Bob Lumley and his family were a fixture in Poplar Springs since almost as far back as the Caffertys and Thornes went. It was rare not to see him around town, but after that big storm when we’d had all those lightning strikes, his appearances had become infrequent. He still made an attempt to attend the Cattlemen’s meetings, but he often left early.
“Do you think he’s okay?” Josh whispered to me and I shrugged.
“See if Brian knows. He’s more likely to tell you than me.” Even though our sheriff was in Fiona’s class at school, along with his twin, Jake, he was better friends with Josh. Maybe because they’d all been on the football team together.
“I wanted to thank all those who submitted ideas for fundraisers to rebuild the community center and the surrounding area. We sat down with our city council and looked over all the ideas and we wanted to let you know where things stand.” By city council, Amy was referring to the other two Bobs—McCall and Jackson. All three men had been referred to as the “three Bobs” since I was a child. Not that any of them minded.
“In order to raise the largest amount of money in the shortest time, we’re thinking we’d like to hold a weekend rodeo and—” before Amy could continue, the buzz in the room turned into a low roar as everyone talked at once. I’d been to a few rodeos growing up. Raising warmbloods and light horses, both of which were often featured, attending was almost a necessity. Some of my mom’s horses had gone on to compete in barrel racing and roping.
“Huh,” Josh said. “This would be a good business opportunity for us and a lot of the other ranchers in the area.” I agreed. My mind was churning at the potential to bring in new clients both for our trail rides and my breeding program.
A whistle pierced the room again and everyone quieted down.
“I’m happy to see how excited you all are. There will be plenty of time for discussion of the specifics later. But thanks to everyone’s favorite history teacher, Rafael Alvarez—” Whistles and catcalls went around the room and Mr. Alvarez stood up and waved before sitting back down. “—it looks like we might be able to bring in two international rodeo competitors: Tanner Greene and Cal Pierce.”
The buzzing and mumbles rose again and I looked over at Josh and Zoe. “Have you heard of either of them?” Zoe had her phone out and was scrolling away.
“Looks like Greene is a bronco rider, but he’s currently on the injured list, and Pierce is a roper,” Zoe told us, her forehead wrinkling. “Whatever that is.” Before Josh could answer, Amy started talking again.
“Right now, we’re still in the middle of discussions with both men, but the plan is to have the rodeo in the spring. We’ll be adding more town meetings over the next few months while we work out all the details. Everyone is invited to attend and participate. This is a great opportunity for Poplar Springs, not only to build us a new community center, but also to increase tourism and potential new business for everyone in the area.” Amy looked at her watch and grimaced. I knew she had a young son waiting for her at home, and I wondered if she was hoping to wrap this up quickly so she could get back to him. Fatchance there. Looking around, I could see that some folks were practically vibrating in their eagerness to be heard.
“All right. Questions?”
The question-and-answer session went on for almost thirty minutes. During it, Fiona and Eli slid down the row to join us.
“A rodeo?” Eli said with one eyebrow higher than the other. Fiona was all smiles, so they, too, must be thinking about the potential for more trail rides with the influx of folks that would inevitably arrive.
Josh was sitting back with one leg over the other and his arm around Zoe. “This will be great for the whole area. All the neighboring communities will be able to take part in it too. Plus, it’ll give us a chance to look at some of the new stock that’s sure to be around. Rodeos can include livestock auctions as part of the different events tied to the actual competition.”
I tried not to bristle at that. With the trail riding side of Lost Valley’s business doing so well, Josh had been talking about adding horses so they could increase the number of riders at a time, but I had other plans for any extra money we might have, and now was not the time to bring those up. As the meeting drew to a close, I said goodbye to my siblings and ducked out before everyone left. I could understand all the excitement over a rodeo coming to our small town but at the same time, I couldn’t help worrying a little for myself. I had goals of my own that involved getting a sizable sum of money from my brother. But looking at him during the meeting, it was clear he was already contemplating other ideas. I needed to get his agreement sooner rather than later. The survival of Lost Valley’s breeding program depended on it.
FOUR
SHANNON
“Would you stop bringing Becca up already?” I fumed at my brother, raking the stall out more vigorously and avoiding looking at him. “Yes, she’s perfect, and her business is booming, and everyone loves her. Igetit. But she’s not the only other breeder around beside us. So, why are you subjecting me to the whole six-verse song about how amazing she is? Are you hot for her too?”
“Whoathere, watch it. You know damn well who has my heart, and I’m not going to let you take potshots at me just because you want to deflect. Enough.” I turned to see Josh leaning back against the barn wall with crossed arms. Even though he was only a year older than me, he somehow managed to pull off looking every bit the disapproving father figure, glaring at me through narrowed eyes. Even though we Cafferty siblings all shared the same auburn hair and aquiline noses, Josh was the one who distilled both of our parents’ genes equally. He had our father’s height and our mother’s quick smile, though it looked like smiling was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment. “There’s no need to take my head off. Guess I hit a nerve.”
I threw down the stall fork I’d been using in frustration. “Yeah, no kidding! We aren’t the only breeders in Colorado. We aren’t even the only breeders in this tiny town. There’s us, the Thornes, Becca”—I swallowed down bile—“Flying Aces, the McCalls… I could go on. And yes, Beccaisdoing well. But I refuse to change the way I run my program just because the holy, sainted Becca is making more money doing horse breeding her way. We’re doing just fine.”
Maybe if I said it enough, that would make it true. Iwantedus to be fine. I wanted more than anything for our horse breeding operation—the same one my mother and grandmother had run so successfully for decades—to be a big moneymaker for our family ranch again.
Of course, ifwantingsomething could make it true, then we never would have lost our parents in the first place.
No amount of want could change the past or bring back the dead. And, apparently, no amount of want—even when paired with hard work and dedication—could make our horse breeding the success that it used to be. We were losing ground, badly, and nothing I did seemed to turn the tide. Which meant, as a result, my brother was keeping a much closer eye on my work than usual. He used to let me run my side of the business without much interference from him, but lately, that changed. I’d put in a request to purchase a breeding mare named Sunshine I’d had my eye on and instead of approving the purchase, he’d told me that we needed to talk. I’d been avoiding him all day, trying to line up my arguments so I’d be ready for the battle to come with him.
“Shannon, you’re doing a great job with Mom and Gran’s legacy, but you’re too stuck in the past, refusing to change anything from how Mom ran it. You and I bothknowMom would’vekept up with changes in the industry. Sure, we can’t sink fifty thousand in new equipment, but there’s other stuff we can incorporate to keep up with advances. Becca’s breeding program is doing well because she stays current while you won’t even consider trying anything new.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek and didn’t say anything. I’d learned the business glued to my mom’s hip, and everything I did to carry on her legacy felt like a connection to the woman I missed so much. Sometimes it felt like my mom was right here beside me as I worked, following through on the same practices and routines we’d completed together so many times. To change the techniques I’d learned from her would mean… I shook my head and stared at the ground.
Neither Josh nor I said a word. It was a familiar stalemate, but this time I felt like I had everything to lose.
Becca Johnson had always been a winner, all the way back to grade school. She’d hit the genetic jackpot lottery, with white-blonde hair and an adorably pert nose that made me feel self-conscious about mine. We’d had our run-ins throughout school and managed to ignore each other when she would visit on break from college. I’d genuinely thought that she’d gotten past whatever it was about me that she so actively disliked, but then I’d heard that she was starting her own breeding business. Her parents had decided they wanted to travel, so they’d turned their ranch over to her along with a very large sum of money, and that was when I realized that Lost Valley Ranch was about to have a formidable competitor.
The woman was cunning in ways that I hated. She used her wiles to get what she wanted, even if it meant manipulating people. Not to mention, she was ruthless about undercutting the competition by any means possible. I had heard from varioushands that had passed through Becca’s barn that she cut costs down to the bone, even to the detriment of the horses she was supposed to be caring for. Rather than investing in the animals, she skimped on their care and feed so that she could sink her money into all the latest and greatest tech. Anything to make her operation look like the hottest new venture. One of the hands said her work room looked like the space station’s mission control.
“We both know that Mom put her heart and soul into the business, but think about it,” Josh said gently. “She would’ve wanted the business to grow and adapt with the times. To thrive. And the only way to make that happen now is to work smarter, not harder.”
