Molli 's Story: Chapter 3

The sunset painted the Wyoming sky a mixture of pink and orange as we pulled into the gates of the Bostick Ranch. I felt a mixture of apprehension and excitement stir inside me as we rounded the bend in the road and got a full view of the main house. I noticed the sea of cowboy hats on the porch around the time Claire did. She looked at me and grinned as she slowed the truck and trailer down.

I had decided to ride the rest of the way with her after we stopped for supper in Denver. Lex and I were like sisters and sometimes we fought like them too…needless to say, we were on each others nerves after riding together for twelve hours. She happily took Jenna into the passenger seat with her and I was happy to have Trigg riding in my lap the rest of the way.

“Just pull in here,” I said as she slowed the truck to a stop at an empty spot behind a shiny new four-slant trailer. After she cut the engine, both of us sat still, unsure what to do next. I noticed Lexi and Brooke pull in behind us, and saw one of the cowboy hats making their way down the steps that were connected to the wraparound porch.

I quickly recognized Britt in all of his six-foot-five glory. His hat was pulled low over his forehead with just a hint of shaggy brown hair peeking out by his collar. His black button down shirt had patches of different sponsors sewn on, assuring me that they had not been back from the first performance for long. His Cinch jeans were just the perfect fit and flowed nicely down to his square-toed boots, which I’m sure were black when they were clean, but now looked like a dusty grey.

I smiled as I stepped out of the pickup and walked swiftly to meet him. His perfect teeth still made my heart skip a beat as he picked me up in a bear hug and swung me around in a full circle. Before I realized what was happening, he dropped me and ran to do the same to Lexi, who was struggling to keep Jenna in her truck.

“Aww, let her go,” Britt said in his deep voice. “Max is around here somewhere, and Trixie is in the barn. You can let all the dogs out if you want. I’m sure they’re tired of being cooped up anyhow.” I smiled in agreement as Claire opened her driver’s side door and Trigg leaped from the seat. Mira, deciding not to wait for Claire to open the back door, climbed over the middle console and bounded out behind him. As I watched Jenna make a beeline for Mira, I noticed Britt’s black and white Border collie sprinting from around the house. Dart, Brylee, and Spook made our dog family complete, and we watched and laughed as they jumped over each other and all pounced on top of Max.

I turned, realizing I was being rude by not introducing Claire and Brooke. “Britt, this is Brooke, one of the other members of our little escapade.”

He laughed as he took her small hand in his and removed his hat with the other. “It’s nice to meet you”, she said with a smile. “Thanks so much for having us.”

“It’s no problem at all,” he said with a wink.

“And this is Claire,” I said motioning to the tall brunette to my left.

“Hi, Claire. Britt Bostick. Good to meet you.”

He took her hand as well and I noticed his smile get a little wider as he stared. I snuck a peek at Laci who glanced at me with a knowing look. Claire was the tallest of us all, and with her long light brown hair and face that should be in commercials, she was gorgeous to say the least. Not to mention the perfect smile that lit up her face as she took in Britt’s husky frame. He was a sight, and still just as good-looking as he was when we first met him three years ago.

At the time, I was captivated by his “rugged cowboy” looks, but nothing ever transpired between us. I was loyal to my Texas roots back then, and he had a Wyoming ranch that couldn’t run itself. We were still very good friends, and Lexi and I had come to visit him every summer since. I noticed him holding Claire’s hand for a second longer than normal and saw the blood rush to her cheeks as she swept her hair back after he released it. Britt busied himself with the pile of dogs wrestling at his feet, and Brooke grabbed Lexi’s arm and steered her back towards the pickup.

“Who are all of those guys on the porch,” she asked curiously.

“Roping friends of Britt’s, I’m sure. They all stay here in the guest houses during the rodeo.”

“Guest houses? There’s more than one?” I gave Brooke and Claire a wink as I made my way to the back of Lexi’s truck to get my suitcase.

“Three, actually. Surprise!” I said quietly. I was met by three grins on the other side of the pickup. I knew we were going to have a great weekend.

As I drug my suitcase out of the bed, Britt grabbed my arm. “You don’t need to unload that yet”, he said. “Wait till I show ya’ll around to the guest house.”

“I know,” I replied. “I need a jacket though. It’s cold in these hills!”

He laughed as he helped me into my coat and led the way to the main house. Eight pairs of friendly eyes stared curiously as we made our way up the front steps. Each man was just as well dressed as Britt, and each was holding a beer. This was my kind of crowd, I thought.

“Girls, I know you won’t remember all of the names, but I’ll introduce you anyway.”

He pointed to a tall lanky fellow with glasses and the short stocky man beside him. “This is Mitch and Mike. And Lane and Ty,” he continued as he motioned to a pair of tall blondes that could not have been more than twenty-one. “This is Sterling”, he said pointing to a dark haired figure with piercing blue eyes. My gaze lingered on him for a moment. He was absolutely gorgeous. He stood well over 6’2”, and his shoulders were wide set on his medium build frame.

He smiled as Britt introduced him and I’m pretty sure my mouth watered. He had a perfect set of teeth and his smile accentuated his wide jaw line. His eyes wrinkled around the edges when he grinned and looked at the four of us, and I struggled to pull my eyes away from the curls of dark brown hair peeking out from underneath his cowboy hat as Britt continued with his introductions.

“This is Chance,” he said, pointing to another tall, dark haired figure. He glanced up quickly and nodded his head. He wasn’t as stunning as Sterling, but he had his charm. His dark eyes were mysterious and I got the feeling he was a little shy. Then Britt motioned to the other two men standing on the far side of the porch and my jaw dropped. “And this is Ma-”

“Mason and Brody,” I cut him off with a wary grin. “We’ve met.”

I stood awkwardly for just a moment until I felt Lexi’s hand on my back. Yeah, we should go say hi at least, I thought to myself. I made my way slowly across the porch until we were face to face and leaned in to give Brody a friendly sideways hug. Before I knew it his strong arms were pinning me to his chest and I recognized the scent of the Cinch cologne that they had both worn since we met them. He released me from his bear hug and held me at arms length.

“Molli, you’re lookin’ good. Still not married I see,” he said as he studied my face. Dylan was never one for subtleties. “I’m really liking the dark hair too! I mean, I loved you as a blonde, of course but this is different. Good different, I mean,” he rambled on as Lexi and I stood in front of them.

I noticed Mason had his arm around her shoulder as he carefully avoided eye contact with me. That was just fine, I thought as I turned to face the rest of the curious crowd. Thankfully, Lexi began to explain, “Mason and Brody were on the rodeo team of the college in our hometown. We all got to know each other during the year that they were there. We hung out a lot one summer especially.”

Fortunately she left it at that and no one else asked for further explanation. Like why Brody was avoiding her like the plague and Mason still hadn’t looked at me from beneath his black hat. In the time that we got to know them, Lexi and I thought we had found our future husbands, and how lucky was it that they were best friends and planned to rodeo together for years to come? We thought we had finally found a way to build our futures side by side until it all came crashing down one night. We both had really bad breakups and Lexi and I cut all ties with them both, which they rightfully deserved.

After many failed attempts by them to reconcile, we called the whole thing off with the understanding that it would be easier for all of us. The last text message I got from Mason was after the Houston rodeo two years ago, when he won the team roping with Brody. He’d said “Holy shit, Brody and I just won Houston. I wish more than anything that you and Lex were here with us. Please call me.”

I didn’t, and I hadn’t heard from him since. One of the hardest parts of the situation was the fact that we had developed such good friendships with each other. Brody and I grew very close and Mason and Lexi were almost like brother and sister by the time it had all ended. What were the odds that we would all end up here, on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming?

As I made my way back to where Claire and Brooke were sitting on the long swing, I knew Lexi and I had some explaining to do. Claire shot a concerned look at me and I smiled. Funny how in just the year that we had known each other, we were able to read one another so well. I knew she wanted to know what was going on, and she knew I would tell her soon.

Once again, I felt so fortunate to be a part of this awesome group of girls. The sun kept slowly sinking on the western horizon, and I agreed with Brooke when she said it was probably the prettiest sunset she had ever seen. Soon it was dark and everyone was sitting in a big makeshift circle on the huge porch listening to the guys tell rodeo stories.

I noticed Sterling get up and go inside to return with a western print blanket, which he handed to Brooke. I assumed he’d either heard her say it was getting chilly, or else he was just very thoughtful. Either way, I was a little envious. It shouldn’t surprise me though if the gorgeous man had taken a liking to Brooke immediately. The only blonde in our group, she was very curvy and had a face that could light up a room. I smiled at her when he turned to again take his seat beside her. She laughed a little and gave me a wink.

I turned to face Britt, who was reliving last year’s Calgary Stampede with Mitch and Mike. In that brief second, I locked eyes with Mason and my stomach flipped. He looked away as quickly as I did, and Lexi gave me a slight nudge with her elbow. We had been friends for as long as I could remember, and we were close enough that I was positive she knew exactly what I was thinking. I sighed and looked toward Britt again, just in time to hear him invite everyone on a morning ride to watch the sun rise. I laughed out loud when he looked at me expectantly.

“I don’t think so Britt,” I said with a smile. “My days of rising before the sun ended when I left coaching behind. But I’d like to go on a ride tomorrow afternoon, if you want!”

He shook his head and chuckled as he turned to the rest of the circle. I noticed his gaze linger on Claire again, and I knew what she would say before the words came out of her mouth.

“Sure, I’d love to go,” she agreed, anticipation evident in her voice. Britt looked at Lexi as she shook her head.

“I’m with Molli. This is our vacation. I’ll be warm and asleep while y’all are watching the sun come up.”

Unexpectedly, Sterling’s deep voice said “I’d like to go Britt. I need to be up early anyhow. I’m roping in the morning slack tomorrow.” They both looked at Brooke and I saw Sterling’s smile get a little wider when she nodded her head in agreement.

“Sounds fun,” she confirmed. “Got any fast ones, Britt?”

We all laughed as Britt nodded his head. “I like you already. I’ll see what I can find!”

I was surprised when the rest of the guys declined the trail ride, and smiled as I thought about Claire and Brooke on horseback alone with Britt and Sterling. “Lucky bitches,” I thought to myself. Lex and I would certainly get all of the details when they got home. I settled in a little closer to Lexi and Claire, and listened as Ty and Lane talked about the upcoming rodeo. It was the perfect end to an otherwise perfect day.