CHAPTER ONE
“Geezum Cowboy—loosen up!” Abbi exclaimed, touching her spurs to the horse's sides. “You're rustier than a barbed wire fence.”
The stallion snorted softly as if to protest her words. Abbi chuckled despite her frustration and patted his neck.
“I know—its really my fault,” she admitted. “I should be spending more time with you and less on the road.”
Cowboy bobbed his his head in agreement and smoothly transitioned to a lope. Abbi rode the length of the arena before shifting her weight and pulling evenly back on the reins. The stallion automatically sat back on his haunches and slid gracefully to a halt before doing a rollback and loping in back the opposite direction. Satisfied, Abbi smiled and asked him for a walk.
Her hand automatically reached down to rub her right kneecap. She had only been riding for thirty minutes and already her knee burned nearly as bad as the day of the accident. She wasn't sure if it were simply because she hadn't ridden in so long or if it was a result of her ditching the knee brace the past few days. Either way, it was apparent that her body was sending her the message that she was finished for the day.
Abbi swung her leg forward over the saddle horn and slid off the side, taking care to land with the majority of her weight balanced on her left side. While not the safest way to dismount, it caused her the least pain. Cowboy stood quietly, perking up only to nicker at a passing filly. Abbi rubbed the dark bay's forehead affectionately. Out of all her reining horses, he was the one she had chosen to keep—and with good reason. Not only was he quiet and well trained, he was a two-time champion and thus quite valuable as a stud.
As Abbi led Cowboy toward the arena exit she could not help limping noticeably. She felt pathetic hobbling like a cripple, but on days like this she could little help herself. It always seemed that her injury was always more bothersome on cold, damp days.
“You alright?” One of the cowboys standing near the chutes spoke up as she passed by. His voice was heavily laden with an accent Abbi immediately placed as Australian.
She nodded. “Yeah—I'm fine.”
She flexed her knee and it popped loudly.
“That didn't sound so good,” the cowboy commented.
Abbi grimaced.
“Didn't feel so good either.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I'll be fine. It's an old injury.”
Abbi paused and cocked her head, “You must be new to the PBR—I don't think I've seen you around before.”
“I've only been here two weeks,” he confirmed. “It's only my second year competing here in the States.”
“You're from Australia?” It wasn't really a question.
He nodded.
“Well, welcome to the PBR and the Copenhagen Tour,” Abbi said with a smile. “I'm sure you'll enjoy riding along with us.”
He frowned, puzzled. “Us?”
“I'm part of the photography team,” Abbi informed him. “So you'll see me ringside at practically every event.”
He nodded.
Abbi spotted her sister approaching out of the corner of her eye.
“Hey Cass,” she greeted her.
Cassie immediately knelt and ran a hand over Cowboy's front legs. “How'd he do? He was a little off on his left fore earlier this week.”
“Well he did fine today,” Abbi told her, “But he was a little cold-backed at first.”
Cassie automatically checked the position of Cowboy's western saddle. Abbi raised her eyebrows.
“You mean to tell me I actually did it right?” She quipped with a touch of sarcasm when her sister finished her examination.
“Just checking,” Cassie held up her hands defensively.
Abbi shrugged and turned to the cowboy who had been watching their exchange in silence.
“Well it was good to meet you, Mr...?”
“Connor—Connor Cassidy,” the Aussie introduced himself, extending his right hand.
Abbi noted his firm grip with satisfaction. She absolutely hated limp handshakes.
“I'm Abbi Martin and this is my sister—also Cassidy but we just call her Cass or Cassie.”
Cassie peered over Cowboy's back and Connor tipped his hat in acknowledgement.
“C'mon Cowboy,” Abbi tugged at the stallion's bridle. “Let's go see if we can find your little friend.”
As they exited the indoor arena, Cassie spoke up.
“I think she's with Mom and Dad over at the big barn.”
“Who?”
Cassie shot her older sister the look. “Skye? Your daughter? Cowboy's 'little friend'?”
“Oh. Right.” Abbi rubbed the back of her neck. “You're going to have to bear with me—I'm a little tired.”
“No—you're always tired,” Cassie corrected. “When did you get so old?”
Now it was Abbi's turn to throw the look.
“I guess when Skye was born,” she mumbled, suppressing another yawn. “You know you may not believe this sis, but holding down two jobs—one of which requires you to travel around the country with a 1-year-old in tow actually isn't the easiest thing in the world.”
“Really? I had no idea,” Cassie replied with similar sarcasm. Then she abruptly changed the subject. “We brought El Dorado with us today. Thought someone might be interested in buying him.”
Abbi did a double take. “Are you serious?”
Cassie nodded.
“But he's the best doggone cow pony we've ever had,” Abbi argued.
“He's also the orneriest,” Cassie pointed out. “I mean, who can stay on him? Even you and I don't have the energy to mess with him everyday.”
Abbi bit her lip, knowing her sister was right.
“How do you propose convincing someone to sell him then?” She finally asked.
“Don't put a saddle on him.”
Abbi cocked her head, trying to determine whether Cassie were actually seriously. She got the answer when Cassie flashed her a sly sideways grin.
“Well, Mom might be that desperate but you and I know even that wouldn't work,” Abbi chuckled.
“Speaking of which...”
Abbi's gaze followed Cassie's pointing finger to the center of the nearest ring where their brother was clinging to a lunge line for dear life. At the other end Dorado, a brutish chestnut Quarter Horse, twisted and writhed as he bucked and raced in out of control circles around the teenager. A curious group of onlookers had already begun to gather at the rail – perhaps fooled into thinking they were witnessing someone trying to handle one of the infamous bucking broncos.
Cassie sighed. “I guess I'd better go rescue him.”
Abbi didn't really think Matthias needed any help but it was an unspoken rule that Cassie was head honcho when it came to the horses.
She shrugged, “Whatever.”
The PBR was dedicated strictly to bull riding but as it often happened there was an event going in an adjoining arena of the equine complex. In this case it was barrel racing and Abbi's brother and sister were competing. Cassie took 5th place and Matthias placed 7th on his mare “SkyRocket”. He had shaved off a good two seconds from his time in the previous show and Abbi was incredibly proud of him. Cassie may have been the brains when it came to horsemanship, but Matthias had more determination and grit than anyone else in the family.
As her sister hung the near stirrup over the horn to loosen the girth, Abbi boosted Skye up into the smooth leather seat of the Western saddle. Cassie's gelding, Loner, swung his head around inquisitively. He then blew out through his nostrils and relaxed as he recognized the little girl. Loner was a gentleman and a sweetheart but he could be rather suspicious of strangers. However he had first met Skye when she was only 8 days old and Loner seemed to regard her with a special sort of affection. He always stepped out extra carefully when she sat upon his back.
Cassie led Loner to the trailer and slipped his bridle off.
“When do you go to work?” she asked.
Abbi checked her watch.
“About an hour,” she confirmed.
It was getting dark outside and the wind was picking up. Abbi pulled Skye from the saddle and checked to make sure her daughter's hat and mittens were secure.
Cassie glanced up at the sky. “It might snow tonight,” she announced.
Abbi
used her body to shield Skye from the wind. She shivered.
“Is that a self-diagnosis or did you see that somewhere online?”
“The Internet,” Cassie confirmed.
“Did it say what time?”
“After midnight. Six to eight inches.”
Abbi shook her head. “As if we haven't had enough cold weather.”
Abbi abruptly changed the subject, “I'm going inside ok? It's too cold for Skye out here.”
“I was thinking that. Where were you watching the competition?”
“The cab of my pickup.”
“Oh...lucky you.”
“Spoiled rotten,” Abbi grinned. “We're going inside”.
Professional Bull Riding was a heart pounding sport and the closer you were situated to the action, the higher the adrenaline level. Even Abbi felt her heart rate increase every time a new bull and rider were released from the chutes. No one knew better than she why bull riding had
been dubbed the world's most dangerous sport.
Abbi watched Connor's ride with interest. He managed to stay on all 8 seconds, though his position seemed a little stiff to her. He scored a 76—a tolerable score but not enough to put him in the winner's circle tonight.
When the event had ended, Abbi popped the memory card out of her Nikon and handed it to Mark. Mark was the head photographer and he was also in charge of editing the photos and making sure that they were available to the organization and the public. As the third and technically “extra” photographer, Abbi's work consisted of solely of showing up and shooting.
One of the best parts of being a PBR employee was getting to go behind the scenes and see the animals—her favorite bulls being “Bells Blue”, “Mossy Oak Mudslinger” and “Choo-Choo Train”. Choo Choo Train was not as regal as Blue or Mudslinger, but he was the oldest bull in the PBR and was known for his spinning speed.
Abbi usually went to see the bulls after an event and occasionally helped to feed and care for them. However, she decided against it tonight. By the way the wind was howling there would no doubt soon be snow flying and she knew she'd better be getting home. As she packed up her camera gear she realized she'd misplaced her UV filter.
Climbing nimbly over the empty seats she made her way back down to the spot where she'd been shooting. She had to make sure she found the filter—it was glass and could be hazardous if it had somehow fallen into the dirt arena. There was a roping competition set to take place in the building next weekend and she certainly didn't want a calf or horse accidentally injuring stepping on it and injuring themselves.
Not locating the missing item on the ground outside the arena, she decided to climb in and scrape the dirt around a little. It was possible that the filter was hidden in the thick dirt—in any case she felt it best to make sure.
“Looking for something?”
Abbi started and straightened quickly. The Australian cowboy—Connor Cassidy—leaned against the chutes and eyed her curiously.
Abbi shrugged a shoulder. “I think I lost one of my UV filters. I can't seem to locate it.”
“Would you like some help?”
Abbi shook her head. “That's ok.”
She scuffed the dirt with the toes of her cowboy boots a few more minutes before glancing sheepishly his way.
He smiled, obviously amused at the futileness of her efforts.
“Well, if you're just going to stand there watching me...” Abbi chuckled.
He climbed over the gate and approached her.
“I just don't some poor horse or calf stepping on it by accident,” Abbi stressed. “I don't even know why I carry these filters around. Generally they're just a nuisance.”
“What does it look like?” Connor asked, his hands finding a place on his hips. It was a gesture as casual as
“It's a small round glass piece,” Abbi explained. “It screws onto the front of my camera to protect the lens glass.”
Connor nodded. They searched for a few minutes more before he straightened.
“It's gone walkabout,” he announced.
“Huh?” Abbi cocked her head, looking askance at him.
“I think it's gone,” he explained. “If it was here it isn't anymore.”
“I happen to agree with you,” Abbi announced. “Wherever it is, it's not here and I'm not gonna find it now. Besides, there's a storm blowing up outside.”
Connor looked up as a burst of wind whistled through the holes of the metal walls of the indoor arena.
“Reckon,” he agreed.
“Thanks for helping.”
“No problem.”
“You got a long way to travel?”
“Just to the hotel. I'll probably drive back to Texas later in the week.”
“You drove all the way up here? From Texas?”
He nodded.
“Wow. Now what do you do there—Texas I mean?”
“Odd jobs—this and that. I was a truck driver for a time. I also worked for the oil company,” he paused and chuckled. “I'm actually in the market for a job right now—thought about sticking around seeing if I had better luck finding work up here.”
“Well, that all depends—we're kind of a quiet little town most of the time, and you know how the economy is right now. What skills do you have?”
“Not much—I can ride and rope. I've also got a commercial driver's license although I'm not sure how much that's worth up here.”
“You know...” Abbi said thoughtfully. “I know my parents were talking the other day about taking on another hand at our ranch. I'm not sure how serious they were about it, but we've been needing some extra help. If you're interested you could follow me home and room in the bunkhouse tonight, given you'd feel comfortable sharing living quarters with our other two hands.”
Connor appeared interested. “What's the job?”
“Well we operate a cattle and bison ranch about twenty miles northwest of here. It wouldn't pay much but you'd have a place to stay and food to eat—provided you can stand Charlie's cooking.”
Connor was listening closely. When she'd finished he nodded, “I'd like to give it a try.”
Abbi smiled, “Let's go.”
Author's Note: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be posted soon! Reading is completely free--all I ask is that you leave a comment or message (you can do so below or by clicking "Feedback") and let me know how I am doing! I am always open to comment and suggestions--I want to hear YOUR feedback!
