Page 30 of Headstrong Cowboy (Montana’s Rodeo Cowboys #2)

I t had been two days since the world had collapsed around Chrissy. Her desire to get out of bed was nonexistent and if she knew she didn’t have to help Sunny with a big flower order, she would’ve stayed under the covers in her room in the basement.

“Has Mom said anything about what she’s going to do now?” Sunny asked as she carefully placed the bucket full of flowers into the holder they used to transport them to Sweet Pea Flowers.

“No. I presented the plan I’ve got, and with the winnings and the money you and Tulip are going to put in, it will give us six months to try and get the farm more profitable.

There’s also the loan, which I should hear something about soon.

That will give us a further three months.

I know we’re heading into winter and the demand for flowers drops.

But I did receive an email from the hotel in Bozeman, saying they wanted to give us a three-month trial of providing flowers for their in-house florist to create displays for their foyer and for some events. ”

“What?” Sunny screeched. “When did that happen?”

It had been the only bright spark of the day for Chrissy—seeing that email come in when she’d arrived to help Sunny. “About an hour ago.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me the second you walked in? Why not?” she demanded.

Chrissy shrugged. “You looked in the zone of getting the flowers ready. I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“Whatever. This is great news, Chrissy, but—” Sunny chewed her bottom lip. “Are we going to have enough stock to be able to supply them?”

“How many times have you had to cut the flowers and dump them because we’ve produced a bit too much over winter and have no one to supply them to because fresh flowers are usually the last thing most people want, especially over the holiday season?” Chrissy questioned.

“A few, but it’s not as many as you might think.”

“But don’t you say that cutting encourages growth or something like that?”

“I did, and it can, but—” Sunny looked determined and Chrissy loved seeing that spark in her eyes.

“We’ll make it happen, and we’ll both convince Mom that selling isn’t an option.

No matter what we have to do to get her out of the listing agreement, we’ll do it.

Hopefully, there won’t be any penalties.

And if there are, we’ll deal with that as well.

Together, because the Bloom family sticks together. ”

Chrissy clapped, loving Sunny’s impassioned speech. “Damn right we do. Now we need to get this loaded into the car so you can deliver them to Sweet Pea’s.”

“Um, why am I delivering? Why aren’t you? I’ve got flowers to tend to if we’re going to fulfill this contract.”

“Because you always do the deliveries, even when you’re super busy. And I’m not sure you should trust me. I go fast around corners.” She winked. She wasn’t a fast driver, but still, she didn’t want to be responsible for transporting the flowers.

“Fine. But you’re going to have to do it sometime, especially with this new contract we’ve got.

” Sunny chewed her bottom lip for a couple of seconds and then released it.

“Do you think this will convince Mom that we can really handle running the business? I think that’s the main reason she wants to sell. She saw the stress it put Dad under.”

Chrissy hadn’t considered that angle and now that Sunny had mentioned it, she could see their mother thinking along those lines. “Maybe. I mean, with what we’ve already told her, I think she was wavering a little, but this might be enough for her to change her mind.”

“It could be enough.”

Chrissy looked up and found their mom standing in the doorway. “How long have you been there?”

“For a little bit. Congratulations on the hotel opportunity. If anyone can make it happen, it’s my girls.

” Eunice walked further into the workshop, her hand brushing across the top of the worktable.

“When we first got married, your father and I spent a lot of time in here. I would water the plants while your dad would hum as he planted the flowers. He would talk about all he wanted to do, and I told him we’d do it together.

And we did, and then you girls came, and my time was focused on you all.

I loved everything about being a mom and helping you girls, more than I loved working with flowers.

Your father didn’t mind, but it was a lot of work for him, even with the occasional worker he got in to help. ”

Chrissy moved closer to her mom, not sure what to say but also knowing her mom wanted to say more. She took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze, and her mom squeezed it back.

“Sunshine is right. I didn’t want to burden you girls with needing to fix the problems your father created, but maybe that was a disservice to all of you.

There’s three of you, instead of one. Tilly may not be hands-on, but you both know if you need her, she’s there to help.

Maybe you should call on her more.” Her pointed look was telling, and she was right.

Both she and Sunny didn’t call on Tilly as much as they should.

“It won’t be too much for us, Mom. I promise,” Sunny pleaded. “We’ve got the best part of Dad in all of us. I love being around the plants, and I don’t want you to sell. I don’t know what I’d do.” Her voice hitched at the end, and Chrissy reached over and placed her free hand on Sunny’s shoulder.

“I can do the books,” Chrissy added. “I’m more than qualified. I know how to make sure we make the most of the money coming in and what goes out. Please, Mom, believe in us. Give us a chance to prove that we can make this work.”

“And I want to help too.”

Chrissy froze as another voice joined the conversation.

A voice that still had the ability to set her body alight, even though she didn’t want it to.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as Ryder stood in the doorway, just like their mom had only moments ago.

“What is it with people sneaking up on us?” she muttered under her breath.

“I want to talk to you. Will you give me the chance to explain?”

Indecision warred inside of her. She wanted to hear what he had to say, but she also didn’t. What if he said he was using her?

If he was using you, he wouldn’t be here. Give him a chance.

How could she fault the logic of her inner thought? There’s no way someone would want to explain their motives if they weren’t honest and genuine.

“Let him talk, honey. You’ve been a miserable sack the last two days,” her mom commented.

Mortification swept through her. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Come on, Sunshine. I’ll help you deliver these flowers.” Mom went up on tiptoe and whispered in Chrissy’s ear. “People do things for a reason. It may not make sense to us, but it’s important to them. Keep an open mind.”

Chrissy didn’t say anything, but watched as her mom and sister gathered up the flowers and walked out of the greenhouse, leaving her all alone with Ryder.

“You said you wanted to explain?” she started, not sure what else to say but needing to break the silence.

“Can we take a walk?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He let her take the lead, and she walked around the side of the building past the greenhouses and into the land that was beginning to go dormant as the weather cooled. Some of the leaves were starting to change color and, in a few weeks, it would be a landscape of browns and golds.

Chrissy had no set destination in mind, so when she found that she’d taken Ryder to the spot where she and her sisters often sat, she wasn’t surprised. Lots of deep conversations had been had there, and they’d held each other as they poured out their grief after their father’s funeral.

“This is a peaceful spot,” Ryder commented. “And familiar.”

“It is. What do you mean, familiar?”

Ryder didn’t say anything. He just kept looking around, as if memorizing the place.

She maintained a few feet between them, which was hard because, even after everything he’d done, she wanted to wrap her arms around his waist and rest her head on his chest. To feel his strength as he held her close.

How could she be wanting this when he’d lied to her? When their whole relationship had been a game for him?

People do things for a reason. It may not make sense to us, but it’s important to them. Keep an open mind.

Her mom’s words came back to her and she took a breath, holding it for a second before blowing it out. “Ryder, what’s going on? Why are you here? Why did you say you wanted to help us make the farm a success? Don’t you want it for yourself?”

He pulled his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it and reminding her of how it had looked when she’d done the same thing the night they’d spent together.

“I thought I did. I believed with everything in me that this land would give me what I thought I needed. Now I know I want something different.”

“This is goodbye, then? You’re leaving to buy land and do what you think you need to do elsewhere?”

“If I leave”—he closed the distance between them—“I’ll be leaving all of my heart here.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” she whispered, her throat clogging with tears.

“I did everything wrong, so wrong. I knew it. Every day we spent together, I knew I had to tell you. Yet, I couldn’t.”

“Why? It’s a pretty big thing you were doing, Ryder. Was any of the time we spent together real or was it all part of a game with the end goal ripping the land from beneath us?”

“No!” His exclamation echoed around them. “No, it was never a game. Do you remember where we first met?”

“Sage’s chocolate shop.” She’d replayed that meeting over and over until she’d looked up from Ranger’s back and had seen him sitting atop a majestic horse, and she’d thought her eyes had been playing a trick on her.