off the stallion he was thinking of buying to Mack and Seth. Wade, Sonny Hammill, Trent Boxwood, and Lex Cunningham, who all worked the riding programs at the ranch, had also been present. The horse was a three-year-old gray Quarter Horse stallion.

“What ya gonna do with him?” Trent asked. “Ya got three rodeo horses now.”

“He’s a registered quarter. I’m gonna train him up and show him on the Quarter Horse circuit this winter down in Texas.”

“They don’t do rodeo on the Quarter Horse circuit,” Seth said.

“What ya gonna do, show him Western Pleasure? What fun is that? Ridin’ around the pen at the speed of a snail?” Lex asked.

“I’m gonna train him as a reiner,” Rio said enthusiastically.

“A reiner? What do you know about reinin’ horses?” Wade asked.

“Nothin’.” Rio shrugged. “But I know horses and how to train ‘em. That reinin’ stuff sure looks fun to me. I can get what I need to know off the Internet. Can’t be all that different then trainin’ a cuttin’ horse or barrel racer. “

“What’s reining?” Charlie asked.

“Reinin’ is a series of patterns where you lope circles at different speeds, change directions on a dime, and do slidin’ stops, spins, and such,” Rio said. “Takes a lot of skill for both the rider and the horse. Ain’t no Sunday ride in the park!”

Trent added his two cents. “I heard them Quarter Horse folks is real snooty. Like their shit don’t stink. Think their way a ridin’ is gospel. They ain’t very social with outsiders.”

“Hold on there, boys,” Mack said. “Don’t go judgin’ what ya don’t know for certain. I’m sure folks outside the rodeo circuit think we’re a bit stuck on ourselves as well.”

Most of the staff of Stallions and Studs rode rodeo during the off season. In fact Lex and Trent were fresh off the circuit.

“Well, anyway, I ain’t goin’ to the Quarter Horse shows to socialize,” Rio added. “I’m goin’ to compete.”

“Rio not goin’ to socialize?” Wade teased with a laugh. “That’s like saying I’m gonna turn this cow out on pasture but it won’t be grazin.”

The group joined Wade’s laughter.

“Screw you,” Rio said good-naturedly. “I can keep ma cock in ma pants if I put a mind to it.”

“It’s just ya don’t put your mind to it that often,” Lex added.

Just then, Cookie arrived at the table, aided by one of the staff with trays loaded with food. The cowboys’ conversations turned to other topics as they dug into their meal.

* * * *

The next day, Rio was riding Bidin’ My Time in the lesson arena. Lex was at the fence, right foot on the bottom rung, watching. Rio was loping in circles, one fast, one slow. After working on the exercise for several minutes in both directions he rode over to where Lex stood.

“Well, what do ya think?”

“Pretty nice mover, agile, quick. He’d make a nice cuttin’ horse for sure,” Lex replied.

“That he would. Maybe I’ll train him to do both. I think he’s got the mind for it. They do cuttin’ on the Quarter circuit.”

“Why don’t you skip the reignin’ and just do the cuttin’ then, if it’s ridin’ Quarter Horse is what you’re interested in?”

Rio reached down and patted the stallion. “I been cuttin’ cows all ma life I need me a challenge, somethin’ I never done before.”

“Stickin’ with one man’s somethin’ you never done before. That’d be a challenge for ya,” Lex said.