Page 2 of Pumpkin Spice Promises

The kind that meant all the early mornings, long drives, and weekends spent chasing rodeos across the Southeast might actually be leading somewhere.

I squealed loud enough to send Blueberry trotting away from the fence.

“Blueberry!” I laughed. “Come back here, you traitor.”

The mare flicked her tail and continued toward the pasture.

I glanced down at my phone again.

A sponsorship.

And this weekend’s rodeo in Tennessee would determine whether I qualified for the finals.

Life couldn’t get much better.

“Carson Anne Rome!”

I grinned immediately.

Pops.

Only one man on earth could make my full name sound like both a threat and a term of endearment.

I shoved my phone into my back pocket and headed toward the barn where he was standing, black thermos in his hand, old worn cap covering his balding head, gray mustache twitching as he grinned at me, and a pumpkin under his other arm.

“You gonna help me decorate this town or are you gonna stand there starin’ at your phone all mornin’?”

I laughed and walked toward him. “You’ve got two perfectly good hands, old man.”

“Funny,” Pops grumbled, but the corner of his mouth twitched. “Real funny. Keep talkin’ like that and I’ll sell your horse.”

“You love my horse.”

“I tolerate your horse.” He refused to look at me, which only made his lie more obvious.

“Liar.”

His laugh rumbled across the yard. The sound made my chest warm. Pops laughed often, but hearing it never got old.

“What’s got you grinnin’ like a fool?” he asked, raising a graying brow. “Finally find a boy willing to put up with you?”

I snorted. “You know I don’t have time for that.”

And it was true.

Between training, traveling to rodeos, helping Pops on the ranch, and letting Meme teach me things like gardening and how not to burn biscuits, there wasn’t much room left for dating.

Not that I minded. Boys came and went. Barrel racing didn’t.

Neither did Marigold Ranch.

Those were the things that mattered the most.

Pops laughed and shook his head. “You keep winnin’ like this and you’re gonna forget all about us little people.”

I laughed and shook my head. “As if.”

“I’m serious, Sunshine. One of these days you’re gonna go pro, make a million dollars, and leave me here with this piece of junk.”