Page 23 of Her Cowboy Blind Date

“Oh man. That’s terrible.”

“Yeah. Mel, my other sister, was there. She told me it was a train wreck. The hospital did toxicology tests and confirmed Mum’s fears. The stable hand was fired.”

“Drugs are bad news.”

“They sure are. Not my thing.” After Kelly’s scary situation, Becky had stood firm and declined all offers of mind-altering substances. Her faith reinforced the wisdom of having self-control at all times. She didn’t like eating junk, or ingesting junk in other ways.

He nodded. “It’s a shame you lost the opportunity to go horse riding.”

“It’s okay. I was thirteen or fourteen and busy on weekends and during school holidays. Life goes on.”

They rode in silence, their mounts content to stroll along the dirt road. It was dry, and the paddocks weren’t as green as Becky had anticipated.

Sam opened a gate and Becky rode through, following Sam’s lead.

“We’ll be following this fence for a while,” he said.

“What are you looking for?”

“Signs of damage.”

“From what, exactly?” Her fence inspecting experience was zero.

“Deer. Elk.”

“What about feral pigs?”

“You mean hogs, right?”

She nodded. “I know they’re a problem in Australia.”

“Fortunately wild hogs aren’t common around these parts.”

“That is fortunate.” She felt safer knowing there weren’t feral pigs roaming around.

“Have you made up your mind about the wedding?”

She nodded. “I’ll be your plus-one.”

His grin widened, highlighting a cute dimple near his mouth. “Thank you. I appreciate you doing this.”

“No worries. Are you visiting here for Easter?”

“I sure am.”

“Cindy wants to drive here on Easter Saturday. Can I catch a ride with you on Easter Sunday? I can stay at the dorm over the weekend.”

“Sure. The cast and crew have an Easter Sunday wrap-up party. We can go there on the way.”

“The party sounds fun.”

“Have you received an email about your schedule?”

She nodded. “I’m volunteering in your area of expertise. I’ve never done this before, and I’ll have no idea what I’m doing.”

“It’s easy once you learn the ropes. Same routine every performance. I’ll see if we can be paired together.”

“That would be fun. Then I’ll know someone. I don’t think any of my college friends are volunteering this year.”

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