Catie sweated bullets as she waited in the hall in front of the hotel conference room for her turn to be interviewed by the three judges. Her speech had gone well, if she said so herself. Amber had already had her interview and had wished Catie luck before she left to get ready for the final presentation later, before the start of Saturday night’s rodeo festivities.
“It’s not too bad,” Amber had said. “They didn’t grill me or anything. Just lots of questions about horses and the rodeo.”
Catie had thanked Amber and given her a quick hug. Amber hadn’t had to tell Catie about the interview. After all, they were competitors. It was a nice gesture, and one Catie wouldn’t forget. She and Amber might be friends after all.
Patti Sherberg came out of the room nibbling on her lower lip.
“How’d it go, Patti?” Catie asked.
“Okay, I guess. Watch out for the oldest one. Dallas. He asks some hard questions. If you ask me, he’s taking this all much too serious.”
“What about the others?”
“They weren’t quite so bad,” Patti laughed shakily. “But I was a bundle of nerves. I felt like I was talking way too fast, not making any sense.”
“Everyone loses points for nerves.”
“You don’t. Your patterns were perfect, Catie. You’ll win for sure.”
“I don’t lose points for nerves?” Catie laughed. “Who was it that fell into the pool and lost her top Wednesday night? Now simmer down. I’m sure you did fine.”
Patti nodded and walked away, her shoulders slumping.
The door to the conference room opened, and Dallas McCray’s handsome head peeked out. “You can come in now, Catie.”
“Thank you.”
She walked in, and Dallas sat down at a table with Zach and Chad.
“Have a seat,” he said.
“Thank you.”
Geez. She’d already said that. No time to get all jumbled up now.
“It’s great to have you back in town, Catie,” Zach said. “So why don’t you tell us why you want to be the rodeo queen.”
Nothing like being put on the spot. What was her answer? Because Chad told me not to enter? She forced back a laugh. “Well, I think it’s an honor to represent one’s community in any way one can. The rodeo queen competition is a tradition here in Bakersville, and tradition means a lot to me.”
“Why is that?” Dallas asked.
I don’t know!
“Because…tradition is the backbone of any community. It’s well-documented throughout history that human society cannot function in the absence of tradition.”
“Miss Bay, one might call that an antiquated view,” Dallas said. “These days, some people claim that reason, rather than tradition, should guide humankind.”
What? Catie hoped she had clenched her jaw before it dropped open. What the heck was he talking about? This didn’t have anything to do with horses. Dallas McCray was trained as a lawyer, but didn’t, to her knowledge, practice. Where was this philosophical stuff coming from? And what the heck was she supposed to say to that?
“Just who are these people who claim that, Mr. McCray?”
“Scientists, philosophers.”
“I suppose one could argue the point,” Catie said, “but we no longer live in a primitive society that depends solely on tradition. Traditions are no longer rigid and unbending. These days, reason and experience are certainly appropriate learning tools, but we shouldn’t lose focus on tradition, either. The only way to continue to learn who we are, Mr. McCray, and where we’re going, is to understand where we’ve been.”
Dallas smiled, nodding, as he made notations on his pad of paper. “Very well said, Catie.”
Now she was Catie again?