Page 14 of Wounded Cowboy
“Did I ever tell you about the time Kelsey took Kegan and Jayden to the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman?” Autumn asked.
Spring furrowed his brow.“No. Did something happen?”
Is she a careless driver? Do I need to worry about Kelsey taking the girls on an outing?
“Of course not,” Autumn said, to Spring’s relief.“Both Jayden and Kegan were obsessed with dinosaurs back then, just like April is now. Kelsey planned a surprise day trip for Kegan’s birthday, and I swear neither of those boys stopped talking about the T-Rex and Triceratops fossils for weeks. She’s fantastic at figuring out what makes kids the happiest.”
Spring’s mind returned to the promise he’d made to April about their own visit to the museum.
Despite his daughters nagging him about it, he couldn’t imagine when he’d find the time to take an entire day off for a jaunt to Bozeman.
Maybe Kelsey could take the girls on outings.As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he squelched it.
“I’ll take the girls to the museum,” Spring declared. He’d find a way to make the time, even if it killed him.“I’m not planning to outsource all my parenting to the nanny.”
“I’m not saying you should,” Autumn said quickly.“But it’s not wrong to accept some help. Especially since you don’t have any backup with Mom and Dad gone for the summer.”
“Maybe,” he allowed grudgingly.
“Look, I know you aren’t happy about what Grandma Abigail did, but Kelsey is just here for summer,” Autumn continued, placing a comforting hand on her brother’s shoulder.“Give her a fair chance, will you? I’m sure she’ll make things a little easier for you and the girls. Maybe you’ll even have time to get out and find someone to date.”
Spring stared at her incredulously.“Date? Who said anything about dating? I’m not interested or ready.”
Autumn sighed.“Maybe you’ll change your mind once you get some free time.”
Desperate to change the subject from his non-existent dating life as a widower, Spring asked,“So, did you get any good footage of Daisy and the other goats? And are you going to be helping Winnie and Nick with their PR for this season’s project?”
“Daisy loves hamming it up for the camera, so yes, I got a bunch of cute and funny video clips that her fans are going to love. I’ll parcel them out to the ranch’s social media accounts over the next week.” Autumn’s eyes lit up at the mention of their latest project.“And yes to working onReviving Snowberry Springs. I just signed the Season Four contract. In fact, Winnie, Nick, Karla, and I are meeting with the city council and the historical society on Thursday.”
Karla Jones wasReviving Snowberry Springs’executive producer. She’d been working with Winnie ever since Winnie’s breakthrough hit show,Restoring Seattle, back when Winnie had been engaged to that creep Geoff Schaefer.
“We’re kicking off the permitting process for the old movie theater,” Autumn continued.“I’ll be there to convince the council members that having a working cinema in town will be a plus for the Tourism Board.”
It was great to see the town coming back to life, thanks to Winnie and Nick’s hard work over the past two years.“Restoring the theater is a great idea. It sucks having to drive all the way to Livingston to go to the movies.”
“It was Nick’s idea. He says he loves the Art Deco interior,” Autumn replied with a smile.“I didn’t fight him on it. It’s an enormous project, maybe big enough to stretch over the next two seasons. I’d love to see that old theater in operation again, and Grandma Abigail is sure she can find an investor to run the place once we finish the restoration.” Her smile deepened.“Maybe we can start hosting an annual film festival to bring more people to town.”
“That sounds like a great idea. You should mention that at the council meeting,” Spring said. Then he shifted gears.“Hey, I appreciate you looking after Abby and April on such short notice today.”
“Of course!” Autumn exclaimed.“You know I love spending time with my adorable nieces.”
“Even so,” Spring said,“I know you have plenty on your plate right now.”
Autumn waved away his concern with a flick of her manicured fingers.“No problem at all. Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” Spring asked warily. He had good reason to fear that sweet-as-pie tone.
“Next time I need handsome cowboys for my videos,” she teased,“you and your hunky ranch hands better be ready to help.”
“Fine,” Spring conceded.“Deal.”
He was surprised at how popular Autumn’s video of him and Matt working together to capture Daisy at the first Vintage Railroad Days Festival had been.
According to Autumn, it had gone viral, with many requests for more footage of“cowboy thirst traps.” Whateverthatmeant.
“All right, I’m going to head back home,” Autumn announced. She lived in town with Matt.
“That’s fine. I have a bunch of admin to do. I’ll be here for the rest of the afternoon, hanging out with my best buddy Microsoft Excel.”
