Page 90 of Falling for the Cowgirl
“I appreciate the offer. But I gotta pay you back. Hope you can understand.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “Reckon I’d do the same.” He held her gaze for a second, and in that statement she knew he was offering her more than just a barn. He was offering her respect as an equal.
Though they hadn’t spoken much since she’d left with Judd to live on her own land, she’d sensed a slow change in her relationship with her brothers, that they were learning to let go of her.
“Thank you, Flynn.”
“Once we get the barn done later today, the womenfolk brought the fixings for a meal.”
The barn raisings she’d been to while growing up had alwaysended with eating and dancing. With so few socials, they had to make the most of every minute.
Flynn jerked his head toward a couple of steers someone had brought along. “Also figured while we’re all together, we oughta have a cowhand competition.”
“Won’t object to that.” She hadn’t participated in any more since Independence Day. While a part of her missed the thrill, she’d been too busy to think on it much.
“Good.” Flynn glanced at Wyatt and Brody, who both nodded as though to encourage him. He sighed and then plunged ahead. “Reckon, then, that you won’t object to joining in the competition. This time as yourself.”
Her pulse trickled to a halt. Had she just heard Flynn correctly? Was he giving her permission to join in the competition?
As if seeing the confusion in her expression, Wyatt stepped in. “Yep. We discussed the issue with the organizers. And they agreed. If a woman’s good enough, then she oughta be given a fair chance, same as the fellas.”
“Well, howdy-doody.” She stared from Wyatt to Brody to Flynn and back. Clearly her brothers had worked some kind of magic with Mack Custer and the other competition organizers to get them to agree on women participating. Maybe now that they’d already watched her compete as Buster Bliss and knew she was skilled, they were more willing. Whatever the case, she couldn’t believe her brothers were not only supporting her competing, but were making sure she wouldn’t be shut out.
“You gonna stand there all day catchin’ flies?” Judd’s question was laced with mirth. “Or are we gonna build a barn?”
Only then did she realize her mouth was hanging open. She snapped it closed. What could she say to her brothers?She wanted at the very least to thank them, but her throat clogged with a sudden swell of emotion.
Brody and Wyatt had already turned to the wagon beds and were starting to unload the lumber alongside the other men and boys. But for a second longer, Flynn watched her. His eyes spoke what his words didn’t—that he was sorry for everything that had happened over the summer with Jericho and hoped she’d forgive him.
Her heart welled with love for this man who’d taken care of her and raised her through the years. He’d loved her the best he’d known how. He hadn’t been perfect. Nobody was. But he’d stuck with her through thick and thin, and she was grateful for that.
She nodded at him, hoping her eyes conveyed her forgiveness. It wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last time they’d have issues. But they were a family. And that meant they’d keep on forgiving and loving and sticking it out for the long haul.
Flynn nodded back. Then he glanced around among the groups now organizing into teams. He seemed to be searching for someone. But apparently not finding who he was looking for, his shoulders slumped, and he limped off to join the others.
She watched the buzz of activity a moment longer, joy swirling inside. “C’mon.” She slipped her arm into the crook of Judd’s. “Let’s go build us a barn.”
Ivy leaned against the new zigzag rail fence that jutted out from the completed barn. The sky overhead was lavender with the coming of night. A few lanterns had already beenlit, chasing away the lengthening shadows. And the scent of roasted pig lingered in the air.
After a day of grueling work, they’d raised the frame, sided the building, and completed the roof. The interior was an empty shell, but the hard work was done. Ivy could only stare at it in utter amazement.
The structure rose two stories to a gabled roof, allowing for a loft. Doors on both ends would provide cross ventilation and keep moisture under control. A row of empty window squares on both sides of the ground floor would give plenty of natural light. She and Judd would likely put shutters on since they wouldn’t be able to afford any glass panes this year. And they’d have to paint the wood to protect it from the harsh winter elements.
Everyone had feasted not only on pig but roasted chicken, recently harvested corn and beans and squash, freshly baked rolls, honey-sweetened applesauce, and more.
Now the cowhand competition was underway. With the shorter autumn days, they could only get in three events. They’d started with the bronc riding and steer wrestling, and they were finishing up with the roping contest. She’d already gone, and so far none of the other fellas had beat her time. But not for lack of trying. Even Brody had given it a shot and hadn’t come close.
For her, the winning came as easy as a horsefly riding a mule’s ear. Even if she wanted to bust out a smile that would let everyone know just how happy she was about coming out on top for her first contest as herself, she’d kept her smile locked away. She might not be pretending to be Buster Bliss anymore, but that didn’t mean she had to get carried away.
As the final contestant stood from where he’d roped thesteer, she waited for the time announcement. At the shout of seven seconds, she let her shoulders relax. She’d done it. Fair and square.
“Looks like you won, Aunt Ivy.” Sitting on the rail next to her, Wyatt’s oldest son, Ty, swung his legs. Astrid had already headed home with Wyatt’s two youngest children. She and Astrid weren’t sore at each other anymore, and Astrid was no longer pining after Jericho, thank goodness. She’d finally started paying attention to other young men. But their friendship had changed. They had changed. And maybe that was okay too.
Ty twisted a long piece of grass in his mouth. “Reckon ain’t nobody ever gonna beat you. Leastways until I grow up and do it.”
“Maybe you will. But you’re gonna have to be real good if you have any hope of winnin’ against me.” She took in the view with a deep sense of contentment. They’d built at the bottom of a hill, the forest behind the cabin with the barn positioned in the clearing to the southeast in a level area so that when the north wind blew, it’d take the barn stench away from the cabin and not to it.
The rolling hills to the east sloped to the plains that dominated South Park. But her land to the west, though grassy, was more rugged and suited for sheep.
