Page 92 of In Full Bloom

After our mishap of a first date, I never really went back to my house in town. I finally rented it out around Christmas-time and officially moved into the cottage with Dallas and Sadie. In a way, it feels too fast, but at the same time, I know there’s nowhere else I ever want to be.

“Ready for today, cowboy?” I ask as I roll over, into Dallas’s waiting arms.

“I’ll never be ready for today,” he says, then brushes his lips against mine for a long, slow kiss.

“Dad! Katie! Stop kissing, we’ll be late.”

“Uh, fine,” Dallas grumbles as I pull away from him, overtaken by laughter.

“Come on, cowboy. You promised her.”

Two hours later,we’re pulling into the Kauri Creek Showgrounds where the annual rodeo is held at the end of every summer.

Olivia and Flynn have saved us a parking spot and Sadie scrambles from the horse truck the moment Dallas stops.

We unload the horses—Scout, an elderly gelding named Paddy, Olivia’s mount Bruno, and Aurora, ready for her first event.

“Team’s race is at ten-thirty, so we better get you ready and over to the arena,” Olivia says, handing me Aurora’s lead.

We tack up and head for the main arena.

“You good?” I ask Dallas, as we watch Sadie trotting Scout around the warm up arena.

“Absolutely not. I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

“You got this, cowboy.” I reach up for a kiss, then give him a little shove of encouragement as he turns and swings up into Paddy’s saddle.

When Sadie first learned of the team’sbarrel race she desperately wanted to compete, despite me explaining it’s an open class and everyone else will be racing at a full gallop. There’s no way she’d be competitive.

I suggested the individual race, where she’d be pitted against other kids her age. She agreed to that, but wanted to race with me too.

When she learned about the requirement for three riders in a team, her little heart had almost broken. I was ready to suggest Olivia, who herself is a champion racer, but before I had the chance to open my mouth, Sadie decided Dallas should be our third.

Completely incapable of saying no to his daughter, he reluctantly agreed and now the day is here.

Both Sadie and Dallas have come a long way with their riding in the past few months and Dallas is mostly over his fear of horses, but it doesn’t mean he’s really up for a competition barrel race.

We warm our horses up, Aurora keeping a watchful eye on every new sight she comes across, but staying calm and relaxed under me. She’s come a long way too and now that Sadie is riding Scout most days, Aurora has become my main mount.

We watch some of the other teams race, Sadie’s eyes wide with wonder as the horses streak by. Dallas’s hands grip his rein’s tighter and tighter, until his knuckles are white.

“It’s all good,” I murmur, running my fingers over his hands. “It’s just for fun.”

“I know.” He blows out a breath as the announcer calls our names, playing up our local connection and family team.

“Our youngest competitor in her first ever race, SadieMcLeod,” he booms over the loud speaker as Sadie and Scout trot into the arena, waiting in the starting area like I explained to her. “And her dad, Dallas, also in his first race.” The crowd cheers and claps as we ride side by side into the arena. “And rounding out their team from Wildflower Ridge, Katie Barton—soon to be McLeod, no doubt.” The crowd makes even more noise and I ignore the heat in my cheeks, instead running a soothing hand down Aurora’s neck as she skitters at the ruckus.

The race starter counts us down and as the flag drops, Sadie claps her legs against Scout’s sides and the horse trots through the starting gate.

Despite being the slowest racer in the competition, the crowd is fully behind Sadie as she reaches each barrel, carefully guiding Scout in the correct pattern and breaking into a canter in a few places between the barrels. On the final stretch home, she stands in her stirrups and pushes Scout even faster until the crowd is whooping and hollering.

“You got this, cowboy,” I say as Dallas fidgets by my side. I give his thigh a rub, then smack my hand across his ass as he repositions himself in the saddle and moves forward, ready for his run as soon as Sadie crosses the line.

If I thought the crowd was cheering loudly for Sadie, I was wrong. The noise goes to a whole other level as Dallas carefully makes his way around the course, everyone knowing he’s only doing this to make his daughter happy.

Sadie bounces in Scout’s saddle, screaming her head off for her dad as happiness and pride glow from her.

He canters home, laughing and a fist in the air in celebration of a successful ride.

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