“You still planning on selling out?”
Selling out? That sounded almost ugly, and disloyal—and not at all what she anticipated for a topic. “I’m not a rancher, Uncle Boots. I need to sell the place to pay Daddy’s debts. And to give you a cushion so you can find a little place.”
“This ain’t about me, Cassidy. This is about you. About the heritage your daddy left for you. About who you are deep down.”
She clasped her hands together and shoved them between her knees as she leaned forward. Staring at her bare toes, she gathered her thoughts. “I’m not a cowgirl, Uncle Boots. Haven’t been since I left for college.”
“Then why did you go round up the horses when the storm hit?”
“Because it needed doing.”
“Would a city girl have gotten soakin’ wet to move them into the barn?”
“Just because I knew what was the right thing to do doesn’t mean I want to run this ranch.”
Boots leaned back and stared out the front window. “Ben went lookin’ for a colt. A very special colt. For you.” He held up his hand when she started to speak, and his words cut through any argument she might offer. “Just hush up and listen, Cassidy.” His eyes returned to the scenery outside. The silence stretching between them wasn’t comfortable, but Cass remained quiet.
“Your daddy knew you didn’t want to stay here. He hoped you would, but he knew deep down that you had to go off and see the world. He did the same thing.” He glanced in her direction. “He lived on the road for a good many years. And then he met your momma. She put down roots here. Deep ones. Then you came along. So he settled down. He built this place fence post by fence post. At one time, Morgan-Baxter Rodeo Company supplied stock for all the big rodeos. Calgary. National Finals. Las Vegas. Denver. We even made it to Madison Square Garden one year. Your daddy was a name, honey. But he didn’t want you to be a cowgirl.”
Her mouth gaped open. “Well, you damn sure could have fooled me!”
Boots chuckled softly. “He wanted more for you. He wanted you to be a rancher. Or a trainer. Or a breeder. Even as a kid, you had an uncanny sense about horses, baby girl. But at the same time, he knew you had the same wanderlust in your blood he did. So he waited for you to get it out of your system. And then he found that colt. Legend’s Double Rainbow.”
Memory flared—her dad driving Cass in his truck as he explained her mom wasn’t coming home and a double rainbow arching across the sky in front of them. She stared at the old man, confused. “He bought this stud colt just because of his name?”
Boots laughed. At her. “Honey, you know your daddy better than that. That little fella has a pedigree going all the way back to Leo.” A sly look crossed his face.
She blinked, her mind skipping everything but the name Leo. “Wait...Leo? As in the foundation stallion?”
He nodded. “Yep. He found a colt with a bloodline that traces straight back to Leo.”
“Holy cow!” Leo was a legendary quarter horse stud. He had produced racehorses, the finest performance horses and more than a few rodeo champs along the way. She leaned back, possibilities whirling through her mind despite her intentions. No. She had to think about Chicago. Her life was in Chicago. Not here on some dirt-road ranch. Wasn’t it?
Her brow furrowed in consternation as another thought intruded. She leaned forward. “How the hell did he pay for the colt? I...I can’t even imagine how much he’s worth!”