And something about the way Tabby looked at him at all gave him pause. She was a pretty girl with her long dirty blond hair and carefree way about her. There was sass underneath all that beauty. She didn’t wear makeup. She didn’t need to. She was authentic in every way, more naked than anyone he’d known in recent years.
“Kas! Dinner is ready!”
He hadn’t taken his shower, and he knew enough not to make his sister wait. He’d take his shower after and then do a little research on the computer. Maybe that would take his mind off Tabby Swanson and how much he wanted to drive over to the ranch and see her again.
Sweet Montana Sky: Chapter Four
Trip told them all the morning of Levon’s funeral that he wasn’t traveling to Colorado to attend the service because Levon didn’t believe in such things and he wanted to honor his friend. He told Tabby and the rest of the hands they could go as long as they were back the next day for work. He’d hold down things until then. But Tabby figured Trip wanted to honor Levon in his own way. Alone.
The ranch hands had a close bond, so Hal and Dusty drove all night to Colorado to attend the funeral. Tabby couldn’t get the time off work on such short notice, although she was sure she could have convinced Jack Robinson, her boss, to let her go. He was a good family man. Although she didn’t broadcast her life to people when she met them, Jack knew about her parents’ deaths and her reason for coming to Sweet. He didn’t let her use it as a crutch, but he was understanding.
She was thankful for her job even though she hated it. She’d love nothing better than to be able to ride and maybe one day teach riding. But for now, she needed her job at the grocery store to make ends meet. She wasn’t to the point where she was making enough money from rodeo earnings to cover her travel expenses and rodeo fees. Working in the store’s bakery may not be glamorous, but it paid the bills and for now, that was enough.
Kasper Dobbs was still hanging around the ranch, discussing business with Trip. Apparently there was a problem with breeding. She’d learned that when Darren Lacey, a local horse breeder, showed up at the ranch and had it out with Trip. Ugly was the word Levon had used to describe how Trip had been on the phone the days before Levon died. She saw that now.
While the voices were raised, she didn’t listen to the particulars and knew nothing of the details of their disagreement because it wasn’t her business. What was her business was Kas’s interest in her riding. He’d come out to the arena every day for the week after Levon’s death while Tabby trained. He just sat on the sidelines. When she was done, he’d go back to the barn with her and they’d talk about things that had nothing to do with riding while she tended to Tenterhook and got him settled back in his stall. Then he’d leave.
Tabby hadn’t learned the reason why he’d been lingering until Trip knocked on her door that morning to tell her Kas was coming with them to the rodeo to see her and Tenterhook perform in competition. He was interested in sponsoring Tenterhook and possibly breeding him.
The excitement she felt over the possibilities was palpable. She loaded Tenterhook into the trailer and they all headed to one of the last rodeo events of the season in Great Falls. A lot rested on how well she and Tenterhook performed today. Kasper Dobbs could end up being the key to her eventually going pro on the rodeo circuit. A big change in her life. Horseshoe be damned. Luck was on her side.
* * *
Darren Lacey and Tanner Rogers were hanging around the holding area when Tabby rode Tenterhook over to the arena for competition. She didn’t know either of them well but she’d seen Darren many times at rodeos and then just the other day at the Lone Creek Ranch since he and Trip had been doing business together.
She’d never had cause to form an opinion about Darren. But after Darren’s appearance yesterday at the ranch, along with his feud with Trip over how breeding of two of their horses was coming along, made Tabby on edge. Couldn’t he have stayed in the stands and watched all the runs like everyone else? If not for the argument she witnessed in the barn yesterday, she wouldn’t even care. But for some reason his presence seemed so imposing.
She pushed all thoughts of Darren Lacey out of her mind as she watched the barrel racer ahead of her to see how she handled her run. The rider cleared the first barrel and raced to the next barrel in the cloverleaf with good form. Her horse stumbled as it turned, but she recovered quickly, not losing her seat. However, she did lose some precious time.
She fixed her gaze on the rider’s form as she made it to the last barrel and held her breath. From where she was, it looked like she was coming in too close to the barrel. Tabby watched with bated breath. As she anticipated, the rider’s horse clipped the side of the barrel, causing it to tip over in front of the horse and make him stop short.
The horse reared up and the rider tumbled back to the arena floor. The crowd reacted to the fall, the commotion causing
