to get up and running. He was driven to make something out of himself, and wasn’t slowing down until he did it. He’d scrimped and saved like many of his friends, and on a cowboy’s pay, that wasn’t easy. A wife and family … maybe later. And maybe not.
Right now, he had a good life. He dated some when he felt like it, but it was never ever serious.
He was focused, happy and determined to be better than his dad expected him to be. And nobody, not even the matchmaking posse, could change that.
Watching Montana round the last barrel again, he saw grit and determination in her expression. He found himself curious about what motivated her. What put that fire in her eyes that flashed as she leaned in low and thundered toward her mark?
“Great run.”
The Texas drawl startled Montana as she walked around the corner of the arena’s fence, heading toward the stall with Murdock in tow. She recognized the cowboy as one she’d seen watching her from the stock pen. She’d ignored him up till now. He’d been talking with Clint earlier, but hadn’t left when Clint did. Too bad. She’d been determined not to let him break her concentration. She’d had a horrible morning run, but then she’d found her focus and made some decent runs.
“Thanks,” she said, slowing so she wouldn’t be rude. He grinned from beneath his straw Stetson, a flash of white teeth standing out against his darkly tanned skin. He had a lean face, prominent cheekbones and a jawline that seemed chiseled from stone. He looked like a man who knew his own mind. The laugh lines around his eyes told her he knew how to smile, even if he looked like a fairly serious dude.
“You’re welcome. You sure can fly on that horse.” He tipped the brim of his hat, as intriguing brown eyes studied her with interest. “I’m Luke. Luke Holden. I’m a friend of Clint and Lacy’s.”
He held out his hand and Montana shook it briefly. “I’m Montana Brown. It’s nice to meet you.” His handshake was strong and his hand callused. From the look of him, she figured he did some kind of cowboy work. Not that she was interested. Even if he was about as cute as they came. Even if she had to admit that God hadn’t held back when he’d put Luke Holden together. The solid-as-a-redwood cowboy was impressive.
“Clint said you were Lacy’s cousin, and you’re here to compete in the upcoming rodeo.”
He had been asking about her. The idea sent an unwanted thrill through Montana. She frowned at the feeling. “I plan to. I’ve got a long way to go, though.”
He grinned. “You’ll win, if that’s the case.”
Her stomach did a little electric slide at the way his smile lit his face up. “I’ll give it my best shot,” she said, trying hard to ignore the attraction sparking between them. She patted Murdock’s neck. “I can’t let Murdock down,” she said with a wink, that just sort of slipped out on its own. “He’s working way too hard for that. Isn’t that right, ole boy?” As if understanding exactly what she was saying, the big gray nodded his head and snorted.
Luke’s smile spread slow and easy across his face, lifting his cheekbones higher and causing his eyes to spark with unmistakable teasing interest. And why not? You winked at the man.
“He’s a competitor, that’s for sure,” Luke said. “But you’ve obviously got some fight in you, too.”
Why had she winked at the man? Crazy was what she was. Just looking at him made her cheeks flush. But there was no stopping her curiosity about the cowboy.
“So, Luke Holden, what do you do in the rodeo?” There was nothing wrong with asking that, right? The guy was cute and his grin was unhinging—but the buck stopped there.
“I’m supplying the stock. I’ve never competed myself. I was always too busy working. Speaking of which, I need to get back to it. Nice to meet you, Montana Brown.” He tipped his hat and returned her earlier wink with his own. “Ride hard and hang tight. You’re gonna blow them out of the water.” That said, he turned and strode toward the exit.
Montana watched Luke as he left, his stride strong, no hesitation and no looking back over his shoulder at her … unlike herself who stood there gawking when she should be taking care of business.
“Come on, Murdock, time to rest. Tomorrow we’re going twice as hard so we can at least make a decent showing.”
Despite her determination not to, she looked over her shoulder once more, but Luke Holden was gone.
Something about him lingered, and Montana found her thoughts continually turning back to him as she brushed Murdock down.
And that just would not do. Many women came to Mule Hollow to find a husband. But Montana had come to find herself. To do that, there was no room for complications.
And Luke Holden was one cowboy who had complication written all over him.
Chapter Two
“How’s my little Tater-poo?” Montana cooed, taking Tate from Lacy. The six-month-old was all cuddly and warm. “He’s getting to be a hunk.”
“Tell me about it.” Lacy handed over the bottle that she’d been feeding him. “He eats like his daddy, don’t cha, little man?”
“Hey, he’s a growing boy.”
“So true! You finish feeding my sugar pie while I get the rest of my grocery list made out. Guess I should tell you that we’re having a barbecue this weekend.”
“We are?” Montana settled into the rocker as Tate attacked the bottle with gusto. “Why? What’s the occasion?”
“For you, silly. I want everyone to come meet you, that’s why.”
Montana was startled by this information. “Do you have time for that? I mean, I thought you had a lot of planning to do for the rodeo?”
“Oh, we’ve got that handled,” Lacy said, brushing the thought away with the wave of her pink-tipped fingers. “The matchmaking posse’s got that under control. Things are rolling right along with the rodeo and the festival we’re going to have in conjunction that same weekend. Yep, we’ve got food vendors coming, and Cort and Lilly Wells always head up a petting zoo with their adorable donkey, Samantha. All kinds of fun stuff is getting ready to happen this summer. It’s going to be great,” she said with gusto. “But first we’re having your barbecue.”
A lump formed in Montana’s throat. She loved her cousin. That was all there was to it. She fought to steady her voice. “You know, you’ve really helped me when I needed it the most.”
Lacy’s brilliant blue eyes twinkled as they looked to Montana’s and held. “I was concerned for you. You know God loves you more than I do—though I love you like a sister, and wouldn’t give you up for anything in the world. But it’s true, He does. And I was concerned that you were forgetting that, with all this drama you’re going through. I needed to help you know that.”
That was Lacy, so strong in her faith. “I’m not going through it anymore. If my mother and my dad want to get divorced, that’s their business.” If she said it out loud, then maybe it would be true. The anger she felt over everything that had happened welled up inside of her once more. When would it end?
