Page 2 of Headstrong Cowboy
Well, it appeared the rain had come, and while it wouldn’t solve everything, it would tide them over for a few months so that she could come up with a plan that would bring the flower farm out of the grips of bankruptcy and into solvency.
Planning was something she was good at.She could do this.She had no choice...she had to, especially if she wanted to ensure that her mother and sisters had a roof over their heads and could continue doing what they loved.Although Tilly didn’t live at home now and she tended to flit from one thing to another.Chrissy wasn’t going to think about her youngest sister and her short attention span right now.One day Tilly would find something that grabbed her attention and kept it there.After Tilly’s disastrously short time in Houston chasing another new job opportunity, she’d come home after just a few months, saying it hadn’t worked out.Chrissy hoped it would be soon that her baby sister found something she truly loved and not the data entry job she was currently doing.Nor working on the farm.Sunny was the only one of the three of them who truly loved being hands-on with the flowers.
“Hey, you’re looking glum.Is everything okay?”
Chrissy carefully closed the accounts books and smiled at her mom.“I’m good, just thinking about...” She paused, trying to grab onto something to say that didn’t start withthe farm’s in financial trouble.A flyer that sat on top of the mail she hadn’t gotten to yet caught her attention.“The upcoming rodeo.I was thinking of entering the barrel racing event.”
That had been the last thing on her mind, but now that she thought about it, it wasn’t a bad idea.In her youth she’d been a top barrel racer, winning just about every rodeo she’d entered.At one time she’d had dreams of following the rodeo circuit for a few years to earn enough money to pay for college, and once she’d graduated, find a good job close to Marietta and be debt free, so she could build a solid financial future, gain valuable experience, and then come back and help with the financial side of the farm.But at their high school graduation, Beau had proposed, and she’d followed him to Buffalo because of great school and career opportunities for him.She’d attended community college for one year before getting into the same school as Beau.
During their marriage, she hadn’t often regretted her choices, but there had been some days when she had.The days when she’d stared out at the cookie-cutter houses in the Buffalo neighborhood they lived in and yearned for the sweet scent of the flowers surrounding the farm and the beautiful, blue Montana skies.
Now it looked like pushing aside her dreams all those years ago had consequences she never could’ve imagined.
“Barrel racing?But you haven’t done that for years!The rodeo is only a couple of weeks away.Can you enter at this late stage?Why are you even thinking about it?You need a horse to compete too.What are you going to do about that?You’re not as young as you were when you were competing before.”
Way to tell me I’m too old, Mom.
Chrissy kept the words locked down.Her mom wasn’t wrong, but she also wasn’t right either.While it had been a long time since she’d competitively competed, she had been on the back of a horse over the intervening years.So what if it had been riding around a ring on the weekends when Beau had been off at work conferences?She’d still felt the wind in her hair as the horse galloped over the dirt.It didn’t quite give her the same adrenaline rush as sliding around barrels gave her, but she’d taken whatever she could get.She was sure if she’d looked hard enough, she would’ve found a place around Buffalo where she could’ve gone around some barrels if she’d wanted to.
“It’s like riding a bike, Mom.You don’t forget those skills.As for if I can enter, I’ll check, but as a previous winner and hometown Marietta girl, I’m sure I’ll be able to get a spot.”At least she hoped she would, but that was a bridge to cross later.As for a horse, well, she’d work that out too.
All that mattered was if she could enter.If the fates were on her side and she won, she could use not only the proceeds from Beau’s life insurance but also the rodeo winnings to get the farm out of the red and into the black.It would be a start.An injection of cash, and that was all they needed.She would look at other ways to increase the profits of the farm.Maybe they could do something for Thanksgiving or Christmas.Although it was September and getting anything ready in time for them to sell for the holidays was likely impossible, but she had to try.
“Hmm, well, I think you should sit on it for a bit longer before making a decision.Is there a particular reason as to why you’re looking at entering the rodeo?”
While her mom’s tone was light, Chrissy didn’t miss the way her gaze had fallen on the books resting on the desk.Nor did she miss the way her shoulders drooped a little and her mouth firmed into a thin line.
If Chrissy had thought her mom didn’t know about the farm’s issue, her reaction right at that second suggested the opposite.
How did she approach it, though?
How did she tell her mom what she’d found?
How did she tell her sisters?And should she?
The questions raced around her mind, and she willed them to stop so that she could think logically and unemotionally about it all.
“It will be a bit of fun.You know I used to love competing in the Copper Mountain Rodeo each year.Since it’s my first year back, why not give it a go?”
Mom pursed her lips, as though she was about to lecture her like she had when Chrissy had been a teenager and had wanted to join the school dance team.In her teens she hadn’t had a lick of coordination when it came to dancing, or for doing the leaps and jumps that were required for the routines, and she still didn’t.Nor had she had any dance lessons, either, because her focus had been on horses and rodeos.Mom had sat her down and pointed all of that out to her, and in the end, Chrissy had listened, even though she hadn’t wanted to.After seeing one of the group practices, Chrissy had been glad her mom had set her straight.There would’ve been no way she would’ve made the team and would’ve embarrassed herself silly when she’d tried out.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Chrissy, but you know yourself better than I do, and if this is something you want to do, then I’m not going to stop you.You still haven’t said where you’re going to get a horse from, though?”
The logistics of how it was all going to happen wasn’t something she’d really thought about, considering the idea had only popped into her head, but no way was she going to let Mom know that she had no plans.
Wait...Riley.Yes!That will solve one problem.
“Riley Telford,” she blurted out triumphantly.“You remember her—she went to school with Sunny.Her family breeds horses.They let me ride one of their horses in a rodeo when Pepper pulled up sore after a practice run one time.”
Pepper had been a beautiful black horse with a white strip down her nose.Chrissy had been heartbroken when it became evident that the injury Pepper sustained during one of their runs had turned out to be more serious than they’d first thought.There’d been only one option in the end.Chrissy quickly shoved those thoughts down deep.They’d done the right thing, even though it had hurt so much at the time.
“I know the Telfords.”
Mom glanced at the books again, and the ball of dread in Chrissy’s stomach that her mom knew exactly what was going on bounced around like the silver ball in a pinball machine.
“Is there something else you want to say, Mom?”
Mom’s attention darted to the ceiling before landing back on Chrissy.“I’m not sure how to say this.I don’t want to disappoint you or Tilly, and most especially, Sunny, but I’ve thought long and hard on this decision and I think it’s the right one.”
