Chapter 1
“I don’t care what you have to say Jim. I am going”
“Damn you Casey! I won’t be there to protect you.”
“I’ll be fine; besides, you can’t always protect me. Anyhow Ricky and Bobby will be there, they’ll see to it that I am safe.” Then she turned and walked back into her room to finish getting ready to go.
Jim sitting on the couch waited till Ricky and Bobby walked into the living room, then he looked up and says, “I swear to God if you two let anything happen to her, I will kill who ever hurt her and then I am going to make you wish you were dead.”
Ricky looking up says “Look she’s our baby sister too.”
“Then you two keep her safe. All we need is for something to happen to cause her to slide backwards, and everything that we fought so hard to accomplish these last six months is gone.”
Ricky smiling says “Jim, Chill dude, we have it covered. She will not leave my sight except to go to the bathroom.” Then he hollered down the hallway “Casey let’s go.”
As Casey came running out with her lipstick in her hand, she says “Coming, damn.” Then she ran out and climbed into the truck.
As they pulled up to the dance Casey looked around and then says, “You won’t embarrass me will you?”
“Well, that all depends on you lil’ sister.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean if you can act like the lady I know you can be, then I will give you a free leash, but if you act like the lil’ brat that you had been acting like, then I will cut you down quick.”
“Deal.”
As soon as they were inside Casey seen some of her friends and took off. Ricky watched as she stood talking to her friends, and laughing, he turned to see where Bobby was, and as soon as he turned his back, Casey looked at her friend and says, “Alright now give me my stuff he isn’t looking.”
“Casey you’re going to kill yourself with this shit.”
“Kelly, I hope I do.” Then she shoved it down into her pocket. Looking around Casey says, “I’ll be back I am going to go to the bathroom.” Then she walked off. Ricky and Bobby stood in the shadows and watched every move she made until she went into the bathroom.
As soon as she stepped into a stall, she reached into her pocket and pulled a vial out and pulled the lid off. Pouring the contents out onto a mirror, she sniffed the white substance into her nose. Then she redid her make-up and walked out of the bathroom.
Ricky watched as she walked out, and some guy walked up to her and talked to her then they went out on the dance floor. Ricky was talking to Bobby as he watched Casey out on the dance floor; pretty soon Ricky says, “You know we really need to teach her how to dance.”
Bobby looking over says “Yes we do, but she’s slightly busy. I am going to go see if Carla is here, if she is, well I will be with her.”
“That’s cool.” Then Ricky went back to the Shadows and continued to watch Casey.
As he watched the dance floor, he couldn’t see her anymore, then looking around he watched as the guy led Casey to the door. Walking towards them Ricky was approached by one of the trainers from the rodeo college he was at “Ricky, I would like to talk to you about your progress this last week.”
Looking at him he says “Oh, hey, Aaron. Can you hold that thought for just a minute? I need to do something, well, more like find someone.”
“Sure, who are ya lookin for?”
“It's my sister.”
“Your sister. Don’t you trust her enough to take care of herself?”
“No." noticing that Aaron was looking at him funny, Ricky says "You wouldn’t understand. She just walked out of her with one of them pussy assed roper guys.”
“She’ll be fine. Let’s go talk.”
Just then Bobby walked up and says, “Where is Casey?”
Ricky looking at him says “She just walked out of here with that guy she was dancing with and he’s one of them pussy assed ropers.”
“How long ago was that?”
“About twenty minutes ago.”
“Alright I’ll go see if I can find her.”
“Thanks, I am going to go talk with Aaron here.”
Bobby looking at Aaron says, “Oh holy shit your Aaron Shamus.”
Ricky looking at Bobby says “Bobby, Aaron, Aaron this is my brother Bobby.”
Shaking hands, Aaron says “Pleasure Bobby. I am guessing you had better go find your sister before Ricky here has a nervous breakdown.”
“I am on it.” Then Bobby turned and walked off.
As soon as Bobby was gone, Aaron says “Why are you that protective over your sister?”
“You don’t understand. We have to keep a close eye on her.”
“Is she a troublemaker?”
“No, but trouble seems to find her wherever she goes.”
“Have I met your sister?”
“Not actually met, but you have seen her.”
“I have?”
“Yeah, you know the girl I usually bring to practice with me the one who sits in the stands doing homework all the time.”
“The girl with the long ass hair?”
“Yeah you know the one Tuff was sitting and talking to.”
“Yeah I remember her. She’s so tiny and gorgeous.”
“And she’s only 12.”
“And you were letting Tuff talk to her?”
“Tuff has known her and our family since she was 5; he’s like a brother to her.”
“Well, what I have to say can wait your sister can’t there is no way in hell she can take care of herself against a roper, and we know how them damn ropers can be.”
“Exactly.” Then they headed out the door to go find Casey.
They had just got outside when Bobby came running up to Ricky and says, “I found her.”
Ricky looking at Bobby says, “But, there is a but there, I can tell.”
“But… She’s sitting in a corner in the arena curled up in a ball crying.”
“Is she strung out on that shit again?”
“I don’t know. I do know that something is not right, something has happened, and she’s scared to death.”
“So, help me God if that dickweed did anything to hurt her I’m going to kill him.” Then looking around he says, “Take me to where she is.”
As they came around to the side of the arena that she was on, Ricky could hear her crying, Jumping the fence, Ricky knelt down beside her and seen the fear in her face, reaching for her, Ricky was pissed when she crawled away from him. As she crawled away, Ricky seen the rip in her shirt and the blood running down her back, then he seen the tears in her jeans, and then he noticed she had no shoes on at all. Standing up he walked over to the fence and says “Bobby you go get the truck. Bring it over here. Aaron I need you to help me with getting her out of this arena.”
Bobby looking at Ricky says, “Is she okay?”
“No, she’s not. Just go do what I said now.” Then Bobby ran off to the truck.
Aaron looking at Ricky says “Let me go get my truck it’s just over there, see if you can get her to calm down. Then we will get her out of here.”
“Thank you.” After Aaron had walked off, Ricky turned to Casey and says “Casey its Ricky. Look at me.”
Casey putting her hands up over her face says, “Go away.” Getting next to her Ricky reached up and pulled her hands away from her face and says “Casey, it’s your brother Ricky, please look at me.”
Looking at him she says, “Ricky is it really you?”
“Yes baby girl it's me.” Then he held her tight when she threw herself into his arms. Then he felt her break down and really start to cry. Scooping her up into his arms, he carried her towards the gate about the time Aaron and Bobby both pulled up. Aaron opening the gate for Ricky watched as he carefully placed her in his truck, then he turned to Bobby and says, “Let’s get her home and cleaned up, and then we will not say anything to Jim, he’ll kill us and then he will go looking for the jerk that did this, if we can keep this under wraps until he leaves on Sunday we should be able to have this done by the time he comes home in three weeks.”
“I agree. When we get to the house I will go in first to make sure he’s in bed if he’s not I will shut the porch light off if he’s in bed I will leave it on.”
“Fair enough.” Then Ricky turned to Aaron and says, “If you want to follow us to the house you and I can sit there and talk.”
“Sounds good to me let’s just get her taken care of first.”
Pulling up into the driveway Bobby looked at Ricky and says, “I am going to hurt that sorry asshole who did this to her.”
Ricky looking back at Bobby says “You and me both brother. I am afraid that she may need stitches on one of these cuts in her back.”
“I hope not because we’ll have to tell Jim then and then we are dead meat.”
“I know.” Then looking down at Casey as she lay there asleep on the seat he says, “Why would anybody want to do this to her?”
“Who knows, but by damn they will never do it again.”
“No, they won’t.”
As soon as Bobby was in the house Ricky watched to see the porch light go out after ten minutes. Ricky got out and got Casey and carried her into the house straight to the bathroom. As soon as he got a bath ran for her, he gently undressed her, and then helped her into the bath, then he said “I am going to go toss these clothes away, burn them most likely, and I will be back to check on you. You gonna be okay?”
“Yeah I’ll be okay.”
“When I get back we’ll get you doctored up and I’ll bring you a pair of sweats and one of my shirts that you so like sleeping in.”
“Thanks.”
Kissing her forehead he says, “Anytime baby girl.” Then he walked out of the bathroom.
As him and Aaron were talking, Aaron says “Is she going to be okay?”
“She might be, I don’t honestly know, she’s really good at hiding what she really feels inside.”
“You really should take her to the hospital.”
“You don’t understand we can’t take her to the hospital. Jim our oldest brother has to go, and we can’t let him know anything because he will kill us both.”
“Ah got you there. Well, the rodeo is tomorrow, so we’ll see what we can do for the most part on our own, but I am going to let a few of the guys know, they’ll be more than willing to help.”
“Good. I am going to go check on her.”
“Ricky, I am going to head to my hotel make a few calls. I will see you tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry Aaron.”
“Don’t apologize just do what you need to do. Get her taken care of.”
“Thanks Aaron.” Then he waved as Aaron drove away.
Knocking on the bathroom door, Ricky says “Casey it’s just me.”
“Come on in.”
As he walked in, he looked at her and says, “How you holding up there trooper?”
Looking up at the ceiling she says, “I’m hanging.” Then she says, “He hurt me bad.”
“I know he did baby.”
“He told me that if I didn’t have sex with him he was going to kill me.”
“It will be taken care of later.”
“That’s when he pushed me down on the seat of the truck, I kept saying no, but he held a knife to my throat and then he cut my shirt and my jeans, he cut my boots off, and he took what he wanted.”
“Are you saying that he raped you?”
“Yes Ricky he raped me, he not only cut me up and scarred me for life, but he took something from me that I can never get back.”
“I will deal with him tomorrow. Tonight, I am going to get you fixed up and if at all possible there won’t be too much scarring.”
Standing up, she wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the bathtub and lowered her towel so Ricky could clean her cuts up and put bandages over them. As soon as he was done, Casey started to walk off when Ricky says, “Baby girl.”
“Yes Ricky?”
“Let’s not say anything to Jim. We’ll all just get up in the morning and go to the rodeo, then after Jim leaves on Sunday, then we’ll fix the problem.”
“Okay.” Then she walked out of the bathroom and into her room.