Page 17 of Headstrong Cowboy (Montana’s Rodeo Cowboys #2)

T he upcoming rodeo loomed like a dark cloud on the horizon for Ryder.

The past few days, he’d been busy looking at other properties, even though he had a good idea of what location he wanted.

He’d done it so he didn’t give Lucinda any reason to ask him why, after he’d come to see her, he didn’t look at other properties.

When he’d spoken to the Realtor, she said that Eunice still hadn’t signed the official listing agreement, even though she’d verbally agreed to put the farm up for sale.

Until she did, the place wasn’t legally on the market.

Had Chrissy found out about the sale and had talked her mom out of it?

It wasn’t as if he could ask Chrissy. He wasn’t supposed to know the property was going to be available.

Their conversations since the night of their dinner had been over the phone or by text and had been about general things, mixed in with a heavy dose of flirting.

She’d gotten busy with the farm and other stuff, which he assumed meant she was practicing for her event more.

He’d been preoccupied with his faux property search and whether he was going to stay in town or go elsewhere while the rodeo was on.

He knew why he hadn’t decided what he was going to do, and it was all because of a certain woman with caramel-colored hair and chocolate-brown eyes.

She was never far from his mind and the thought of being more than a short drive away from her didn’t sit well with him, if the need to see her grew too strong.

So far, with effort, he’d been able to control himself but an hour from now might be a different story.

Ryder sighed and gazed out his hotel window. The sidewalks were busier as more and more people arrived for the rodeo. The competitors would be arriving in the next twenty-four hours and the atmosphere in the town would be electric.

For the first time since he’d been told that he wouldn’t be able to ride a bull again, Ryder wanted to do it.

He wanted to forget what the doctors said about the muscle loss he’d suffered.

And the pain he still experienced when he climbed up on the back of his horse.

He wanted to wind that rope around his wrapped hand, put his helmet on, and wait for the familiar sound of the gates opening, the crowd screaming, and his heartbeat in his ears as the bull took that first bucking leap.

As much as he wanted it, he wouldn’t do it. He’d taken risks his whole career, but this one was too big to take a chance on. He could get hurt again, or worse killed, and he had someone in his life. He wanted a future with Chrissy and giving into the urge would put that in jeopardy.

It would be better for him mentally if he got in his car and drove to Bozeman. Got lost in the city for a few days and then came back when it was all over. When the dust had settled in the fairgrounds and all signs of the rodeo had disappeared from the windows.

But then, you wouldn’t see Chrissy race. Wouldn’t be able to tempt her to join you at the barbecue and then hold her when a slow song came over the loudspeakers after dinner.

This was what he was fighting against, the desire to do all of that, but most especially, dance with Chrissy.

He’d seen the deep desire in her eyes when they’d had dinner.

Had known she’d wanted him to invite her up to his room.

But he’d held himself back, remembering his earlier thoughts that he didn’t want to rush her into bed.

That he wanted to get to know her better because she was special. Had he missed his chance, though?

No, he didn’t think so. At least he hoped he hadn’t.

Ryder clenched his hand, held it for a moment before releasing it, as if he could get rid of all his indecision in that one moment.

It didn’t work. It still lingered.

He needed to see her. Needed to touch her and maybe, if he did, he could make a decision. If he left, surely she would understand his reasons.

Before he could move away from the window, his cell rang. The desire to talk to someone wasn’t high on his list of things to do, but it could be Lucinda with news about the Bloom property. Or it could be Chrissy herself and he didn’t want to miss speaking to her.

He strode over to where his phone rested on the squat wooden coffee table, wincing as his thigh protested the sudden movement. His heart skipped a beat when he saw it was Chrissy calling him.

“Hey, I was just thinking about coming to see you,” he said in greeting, unashamed of sharing that bit of information with her.

“Is that why my ears were burning?”

Ryder laughed. “I think that only occurs if someone is talking about you without your knowledge.”

“Ah, I see. Is everything okay? You sound a little, I don’t know, off.”

How on earth had she been able to know he was feeling out of sorts?

More to the point, how could she pick that up in less than thirty seconds of conversation?

It didn’t matter how she did it. He was going to take the opening she’d given him.

“I was tossing around the idea of leaving town for a couple of days, just until after the rodeo.”

Silence met his declaration. He knew exactly why Chrissy wasn’t saying anything—she was disappointed he wasn’t going to be there to see her race. Which was one of the reasons why he hadn’t already left.

“If you need to do that, I understand. I won’t lie and say it makes me happy. I wanted to share all the fun things that come with the rodeo with you, but I get it. I do. Rodeo was your life and not being able to compete has to be hard.”

Ryder blew out a breath. He didn’t want to have this conversation over the phone. He wanted to have it face-to-face. He also wanted to hold her. Kiss her again. He needed her. “Are you free to meet up?”

Her sigh said so much. “There’s stuff happening at the farm. I can’t leave right now. But I want to see you too,” she finished softly.

God, he wanted to see her. Wanted to take away some of her stress, even if in the end he would cause her more.

He couldn’t leave. Couldn’t walk away. He had his answer—he’d be staying in town for the rodeo.

No matter how hard it was going to be. He was willing to deal with that hardship if he it meant he could be with Chrissy for a little while longer.

“How about I come out there? Even if you can only spare me ten minutes, then I’ll take that.”

“I’d like that. A lot.” Her relief was palpable, and he wanted to question her further about what was going on but didn’t. He’d find out when he got there.

“Great. I’ll see you in about forty minutes.” He would stop off at Sage’s shop and pick up some chocolates. No matter how bad things were, chocolate always had a way of making things better.

“Drive carefully.”

“Always.” He disconnected the call and grabbed his cowboy hat, a spring in his step that he hadn’t thought he’d feel fifteen minutes ago. Chrissy had the ability to make him feel better in a way that should worry him, but didn’t. He welcomed it.

*

Ryder pulled into the Bloom farm and parked next to two white vans displaying the name of a plumbing and irrigation repair service.

That was the problem Chrissy was talking about.

It had nothing to do with a potential sale.

He allowed himself a momentary second of relief that there was still a chance he could get the property before tamping it way down.

Somehow, the urgency to connect to his family’s history was waning every day, the silent promise he’d made to his mother, a mother he couldn’t remember all that well, not seeming as urgent as it had been when he’d first arrived in Marietta.

Because something more important— someone more important—was becoming the focus of his life.

And whatever this disaster was. Whatever she needed, he’d help her through it.

Two repair vans indicated that something was seriously wrong. The last thing Chrissy needed was to be stressed about something like this a few days out from a big competition—the first one she’d entered in a long while.

Collecting up the Copper Mountain Chocolate Shop bag, he opened the door and stepped out.

The sun was surprisingly warm for September, and he savored it, knowing that he could be experiencing his first Montana winter soon and it was going to be completely different from the winters he’d spent in Texas.

He ate up the distance between his car and the workshop in double quick time.

The second he pulled opened the door, he could see the problem—a layer of water on the floor about an inch deep.

While he logically knew that water would be supplied to this building, considering he’d filled up hundreds of little tubes for flowers to go into, he was still surprised to see the clear liquid everywhere.

Chrissy was talking to a man, her hands waving in the air erratically as if she was trying to argue a point.

He wanted to stride over there and tell the guy who she was talking to, to listen to her, but he didn’t.

Doing that might undermine her ability to deal with the issue, and the way the guy was looking at Chrissy, it was exactly what would happen.

The man either wasn’t listening, or he didn’t believe what Chrissy was trying to explain to him.

Which was ridiculous, considering the evidence was all around them that something major had happened.

“Why do all repairmen think because we’re women, we don’t know what we’re talking about?”

Ryder whirled around, ignoring the squeeze of pain the action caused.

Standing before him was a woman he’d not seen before, but he could tell she was a Bloom sister.

Her resemblance to Chrissy was in her pert little nose and her mouth stretched into a grimace he’d seen on Chrissy’s face once or twice before. “You must be Tilly.”

A ghost of a smile hovered, but the worry was evident in her eyes. “That’s me. How did you know?”