“We don’t want you to leave, Renie, we just want you to get out of bed every day and do something.”
“Ben’s right, sweetheart. No one wants you to leave.”
“I know I’m making everyone miserable being here. You aren’t even supposed to be here, you’re supposed to be out on the road competing.”
Her mom mentioned the rodeo circuit to her a few weeks ago, suggesting Renie travel with her, but she declined. Being at rodeos would remind her of Billy.
“I think it’s a great idea, Renie. Can’t help but have fun workin’ at a dude ranch.” Ben smiled.
Fun? She wanted hard work. Mind-numbingly hard work. That was what she was after. She’d never been shy of it. She’d applied as a wrangler, and she knew she’d be expected to work her ass off.
She’d be one of a group responsible for maintaining the health of the horses and upkeep of the barn. In addition to that, she’d lead trail rides, go on cattle drives, even ferry guests back and forth from white water rafting trips in Glenwood Springs.
She’d also be expected to participate in evening activities with the guests, to dance and have fun, and make sure everyone there had the best time possible. It meant shutting off her emotions, setting them aside, acting normal, even if it were the furthest thing from how she felt.
No one there would know a thing about Billy Patterson, or her broken heart. No one would look at her with pity or wonder what she was thinking about, if she were thinking about him. She would be, but no one would know it.
10
When Renie drove through the gates of Black Mountain Ranch, a sense of peace washed over her. No one knew her here, not a single person.
She could ride, dance, sing…be happy. She wanted to forget Billy Patterson existed, and simply be the girl who got to be a wrangler for one summer of her life.
She’d no longer be defined by her love for Billy, or a misguided desire to spend her life with him. She’d followed him around like a puppy dog for twenty years, even gave up her virginity to him. It was time for her to live life for herself, and no one else.
Maybe she’d even meet someone who made her forget Billy’s name. She’d given her heart, her mind, and her body to a man who took what he wanted, and left the rest by the side of the road.
When a cowboy greeted her car, tipped his hat, and offered to carry her bags to her cabin, she was happy to accept his offer—although part of getting the job here for the summer included proving she could lift and carry at least seventy-five pounds of tack, or potatoes, or firewood—whatever they threw at her. She’d be able to, no problem. Meanwhile, she’d let the handsome cowboy help her all he wanted.
“What’s your name, cowgirl?” he asked.
“Irene Fairchild.” It was the name she’d put on the application, and for the next four months, it would be the name she went by. No one here would ever know her as Renie.
“What’s yours?”
“Jace Rice.”
“Rice? My mom married a man named Ben Rice.”
“Yep. Ben’s my cousin, second or third, somethin’ like that. We aren’t very close.” He laughed.
She was glad to hear it. Sometimes the world was too damn small. The next thing she knew she’d meet somebody related to Billy. If she did, she’d be in her car, and on her way home faster than you could say, “Patterson.”
“When’s the last time you saw Ben?”
“I was about eight or nine years old.”
She laughed.
“You have a mighty pretty smile.”
“Thank you, Jace. I hope to be smiling a lot while I’m here this summer.”
Jace looked around, and put her bags on the only bed in the cabin. “Not sure how you got a single cabin, bein’ a newbie and all. You got some pull around here?”
Renie shrugged. “Not that I know of.”
“Lucky girl, then.” He smiled. “I gotta get going, but I’ll meet up with you later, after you’re settled in. You should also check in up at the office before it gets too late.”