His eyes filled with tears he quickly brushed away with the back of his hand. Flynn men didn’t cry. That’s what his daddy told him. And since he was a man now, he was done with crying.
All that mattered at this point was finding work. There were three other dude ranches within a hundred mile radius; one of them had to be hiring. He might be young, and he might be little, but there wasn’t a harder working cowboy in the State of Colorado. He’d prove himself so.
2
“Hey, Daddy. I’m calling to let you know I landed safely and I’m checked into the hotel. You can call back if you want, or we can talk tomorrow.”
Her father insisted Tristan call when she traveled, especially when it was on behalf of their family business. It didn’t matter that she was turning twenty-seven in less than a month. She was still his little girl, he’d tell her, and it was his duty to make sure she was safe.
Duty was an oft-used word in her father’s vocabulary, as were honesty, integrity, faith, and family. They built their business on those words.
Tristan’s father and grandfather started Lost Cowboy Company a few years ago, wanting to offer American-made apparel that was inspired by the ideals the nation was built on. Their ads, social media posts, the clothing they offered, even how it was made, represented a strong adherence to the principles her family lived by.
Tomorrow morning she was meeting with the guys from Flying R Rough Stock. They’d spoken a few times since their first meeting at the National Finals Rodeo last December. They were close to finalizing a deal in which Lost Cowboy would team up with them to sponsor competitors on the rodeo circuit.
Billy Patterson, a former Saddle Bronc National Champion, was one of the primary partners in the rough stock contracting business. His involvement gave Flying R a foot in the door to every rodeo circuit in existence. It would take Tristan months to lay the groundwork she would be handed by teaming up with them.
Jace Rice had also been at most of their initial meetings. She liked Jace as much as she liked Billy. They were the kind of men that embodied the principles of the Lost Cowboy brand.
Their other partners, Ben Rice and his brothers, Matt and Will, were Jace’s cousins. Ben attended their initial meetings, but she didn’t know him as well as she knew Billy and Jace. Ben was the lead singer of the band CB Rice, but had his own stake in the rodeo industry through his wife, who’d placed fourth at NFR a few years previously.
The meeting tomorrow was at their headquarters, the Flying R Ranch in Crested Butte, Colorado. Tonight she was staying in Gunnison, near the airport. When she said she’d rent a car, Ben’s wife, Liv, insisted either she or one of the guys would come get her and bring her to the ranch.
“You should stay with us,” Liv told her. “We have more room than we know what to do with. It would be silly for you to stay anywhere else.”
Tristan spent enough time traveling and staying in hotels that she accepted the invitation without hesitation. If they were able to nail down the details of the partnership on this trip, she’d be spending a lot more time with the Flying R team. She might as well get to know the people she’d be working with.
“It’s nice of you to come and get me,” Tristan said to Liv the next day when she picked her up.
“It was my pleasure. I had to come into town anyway.”
Tristan smiled at the little girl in Liv’s arms. “Who’s this?”
“I’d like you to meet Caden. Caden, can you be a lady and shake hands?”
Tristan held out her hand, and Caden shook it. “How old is she?” she asked Liv.
“Almost two handfuls.” Liv winked. “She’ll turn two in May.
Tristan remembered hearing Liv retired from barrel racing when she had a baby. There was also something about another daughter, who was married to Billy Patterson. That didn’t seem possible. Liv didn’t appear old enough to have an adult daughter. Tristan must’ve gotten the story mixed up.
“I have a couple of stops to make. I hope you don’t mind that I picked you up first. I thought you might like to see some of the town.”
“I’m glad you did, and yes, I’d like to. I might be spending a lot of time here.” Tristan looked up and down Main Street, but there wasn’t much to see.
“You may fly in and out of Gunnison, but you’ll spend more time in Crested Butte than you will here.”
“I’m relieved to hear it,” Tristan laughed.
“The market offers more, so when I have a lot of shopping to do, I come to Gunnison. Otherwise, CB has everything we need.”
“CB Rice, Mama,” Caden shouted from the back seat.
“Okay, sweet girl, we can listen to your daddy sing on our drive back.” Liv pushed a button on the console and music started playing.
“She doesn’t like to listen to much other than her father’s band,” Liv explained. “I guess it’s better than her asking me to play Disney music over and over again.”
“This is good,” said Tristan after a few minutes. “I haven’t heard their music before.”