Chapter 8 Cleo
cleo
. . .
“Today’s the day,” I murmured to myself, holding my clipboard tightly. “You got this.”
A car was making its way up the drive toward our house. My nerves were frayed, and my anxiety soared, but I managed to keep it together as it came to a stop. I didn’t have time to break down. Not today.
The door opened, and a little boy jumped out, excitedly pointing at the animals we’d brought up to the holding pen near the barn.
Most kids who’d grown up in Ashwood were familiar with horses and cattle, but it didn’t mean they saw them every day.
There was something magical about the look on their faces about being near creatures we were somewhat desensitized to because we worked with them daily.
Lennox walked up beside me, bumping my hip with her own. “You ready for this?”
“Of course,” I said, nodding nervously. My hands were already drenched in sweat, and the day hadn’t even begun.
“I mean, it’s no big deal, right? It’s just a weeklong day camp we’ve been working on for the past seven months.
It’s okay if nothing goes to plan and everyone hates it. We can say we gave it our best shot.”
“Oh boy,” Lennox said, blowing out a breath. “Have you talked to Laura lately?”
No, I hadn’t, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “Of course.”
She crossed her arms, giving me a look that said she knew I was lying.
I waited for her to push the subject, to challenge me, but she didn’t.
She knew I’d only shut down more. “You know this is going to be amazing, right? People all over Ashwood are talking about it. We’ve already gotten inquiries about sign-ups for next year.
Everyone knows Black Springs is the place to learn about horsemanship. ”
For adults, absolutely, but kids were a new market for us.
After stepping away from professional team roping, my dad started training horses.
It began as a hobby and grew into a side hustle.
When he realized its potential, it became a way to use what he loved to diversify the ranch’s earning potential.
He traveled the country to teach, but he was renowned for the clinic we held here every June.
Last summer, Dad hired Lincoln to help him manage the load.
Even before his health scare, we knew he wasn’t going to be able to do this forever.
We’d taken every precaution to mitigate his retirement.
Lincoln was talented on his own, but under Dad’s watchful eye and instruction, he’d truly flourished.
Despite that, this was the first year we hadn’t hosted the annual training clinic.
It’d been a hard call to make, especially since it helped financially carry the ranch through the winter.
With Dad unable to work and the birth of Baby Hayes, we all agreed it would be best to let everyone settle in and return the following year with a bang.
It did, however, mean we had the opportunity to test out something different.
When I started teaching at the local elementary school again, several parents complained about the lack of educational programs during the summer.
Our school district would hold one or two camps during the two-month summer break, but they were mostly tailored toward math or science.
During one of my parent-teacher conferences, I was asked if the ranch had anything tailored toward kids.
The nearest outdoor camp was over forty minutes away, which wasn’t feasible for those who worked.
When I’d said no, I found myself wishing I could say yes.
We didn’t need anything else on our plate, but once the idea was planted, it had sprouted roots I couldn’t help but water.
Lennox’s eyes had sparkled when I brought the idea to her. She immediately said yes and jumped headfirst into planning. I almost felt bad dumping something else on her plate, but honestly, no one would be able to pull it off like she would.
For all my skills, I hadn’t even known where to start with this one.
I may have grown up on the ranch, but it’d been a long time since I’d included myself in any of the day-to-day operations.
I didn’t know about licenses, insurance, or funding.
I didn’t know how to go about gathering staff or which horses would be best with tiny humans.
But my sister did.
Organization and paperwork were my areas of strength.
I could take a bunch of random information and compile it into nice, neat stacks.
My eyes dropped to my trusty clipboard, where I had at least two pages of kids who’d be showing up today, all alphabetized and color-coded by age group.
If someone asked, I could probably recite their names by heart at this point because I’d studied them for so long.
It helped that I knew most of them. Our town was small enough that I’d either had them in my class or gone to school with their parents. Some, though, were a mystery.
Lennox snatched my clipboard out of my hands, jerking me back to reality. “What?”
“You didn’t listen to a single thing I just said, did you?” she asked.
“I don’t know why you’re in the business of asking questions you already know the answer to,” I snapped, reaching for my stuff. She danced out of reach, holding it high above her head as though it would stop me. “Will you give me that back, please? People are here, and I need to check them in.”
“Are you going to stop overanalyzing?”
No. “Yes, I’m done. I’m laser-focused.” I held out my hand. “Now, give me my clipboard.”
Lennox eyed me skeptically before dropping it in my palm. “Fine. But if I so much as see a single frown line or pout, I’m texting Rachel.”
“You know, it’s concerning that you have my best friend’s number,” I called out as she began walking backward.
She shrugged. “She was just reaching out to check on you, Cleo. You better be thankful I don’t ask for Laura’s number, too.”
Note to self: Keep Lennox away from Laura
“Miss Hayes! Miss Hayes! Miss Hayes!”
I looked up to find a little boy running my way. He and his brother were both in my class last year. “Well, hello, Liam! How are you this morning?”
He skidded to a stop with a big, goofy grin on his face.
His mother, Teresa, trailed behind, shaking her head.
“So good. Mom made me have oatmeal instead of cereal this morning. She said it was because I was gonna be so busy today that I needed extra energy,” he said, holding his hands behind his back.
“Oh, did she?” I asked when she came to a stop beside him. Teresa and I went to high school together. We’d never been close, but she was always nice to me. Her dad ran the livestock barn, so we had seen each other more outside of school than we did within the halls.
“Which ended up not mattering because someone put four spoonsful of sugar in while I wasn’t looking.” She grimaced, putting her hand on top of Liam’s head to stop him from bouncing.
“Oh yeah, I did do that,” he said, nodding. “It tastes so much better that way.”
Teresa and I shared a look. “I’m sure it does, buddy. Here, I’m going to give you this name tag,” I said, taking out my pen and writing his name on the blank label. “I need you to wear it all day, okay?”
Liam’s bottom lip stuck out. “Do I have to?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“But you already know my name.”
I crouched down to his level. “I do, but other people don’t. You don’t want people calling you Timothy, right?”
He scrunched his nose. “No way.”
“Alright then. You’ll need to wear this so that doesn’t happen. It’s just for today, okay? Look, I’m even wearing one.” I pointed to the silver one pinned to my chest, which bore the BSR logo.
“Ooh, I want one of those!” he shouted, jumping up and down again.
I pushed to my feet, ruffling his hair slightly. “Unfortunately, these are just for adults, but maybe one day you’ll work here and get one.”
Every member of our staff had a nametag.
They didn’t get much use, but they made things easier during our events.
It was an easy way for patrons to distinguish between employees and non-employees.
Now that we were throwing kids into the mix, they needed to know who they could turn to if they needed help.
“Really? That is so cool.” Liam turned to Teresa. “Momma, I wanna be a cowboy when I grow up!”
She smiled down at her son. “Well, your grandpa’s gonna love hearing that.
Now, gimme a hug so I can head to work. I’ll be back later to pick you up, okay?
” Liam made quick work of his hug before running off to say hi to some of his friends.
“I’m so sorry about the sugar high,” she said, grimacing.
“I’d set the sugar out to put some in my coffee, but got distracted.
By the time I turned around, there was already a mountain on top of his oatmeal.
I didn’t have time to make another bowl—”
I waved her off. This wasn’t my first time dealing with sugar rushes, and it wouldn’t be my last. “You’re fine. I know today’s a late start, but the rest of the week, we’ll be providing breakfast, so you won’t have to worry about it.”
“Y’all are amazing for doing this. My dad’s been wanting to teach him to ride for ages now, but you know how it is. Things slip through the cracks when you’re busy.”
I was trying so hard to focus on what Teresa was saying, how her dad had been struggling with health issues of his own. Still, I couldn’t help but overhear snippets of two women somewhere behind us.
“Oh my gosh, is that—”
“No, it can’t be. There’s no way…”
“I’m so sorry to interrupt, ladies, but could you tell me where I need to check my daughter in?”
I froze, my blood running cold. Goosebumps cropped up along my skin. I knew that voice. God, I hated knowing that voice. This wasn’t happening. There was no way it was happening. Not here, not now.
Nope. No, no, no. Not again.
“Of course! It’s right up there,” one of the women said.
She sounded way too chipper if you asked me.
It only got worse as she dropped her voice into this weird sultry tone and added, “Can I just say I’m a huge fan of yours?
Your music helped me through some really dark times.
I recently went through a divorce, and I’ve never heard lyrics that spoke to me like yours did. ”
Are you freaking kidding me right now? Did she think that would work? As if his fucking ego wasn’t inflated enough…
“Excuse me, Miss?” There was humor in his voice, which pissed me off more than anything. How dare he come back after everything? “Rumor has it you’re the one to see about checking my daughter in?”
Teresa glanced behind me, eyes going wide before she gave an awkward wave and headed back to her car. I returned the gesture, if only to buy time as I sucked in a deep breath and whirled around, coming face-to-face with Grady Wilde and his daughter on my goddamn ranch.