“I’m sorry I kept you waiting, Kasper. I see you’ve already met Tenterhook?”
Confused, Tabby glanced quickly at Trip wondering why on earth he’d have cause to discuss Tenterhook with a stranger. But Trip appeared frazzled and focused squarely on the stranger so she turned her attention to him as well.
“You came here to see Tenterhook?” Tabby asked.
“Among other animals,” the man said.
“Have you both introduced yourselves?” Trip asked finally looking at Tabby.
Tabby said, “I introduced myself to him.”
The man held out his hand. “Oh, forgive me. Kasper Dobbs. Call me Kas.”
“He’s Katie Dobbs’ older brother.”
She knew Katie. She worked at the bank in town and Tabby had seen her at some of the local events. But they weren’t what she’d call friends. She knew Katie had been married and divorced in the span of a year. She didn’t know the details and wasn’t one for engaging in gossip. There was always a sadness beneath the smile as she cashed her check at the bank. She looked at Kasper now and could see the resemblance. Given their earlier conversation about him being from Sweet, the connection now made her feel even more foolish for giving him a hard time.
Still, she couldn’t help herself. “So working in a bank runs in the family?”
Trip’s eyes widened. Kasper laughed hard.
“He’s a sponsor, Tabby,” Trip said carefully. “I asked him to come down and look at some of the stock.”
“Oh.”
“I’m not a banker. Just a businessman looking to invest.”
“Why don’t you and I go into the office to discuss a few things and then I’ll give you a tour.”
He nodded his head to Tabby. “Nice to meet you, Tabby. And Tenterhook.”
“Same here.”
She watched him walk out of the barn with Trip. He was a sponsor. He’d been here to see Tenterhook and the other stock at the ranch.
And her wise mouth probably blew any chance of him wanting to work with her.
Sweet Montana Sky: Chapter Two
She did a quick run in the arena with Tenterhook. Something was up. Something wrong. Today just didn’t feel right. Neither she nor Tenterhook were at the top of their game. They’d both done better. She didn’t need a stopwatch and an announcer to tell her so.
She walked Tenterhook back to the barn and began to undo his saddle when Levon, one of the ranch hands, came in.
“You’re looking like you’re having a bad day, little lady.”
She forced a smile. “No, just finished a run.”
“How’s my boy doing?”
Levon, a cowpoke for over thirty years on various ranches around the state of Montana, always called Tenterhook his boy given that Tabby’s father had purchased the horse from Levon just a week before Tabby’s graduation. Levon hadn’t had the horse all that long having purchased him at a BLM, Bureau of Land Management, auction. No one thought Tenterhook would become the horse he was today.
“He’s sluggish for some reason.”
“Yeah?”
Levon came over and ran his hand down Tenterhook’s neck. Tenterhook bobbed his head and took a step back.
“He never did love me the way he loves you,” Levon said with a mock pout. He grabbed Tenterhook’s face with both his hands and added, “Yeah, you love the pretty girls. Don’t you, boy.”
Tabby chuckled. “You’re too much.”
Levon seemed to spot something and ran his hand down Tenterhook’s leg, gently urging him to lift it for inspection. “Looks like something is wedged here in his shoe. Could be causing him some irritation. It may account for the sluggishness today.”
“Yeah? When is the next time Hunter will be out to the ranch to reshoe the horses?”
“We have the farrier scheduled every four weeks. Hunter’s not due back for at least another week. I don’t think this should wait though. Better give Hunter a call and see if he can come tomorrow morning. Word is Mr. Dobbs is going to want to see some of the stock in action this week. Speaking of which, have you met him yet?”
“Kasper? Trip told me he’s Katie Dobbs brother, but I’ve never heard anything about him. Who is he?”
“Former bull rider turned businessman. Got hurt on the circuit real bad when he was just hitting his prime. Broke his neck and ended his bull riding career. He plays hockey down at the mill pond with the local cowboys he went to high school with when he’s in town. Even has a share in one of the professional hockey teams out East. But these days he has deep pockets doing something financial back East. He owns Swing High.”
“Really? I thought Trip owned Swing High.”
“Part owner.”
Swing High was one of the bulls in circulation at Western Rodeo Circuit events. Tabby knew Swing High made money for Trip, which meant that as part owner he made money for Kasper Dobbs.
“It’s what he does.”
It was not uncommon for a stock owner to sell shares of stock ownership when the animal is doing well on the rodeo circuit. Keeping livestock is expensive. Travel, vet bills and feeding costs add up on top of what it costs to own a ranch the size of the Lone Creek in this part of Montana where ranchers own big spreads.
“What’s he doing here? I mean, don’t those suits only come around when decisions about money need to be made? Like selling? Is Trip selling Swing High?”
Levon got up from his crouched position by Tenterhook’s leg and laughed. “Suit? You didn’t call him a suit, did you, Tabby?”
She shrugged as her cheeks flamed, which made Levon laugh a little harder.
“That man is about as homegrown as those mountains out there. Weren’t you the one bellyaching last week about finding a sponsor before the end of last season?”
“Yeah, but—”
“But nothing. You can’t go insulting potential sponsors just because they wear a suit.”
“You said he invests in stock.”
“Last I checked, Tenterhook is a horse, ain’t he?”
She gave him a sarcastic look. “Tenterhook has had a great showing this year,” she admitted. “Having a sponsor will make it
