Page 4 of Headstrong Cowboy (Montana’s Rodeo Cowboys #2)

C hrissy sat on the bench, enjoying the early fall temperatures.

She’d come outside to make a list of what she needed to do in her quest to save the farm.

It was better than sitting in the small office in the main workshop, where the reality of their situation was all around her.

Not to mention she kept thinking over the encounter with the stranger at Sage’s chocolate shop two days ago.

She had no idea who he was. He’d probably just been passing through town, and she’d never see him again.

Yet, even now, the place where he’d grabbed her sparked to life as if she’d been zapped by lightning.

The reaction had left her puzzled, because she’d never experienced anything like it, not even with Beau.

It had to have been static electricity which caused it. That was the only plausible answer.

Yet, deep down, she knew it wasn’t. Knew that the reaction had nothing to do with static and everything to do with something bigger. Bigger than she would allow herself to think about, because she didn’t have time for such fanciful thoughts.

Chrissy sighed. She had plenty of other things to think about than what had happened to her. She firmly pushed the stranger from her mind to focus on more important things—like saving the farm. Her personal life, or lack thereof, was something to consider when the farm was safely back in the black.

She stared at her phone and the list of tasks she’d already typed in.

Register for the Copper Mountain Rodeo. Reach out to Riley to get a horse.

Train, because she only had a short amount of time to get herself ready for the event.

Look at what documents she needed to approach the bank for a loan.

Arrange to get the money Beau had left her out of the investment she’d put it in.

She’d take a hit, but it would be worth it if it meant the farm would be saved.

Her head began to thump at the enormity of what was in front of her, but she’d get it done. There was no other alternative.

“Chrissy, are you okay?”

A smile lifted the corners of Chrissy’s mouth as she spied Sunny walking toward her, glad for the interruption from her heavy thoughts. “Hey, Sunshine. I’m good. What’s going on with you?”

Sunny rolled her eyes at the nickname Chrissy sometimes used for her. “Don’t think you can distract me by calling me that silly name. You looked like you were about to start crying. Talk to me. Is it about the farm?”

Everything inside her froze at her sister’s words.

Did Sunny know about the financial difficulties, as well?

Was Chrissy the last one to know, and everyone in the family had been trying to keep the truth from her?

Or was Sunny’s question purely innocent and coming from a place of inquiry as to what they were going to do now that their father had died?

“What about the farm?” Chrissy threw the question back at her.

Sunny’s gaze shifted away from Chrissy’s, a clear sign her sister didn’t know if she should say something or not. Yet again, telling Chrissy everything she needed to know without Sunny having to say it. “You know, don’t you?” Chrissy said quietly.

“Know what?” Sunny may act like she had no clue what Chrissy was talking about, but she wasn’t fooling her.

“It’s me, Sunny, your sister. I know you and your tells. Whatever you know, you can talk to me about it.”

Before Chrissy had moved away to Buffalo, she and Sunny had been close.

In fact, she’d been close to both her sisters when they’d been younger.

She had fond memories of them helping their dad.

Running through the wildflowers on one of the plots of land Dad had planted for them.

Eating ice cream on the back porch on hot summer days.

Good memories of fun times spent together.

A time when everything was simple and the only concern they all had was if Mom would find out they’d snuck in an extra ice cream when she’d told them they couldn’t have one.

Chrissy was sure Mom knew, but never said anything.

“Where did you go?” Sunny asked, drawing Chrissy back to the fact they were grown women and not children anymore.

“Back to a simpler time.”

“Yeah, I wish I could go back, but I can’t.”

Again, Sunny’s comments further cemented it in Chrissy’s mind that she was well aware of what their dad had done. “When did you find out?”

Sunny looked over her shoulder at the house and then at the workshop. “Let’s take a walk.”

If it got her sister to talk, then she would follow Sunny all the way to Marietta.

Chrissy pocketed her phone and stood. Together, they made their way behind the buildings and down the rows of rose bushes.

There were still some blooms on them, but for the next few months, while these were pruned back and went dormant for the winter, the ones in the greenhouses would be used to supply the places they sold their flowers to.

Perhaps that was another area they could look at to increase profits—expand their distribution network. Of course, they needed the stock to do that, which would require developing their facilities. Which would require money.

Money.

Everything always went back to money.

Sunny stopped at one of the large trees on the property. A tree the Bloom sisters had gathered under on many a summer day after they’d done their chores. A tree that had initials carved into it by people they didn’t know, but who must have come to the tree in the past.

“It’s really bad, Chrissy. I don’t know how much longer we can hang on.

I overhead Mom talking to someone, saying she was thinking of selling the farm, as the memories of Dad were everywhere, and it was hard for her to be around them.

I don’t want her to do that at all, but I think that’s the only way we can go.

At least, if we sell, the proceeds will give Mom a nice little nest egg to live off for the rest of her life. ”

Sunny’s expression was stoic, her words concise and to the point, but Chrissy knew that inside, her sister was dying a slow death. If Sunny couldn’t sink her hands into soil or nurture plants, she would be a shell of the person she was. No way could Sunny do anything other than working with plants.

“What about you? What are you going to do?” Chrissy asked.

Sunny shrugged and turned her gaze away from Chrissy, but not fast enough for her to miss seeing the sheen of tears in her eyes. “I’ll find something. It’s never too late to start a new career. A new adventure.”

Her voice broke, and Chrissy put her arm around her sister.

Her sweet sister, who was more comfortable around plants than she was around people.

Her sister, who, from the moment she’d been able to walk, had toddled after her father and had fallen in love with the plants as much as their father.

Her sister, who was prepared to give up her dreams for the sake of the family.

Not on my watch.

“I’m not going to let that happen. I’m going to find a way to fix this mess up.”

“How? I know you’re good with numbers, but even you’re not going to be able to change how they look.”

There was nothing that Sunny was saying that Chrissy hadn’t thought a lot about over the past few days, but it also fired her determination to make it work. “I’ve got a plan.”

“It better be a good one.”

“It’s not going to solve everything, but what it is going to do is give us an injection of cash to work through this tough time.

” Chrissy crossed her fingers behind her back.

Nothing was guaranteed. Half of the money she was hoping to be able to use wasn’t guaranteed.

In fact, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, her chances of winning the barrel racing contest at the rodeo were slim.

But one thing Chrysanthemum Bloom wasn’t was a quitter.

*

Chrissy pulled to a stop out in front of Riley Telford’s family ranch. She’d phoned a half hour ago and asked if Riley had a horse she could use for the rodeo. Riley had been more than happy to help her out and had the perfect one for Chrissy.

All it had taken was another couple of calls and Chrissy was able to enter the barrel racing event at the Copper Mountain rodeo.

The committee had been more than happy to have one of their homegrown talents compete in the event.

Now she just had to prove that she wasn’t going to make a complete fool of herself.

A rush of excitement flowed through her as she got out of her car and the sound of a horse neighing drew her attention. She turned to her right and watched as a large bay horse ambled up to the fence.

Chrissy wandered over, her hand itching to feel the softness of the horse’s mane.

When she reached the barrier, she waited for a moment, allowing the horse to get used to her presence.

The horse leaned its head over the wooden railing and snorted.

Chrissy laughed. “You want some attention, don’t you?

Aren’t you a handsome fella?” she crooned as she held her hand out and the horse nudged it gently.

Laughing, she stroked his nose, the horse nickering softly.

“He likes you.”

So lost in communing with the horse, something she hadn’t done for years, she hadn’t realized how much she missed being able to communicate so silently and naturally with a horse.

The horses she’d ridden when she’d been in Buffalo had already been saddled and, after a few minutes of getting acquainted, she’d climbed up on them and did her thing.

This interaction was different because the horse in front of her hadn’t been expecting her to ride him. He’d been munching on the grass and had approached her.

“He’s a beautiful boy and he knows it.” Chrissy laughed again when he nudged her shoulder. “Is he the one you had in mind for me to use?” she asked as she turned toward Riley.

“Actually, no. I planned for you to ride Stella, but I think Ranger here might like to you to give him a try. He’s got good speed and, while he hasn’t done a lot with any particular barrel racer, he’s got good instincts. You want to give him a go?”

Chrissy stood back and studied the horse.

He was tall and majestic. It was always difficult to tell how a horse would perform until she actually got them in the ring.

Some horses who looked like they would be perfect for barrel racing sometimes were the horses that didn’t perform at all.

“Yeah, I do. And I’ll also ride Stella as well, if that’s okay? ”

As if Ranger could tell what Chrissy was saying, he tossed his head and snorted loudly in protest. “Guess he doesn’t want you to ride Stella,” Riley commented, chuckling.

“Looks that way. But let’s do this.”

The thought of getting on the back of a horse again had her blood pumping through her veins in excitement. Riley clicked her tongue and Ranger headed toward the other end of the corral.

They arrived at the tack room, where an array of equipment was lined up. “Why don’t you pick out a saddle and tack while I get Ranger ready for you?”

“Thanks.” Chrissy wandered over to where the bridles and saddles were displayed and looked at them before deciding on what she thought would suit her and Ranger the best. She grabbed what she wanted and found her way back out to the middle of the large barn, where Riley had Ranger ready and waiting for her.

It didn’t take her long to get Ranger saddled up.

There were some things that were never forgotten and preparing a horse for riding was one of them.

Placing her foot into the stirrup, she swung her leg over and slipped her other foot into the other stirrup.

Her breath whooshed out and she closed her eyes, letting the sensation of being back in the saddle wash over her.

Sitting on top of a horse was as natural as breathing for her, and again it struck her just how much she’d given up when she’d followed Beau for college and his career—a decision she hadn’t fully regretted, but now, with everything that was going on, the what ifs were crowding her and she didn’t like it at all.

Clicking her tongue and giving her legs a gentle squeeze against Ranger’s side, the horse began a slow walk out of the barn.

Once she got outside, she pulled up when she spied Riley on a black horse with a white stripe down the nose, as well as white socks on all four legs.

It reminded her a little of Pepper, and a touch of sadness filled her.

She brushed it off. Pepper had been gone a long time.

The horse Riley was on was a little smaller than Ranger. “You joining me?” Chrissy inquired.

Riley smiled. “Nope, but this here is Stella, and I thought that it would be quicker if both horses were ready to go.”

“Makes sense. Lead the way.” Chrissy nudged Ranger forward and together, they made their way to where the barrel racing ring was set up. Beneath her, Ranger gave a little hop, as though he couldn’t wait to go full speed. “Steady, boy. All in good time.”

Riley pulled to a stop, and Chrissy did the same, admiring the setup. “This looks fantastic.”

Riley smiled. “Thanks. We have a lot of people come through to practice here. We breed a lot of horses for the rodeo, so we have areas set up where they can be tested. There’s no point buying a horse if you can’t get them to do what you want.

I’m going to head over to the side and you can do as many runs as you want on Ranger.

When you’re ready, you can take Stella for a run. ”

“Perfect.” Chrissy leaned over and patted Ranger’s neck.

“How about we do this, boy?” He bobbed his head and another chuckle erupted out of her.

There was so much joy and freedom on the back of the horse and for a few moments, Chrissy could forget all about the worries of the farm and what the future held.

But the image of hazel eyes with gold flecks belonging to the stranger from the chocolate shop joined her as she and Ranger became one.