Page 1 of The Maverick’s Legacy

Chapter One

Carly Hawkins stared at the large ranch home, wondering for the hundredth time what on earth she’d been thinking when she’d bought it.

No. She knew exactly what she’d been thinking. She had stopped by her sister Amy’s house to see her almost year-old niece and had been hit with…feelings.

As she’d watched her sister cuddle baby Josephine, something foreign had slammed into her. An idea that maybe life had more to offer her other than the rodeo circuit.

The truth was she was getting tired—exhausted from the nonstop grind of performing. When she’d first started her career, she’d been obsessed with becoming as successful as possible. Her fear of failure stemmed from a turbulent childhood in the foster system, spending many years with nothing but the secondhand clothes on her back to call her own.

And for the most part she’d met the goals she’d set for herself.

Her family were world-famous rodeo stars. She and her sister Elizabeth had toured Australia for years. That was before the tragic loss of Elizabeth’s husband. Her sister had decided she needed a fresh start, so she’d moved herself and her twins back to the States. Carly had missed them like crazy after they’d left. A part of her thought Elizabeth would return, but she eventually met a widower and got a second chance at happiness.

Carly was overjoyed for her. If anyone deserved to find love again, it was Elizabeth. But that left one single person in the family. Carly. Which…she was fine with.

She had more important things to worry about than a husband and babies.

Like becoming the biggest rodeo star in the world.

At least that had been her dream. Because in the back of her mind, there was always the lingering fear that everything could be taken away again. She had enough money now that, if she was careful, she never had to work again. She could walk away from her current life if she wanted to.

After discovering her boyfriend, Fletch, had been cheating, and enduring the media storm their breakup had caused in Australia, Carly knew she needed a change. The injury she’d suffered in Perth had already shaken her, and this was the final push. She flew to Montana to spend time with family, stopping first in Bronco for a period before heading to Tenacity to see her sister Amy. On the way, she spotted a For Sale sign, and before she knew it, she’d bought herself a house.

Speaking of family…

A truck pulled down her long gravel driveway. Carly’s wayward thoughts were instantly muffled as she recognized her parents’ vehicle, pulling a horse trailer. Her beloved horse, Nieve, let out a loud neigh that could be heard over the crunch of the tires.

“Hello, darlin’,” her dad called out as he pulled the truck close to where she stood. “Where do you want me to put your baby?”

“I have a stall all ready for him,” Carly replied, waving at the barn a short distance away. As her mom got out of the vehicle, Carly moved to the side of the trailer to check her horse over.

Nieve was a true beauty, with a shimmering white coat and soft pink nose. They’d been all over the world together. It had been painful for Carly to be away from him, but she’d had to keep the horse at her parents’ while she’d gotten her things moved into the ranch.

Carly reached up to touch him through the open window of the trailer. “Hey, my sweet boy.”

The horse bumped his nose against Carly’s palm in response, letting out a soft snort of air. She smiled in response, her heart overflowing with love for the stallion.

As soon as she was brought into Suzie and Arthur’s home, an angry foster kid at eight years old, they’d thrown her onto a horse to work out her issues. And it worked for the most part. For the first time in her young life, she’d felt safe openly loving another sentient being. She’d poured herself into caring for each horse her parents owned. Though she loved and appreciated every one of them she worked with, there was something magical about her bond with Nieve.

“We’ll go for a ride soon, okay?” she promised him, and he gave her that look that assured her he understood and he’d keep her to it.

“He was as good as gold,” her mom said as she walked over to them. “Considering he hates everyone but you and his fans.”

Carly laughed as she stepped back from the trailer. She tapped the side of her dad’s truck, and he continued toward the barn.

Her mom hugged her tight once the vehicle was a safe distance away. “It’s so good to have you home, honey.”

Carly pulled back, taking in her mom’s peach-colored complexion, her soft blue eyes, and her ash-blond hair that was more silvery than Carly remembered.

“You act like I’ve been gone forever.” Carly grinned. “I’ve been back several times in the past few years, what with Elizabeth marrying Jake and Amy having Josephine.”

“But that was just a quick stop, a few days here and there. Now you’re home and I’ll get to see you all the time.”

She gave her mom an amused look. “You live in Bronco. That’s not exactly around the corner.”

Suzie waved that away dismissively. “Yes, but it’s a much easier drive to get to you than flying halfway across the world.”

“You and Dad are the ones who introduced us to this life,” Carly reminded her. Her father had once had a successful career in rodeo riding himself until he’d busted his knee during one freak fall.