Chapter 11
eleven
“Go on, Davy.” Tarr patted the horse’s rump to get him to move out of the stall. He’d been rearranging animals for a couple of hours now in anticipation of Rosie Young’s arrival at the facilities.
She’d been set to show up yesterday afternoon, but the storm had delayed her. Then her daddy had decided last minute to simply meet her in Las Vegas for the NPR finals, so she would be traveling with her older brother, Cole, and his wife, Rachel, instead.
Tucker and Bobbie Jo had been making appropriate preparations at the mansion for the past twenty-four hours, and that left Tarr and Ashton to prep the facilities, as Rosie would want to ride the moment she stepped out of the truck.
She reminded him so much of himself—travel wasn’t his favorite part of being on the rodeo circuit, and that he sometimes itched for the wide open sky and the feel of a horse underneath him.
“Go on, you lazy thing. You’re not even being ridden today, so stop complaining.
” Tarr grinned as Davy finally started to move, and he strode along the length of the horse’s body to his neck, grabbing the lead rope so Davy couldn’t dictate where he wanted to go.
The horse was one of their most stubborn, but Tarr loved him for it.
Rosie would be riding Pumpkin Spice, a pretty dark-orange horse, as well as a gray who knew how to cut close to the barrels.
Tarr had been training them both for about a year now, and having a pro barrel racer here to work them would show him what they could really do.
His own anticipation climbed as he got Davy settled in his new stall and went to get Cocoa Pebbles.
Rosie was bringing two horses with her, but it was a long drive from Coral Canyon, Wyoming, down to the Deerfield area of Colorado, and her horses would have been trailered for about ten hours by the time they arrived.
Briar should be on-site to check them while Tuck, Bobbie Jo, and Tarr handled greeting the rodeo stars.
Cole Young had never ridden in the rodeo, but he worked at his wife’s family’s animal training facility—a ranch called Whispering Pines just north of Coral Canyon. They did all the same things that Tarr and Tuck were trying to do here: train animals for the rodeo.
Rachel’s two older brothers, another man named Cole, and Warren both rode in the rodeo, retreating to their wintry farm for rest in the off-season. She had another brother named Harrison, who did manual labor around their facility and taught music lessons in town.
The Walkers were a huge rodeo family stemming from Wyatt Walker himself—the Rodeo King and one of the most winning cowboys ever to ride.
Tarr had grown up idolizing Wyatt Walker, wearing his clothes and cologne and watching all of his videos.
It took a special personality to be in the rodeo, because one not only had to have talent, but also charisma and presence—and Wyatt Walker possessed both in spades.
Tarr could still see the man’s double-handed wave as he pulled off his cowboy hat and waved both it and his free hand to the cameras.
He’d later told reporters that he did that special wave to tell his momma and daddy hello, I love you, and thank you, and Tarr loved the man’s family values as much as he liked watching him ride.
Tarr’s heartbeat bumped through his body, because he hadn’t been this close to the rodeo in a long time.
Tucker had been going to Texas to train Rosie for weeks on end.
Sometimes Bobbie Jo went with him, especially now that they were married.
Everyone would be leaving the farm by the weekend to get down to Las Vegas for the NPR finals, which started the following week.
Tarr had been checking the weather, and the ten-day forecast was barely out. So far—no snow. Having to deal with the farm and all the animals in a snowstorm like what they’d just gotten would be nearly impossible for him, Briar, and Ashton to handle by themselves.
Tuck had said they could call on the cowboys at the Hammond Family Farm, but it was over an hour for them to get here, and with snow covering everything, it would take even longer.
Tarr had simply been praying the weather would hold and the snow would melt until Tuck and Bobbie Jo returned.
He pulled a butterscotch candy out of his pocket and gave it to Cocoa Pebbles before even attempting to move her out of her stall. Once properly treated, the horse would do anything he wanted, and sure enough, she followed him without a lead rope into the stall down on the end.
The snow had melted a little bit more since Saturday, and his and Briar’s snowman was looking pretty pathetic.
Grasses had started to poke through in the fields again, and once Rosie arrived and everything was situated with her, Tarr would let the animals out to graze while Tuck ran Rosie through exercises and Tarr made notes on his horses’ performance.
He finished up with the horses and washed his hands in the barn sink, turning just as Tucker and Bobbie Jo entered.
Bobbie Jo had grown up on a corn farm in Oklahoma and claimed not to know much about rodeo or animals, but she certainly knew how to work hard.
Tarr admired her for jumping into whatever task was necessary around the house and farm.
He’d grown up on a big farm like this, sans the rodeo facilities, and it had taken them both months to figure out all the chores and maintenance that needed to be done and how to accomplish it.
Tarr much preferred physical work over sitting at any kind of desk and looking at any kind of paperwork. Therefore he’d never gone to college, and he’d been riding in saddles since he was three years old.
“How’s it looking out here?” Tuck asked.
“Great,” Tarr said. “I just finished moving everyone, so we’ve got room for Rosie’s horses when they get here.”
“She’s ten minutes out,” Bobbie Jo said, glancing around as if she needed to hang a banner to welcome the barrel racer.
“Have you seen Briar?” Tuck asked.
“Not since this morning,” Tarr said.
The electricity had come on midafternoon yesterday, and with the furnace now functioning, they’d both retreated to their separate bedrooms. Tarr had slept, but not well, especially compared to having the warm, soft, very female shape of Briar in his arms. He wasn’t sure he’d ever truly sleep again without her.
His jaw tightened, and he swallowed, lest he blurt out anything he didn’t want Tuck or Bobbie Jo to know. “I’m probably going to move into one of those long-term hotel rental things when you guys get back.”
“You really don’t need to,” Tuck said. “You can have the whole top floor. It’s two bedrooms and a bathroom.”
“We’ve even put a microwave and a mini-fridge up there,” Bobbie Jo said. “Because that’s where Rosie and Cole will be staying.”
Tarr nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
“We go out at the same time in the morning anyway,” Tuck said. “And I know you—you’re in bed by nine o’clock.” He grinned, and Tarr couldn’t help returning it.
“It would make more sense if you were on-site,” Bobbie Jo said. “Especially in the winter.”
“Now you’re starting to sound like Briar,” he said.
“That’s because she’s smart,” Bobbie Jo said with a grin. “It’s seven bedrooms, Tarr.”
“Three levels. You could live in the basement if you want. It’s just a lot cooler down there,” Tucker said. “And we’d have to open up all the vents.”
“I don’t want to live in a basement,” Tarr said.
The master bedroom, a guest bedroom, and two full baths sat on the main floor, along with an enormous kitchen, living room, and dining room combo with two-story windows.
The steps led up to a loft that overlooked the downstairs living and sitting areas, and then the hallway branched down to the two-bedroom, one-bath suite Tucker was talking about.
He’d even put a door on it, and out in the loft was the mini-fridge and the microwave Bobbie Jo had just spoken of.
“You can pay us rent if you want,” Tucker said. “As much as the hotel rental, even.” He glanced over to Bobbie Jo, grinning. “I mean, I’d take his money. Wouldn’t you?”
“It would feed a lot of goats,” Bobbie Jo said.
Tarr rolled his eyes. “How long have you guys been rehearsing this?”
“Just since this morning,” Bobbie Jo shot back. “Really, Tarr, it’s stupid for you to get a hotel, and you can’t live in the RV.”
“I mean, I guess you could keeping living with Briar,” Tuck said. “But honestly, she’s right across the hall, and you’re sharing a bathroom. How is that less close-quarters and intimate than staying with me and Bobbie Jo?”
“I’ll think about it,” Tarr said again.
The basement at Tuck’s mansion had three bedrooms, an additional one-and-a-half baths, a full kitchen, a theater room, and an open living room.
The man definitely had way more space than he needed, even if he and Bobbie Jo started having kids immediately, though they both claimed they were going to wait a couple of years.
The sound of tires on gravel met their ears, and all three of them whipped their attention to the barn door.
“She’s here,” Tuck said.
“I don’t know why you’re so nervous,” Bobbie Jo said.
“I don’t know why you’re not,” Tuck said. “She’s only seen this place in pictures and video. She’s never ridden here, and what if she hates it?”
“Tuck, she signed a contract with you, bro,” Tarr said. “She can’t just quit. And besides, our facilities are the nicest in the state.”
“They’re nicer than where we train in Texas.” Tuck swiftly moved toward the door. He exited first, his laughter bouncing around in the doorway, and then his too-loud voice saying, “You made it!”
A lower male voice said something Tarr couldn’t quite make out as he followed his best friend outside. A tall, sandy-haired cowboy stood there, his hand in that of a blonde woman wearing a bright red, puffy coat.
“This is my brother Cole,” Rosie said—the blonde powerhouse who’d hired Tucker to be her rodeo trainer and manager.
“So great to meet you,” Tuck said.