Chapter 1
Claire
Present day…
I shot upright out of bed to a loud crash. Peeking out the window, I caught the tail end of Duke, one of our geldings, sprinting out of his pen and into the northern pasture.
“Shit!” I raced out the door after him, wondering what I’d done in a past life to deserve this obnoxious wake-up call. I barely got enough sleep as it was.
But that was how life went when you ran a ranch.
Golden Bridle was more than just a ranch to me; it was my family’s legacy. And as much as I loved my family, the burden of making sure said legacy remained intact was heavy, especially since I had been carrying it alone since I was twenty-four.
Before he died eight years ago, Dad always said the land was in our blood, but sometimes I wondered if the land was trying to bleed me dry.
This morning, it felt like it.
I let out a sharp whistle, trying to get Duke to come back, but he didn’t listen. My boots kicked up dust as I sprinted after him. I grabbed my lasso, swirling it over my head.
“Get over here, you little jerk,” I muttered, breath ragged and heart pounding as I tossed the lasso around his neck. I brushed my dark auburn curls out of my face, not having time to put them up in a braid like I usually did.
Of course, he bucked and fought because why would he come easily? Nothing in my life had come easily, nothing aside from barrel racing. But that was a dream I had to give up after Dad’s car accident because Mama was too depressed to run the ranch.
The morning chaos didn’t end once I got Duke back in his pen. I had horses to feed, a sick mare to check on, and a stallion to break, all while trying not to think about my mother’s looming medical bills.
Chemo wasn’t cheap.
In the three years Mama had been fighting lung cancer, it felt like we were counting the breaths between storms, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
She handled treatment like a champ at first, but now, she was sick…
bedridden kind of sick. Every breath was a battle.
Every day was a miracle. She stopped treatment two months ago, and the doctors said it was only a matter of time now.
I glanced up at the crooked sign hanging over the barn door.
It looked as tired and worn as I felt. Then again, the entire ranch did—Golden Bridle wasn’t looking so golden anymore, but I didn’t have any resources to spruce the poor girl up.
Every dollar I could spare went towards medical bills, horse feed, or fixing something vital, like the fencing or the corrals, so the horses would stay put. Not that that stopped Duke just now.
As I wiped my hands on my jeans, the rumbling of an engine pulled my attention.
Emmett rolled up in his truck he spent two summers in high school rebuilding with Dad, the faded maroon paint rusted and chipped.
He’d been living and working here since he retired from the Army two years ago, after multiple combat tours that left him more tired and haunted than I’d ever seen.
He doesn’t talk about it, and we don’t ask.
Despite the far-off, distant look in his eyes, he had been a steady help on the ranch, even if he rarely showed enthusiasm about it.
“Morning,” I called out, waving him over. He climbed out of the truck, running a tattooed hand through his shaggy blonde hair; he had let it grow out after he retired, and Mama’s curls we inherited were starting to show.
“Your horse got out this morning. Nearly gave me a heart attack.”
He huffed, something vaguely similar to a laugh. “Funny how he’s my horse when he’s causing trouble, but yours when he’s an angel.”
I smiled and ran a hand along Duke’s tan muzzle. “I don’t know what you could possibly be talking about.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets, and there was a beat of silence. Not uncommon when it came to Emmett. “How’s Mama?”
I swallowed, pushing aside the wariness I felt. It was my job as the oldest to shield him and our other two sisters from everything bad, even if he was only a year younger and more experienced with death than I ever would be. “The same.”
“How’s out front?” I asked, not wanting to think about our mother dying anymore. I couldn’t.
Emmett shrugged a shoulder, staring towards the south pasture, squinting from the sunlight. “Okay, I guess. Got a few eggs. Stopped a goat from escaping. For now.”
We shared a brief smile. There was always something new at Golden Bridle to keep us on our toes.
Leaning against the fence, I checked my phone and emails. I gasped.
“What?”
“Cavendish Equestrian Academy is looking to open a location in the area, and they want to partner with an already established ranch for their horse breeding and training program.”
“Oh?”
I rolled my eyes at his lackluster response. “This is big, Em. Huge.” I’d been trying to do the same thing here already, but with a company as big as Cavendish, it’d put Golden Bridle on the map. Not to mention, bail us out of debt.
I chewed on my bottom lip, reading over the extensive interview process that involved presentations, tours, and meetings. With everything going on here, I wasn’t sure I could juggle it all.
If I got their email, then surely every ranch in the area did as well, including Circle M, the cattle ranch run by the pretentious McLeods, who also happened to be my neighbors.
Beaumont “Mount” McLeod and his son, Beau, liked to turn everything into a pissing contest and flaunt their money at every opportunity.
No matter how hard my family tried, they always came out on top.
The McLeods had been beating us ever since they cheated us out of a merger in the seventies, and our families had been at each other’s throats ever since.
I looked over at my brother. “Do you think I should apply?”
Emmett kicked a rock around. “Whatever you think’s best, bear.”
I sighed, wishing he’d give me some input.
I was thankful he trusted me, but it would’ve been nice to have a partner in this—in all of it.
Just because I’d been doing it alone these last eight years didn’t mean I wanted to.
Or that it wasn’t hard. Being the only one calling the shots with no sounding board was exhausting.
Some days, it took all the strength I had not to pull a Tess and run away. But that was the luxury she had of being the youngest that I sure as hell didn’t.
I shoved my phone in my pocket roughly. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t the only person on this ranch who gave a shit,” I snapped. The words came out harsher than I intended, but the sentiment remained.
His eyes softened, that same green shade as Dad’s, the same as mine. “I don’t know anything about running a ranch, Claire. If you want to apply, then apply. I trust you. We all do.”
I gave him a weak smile. It was all I could muster. “Thanks.”
Emmett left to repair some fences. I watched him go, still wishing I had someone to share the weight of all this with.
After finishing my chores, I drove into town to talk to Gran at the Wild Creek Diner about the email. Even though she hadn't made a decision affecting the ranch since the nineties, after Grandpa died, she had a way of making me feel better and helping me gain perspective.
The diner smelled like fresh coffee, bacon grease, and a hint of smoke. I found Gran holed up at her usual corner booth with her best friend, Louise, the owner, sharing a banana split like they did every afternoon while they gossiped.
She smiled when she saw me, her wrinkles deepening. “Hi, sweet pea.” Some of the weight eased off my shoulders just at the sight of her.
That was one thing about Kelly Hayes: she never failed to make you feel like you were the most important person in the room when she saw you.
I slid in next to her, resting my head on her shoulder. “Hey.” I grabbed her spoon and shoveled a mound of chocolate ice cream into my mouth.
It did nothing to fix me.
“What’s wrong with you?” Louise asked, gesturing to my face. “You keep frowning like that, you’ll get wrinkles. Just look at LouAnn Stratton. Poor thing’s face looks like a railroad track.”
I almost spat my ice cream out. “Louise!” Gran scolded, fighting off giggles. “You’re terrible.”
Louise shrugged. “It’s true. And our Claire is too pretty to turn into a railroad face.”
“Thanks, Miss Louise,” I chuckled, taking another bite of ice cream.
“Now tell us what’s wrong,” Gran insisted, taking the spoon from me to get a bite for herself.
I let out a heavy breath and told them about Cavendish.
“I’m not sure if I should apply or not with everything going on with Mama.
” I looked between the two women staring at me like the answer was obvious.
“It’s a really extensive process. And with it being just Em and me at the ranch, I don’t know if I have the time to focus on it.
It’d be easier if Savannah and Tess were here, but they aren’t. ”
“Nobody knows where that little hellion is,” Louise muttered, talking about Tess, while taking a drag of her cigarette even though she has a no-smoking policy.
“She’s not a hellion,” Gran said, chin lifted high. “She’s just on her own path, and we’ll be here when she comes home.”
Louise snorts. “At least the lawyer stays in touch. Did you ask Savvy what she thinks? What did Emmett say?”
I shook my head. “No, not yet. And Emmett gave his usual response, leaving it all on me.” Knowing she’d say the same thing as Emmett, I hadn't even bothered asking Savannah. She was busy being a big-time lawyer in Dallas anyway.
“I think you should do it, honey,” Gran said. “I’ll watch Charlotte while you work on it.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “I don’t know…” I’d feel terrible dumping Mama on Gran while I went after something that might not even work out—probably wouldn’t work out if the McLeods were involved.
Louise slapped a quarter on the table, making me jump. “Heads, you do it. Tails, you don’t. This is how I’ve made every decision I wasn’t sure about—including husbands. It works.”
Staring at the quarter, I knew I’d have to follow through with whatever it said. These old women wouldn’t let me back out if it said heads. “But what if I don’t get the partnership? What if I spend all this time on it and nothing comes out of it?”
“Then you don’t get it,” Louise said as if it were that simple. “Life goes on.”
“And you can say you gave it all you got.” Gran rubbed my back in support.
Heart thundering, I nodded. “Okay. Flip it.”
We watched the coin twirl in the air, and I knew as I watched it drop to the table, I’d apply regardless of what it said. I’d already given up one dream; I refused to give up another. I wouldn’t let anyone, not even Beau McLeod, get in my way.
Louise smacked her hand over the quarter. “Ready?”
A wave of determination came over me. “Forget the coin—I’m gonna do it.”
“Oh, wonderful!” Gran clapped, beaming.
Louise nodded with approval, looking like the cat that ate the canary. “And that’s the magic of the coin toss. It tells you what you really want. Now get out of here, kid.”
I kissed them both on the cheek and left the diner feeling invigorated, but I always did after spending time with Gran and Louise.
Once home, I submitted my application, feeling nervous but excited. It felt like I was doing something for myself for the first time in eight years. I knew it’d be hard work, but the calluses on my hands were proof that I knew how to give something my all.
Whether I’d end up competing against Beau or not didn’t matter. I’d fight like hell to win—but I couldn’t lie: it’d feel damn good to beat his arrogant ass.