A Family for the Rodeo Cowboy by Jen Gilroy

Author:Jen Gilroy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-02-02T21:18:57+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“WE’RE NEARLY THERE. Only ten miles to go.” Cole gestured to the sign beside the highway. He and Mel had left the ranch as the sun nudged the eastern horizon. Now, several hours later and many miles farther west, the landscape was bathed in bright golden light. Along with the green and gold fields, indigo-blue sky and humpbacked ridge of the distant mountains, if Cole felt at home anywhere, it was here.

“It’s beautiful.” From the passenger seat, Mel let out a soft breath. “Until I moved to High Valley, I’d forgotten how much I love the West. San Francisco’s a great city, and there’s pretty country north of there where my mom and stepdad live, but not like this.”

“Wide-open spaces are either in your blood or they aren’t. That’s what my dad used to say. He was neighborly, but he never wanted to live in a place where he was squashed in with those neighbors. He said he needed room to breathe.”

“Not a problem out here.” Mel’s voice held a smile.

“No.” Cole glanced over at her. “I’m the same. Since Molly always hankered for city life, my sister couldn’t be happier living in Atlanta. Cities are fun to visit, but being crammed in with millions of people to live? Not for me.” He turned his attention back to the highway. Empty of other traffic, the sinuous paved thread meandered through the landscape, bisected by a yellow line down the middle.

“Our dads sound a lot alike. Mine said he was born to live and work on this kind of land. Dad taught me to respect it too. To understand the weather and rhythm of the changing seasons.” She hesitated as if trying to find the right words. “He talked about a lot of things I only understood much later when I was older. Like he was just one in a long line of stewards of the land. As much as he could, he wanted to protect it and set an example for those that came after. He also said it was important to acknowledge and honor the peoples who lived here first. Our history is new here but theirs goes back thousands of years.”

“Is that why you asked Rosa and her family to get involved in the cowboy challenge?” Cole studied the vast landscape cradled by an endless sky dotted with puffy white clouds. There was something about being away from High Valley and in the confines of the truck that inspired confidences.

“Yes. It may seem like a small gesture, but acknowledging traditional territories is a welcoming practice. My Canadian aunt, my dad’s older brother’s wife, has Indigenous ancestry so I’ve learned from her. Now I’m learning from Rosa too.”

“I’m learning from her as well.” Cole had never thought much about history until lately; returning to his hometown had opened his heart and his eyes.

“You must have been to lots of cities with rodeo. Which one’s your favorite?” Mel drank from the purple water bottle she’d tucked into the middle console.

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