Page 36 of Lucky Cowboy

“Wait… what about Prudence?”

Mark laughed out loud. He laughed so loud in fact that people started to make grumbly noises about rude guests. Val had to hide her grin.

“The stone likeness of Mr. Jethro’s finest mare will also be there, yes. The one you actually want to see.”

That was true. For a town founder to prize her so much must mean Prudence had been a magnificent beast. She clasped her arm around the arm he’d left waiting for her.

“Well, then, by all means, let’s go.”

Having grown up in the state, Val found that Rocky Ridge had many of the earmarks she felt familiar with. The rugged, hard-working citizens. The natural beauty. And yes, the quaint town square.

She enjoyed taking selfies—with both her and Mark—at the statue and of some of the summer blooms that had been planted along the landscaping. She meandered arm in arm along the various businesses nearby, spending a long time at Horseshoe Antiques where she bought her dad a hurricane lamp that reminded her of one that used to belong to her mama.

They spent even longer at Landry Saddle Crafting. The leather and other materials they used were top quality, and while she didn’t need a new saddle for Maybelline yet, this might be a viable option to look at when she did. Val drew her fingers along the intricate designs and craftsmanship, internally admitting to herself that it was equal to the work that went into her own saddle.

“This is my saddle,” she scrolled through her phone pics to show an image to the store owner.

“That is a beaut. Our main requests haven’t been for trick riding, but we’ve made a handful of those. It’s a very specialized area. And my husband and I have watched you for years now. You’re one of the best.”

“Thank you kindly. I try.”

“You succeed,” Beth Landry insisted, and since Mark had introduced her as someone who knew saddles better than anyone, Val took the compliment with the reverence it deserved.

It was always great to be around people who understood businesses related to rodeos. They knew more than most the effort and multiple pieces of the puzzle that went into it.

They finished up their day at The Steer House, and after hearing Mark go on and on about their barbecue cheeseburger, she had to give it a taste. She didn’t expect much. After all, she’d been all around the country sampling burgers who claimed to be the best or the tastiest. Some had even won awards with various publications and online sites. And while this still didn’t beat her number one, it did well.

“I’d put it in second place,” she informed Mark after swallowing. No sense talking with her mouth full. “It’s close. Real close.”

Mark tipped his head from side to side. “Doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Oh, it’s not. This is extremely good. It’s wonderful to know that the next time I’m hungry for another burger, I know just where to go.”

He grinned at her sardonically. “But I have nothing to do with it, I suppose.”

“Oh, you might have a little to do with it.”

After indulging in a decadent dessert she had to share due to being too full, Val glanced at the time. It was nearing eleven at night, and the restaurant staff were beginning to clean up in preparation to close. How had her this first day here flown by so fast?

“I’ll take you to Sweet Everything tomorrow. You have to have their Black Forest Brownies. There’s nothing else like them.”

She readily agreed, and somehow despite staying in a strange location rather than her trailer, she slept like a log. But the next day seemed to zip by even more quickly than the first.

They drove out together to the Bernard homestead and stables the next day, and she and Mark stayed by each other’s sides every waking hour. Part of her felt as if she’d known this man her whole life while another part of her felt as if they’d just met the previous day. Yet, in her bones, she accepted something for the first time. Being in love with him meant that this could last. That itshouldlast.

Even though they were about to go their separate ways again.

As the sands of the hourglass sped into the lower globe with unending swiftness, she took the opportunity to go riding with Mark. He settled onto Black Lightning, a stallion they’d once boarded only to purchase in the last year, with somewhat of a bobble when he first seated himself on his back. But soon, her sheriff grew steadier, even trying one of Val’s simplest tricks.

“You’ve got it,” she shouted in encouragement as he stood in the stirrups with Black Lightning maintaining a relatively slow walk. She wasn’t about to admit to him that she’d learned that as a child.

No sense in making him feel bad.

He sat right back down, his expression one of relief. “I have no clue how you do all those bounces and flips off the horse’s rump. You’re a dynamo, you know that?”

She batted her lashes at him, demurring. “Why thank you, sheriff.”

He drew up right beside her. “I mean it. You amaze me. Every single time.”

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