Tuesday Tales and Snow Cones in Winter?

Ahoy Fellow Fathomers! It's time for Tuesday Tales.

A group of writers gather together and give our interpretation of a specific word prompt each week. This week we share the prompt "snow".  You never know what you might encounter when you get inside our minds.  This will be an excerpt from my brand new yet-to-be-named WIP.

Enjoy!~

Conner rubbed the stubble on his chin, and then ran his hand through his hair. There was something he wasn't telling me, and he just gave it away. "She's fine with this, really."

For as talkative as he was about everything else, he didn’t have much to say about her. Something still wasn't right, but I wasn't sure I should press them. If I pressed him, then that gave him an automatic pass to press me about difficult subjects. I wasn't quite ready to give him that much latitude. We passed by a rodeo ground, and immediately a memory came to mind. "Hey, you remember that year you wanted to become a rodeo cowboy?"

From his profile I saw the side of his mouth turned up into a smile. "I thought I was going to be famous."

"I was only interested in the snow cones and cotton candy. I liked watching it, but I wasn't as fascinated as you were."

"Mom got me a cowboy hat, a pair of cheap spurs, some boots, and a toy gun with holster. I still can't believe she let me enter that contest. Do you remember me trying mutton busting?"

"You lasted longer than I thought you would. But when you hit the ground you really did eat dirt, I could see that from the side."

"Mutton busting failure was clearly enough to discourage my further interests in me becoming a rodeo cowboy." Mutton busting was a sideshow in some rodeos. The event gave children an opportunity to ride a young sheep. Although the sheep didn’t buck, they ran like the wind when a kid was on its’ back, trying to knock the kiddo off. Organizers didn’t allow children to wear spurs, and the animals weren’t injured, just rather annoyed.

Although he was trying to hold on for dear life, that little sheep took him for spin before Conner lost his balance and fell off. Me, along with most everyone else watching, were surprised he didn't break his nose the way his face smacked the ground.

I wondered how many of these things I'd let Ryan try? I still felt like he was made of glass, so fragile he could break. I'll probably get out the safety gear soon as he could walk. "At least you tried. I'm not sure how many crazy stunts like that I’ll let Ryan do. I'd like to wrap them in bubble wrap, keep him safe forever."

"That's the new mom in you talking. I've heard other moms talk that way. It's natural. I think it was my dad more than anything that convinced my mom to let me try the little rodeo event."

"Yeah, but I'm going to be mom and dad, I think that changes things a little bit." Who was going to be that male influence in Ryan's life? I wondered about that all the time.