Chapter 113

Jodi and Matt walked into the rodeo arena with Meggie and Katie. They found Tess, Grace, Regan, and Dylan already seated with a whole row saved in front of them.

"Hey guys, did you have fun at the fair today?" Jodi asked.

"I had a blast. I couldn't have asked for a better group." Tess responded. "I got to catch up with my cousins." Tess gave Grace an encouraging pat on the leg.

"I had a great time. I got to escort three beautiful women around the fair." said Dylan.

Regan laughed and rolled her eyes at her husband. "We let him hang out with us."

"Hey Guys!" Meg and Terry walked over and took a seat. Meg was wearing a second place ribbon.

"Second Place! Well done Meg!" acknowledged Matt.

"Congratulations Mom!"

"Doris Sandstrom beat me with her apple pie. What were the judges thinking? Apple pie? This isn't America."

"So no hard feelings then, Meg?" joked Tess.

"Hi Mom, I told you I would be here for Xander, and I am." Claire walked in with two other teenage girls."I'm going to sit over there."

"Hi honey. Have fun." said Tess.

"Hello all!" Kate and Russell walked in. Kate was eating a big batch of cotton candy, and carrying a stuffed Ironman doll.

"And now Kate's got two Ironmen." Matt joked and winked at Kate.

"My Ironman won me this Ironman doll shooting basketball. It was truly impressive!"

"I got lucky." explained Russell.

"Hey guys, I'm glad you're all here! Xander is riding third in his age group." Stevie said as she joined her group. "They are just finishing up barrel racing. I think there is only one rider left."

"Our final competitor in the junior level barrel riding competition is fifteen year old Emma Cosak." blared over the loudspeaker.

A blonde woman and a brunette man across the ring began ringing a cowbell and cheering extremely loudly.

"I bet we can all tell whose Mom and Dad they are," joked Jodi, "but we'll be louder than that for our boy."

Emma actually had a great run, and won the junior district championship and a spot in the state championships for Barrel Racing.

"Now it's time to get serious," said Tess as she took out the banner she had painted and had everyone hold it across their laps.

The first rider went and did a great job, he would be one to beat. The second rider did well, but not as well as the first rider. Now it was Xander's turn.

"Our next competitor is thirteen year old Xander Ryan from Gungellan."

Their whole group erupted with cheering. They stood up and waved the homemade banner, so everyone in the stands knew who they were supporting.

Stevie was biting her nails. She almost couldn't watch, but she did, of course.

Xander performed wonderfully. He executed his riding and his roping flawlessly. He finished several points above all of the previous riders.

"Oh that's a relief, I'm just so happy he did his best. If he doesn't make it with that run, that's okay because he executed everything he has been working so hard on. I'm very proud of him. I'm going to go see him and help him with Rufus."

"Grace. Hi." Dan said as he approached the group.

"Father Dan. Hi, I didn't expect to see you here." Grace was startled at seeing him.

"Could I have a word?" Dan asked.

"Um sure." said Grace as she stood up and left the group with Dan.

The fourth rider performed well, but was below Xander in the standings. There were only two riders left. The top two finishers got a spot in the state championships, so as long as one of them did worse than Xander, he would be in.

"Our next competitor is thirteen year old Danny Cosak," came over the loudspeaker.

The blonde woman and brunette man began cheering loudly again.

"I guess Emma has got a brother Danny." joked Jodi "Wait a second, Danny and Emma? Tess, look at the cheering blonde woman. look who it is."

Tess looked over. "No Way!"

"Becky!" They both yelled. Terry and Meg looked over at the woman.

"I think you're right," proclaimed Meg.

Unfortunately for Xander, Danny proved to be a great rider and placed one point ahead of him in the standings. It would all come down to the final rider.

Jodi stood up. "I'm going to go talk to her, do you want to come, Tess?

"Yeah, since she left Drovers like eighteen years ago, we never heard from her again. I wanted to invite her to Charlotte's party. I was trying to reunite all of the women who called Drovers home. She's still one of us." said Tess

Tess and Jodi ran off to the other side of the ring.

"So Father Dan, how have you been?" asked Grace.

"Um, well, it's just Dan these days. I left the church a few years ago," he confessed.

"You did? Why?" Grace was suddenly feeling guilty.

"Relax Grace, I know you're married these days, and I left for many reasons. You don't need to worry or feel guilty about my reasons for leaving. I feel confident I made the right decision though. I ran into Kate at the fair and she said you were here. I just wanted to see you, to see how you were doing. you know, say hello, for old times sake."

"Actually Dan, my marriage is ending. I'm separated and have filed for divorce."

"Really? You're not married anymore?" confirmed Dan, not believing that Grace might actually be single, and that he might have a chance with her again.

"Well I haven't told most of my friends yet. It's all very, very recent, and legally, I am still married until the divorce is finalized in court. It's not been an easy thing to go through."

"But you're not with him anymore, Your relationship is over. You don't love him?" asked Dan.

"Well, no, I don't love him anymore, and the relationship is definitely over," said Grace.

"Grace, I've dated other women since I left the church, but I've never forgotten about you. I know you probably haven't thought about me in a long time, but I've thought about you a lot since I left Gungellan that day. Grace, seeing you today, you're just so beautiful. It brings back all of the feelings I had thirteen years ago. I chose the church over you then, but not this time. I'm free of that burden now. Grace, do you think there is any chance we could ever be together?" asked Dan.

Grace didn't know what to do. "Dan, you're right, I haven't thought about you in a long time. I was attracted to you thirteen years ago, I might even have started to love you then, but I realized it wasn't possible for us to have a future, so I made myself move on. It hurt that you didn't choose me then, but I understood and I respected your choice. You were a priest. There was no way it could happen. I don't know if there is a chance of us having anything now. It's been thirteen years. My life is very different now. I was still married until a month ago. I don't think I'm in a position to be with anyone right now. My life is a total mess. I can't be in a new relationship right now, I'm still ending one," said Grace.

"I'll give you time. I just need to know if there is a chance in the future for us. Grace, I think I still love you," said Dan.

"I can't do this now, Dan. I don't know what to say to you. I can't give you an answer. I wasn't expecting any of this. I'm still grieving the loss of my marriage, the betrayal of my vows. I'm still trying to figure out where I'm going to live, and how to move on with my life. Every aspect of my life is up in the air right now. I'm not sure I can ever love anyone again. I'm sorry Dan."

"Okay. I understand. I'm sorry for the outburst. It was not my intention to confess my love for you today. I do still love you though, I'm certain of that after seeing you today, and if you think you could grow to love me someday, when you're ready, just please, call me. I'm free from my obligations to the church and can live my life as I choose now. I'll choose you, Grace. I regret not choosing you the first time. I'm sorry you're hurting from your divorce. Please take my number, I won't bother you again. You can call me if you choose to. Goodbye Grace." Dan handed her a business card and walked away.

Grace was stunned at the encounter she had just had with Dan. She returned to the group and sat next to Regan as the final rodeo competitor began.

"Regan, I need to talk to you privately later," said Grace. Her head was spinning.

"Sure, what did the priest want?" asked Regan.

"Our final competitor of the afternoon is fourteen year old Reed Heather," blared over the loud speaker.

Reed had a very strong run and it would come down to the scoring to see where Xander finished.

Stevie was holding her breath when the scores were announced. Reed Heather placed third, right behind Xander. Xander had secured a place at the State Championship!

"Xander You've done it! You're going to states! Congratulations honey! I'm so proud of you." Stevie gave Xander a big hug.

"Man, I knew that Danny Cosak was good. We saw him out in Renmark. I wish he'd beat me that time and I won it this time. We're so close, and he's the same age as me. I guess I have a new rival," said Xander.

"Honey, you qualified for states, aren't you happy? You had a great ride!" Stevie was still hugging him.

"I'm a little disappointed. I wanted to win, but yeah, maybe I'll get him at states. I'll have to deal with Joey Lawlor there too. This isn't going to be easy. I better start working harder."

"Xander, I seem to be more excited than you do about States." She was still hugging him.

"Mom, I"m really excited! But I have to go do the winners' photo, can you let go of me?" requested Xander.

"Oh right, sorry." Stevie gave her son a kiss on the cheek and released him.

She pulled out her phone and sent a text. "Cya at states!" to James. Then she followed Xander over to the officials table for him to receive his second place ribbon and take a photo with Danny Cosak as the two district qualifiers for the State Championship.

Jodi and Tess got over to where Becky was seated, but she was gone. Bewildered, they started to walk back when they saw Stevie and Xander and they decided to congratulate him on his great ride. As they got over there, they saw Xander posing with Danny, and Becky, taking a photo of the two boys with their ribbons.

"Becky Howard!" shouted Jodi.

"I haven't gone by that name in a long time," Becky said as she turned around surprised. "Well I'll be. Tess Silverman McLeod and Jodi Fountain!" What are you doing here?"

"Well I'm pretty sure your son just beat my nephew for the district championship," Tess said. And I dropped the Silverman, It's just Tess McLeod these days."

"I haven't gone by Jodi Fountain in a very long time either. I found out that Jack was my father, and that Tess is my sister," Jodi said as she put her arm around Tess."It's Jodi McLeod-Bosnich now.

"Xander Ryan? Alex's son? Your nephew? Is this Claire's son? So she finally did marry Alex! Is she here?"

"Um, we thought you knew. We sent a notice to the address we had for you. Claire passed away eighteen years ago, shortly after you left, right before Alex was going to propose to her." explained Tess.

"Oh, I had no idea, I'm so sorry to hear that. Wait, if this isn't Claire's son, you must have finally figured it out with Nick! I always wondered how long it would take the two of you to figure out you were meant to be together. Is he here?" asked Becky.

"I was married to Nick for a while, but we're divorced now. He lives in Argentina. This is Stevie Hall-Ryan. She married Alex, and Xander is her son," said Tess.

"Nice to meet you Stevie. Wow, I haven't seen Alex in ages, is he here?" Becky asked.

"Um, Alex passed away shortly before Xander was born," Stevie corrected.

"Stevie became overseer of Drovers Run after Claire passed away and you left." explained Jodi.

"Wow, I guess a lot can happen in eighteen years." admitted Becky, saddened to hear about Claire's and Alex's deaths.

"Becky, if you're free tomorrow, we are having a party for Charlotte's eighteenth birthday. You remember Charlotte right? Claire's daughter? It's a reunion of sorts, with all the women who have made Drovers Run their home in the past twenty years. Charlotte is being given the share of the property that was Claire's, and we are inviting her to be one of us, a woman of Drovers Run. Every other woman who has made Drovers Run their home in the last twenty years will be there. You were the only one I couldn't locate. It would be absolutely wonderful if you came," Tess offered.

"Let me check with my husband." she said as Becky turned around and tapped a man on the shoulder. He turned around.. "Jake, we have just been invited to a Drovers Run Reunion tomorrow. What do you think?"

"I think it means we will have an awful lot of catching up to do," He replied with a smile.

"Jake Harrison! You stayed with Jake! That's wonderful!" Jodi exclaimed.

"I haven't been called that name in a long time. I don't go by Harrison anymore. It's Jake Cosak." He said with a smile.

"We actually have to get going, but let's exchange numbers. We obviously have a lot to catch up on," Becky said, pulling out her phone.

"Well, I guess you just never know whom you might run into at the rodeo." Jodi said, smiling.

"I can't believe we ran into Becky the day before Charlotte's party. That's got to be a sign of something."

"But who knows of what?" countered Jodi.

"I reckon it's a sign that Claire was watching over us, helping us with Charlotte's party." Tess answered.

"I'll take that," smiled Jodi.

"C'mon Xander, let's go celebrate with your cheering section!" Stevie said.

Stevie led her son with Tess and Jodi back to the stands where the rest of the family was waving the sign and cheered as soon as they saw him.

Stevie felt her phone buzz with a text.

"Congratulations to Xander! He is a great rider and deserves it." James had written. Then a second text came through "I hope this means you'll let me take you out again while we're both at states." Stevie smiled when she saw that.