by Liz Isaacson
Companion Chapter 2
Justin had no idea if Renee Martin was telling the truth or not. He liked the way her hair sprouted from her scalp like snakes, wondered what it would feel like between his fingers. It only reached her chin, and he liked the curly bob a lot. He liked her green-hazel eyes, the color of the pond water out on the ranch, and her pale-as-cream skin dotted with the prettiest freckles he ever did see. She seemed exactly like the type of woman he would normally date.
But she was also Leah’s cousin, and Justin didn’t want anything to do with her. She’d set him up before, with a woman named Paulette, and that relationship had taken Justin all the way to the altar. If Paulette had shown up, he’d be married today.
But she hadn’t. And the whole blasted town knew it. Justin hadn’t dated seriously since. Even his stint with Leah he didn’t consider true dating. She probably knew it too. That was why he’d avoided her whenever he came down to town.
But Renee was new in Brush Creek…she didn’t know about the near-wedding-turned-disaster that had happened two summers ago. Justin tamped down the idea to ask Renee to go with him to the rodeo. Landon Edmunds, the owner of the ranch where Justin worked, had assigned Justin to go to the rodeo in Vernal and meet with the PRCA reps. He also had appointments with three bronc riders and four barrel racers who wanted to know more about Brush Creek Horse Ranch and what kind of horses they trained.
And Paulette would be there, sporting her biggest hair and most glittery cowgirl hat as she rode Daisy May—the horse Justin had trained especially for her. He wouldn’t mind seeing the horse, but the woman….
Justin just needed a date. Then Paulette wouldn’t get under his skin. He cut a glance at Renee, wondering if she was really interested in him or not. He appreciated the curve of her hips and the way she didn’t take dainty bites of ice cream.
He swallowed and sat on a bench in the shade, Renee right next to him. “It’s not too bad in the shade,” he said, cursing himself for talking about the weather. He hadn’t been out of the dating game that long, had he?
“It’s still early in June.” She scooped up a bite of banana, mint ice cream, and hot fudge. The flavor combination sounded gross to Justin, but she seemed to like it.
She put her spoon in her half-empty bowl. “Okay, look. My friends dared me to come talk to you tonight.” She looked at him with apprehension in her eyes. “There was money involved, so one might consider it a bet.” She tried on a smile, but it came across her full lips fast and left quickly.
The ice cream in Justin’s stomach sent waves of coldness through him. “Oh.” He blinked and took another bite, focusing on the horizon instead of Renee’s pretty face. “So you’re not really interested in me.”
“No, I am,” she said. “You’re the one who blew me off the other night.”
He appraised her, trying to figure out what had happened a couple of nights ago at the country line dance and what was happening now. “What do you have to do to win the bet?”
“Get a date with you. I’ll give you half of the money. We can eat a hot dog from the cart at the park. Ten minutes, tops.”
Justin tipped his head back and laughed. “Renee, you’re worth more than ten minutes and a hot dog from a cart.”
She lifted her eyes to his, confusion racing through her intoxicating gaze. “Thank you?”
“You don’t have to say it like it’s a question.” Justin scooped another bite of ice cream into his mouth. “I will say I’ve never been picked up in a bar before.”
“This isn’t a bar.”
“I believe the flyer said ice cream bar right on it.” He flashed her a flirty look. “And on a bet too.”
“So…are you asking me out?”
He finished his ice cream, noting that Walker and Tess hadn’t come to find him. He hadn’t wanted to leave the ranch tonight, but Walker had insisted everyone take the night off and Justin didn’t have anything else to do. With his truck broken down, it was either this ice cream bar at the church, or a movie he’d already seen with Ted.
“Have you ever been to the rodeo?”
“I went to college in Denver,” she said.
“I don’t see how that answers my question.”
“Lots of rodeos in the Denver area. So yes, I’ve been to a few rodeos.”
“I need to go to one next weekend, and I’d love to have someone to go with.”
She set her empty bowl on the bench next to her and scooted an inch closer to him. His heart leapt and he looked at her hands in her lap. Slender fingers, with pale-pink painted nails.
“This sounds like a non-date,” she said.
“I have to go for work,” he said. “And since you told me about the bet, I’ll say that I normally don’t take a date when it’s for work, but….” His words stuck in his throat.
“Another woman,” Renee said. “You need me to look pretty on your arm so she’ll be jealous.”
Justin didn’t like the way that sounded. “That’s almost right,” he said. “But I don’t care if she’s jealous. I just don’t want her to think I haven’t moved on.”
“So she was a serious girlfriend.”
“Yes,” Justin choked out. He hadn’t finished his ice cream, but it sounded unappetizing after this conversation so he set the bowl on the ground. He didn’t need to bring up the word fiancé right now.
“I’d love to go to the rodeo with you.” She slipped her arm into his elbow, and the gesture reminded him of how old he was. He wondered how old Renee was—she was clearly much younger than him. The way she dressed, and spoke, and acted testified of it. Her relation to Leah wasn’t the only reason he’d walked away from her at the diner the other night.
He’d actually found her giggling annoying. Her hair fluffing juvenile. Her inability to leave her gaggle of girlfriends to have a real conversation infuriating. So he’d left her, disinterested in being her latest boy toy.
But now, sitting with her in the shade, she didn’t seem to be the same woman at all.
“How old are you?” he asked.
She tilted her head back and met his eyes. “Twenty-four. You.”
He gulped and pushed his cowboy hat forward with his free hand. “A lot older than that.”
A hint of a smile touched her lips. “How much older?”
“Eight years older,” he said. Almost a decade.
“Ever been married?”
“There you are.” Graham, Tess’s son, came skidding up to him. “We’re leavin’. You ready to go?”
He stood, glad for the interruption. “Give me two minutes, okay?” Graham ran off, and Justin saw Walker waiting on the sidewalk. Though he wore a cowboy hat too, Justin knew he was watching.
He turned back to Renee, who had also risen to her feet. “Maybe you’ll give me your phone number, and I can call you.” He gazed at her evenly, his heart bobbing against his voice box.
She giggled, and he imagined he might have to get used to the sound if he wanted to be with her. “Of course you can.”
He held out his phone and she plucked it from his fingers. She tapped and swiped and handed the device back. “There you go. I’m a night owl.” She turned and pranced across the lawn, turning back to give him a finger wave when she reached the doorway. Then she disappeared inside.
Justin sighed and faced his friends, sure Tess would question him relentlessly on the way back to the ranch. It was only fifteen minutes; surely Justin could weather that. He crossed the lawn to the sidewalk, and no sooner had his boot hit cement did Tess ask, “Who was that? She’s pretty.”
Justin ducked his head. “Her name’s Renee Martin.”
“Isn’t that—?”
“No,” Justin said loudly over Walker’s question. He’d mentioned Renee to Walker while they worked in the horse arena the day after the dance. He knew the words he’d used, and he didn’t want to hear them. Annoying brunette.
“She’s too young for me,” he said as he got in the truck. “So it’s not a big deal.”<
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“But you got her number,” Tess persisted.
“How do you know?”
“I saw you give her your phone.”
Justin glared at her. “We’re going to the rodeo together, all right?”
“Because of Paulette?” Walker asked. “I told you I’d go to the rodeo.”
Justin shook his head. “Tess has to go to Evanston that same weekend. It’s fine. I’m going with Renee. I can handle Paulette.” Justin spoke with confidence, but he didn’t feel it inside. He was over Paulette; he didn’t want her back in his life. But he didn’t want her to know that he didn’t have anyone in his life.
Several minutes passed, and Justin thought maybe he’d escape the questions tonight. Then Tess said, “How old is she?” and Justin pressed his eyes closed and prayed for patience.
The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, Justin clucked at the horse, a pretty little mare that shone red in the approaching sunlight. She eyed him with a wildness he’d coach out of her over the course of the next six months. He’d named her Red Star, and he had an inkling she’d win a team roping event or two. Or twenty. She had the powerful legs to be a heeler, if she’d just trust Justin.
She dodged right, and Justin let her go. She paced, and he kept the pole tapping on the ground, kept her moving. Red Star finally settled into the circle, though she kept up the trot for several more minutes.
“Walk,” he commanded her, and her step slowed. Her head lowered. The crazed look in her eye had died as she expended her energy. He retracted the pole to urge her closer to the center. The bag rustled along the dirt and Red Star snorted.
After another half hour of waiting for her to give in, she finally nosed him, her feet straddling the pole she seemed to hate so much. Justin gave her the affection she’d earned. He just wished she’d get there a little faster. She hadn’t been making progress in about a week, and it still took her about an hour to come to him. Until she’d trust him right out of the gate, he couldn’t train her to be a rodeo champion.
He brushed her down and fed her an extra slice of hay from a nearby bale. “There you go. No oats today. Gotta come in faster.” She hung her head over the stall door like she really felt bad. He chuckled and stroked her nose before heading back to the barn. Walker would have more for him to do, as the chores around the ranch seemed never-ending.
But Justin wouldn’t have his life any other way. He adored working outside in the fresh air. He loved everything about horses. He’d competed in the pro rodeo circuit for eight years, winning every year in team roping, before retiring to Brush Creek. He wasn’t in the rodeo, but he was near enough not to miss it.
In the barn, Walker stood over a table with Landon Edmunds. Walker was the foreman, which meant he made sure the four other cowboys who lived on-site showed up and did the jobs he assigned to them. Landon owned the ranch, which meant he financed everything and held the vision he wanted for Brush Creek Horse Ranch. He’d started it six years ago, with two horses and a dream. The ranch now produced about a dozen horses for the rodeo circuit every year, and they each brought a pretty penny to the trainer who worked with them.
Landon only employed former rodeo stars, and Justin felt lucky to have gotten on at Brush Creek immediately after he’d decided to leave the circuit.
“What’s goin’ on?” he asked as both Walker and Landon looked concerned. Justin glanced at the table, where a blueprint sat. “What is that?”
“New watering system,” Landon said. “For the hay fields behind the cabins.” He leaned away from the table and then took several steps away, one hand rubbing up and down the back of his head.
“It’s expensive,” Walker said by way of explanation. “But it would cut down on the hours we spend out in the fields.”
“By fifty percent,” Landon said. “And with that much extra time, we could train two more horses a year. And that would pay for the system in just two years.”
“Sounds like it’s worth it.” Justin thumped the table with a fist. “What’s next for me?”
“The disc mower is on the fritz again, and I need you to work your magic on it.” Walker reached for a folder on the back corner. “And then you have a customer coming at three.”
“A customer?” The two horses he was currently training wouldn’t be ready for months, and Walker never had his men train three horses at a time.
“Yeah, an Abby Guzman. She wants to know about horseback riding lessons for her son. Guess his dad was a header, and the boy’s interested in it as well.”
Justin made a face. “I don’t do horseback riding lessons.”
“She’d eventually need a proper header horse,” Walker said, snapping the folder closed and handing it to him. “And you’re our team roping expert, so I gave her to you.”
Justin flipped open the folder but didn’t really read anything. “Does she live in Brush Creek?”
“Vernal, but she’s comin’ up here. Three o’clock.” Walker started to walk away with Landon, and Justin looked at the folder. He scanned until he found how old the boy was. Five.
Justin’s stomach fell. He definitely didn’t want to do horseback riding lessons with a five-year-old. He’d just have to find a way to get rid of Abby Guzman.
Pre-order A COMPANION FOR THE COWBOY and get the book on release day, July 4!
Brush Creek Brides Romance: a spinoff series from the Gold Valley Romance series
The Brush Creek Brides Romance series is a series of Christian western romance novels you can read in a single evening! This series features wholesome, uplifting, and satisfying "weeknight" romances.
Weeknight romances: 3 bucks. 2 hours. 1 satisfying, uplifting, and romantic story.
A Wedding for the Widower: Brush Creek Brides Romance (Book 1): Former rodeo champion and cowboy Walker Thompson trains horses at Brush Creek Horse Ranch, where he lives a simple life in his cabin with his ten-year-old son. A widower of six years, he’s worked with Tess Wagner, a widow who came to Brush Creek to escape the turmoil of her life to give her seven-year-old son a slower pace of life. But Tess’s breast cancer is back…
Walker will have to decide if he'd rather spend even a short time with Tess than not have her in his life at all. Tess wants to feel God's love and power, but can she discover and accept God's will in order to find her happy ending?
Read now!
A Companion for the Cowboy: Brush Creek Brides Romance (Book 2): Cowboy and professional roper Justin Jackman has found solitude at Brush Creek Horse Ranch, preferring his time with the animals he trains over dating. With two failed engagements in his past, he's not really interested in getting his heart stomped on again. But when flirty and fun Renee Martin picks him up at a church ice cream bar--on a bet, no less--he finds himself more than just a little interested. His Gen-X attitudes are attractive to her; her Millennial behaviors drive him nuts. Can Justin look past their differences and take a chance on another engagement?
Coming July 4! Pre-order now!
A Bride for the Bronc Rider: Brush Creek Brides Romance (Book 3): Ted Caldwell has been a retired bronc rider for years, and he thought he was perfectly happy training horses to buck at Brush Creek Ranch. He was wrong. When he meets April Nox, who comes to the ranch to hide her pregnancy from all her friends back in Jackson Hole, Ted realizes he has a huge family-shaped hole in his life. April is embarrassed, heartbroken, and trying to find her extinguished faith. She's never ridden a horse and wants nothing to do with a cowboy ever again. Can Ted and April create a family of happiness and love from a tragedy?
Coming July 25! Pre-order now!
A Family for the Farmer: Brush Creek Brides Romance (Book 4): Blake Gibbons oversees all the agriculture at Brush Creek Horse Ranch, sometimes moonlighting as a general contractor. When he meets Erin Shields, new in town, at her aunt’s bakery, he’s instantly smitten. Erin moved to Brush Creek after a divorce that left her penniless, homeless, and a single mother of three children under age eight. She’s nowhere near ready to start
dating again, but the longer Blake hangs around the bakery, the more she starts to like him. Can Blake and Erin find a way to blend their lifestyles and become a family?
Coming August 15! Pre-order now!
A Home for the Horseman: Brush Creek Brides Romance (Book 5): Emmett Graves has always had a positive outlook on life. He adores training horses to become barrel racing champions during the day and cuddling with his cat at night. Fresh off her professional rodeo retirement, Molly Brady comes to Brush Creek Horse Ranch as Emmett’s protege. He’s not thrilled, and she’s allergic to cats. Oh, and she’d like to stay cowboy-free, thank you very much. But Emmett’s about as cowboy as they come…. Can Emmett and Molly work together without falling in love?
Coming September 5! Pre-order now!
A Refuge for the Rancher: Brush Creek Brides Romance (Book 6): Grant Ford spends his days training cattle—when he’s not camped out at the elementary school hoping to catch a glimpse of his ex-girlfriend. When principal Shannon Sharpe confronts him and asks him to stay away from the school, the spark between them is instant and hot. Shannon’s expecting a transfer very soon, but she also needs a summer outdoor coordinator—and Grant fits the bill. Just because he’s handsome and everything Shannon’s ever wanted in a cowboy husband means nothing. Will Grant and Shannon be able to survive the summer or will the Utah heat be too much for them to handle?
Coming September 26! Pre-order now!
Meet the books of Three Rivers Ranch Romance series by Liz Isaacson!
Second Chance Ranch: A Three Rivers Ranch Romance (Book 1): After his deployment, injured and discharged Major Squire Ackerman returns to Three Rivers Ranch, wanting to forgive Kelly for ignoring him a decade ago. He’d like to provide the stable life she needs, but with old wounds opening and a ranch on the brink of financial collapse, it will take patience and faith to make their second chance possible.