Free Cowgirl Crazy (#2, Cowboy Way) by Becky McGraw Page A

you’re using. Your saddle doesn’t fit just right across his
withers. I’d bet it’s pinching him. You could probably get more
speed out of him, and he’d have more flex, if you used a different
saddle.”
    Twyla was a little stunned. Her breath came
out in a whoosh, and she felt her face heat. Disappointment filled
her that she had misinterpreted his signals. She just didn’t have
the experience to read men, thanks to her brother, her father and
Ryan.
    Her shoulders slumped. “No, I haven’t tried a
different saddle. I won that saddle in the only barrel race I ever
won, and it’s my lucky saddle.”
    “ Not so lucky if you weren’t
winning,” Randy countered with a grin, putting his hands on his
trim hips. “It’s bulky, and if the damned thing doesn’t fit right
that could be why you weren’t winning. There’s nothing wrong with
your riding, that’s for sure.”
    Pleasure floated through her at his
compliment. “Thank you.”
    Twyla had always blamed her riding for the
reason why she wasn’t winning, why Tango wasn’t performing up to
his potential. This man had given her something else to think
about, and more confidence in her riding. Maybe it was her tack. It
didn’t matter though, she was never going back to the grind of the
rodeo. Back to the circus that was her life before, which included
the two clowns Zack and Ryan. But that tip might definitely help
her with the Cowboy Mounted Shooting competitions.
    It also meant more money, if she had to buy a
new saddle. Twyla couldn’t use a borrowed saddle forever, or the
guns she’d borrowed from Randy. She was going to eventually have to
figure out another way to make extra money if she wanted to do
this. Ammunition and entry fees, clothing to dress appropriately
for the events, wasn’t cheap either.
    “ Okay, let’s get started. Tango is
pretty set on being gun broken now, so it’s time for us to work on
your aim. Your run the last time we met told me we need to run the
course on foot to get you used to the positioning of the targets.
Muscle memory is going to get you where you need to be. Pulling the
hammer like it’s second nature to you. You need to get comfortable
shooting with one hand, crossing over for the targets on the left,
and knowing where they are in your mind without thinking. You need
to study those configurations for the courses I gave you and know
them like the back of your hand. You never know which one you’ll
draw at the competitions.”
    She and Randy walked to the beginning of the
course, and got into position at the start/finish line. Colored
balloons, red and blue, were already tied to the end of flexible
poles that marked her path. Randy turned in a slow circle to survey
the course, then looked down at her. “Okay we’re clear. You have
both pistols loaded?”
    Twyla nodded, but pulled out the first pistol
and checked the loads and repeated an inspection of the second
revolver. “Good to go,” she said stuffing it back into her
gunbelt.
    “ Okay then…I want you to run this
course in the way you would on your horse. Make sure you hit the
targets, Twyla. That’s your main focus. If you miss targets in a
competition, you lose points. Get used to holstering the first gun
as you turn the barrel, and pulling the second. In a level one
competition that’s not a big deal, but when you move up, if you
miss one, drop your pistol or fail to reholster properly you lose.
You have to do all those things without thinking. But the first and
foremost thing you need to remember is to break the
balloons.”
    Twyla nodded then got set. At his signal, she
took off running through the targets. She tried not to hesitate as
she took aim and nailed the first three targets perfectly. On the
fourth, her arm dropped and she missed which broke her
concentration on the fifth blue balloon. Her feet got tripped up,
so she stopped and holstered her gun, because she knew she’d just
lost if she were actually competing.
    “ Dammit,” she