Page 7 of Headstrong Cowboy
“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, thewhat ifswere 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.
Chapter Four
Ryder sat onthe back of his horse, Midnight, and watched a rider go through their paces around the barrel racing circuit at the Telford ranch.He was still a fair distance from where they were training, as he hadn’t wanted to disturb them and put the rider off.Last thing he wanted to do was cause an accident.
Riley and her father had been very accommodating in letting him board his horses at their place until he got set up—which wasn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped.The Realtor hadn’t contacted him about any new listings.Clearly, Lucinda had been right during the overheard conversation, when she’d surmised the owner, who was the topic of the call, wouldn’t sell, wherever that property was situated.
Nothing was available in the location he wanted.Lucinda had informed him all the people in that area were very happy where they were, and it didn’t look like anyone would be selling anytime in the near future.
Would he have to go in and tempt them to sell?He had the means to do that.He could offer them ridiculous amounts of money, and it wouldn’t make much of a dent in his bank account.
However, that wasn’t how he wanted to purchase the land.He would be no better than those who’d received it in the first place all those years ago.Nor did he want his reputation around town to be the man who strong-armed his way into land ownership.
He’d been in town for two days and, as he’d known it would, Marietta had gotten under his skin and he didn’t want to leave.The people were friendly and welcoming, and he didn’t want to change how anyone looked at him.
In an ideal world where everything worked out the way he wanted it to, he could see himself leaving his ranch and coming to town and visiting the Main Street Diner.The chocolate shop.Java Café.Even Grey’s saloon.All the places that made Marietta what it was.He hadn’t been able to bring himself to visit the fairgrounds where the Copper Mountain Rodeo was held.He’d avoided that area while he’d been on his daily strolls.Maybe in another year, he’d be able to walk down there and not lament the loss of his career.
He also hadn’t seen the woman he’d run into at Sage’s chocolate shop on his first day in Marietta.As much as he’d tried to stop himself, when he’d been walking around, he’d been looking out for a woman with hair the color of warm caramel.He’d had no luck and further cemented the thought that she’d been passing through and wasn’t a resident of Marietta.He wasn’t sure why he wanted to find her.Maybe because of his reaction to her.He wanted to touch her again to see if it had been his imagination, or if his body did light up when they touched.
Needing to do something other than wallow about his plans being stonewalled and think fanciful thoughts about a woman he’d spoken only a few words to, he’d taken Midnight for a ride in an attempt to clear his mind, letting the horse fly over the large paddocks, with Copper Mountain standing sentry as it watched over them.It had worked.The freedom of being on the back of a horse was thought-cleansing.Not to mention, while his injured thigh ached, he was pleased to know that he could still ride after his accident.There’d been a time when he thought that wasn’t going to be possible.
Ryder admired the rider’s form and the way she and the animal worked well together.He whistled low when the rider and her horse slid around a barrel, the horse bent so much, he was surprised she hadn’t come off its back.He couldn’t deny that she had good form.Barrel racing usually happened right before his bull riding event.He only ever saw the first couple of competitors before he went off and got himself mentally ready to ride on the back of a beast.But if he’d seen this person racing on the circuit, he would’ve made more of an effort to watch it.Watch her.
She and the horse were one, as if they were glued together.Not once did she look like she was going to lose her seat.
Had she been at rodeos he’d been to and he hadn’t seen her?
With her hat low over her face, he couldn’t tell if it was anyone he knew from the circuit.A rider this good would’ve generated buzz among all the competitors.
Clapping brought him out of his thoughts, and he encouraged Midnight to move forward so he could hear what Riley was saying.
“That was an amazing time.If you ran this at any rodeo, you would win easily.”
