Page 48 of Headstrong Cowboy
He couldn’t blame her if she didn’t, considering he hadn’t been honest with her from the start.Hell, he still hadn’t told her he was wealthy.
Something wet nudged his hand and he jumped from the bench, his leg buckling a little beneath him, but he managed to right himself and not fall flat on his face.He looked down and found the dog from a couple of weeks ago, the same dog who’d stolen center stage the day before at the rodeo’s opening ceremony, staring up at him, mouth open and tongue lolling to the side as he panted loudly.
Ryder sat and the dog immediately rested his snout on his leg, as if he knew Ryder needed some reassurance.Tentatively, he held out his hand, which the pup sniffed before giving it a lick.Considering the last time Ryder had tried to touch the dog, he’d run away, the little guy’s acceptance comforted him.
“Hey, boy.What are you doing here?You’ve been causing some havoc around town, haven’t you?”The dog just lifted his head and gave him an innocent look.
“Of course you deny it.”Despite the turmoil of his emotions, Ryder chuckled at the dog’s antics.“What do I do, fella?How do I win the heart and trust of a woman after I obliterated it with my stupidity?”
The dog whimpered and jumped up on the bench before lying down beside Ryder, his whole head now resting on Ryder’s leg.
“You’ve got no ideas, huh?Well, that’s not helpful.”Ryder closed his eyes and stroked the dog’s head.
Whatever he did for Chrissy, it had to be from the heart.It had to be meaningful and not an empty gesture.Rocking up with a bouquet, one he’d brought from the local florist—which was more than likely made of flowers from the Bloom farm—would be entirely the wrong thing to do.
He had to show her that his dreams had changed.That before he arrived, all he’d wanted was to fulfill a dead woman’s wish.Now he wanted more.He wanted a family of his own.A family he was truly a part of.A family that loved him for him.He wanted to create all that with Chrissy.
He also wanted to do something to honor the memory of Chip because, without him, he wouldn’t be half the man he was.And maybe, if there was a way, he could honor his mother as well.
An idea began to form.A wild one that hadn’t seemed possible an hour ago, and might still not be possible, but he needed to give it a try.
The hurt in her eyes when Chrissy realized why he was apologizing wasn’t something he’d likely forget, but beneath that hurt, he thought he saw something else.Dare he hope that there was a chance that she might care for him like he cared for her and that he could win her back?
He had absolutely nothing to lose because he’d already lost the most important person in his life.But he was determined to win her back because he hadn’t gotten this far in life by giving up, even when the odds had been stacked so high against him he couldn’t see over them.
As if the dog knew that Ryder had come to a decision, he jumped off the bench, licked Ryder’s hand, and then took off running, like he had the first time he’d seen the dog.
“What is it with you and running away?”Ryder muttered as the animal disappeared around the bend.Hopefully, one day, the dog would find someone he could settle with.
But Ryder had plans to put into motion.Plans that he prayed would give him the future he wanted.
All he had to do was convince Chrissy that her future was meant to be tied to his.
Chapter Twenty-Five
It had beentwo days since the world had collapsed around Chrissy.Her desire to get out of bed was nonexistent and if she knew she didn’t have to help Sunny with a big flower order, she would’ve stayed under the covers in her room in the basement.
“Has Mom said anything about what she’s going to do now?”Sunny asked as she carefully placed the bucket full of flowers into the holder they used to transport them to Sweet Pea Flowers.
“No.I presented the plan I’ve got, and with the winnings and the money you and Tulip are going to put in, it will give us six months to try and get the farm more profitable.There’s also the loan, which I should hear something about soon.That will give us a further three months.I know we’re heading into winter and the demand for flowers drops.But I did receive an email from the hotel in Bozeman, saying they wanted to give us a three-month trial of providing flowers for their in-house florist to create displays for their foyer and for some events.”
“What?”Sunny screeched.“When did that happen?”
It had been the only bright spark of the day for Chrissy—seeing that email come in when she’d arrived to help Sunny.“About an hour ago.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me the second you walked in?Why not?”she demanded.
Chrissy shrugged.“You looked in the zone of getting the flowers ready.I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
“Whatever.This is great news, Chrissy, but—” Sunny chewed her bottom lip.“Are we going to have enough stock to be able to supply them?”
“How many times have you had to cut the flowers and dump them because we’ve produced a bit too much over winter and have no one to supply them to because fresh flowers are usually the last thing most people want, especially over the holiday season?”Chrissy questioned.
“A few, but it’s not as many as you might think.”
“But don’t you say that cutting encourages growth or something like that?”
“I did, and it can, but—” Sunny looked determined and Chrissy loved seeing that spark in her eyes.“We’ll make it happen, and we’ll both convince Mom that selling isn’t an option.No matter what we have to do to get her out of the listing agreement, we’ll do it.Hopefully, there won’t be any penalties.And if there are, we’ll deal with that as well.Together, because the Bloom family sticks together.”
