Page 17 of Headstrong Cowboy
Ryder shrugged.“True, I have, but it was a while ago.Things might have changed since then.”One look at the menu would suggest nothing had changed since he’d been there a few years ago when he’d last competed at the rodeo.
“The chicken fried steak special is good.So is the meat loaf.I’m going with the special.”
“Then I’ll have the meat loaf, and we can try each other’s meals.”
“I like that idea.”
The server arrived and took their food and drink orders.While they waited, Ryder controlled the desire to reach across the table and take Chrissy’s hand in his.To have a connection with her.
What was going on with him?
He’d been attracted to many women in the past, but his lifestyle had never been conducive to a long-term relationship.Not to mention the danger of his occupation had him keeping women at arm’s length.
What would he have done if he’d met Chrissy while he’d still been competing?Would he have worked harder to make a relationship between them work?She must have competed in rodeos in the past.Someone didn’t have the skills she had on the back of a horse by just going around barrels a few times.She would understand how stressful it could be, traveling from one rodeo to another.The trials of clawing your way to the top of the sport.It had taken him years to get sponsorships and endorsements, not to mention winnings, to give him a reasonable lifestyle.
“What brings you to Marietta, Ryder?”Chrissy asked, drawing him away from the thoughts of his past.
How did he answer that one?He couldn’t say he was there to reclaim what had been taken from his family.Was Chrissy even aware of who owned the land she lived on before her?Surely there was someone in town who remembered the Munro family.His mom.Did he want to open that can of worms?
He didn’t know, so it was best he keep his reasons as vague as possible, but close to the truth at the same time.“I’m looking for some property.”
A flicker of emotion flared in Chrissy’s eyes but was gone with a blink, as if she knew that he’d been at her place to scope out the possibility of buying it.Not that she’d know that, because if she did, she wouldn’t be sitting in front of him.
“What are you going to do with it?”she asked, after their drinks had been delivered and they were alone again.
“What most people do in Montana—ranching.Ideally, I’d like to buy a ranch that is already established, but if I can’t, I’ll start off with some land and then, hopefully, I can expand and buy up property around me.”Again, not completely untrue.All he’d left out was that he wanted to reclaim his family property.
Although, doing so would put a few people out of their homes and that made him uncomfortable.No matter how much he could afford to give them, he was still taking away the very thing they’d spent their lives working on.
Was he any better than the people who’d taken the land from his family?
That idea didn’t sit well with him, but he also wanted to do something to honor his mother.To fulfill her wish.He may not remember much about her, but he could do this.Who knows what their life might have been like if she hadn’t died when he was so young?
Chrissy looked away for a moment before looking back at him, the corner of her mouth caught between her teeth.“I, um...after I saw you at Riley’s farm, I looked you up on the internet.I know you were a champion bull rider.I’m sorry you got injured and had to retire.”
As always, the shaft of disappointment and sadness over the loss of his career stabbed him deep in the gut, but he breathed through it.He had a different purpose now.“Thank you.It’s an adjustment.”
“I’m sure.Is that why you want to get a ranch?”
Their food arrived, halting their conversation, and after a few mouthfuls, Ryder put his fork down and answered her question.“In a way.I grew up on a ranch in Texas, so it’s something I’ve wanted to do.I kind of fell into bull riding and rodeos and so I put being a rancher on the back burner, but always knew I’d get to it eventually.”
He didn’t mention that the ranch he’d grown up on had been a place where troubled foster kids had been sent.Now that he was older and could look back on his life, Ryder admitted that he’d been a handful in the homes he’d been placed in.He had been an angry kid and wore it like a badge of honor.The second he’d stepped out of the car at that ranch in Texas and had seen all the open space around him, the restlessness that bubbled inside of him settled, and he’d become a different boy than the one who’d lived in Dallas.
“Why didn’t you buy some land in Texas to create your ranch?”
A perfectly reasonable question, and one that Ryder would’ve asked himself, if the roles had been reversed.But he still found it difficult to talk about because he didn’t want to be treated differently by Chrissy.And he had a feeling that once she knew how much he was worth, she might change how she looked at him and treated him.
You’re making assumptions you have no right to make.Chrissy might not even blink when she hears what you have to tell her.Maybe you could even tell her the reason why you’re interested in buying her family farm.
He took what his conscience was telling him, but he ignored it.“I did have some land in Texas, but it didn’t work out for ranching.”
“Oh, why is that?Not big enough?Which doesn’t make sense, seeing as, according to the saying, ‘everything is bigger in Texas,’” she finished with a wink.
Ryder laughed.“This is true.But, no, it was plenty big enough.It was just that underneath the soil was where the riches lay.”
He let Chrissy muddle over what he said as the server came and refilled their drinks.He saw the moment it clicked in her mind.“Oil?”she asked, her eyes wide.
“Yep.”
