Page 19 of Headstrong Cowboy (Montana’s Rodeo Cowboys #2)

C hrissy’s back ached from sweeping the water out of both the workshop and the greenhouse. Sunny and Tilly had managed to get the flowers into one of the other greenhouses. It was cramped and wasn’t ideal, but it would work for at least a week.

This disaster was the last thing Chrissy needed when she was going to be competing in two days.

That was what she’d been arguing with Len Winchester, the repairman, about.

The town basically shut down because of the rodeo, and she understood why.

The Copper Mountain Rodeo was the biggest event on the town’s calendar.

Businesses everywhere reaped the benefits of cowboys, cowgirls, and tourists spending the week in Marietta.

No doubt Len wanted to enjoy the festivities and not spend days fixing an irrigation system and water pipes that should’ve been fixed a year ago.

The expense wasn’t what they needed and added pressure to Chrissy to win her event. First she had to get through qualifying and the way her mind was whirling with all she had to do, that wasn’t a guarantee.

As much as it pained her, she was going to have to take the hit from withdrawing Beau’s money. She needed it and, while it might not be the whole amount, half was better than nothing.

But it still wasn’t enough. Her grasp on keeping the farm in the family was slipping through her fingers with every passing day.

The bank hadn’t gotten back to her. When she’d last phoned, they’d told her they were still considering the loan application.

Even with having Sunny’s and Tilly’s names on the loan, knowing that they could contribute to the repayments, she was still worried the bank would reject it.

If she didn’t win on the weekend, and the bank knocked them back, then the dream was gone.

The farm would have to be sold and the beautiful flowers they grew would wither along with the legacy her father had often talked about.

“I’ve finished in the greenhouse. Where’s Ryder?” Sunny asked as she entered the workshop.

“He’s gone back to town to pick up some dinner for us.

I know neither one of us will feel like cooking, and I don’t want Mom to cook either.

” Her mom was another thing she was worried about.

After she’d come out and seen what had happened, she’d shaken her head and headed back to the house, plonking herself down in front of the television, watching the Lifestyle channel nonstop.

The one time Chrissy had looked in, her mom had a picture of her and Dad on their wedding day in her hand, and she was weeping silently.

She hadn’t had the heart to interrupt the private grieving moment, even though she’d wanted to.

Again, she had the thought that maybe selling was the right decision. Why was she fighting so hard for something that was only going to continue to cause them so much stress? “Is it worth it?” she asked Sunny.

“On days like today, no, but other days...” Her sister shrugged, her own face showing the misery of what selling would mean to her. Chrissy may have not said the words, but Sunny had picked up on the real unspoken question.

Chrissy returned her attention to the sweeping.

All they needed to do was get through the next few months, and then things would be better.

Spring would arrive, which heralded new growth and new opportunities.

There was still more they could do, Chrissy was sure of it.

If the three of them could convince their mom to hold off from selling, then anything was possible.

But did she have the energy? That was the biggest question. She was burning herself out, trying to do her contracted accounting work, as well as help at the farm and wade through the financial mess her father had left behind.

Some days, she was drowning, and other days, she was cutting through the waves like a pro surfer. Sunny was working hard, too, to try to keep on top of the day-to-day running of the farm.

“If it’s too much, Chrissy, it’s okay to let go. I don’t want this to be a burden for you. You didn’t come back to shoulder all of this.”

She looked up at Sunny. Her sweet, flower-loving sister would wilt like a bloom without water if she couldn’t have her hands in soil.

Of course, Sunny could get a job working with plants, but it wouldn’t be the same—Chrissy knew that.

There was a certain freedom working for oneself than working for someone else.

She was finding that out by being in charge of the contracts she took on and those she rejected, which weren’t many.

Sunny wanted the freedom to plant what she wanted.

Work on her cross-pollination projects to come up with a unique bloom and scent that no one else had.

If she did that for someone else, she wouldn’t own it.

It would more than likely be owned by the people she worked for.

She’d get credit, but it wouldn’t be the same as being in charge of the new flower’s future.

“I’m not alone, Sunshine. You’re with me.

Tilly, as flighty as she can be, proved today that when we need her, she would drop everything for us.

” Chrissy rested the broom against the workbench and closed the distance between her and Sunny.

“We’re the Bloom sisters. We stick together.

It’s like back in elementary school—you go after one Bloom, you end up with all the Blooms after you. ”

A smile tugged at the corners of Sunny’s mouth. “Yeah, Billy Patterson found that out when he pulled Tilly’s pigtails right in front of you.”

Chrissy laughed at the memory. “Classic boy-crush move, but that didn’t mean I was going to allow him to get away with it.”

“I know you said you wouldn’t take the money I’ve saved up, but after this—” Sunny waved her arm around the room. “We need it. We’ll use my money to pay for the repairs. I should’ve insisted Dad get it fixed last year.”

Pride almost had Chrissy knocking her sister’s offer back, but the sensible accounting part of her reminded her that every cent counted. “Thank you, Sunny. That will be a big help.”

Sunny’s eyes widened. “What... you’re going to take it? Without arguing with me?”

Chrissy laughed. “Yes, I am. My words about all of us pulling together would be hollow if I didn’t accept your offer.”

“Finally! Maybe you can tell me just how bad things are, because I’m sure what you told me is only the tip of the iceberg.”

Sunny may be happy digging in the dirt and snipping flowers, but she was observant. She had to be to be able to do what she did when grafting flowers. Her saying that Chrissy had been keeping things from her was the truth. “Come on. Let me show you everything.”

“What about me?”

Chrissy turned and found Tilly standing in the doorway. “Of course, I just...” She shrugged. “I feel I need to protect you because you’re the baby, but you’re a grown woman now, and it’s wrong for me to do that.”

“I get it. I know I’m not the most reliable, but I don’t want to be left out.”

“I’m sorry for making you feel that way, Tilly-Pilly.”

Tilly smiled at Chrissy’s silly nickname for her.

“You feel responsible for all of us and need to bear the brunt of it all.” Tilly smiled softly at her.

“But you don’t have to take it on by yourself.

Even if we get the loan and you win on the weekend, Mom’s still going to do what she wants to do, and if that means selling, then that’s what we have to accept.

I know I’m not involved as much as I should be, but I don’t want to lose what ties us to Marietta.

If Dad were here, you know that selling would be a last resort for him. ”

“When did you become so wise?” Chrissy asked Tilly.

Tilly shrugged. “It’s not wisdom. It’s just acceptance.”

“She’s right, Chrissy.” Sunny came up to her. “We’re in this together and we’ll face whatever happens together.”

A second later, Chrissy was engulfed by her two sisters, and she returned their hugs tightly.

They were right. Even though she felt she needed to, she didn’t have to shoulder it all by herself.

It still didn’t ease the guilt that if she’d returned her father’s calls, things might have been different, but she had to let that go and focus on clearing up this mess and then look to the weekend.

Together, they made their way to the office, where Chrissy spread the books out and explained everything that she’d found to her sisters.

Fortunately, even with his limited accounting skills, their father had filed the taxes correctly, so they didn’t have an issue with that.

As for where he’d been getting the extra funds to cover things, Chrissy had discovered that only a few months before his death, he’d quietly sold a parcel of land he’d inherited from an uncle they’d never met and hadn’t even known existed.

“Do you think Mom knows about Uncle Albert?” Sunny asked when she’d finished.

“I don’t know. We’ve always thought Mom and Dad shared everything with each other, but Mom said Dad didn’t want to burden her with the financial side of the farm, and he handled all the bills, etc.

, so it’s likely he didn’t tell her. He hadn’t had the land for long before he was forced to sell it, so maybe that’s why he didn’t tell Mom. ”

Chrissy had only found the information about the sale by chance when she’d pulled open the desk drawer so hard it had come out, and all the contents had fallen to the floor.

She’d been meaning to go through it and because of what she’d done, she’d looked at it as a sign that the time to sort through it all had come.

Maybe her dad had been guiding her from afar so that she would find it and have at least one mystery solved.

“I need to tell you something,” Sunny said, biting her bottom lip.

Dread pooled low in Chrissy’s stomach and she braced herself for another hit to the gut. “What?”

“You know what Tilly said about accepting that, no matter what we do, Mom might sell, anyway?”

Chrissy nodded and Tilly did the same.

“I know why Mom’s been avoiding us, our questions, and being so secretive about the farm. I found some papers authorizing the listing of the property, and they were signed.”

Chrissy had known it was coming. “I know.”

“What? You knew about the papers?” Tilly questioned.

“Not the papers, but that she was thinking of selling. She talked about it a few weeks ago. When she hadn’t mentioned it again, I thought she’d changed her mind and believed in us to turn things around.”

“If Sunny saw the papers lying around, maybe Mom has changed her mind,” Tilly suggested, a hopeful tone in her voice.

“Or she just hasn’t had a chance to go to town, but after today, all it’s going to take is one phone call to the agent to come and collect them.

Then it’s going to be too late. The place is going to be sold.

” A look of horror flashed across Sunny’s face and, once again, Chrissy braced herself for bad news.

“Didn’t you say Ryder is looking for a property?

What if he’s only being nice to you because he heard about the possible sale and is really here, checking it out? ”

The bottom fell out of her stomach. “No, he wouldn’t do that. Would he?”

Sunny shrugged. “I don’t know, but you know he turned up here unexpectedly and you showed him around.”

Chrissy thought back to that day and how Ryder had surprised her, but it was after she’d met him at Riley’s place and there was no way anyone other than the real estate agent would know that Mom was thinking about selling.

Would Lucinda have said anything to Ryder before she had it in writing?

It was possible that she may have said a property was coming up soon and gave Ryder their address for him to look at. Was that even ethical? She didn’t know. But the big question was, when did that phone call happen? Before or after Ryder had visited that first time?

So much had happened over the last few weeks that everything was a blur. Her mind was full of the farm stuff as well as getting ready for the rodeo. Her recollection of the timing of the events could be skewed.

The crunch of gravel had her turning around, fully expecting to see the sleek silver SUV owned by Marietta’s real estate agent, Lucinda, but instead it was Ryder’s big black truck.

Would she ask him if he was interested in their property? Or was it something she didn’t have the time or energy to think about right now? It could wait a few days, couldn’t it? Until after the rodeo?

Like she had done when the signs she’d married Beau for the wrong reasons, Chrissy pushed her doubts down and greeted Ryder with a smile, hoping against hope that he wasn’t using her and he wanted to be here because she was here.