My husband can tell you, I’m not a very impulsive person. He
is. Sometimes it drives me crazy when he wants to make plans at the last
minute. But sometimes it turns out really good. Like the last-minute trip to
New York City we took once several years ago when his family lived on the East
Coast. We got to see a Broadway play (matinee) and visit some of the touristy
places and had a great time.
Probably the craziest thing he’s ever talked me in to on an
impulse was driving to Topeka, Kansas, when we were still newlyweds. We went
because he had a hankering for a certain Mexican restaurant there. We took a
couple of friends on our road trip and made a round-trip all in one day.
So… not very crazy, even at my most impulsive.
But the heroine in my newest book, THE HOMESTEADER’SSWEETHEART… well, she’s a different story. Her name is Penny Castlerock, and
her impulsiveness tends to get her in trouble, even though she tries to behave
because her father is a big-time banker and on the town council.
But the craziest thing she does is get on the back of a
bucking bronco in a cowboy exhibition (that’s what rodeos were called back
before they were called “rodeos”). And she does it for love. Here’s a short
excerpt of part of her adventure:
She shouldn't be doing
this.
Of all the things
Penny had ever regretted because of her impulsiveness, this decision topped the
list.
She couldn't stop
shaking as she waited outside the arena, Oscar at her side. She kept her head
down, hoping no one could tell there was a woman hiding under Edgar's shirt and
trousers. She'd tucked her braid up into the hat, praying it wouldn't be
knocked off during her ride.
She felt sick.
For Breanna, she
reminded herself silently.
Oscar's turn came and
he left her with a final squeeze of her hand. She focused on her boots, unable
to watch him ride the bucking horse while knowing she would be next.
The crowd went wild
during Oscar's ride, cheering and clapping. Perhaps he'd done well and she
didn't have to ride, after all—
And then a shove to
the middle of her back sent her reeling up to the prep stall and she was being
boosted onto the back of a sweating, snorting animal.
"I can't—"
She started to gasp, but a grinning, snaggle-toothed cowboy slapped her on the
shoulder.
"Have fun,
young'un."
"But—"
 |
| Photo courtesy of www.sxc.hu |
She swallowed her
words as the gate swung open.
For Jonas.
Penny forgot about
showmanship and everything else as she clung to the animal's back. The bronco
bucked and see-sawed, whirled and wheeled. She thought once that all four of
its feet left the ground.
All she could think
about was those feet landing on her if she fell off.
I’d love to know, what is the craziest or most impulsive thing
you’ve ever done?
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