Page 7 of Headstrong Cowboy (Montana’s Rodeo Cowboys #2)

T he sun was peeking through the clouds as Chrissy made her way down to the farm’s workshop/office. There was a mountain of paperwork to complete to apply for a business loan and to redeem the money she had invested.

So far, her mom hadn’t said anything more about selling, but Chrissy knew it was still on her mind.

She and Sunny had talked a little about it, but with winter coming, Sunny was busy with getting the beds of roses ready for the coming dormant season, along with all the other work that came with producing flowers.

She made a mental note to make more of an effort to help Sunny with the day-to-day running of the farm, even though most of her time was taken up with sorting through the mess Dad had made of the accounts. She also made another one to bring Tilly up to speed. It wasn’t fair to keep her in the dark.

Would it be easier to sell the farm?

Probably.

It would definitely get rid of the all the financial issues they were facing.

Selling, though, wouldn’t allow Sunny to continue to do what she loved. No longer having the farm meant her sister wouldn’t be able to work on developing new flower varieties, something she loved to do. Chrissy wasn’t prepared to let that happen. Sunny should be able to follow her dreams.

What about your dreams?

Chrissy ignored the voice in her head. Her dreams were long gone now.

As much as she loved hearing Riley say that the times she’d put in with Ranger were enough to win competitions, her days of being a rodeo star were over.

Besides, now that she was older, the wanderlust of going on the circuit wasn’t as vibrant within her as it had been when she’d been younger.

A smile stretched her lips as she thought about Ranger.

He was a beautiful horse and if she had the money, and Riley was willing to sell, she would’ve bought him.

Her times on Stella had been good, but not as good as what she’d achieved on Ranger.

In the end, both she and Riley had agreed that Ranger was the horse for her to use.

What she’d achieved on the back of the horse gave her the confidence that she had a good chance of winning the barrel racing event at the Copper Mountain Rodeo.

Of course it was no guarantee, but she had to believe that she stood as good a chance as the next competitor.

She would be heading back to Riley’s ranch later in the afternoon to get some more practice in.

One good session didn’t make a champion.

A hint of nervous excitement flitted to life in her belly at the thought of going back out to the ranch.

Would Ryder be there?

Chrissy sat at her desk and instead of looking at the papers in front of her, she swiveled her chair and stared out the window at the trees blowing softly in the breeze.

She hadn’t believed it when she’d looked up and found the man from the chocolate shop standing next to a gorgeous black stallion.

He looked every inch the quintessential cowboy.

Mysterious and delicious all at the same time.

His voice was low and gruff, and when they’d shaken hands, her whole body lit up, just like it had when he’d grabbed her in the chocolate shop when he’d knocked into her.

She’d brushed off Riley’s questions after Ryder walked away, but she’d wanted to follow him and talk to him for a bit longer.

A year after marrying Beau, Chrissy realized she’d made a mistake.

She loved Beau, but not in the forever type of way.

But she’d been determined to make it work.

Once committed, the Bloom family didn’t give up quickly.

Fortunately, Beau had come to the same realization and, for a few years, they’d been more roommates than husband and wife.

In the end, they’d decided the best thing would be to divorce.

Chrissy never expected him to die suddenly after it was all finalized.

She’d expected that they would continue to be friends until they were both gray and wrinkled.

Her phone buzzed, pulling her away from the past and back to the present. She glanced at the screen, frowning when she didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?” she said tentatively, then hated herself for her timidness. Chrissy Bloom was not timid.

“Am I speaking to Chrysanthemum Bloom?” A deep male voice echoed in her ear. A voice she didn’t recognize.

“Yes. Who am I speaking to?” Her voice sounded much stronger than it had when she’d answered the call.

“My name is Bryant Castle. I’m with First National Investments. I’m ringing to discuss your request to redeem your investment early.”

Chrissy clenched the phone a little tighter, fearing that what he was about to say wasn’t going to be good. No, she wouldn’t borrow trouble until she had to, which, hopefully, wouldn’t be today. “I’m working on the paperwork. I should be ready to email it to you later today.”

“That’s why I’m calling you. Upon looking further into the terms of your investment, the penalties for early withdrawal are more than you were initially quoted.

The person you spoke to thought you had a different investment product, where the costs for withdrawing before the time period ended were less severe. ”

This can’t be happening.

“How much are we talking? I’m assuming it would be most of the increase in value that I’ve received over the last year.” As much as that extra money would be handy, the base amount she’d received from Beau’s life insurance policy was still a reasonable amount.

“I wish it was only the interest, but with other penalty fees you’ll incur, you’d be looking at a loss of around ten thousand off the principal amount.”

“Ten thousand! That’s ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not sure why you were put into this product. It’s not one I would recommend to customers, as I know things in life change and sometimes you need access to the money urgently.”

Could she take that hit?

She’d been counting on that money. At least that was guaranteed, unlike her winning the rodeo.

Pressure built into a steady thump at the base of her skull.

If she didn’t win any money at the rodeo, the loss of the ten thousand would hit even harder.

It seemed that it didn’t matter what she did, the chances of her saving the farm were getting slimmer and slimmer.

“Are you still there?” Bryant asked.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’m just thinking.”

“I know it’s not the news you wanted to hear. But I felt you needed to be told of all the consequences before you submitted the forms.”

“No, I appreciate the call. I’ll get back to you with a decision.”

“I’ll wait for your call. Have a good day.”

Chrissy didn’t bother answering because her day wasn’t good. Not anymore. With the loss of that money, it would make getting a business loan even harder. Realistically, she’d looked at the rodeo winnings as the icing on the cake, because that wasn’t guaranteed.

Now nothing was.

The bank wasn’t going to look too favorably at her application now if the amount she was going to provide herself was potentially fifteen thousand lower than what she’d projected.

Chrissy pushed away from the desk. The walls were closing in on her. She had to get away from the depressing paperwork. The plan she’d worked on was slowly disintegrating, like a fall leaf crushed under the heel of her cowboy boot.

The sale idea was now even more appealing than it had been ten minutes ago.

She walked into the greenhouse and found Sunny, headphones on, busy working with the roses.

Spraying them with an organic bug killer.

Chrissy had no idea what was in it, but it didn’t smell as bad as some non-organic sprays did.

Sunny’s smile was serene and she looked so happy that the pressure from Chrissy’s headache that had formed while on the phone increased.

No, she wasn’t going to give up. She would see if she could negotiate with the bank for a higher loan.

The money from Beau’s insurance and the sale proceeds from their house in Buffalo would have to stay there a little longer because she wasn’t going to lose the profit it had made, nor any of the principal.

It was going to be hard and would take some clever budgeting, but they could do it.

The farm had been profitable for years. This downturn could be a blip in the radar and, with her accounting brain and Sunny’s skills with plants, they’d be able to operate through this rough patch and come out stronger than before.

Maybe even Tilly could try to get some new businesses to take their flowers.

She had a natural charm that had people forgiving her easily when she let them down. She really needed to call Tilly.

Whatever happened, the Blooms would come out on top and the flower farm would stay in the family. Convincing her mom to believe in her and hold off from putting the farm on the market was going to take some swift talking, but she was going to make it happen.

“To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” Sunny’s voice had Chrissy looking up from the plant she’d been studying.

“No reason. Came to see how you were doing.” Chrissy injected enthusiasm she didn’t feel and ignored the way her head hurt. She’d get some headache meds soon and then she’d get back to filling out the forms.

“Uh-huh. You do know I knew the moment you came in. You were staring at that plant for a good ten minutes before I spoke. So, how about you tell me what’s going on?”

As much as she wanted to try to keep the farm’s issues to herself, she couldn’t.

Sunny was already aware of their financial situation, so there was no point trying to do everything on her own.

“I just got a call about the money I was going to use to boost the farm’s finances.

The penalties are too high to consider redeeming it early, so we might have to ask the bank for more money. ”

Sunny placed the bottle she was holding on the workbench. “Will they give it to us? You have to provide financials to show the state of the business, right? They’re going to see that we aren’t doing as well as we were three years ago.”

Nothing Sunny was saying wasn’t the truth. “You’re right. It’s going to be a harder sell, but we also have years where the farm was making a healthy profit. That shows the bank that it’s a solid business.”

“But we need something extra special to make it stand out. To show that we have the potential for growth?”

“Ideally. That’s why I’m going to increase my efforts to see if we can expand our network of businesses we supply.

Maybe reach out to wedding planners in Bozeman, hotels or other businesses that deal with florists, get an in with those places and supply them with their blooms for table settings, bouquets, etc. ”

Sunny chewed her bottom lip. Chrissy had pulled the wedding planning business idea out of thin air.

She didn’t have any idea if it was feasible, but she had nothing to lose and the farm had everything to gain.

“That’s not a bad idea. I’ve been working on cross-pollinating some roses to see if I can come up with a new variety of flower.

It takes time, but I’ve been working on it for a while.

If it works out, we could make them an exclusive flower for weddings. ”

Doubts clouded Chrissy’s mind, but she didn’t want to break Sunny’s spirit by dismissing her idea. What would be so special about this bloom that would make florists clamor over themselves to get it for their brides? “What’s special about it?”

“The scent, size, and color variations. A healthier, disease-resistant plant.”

“Sounds like a lot of work and time for them to grow and flower. Time we don’t have.”

Sunny deflated, and Chrissy wished she could take the words back, but she also had to be realistic. They needed something that would work now, not in a year’s time.

“I know it’s not a quick solution, but as we aren’t growing them to sell plants to market, we can use the blooms. We won’t have a lot to start off with, but it will grow over time.”

She went over to her sister and hugged her. The idea had merit. Chrissy wished they could magically grow them faster than Mother Nature allowed. “I do love this idea. Keep working on it, Sunny, because I can’t wait to see it. We’ll figure something out in the meantime to boost the bank account.”

Sunny returned her hug, but didn’t agree or disagree with Chrissy. After a few seconds, they broke apart. “You know I get paid a wage working here,” Sunny started, and Chrissy waited to see where she was heading.

“Yes, I did. And I’ll make sure you still get paid. You’re not working for nothing, Sunshine.”

This time, Sunny smiled at the nickname.

“I’m happy to take a reduced amount. I live at home.

I don’t have a lot of expenses. I’ve got some savings that I want you to use.

It’s not a huge amount and won’t cover what your investment would’ve given us.

But it’s something. And I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

We’re the Bloom sisters, and we have each other’s backs. ”

Sunny’s chin lifted, daring Chrissy to dismiss her offer. She didn’t. If Sunny wanted to help, then she would let her sister help, because it was her legacy as much as it was Chrissy’s. “Thank you.”

“You know Tilly will also want to help. Have you told her yet?”

Chrissy sighed. “Not yet, but I will. She has other expenses, so I don’t want to put a financial burden on her as well.”

“Maybe, but she’ll be upset you don’t ask her. With her always off doing her own thing, we tend to not include her in things pertinent to the farm. Which is wrong.”

Sunny was right. If they were going to save the farm, they needed to do it together. “I’ll call her tonight.”

Sunny nodded. “Okay. Now, shoo, so I can continue my work. And watch me. I’ll get that rose variety sorted quicker than you can go around a few barrels,” she finished with a wink.

Chrissy laughed at her sister’s cheekiness. “We’ll see about that, because I went round those barrels pretty fast yesterday.”

“Whatever,” Sunny grumbled, her focus already on the flowers in front of her.

Chrissy left her to it and as she walked out, she saw a plume of dust heading toward the house. Without rhyme or reason, a little ball of dread formed in her belly.

Who was coming to see them?