The stands were packed for the very first—and very early—local equestrian play day. It was a Saturday afternoon. The sky was blue. The dirt was flying. And the mountains of the Rocky Mountain front range provided a dramatic backdrop for the cowboys and cowgirls showing off their stuff in the big horse show arena.

“Wow. This brings back some memories,” Jesse commented to Aria.

Aria could not help but laugh. “Didn’t you completely take out a barrel on your very first time in this ring?”

“Yeah.” Jesse sighed. “My parents were still around back then. Pixie and I came around that barrel so fast that there was no way either of us was going to stay upright. The mare went down sideways, and I slammed right into that barrel and went flying.”

“Let’s keep the memory of that event to ourselves, shall we?” Laredo muttered as he walked up behind them.

“Oh, look at that!” Jesse said sarcastically. “Horse show dad isn’t as brave and confident as he kept telling us he was.”

Aria smiled at Laredo and took his hand. She lifted it to her lips and kissed his knuckles. “Last week, when I told you that I wanted to let Bella do this little fun horse show, you were fine with it. Remember?”

“That was then.”

Aria gave his arm a little tug. “Are you whining? That’s not very manly.”

“Forget manly,” he muttered. “I’m freaking out trying not to think about what could happen.”

“Bella will be fine,” Aria assured him. “This arena isn’t scary. Smokey is about the most solid little horse I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. And Bella has about a billion relatives here to support her.”

That was certainly no exaggeration. The entire Hernandez clan—including Cal—had turned out for Bella’s inaugural barrel race. The kid was flying high, and she hadn’t even competed yet.

“I thought you said you’d entered her in more than one event,” Laredo said tensely. “What about that?”

“She’s entered in four events. Some of them aren’t even speed events. I want her to go in there and just bum around to get a feel for riding in that ring. It’s all going to be fine.”

Jesse touched Aria’s arm. “The announcer is calling Bella’s first class.”

“Right.” Now Aria was a little nervous.

Aria left Laredo in Jesse’s capable hands and went to find her rider. Aria had made the executive decision that Bella was going to be her only student competing today. Usually Aria took ten or fifteen of her students to these easygoing low-key events. It was excellent practice for riding in a horse show situation, but the cost was minimal and the crowd was super supportive instead of being wildly competitive.

“Are you ready?” Aria asked her favorite student.

Bella’s little face was pale but determined, and her eyes were bright with excitement. “Smokey is ready.”

“Okay. So, this is not a speed class, kiddo. It’s just following directions on the rail like you do in your lessons. Listen for the announcer to tell you to walk, trot, or canter, and then line up in the middle when he says to. Keep your distance from everyone else. Same arena rules as we use at home, kiddo. All right?”

“I’ve got it.”

There was no doubt in Aria’s mind that she’d gone a little overboard with her first “daughter” and the show clothing. Bella was wearing tooled cowboy boots with turquoise-colored accents that matched her saddle trim and the saddle blanket next to Smokey’s gleaming grey coat.

Jorge and the other grooms had spent a whole day making that mare as clean as humanly or “horsely” possible. Her coat was shiny. She was all trimmed up and spiffed up, and she looked like a million-dollar championship horse instead of a kid’s pony. But everyone at Clouds End Farm wanted Bella and Smokey to knock the competition out of the park, and they weren’t shy about letting it be known.

“Is Mrs. Naranjo up in the stands?” Bella suddenly wanted to know.

“Yep.” Aria waved to the housekeeper, who was sitting with Jorge and her other relatives. “You have a whole section up there. Grandpa Joe and Gramma Avery are up there too. Jaeger wants to know why he can’t compete yet. And everyone is rooting for you!”

Bella picked up her reins and tightened up the little tie that kept her cowboy hat on her head. “Okay. I’m ready to go.”

“Remember, not speed this time,” Aria cautioned as the ring steward opened the gate and started letting the class of competitors inside. “Nice and easy. Be relaxed and Smokey will be too.”

Aria held her breath as Bella and Smokey entered the ring. A few of the other trainers waved at her or tipped their hats. Aria knew most of the other horses and riders. It was a class full of beginners. A few rival training barns had their students here, but those rivalries were always friendly and positive. Of course, that did not include the huge contingent of riders from the Flying W.

On the other side of the show ring, Aria could see Paul Weatherby whispering to someone beside him at a furious rate. Her stomach tied itself in knots as she tried to imagine what that man might be saying. Lately, every single time he opened his mouth, he made trouble for them all.

“That your kid?” Another trainer sidled up close beside Aria.

She pressed her lips together and tried to decide how to answer. Lance Anderson was a local trainer with a reputation for pushing his kids really fast and hard. She’d done some horse deals with him in the past but usually tried to steer clear of the guy. He was also an absolute fixture on the local grapevine. The only thing Lance liked better than a good deal on a horse was a good tidbit of gossip.

“She’s Joe Hernandez’s granddaughter,” Aria offered. There. It was true. And it would hopefully shut Lance up.

But it didn’t. “I heard her horse is stolen,” Lance informed Aria. “They say it came off the Flying W but didn’t have an inspection or a brand change, if you know what I mean.”

Aria turned angrily to Lance just as the judge asked for the contestants to start trotting. “You know what, I’m really tired of hearing that.” Aria stabbed her finger toward the ring, indicating Smokey. “That mare is wearing a Hernandez brand. She’s in their studbook, and she’s one of Okie’s offspring. That stallion has been a Hernandez ranch stallion for over fifteen years. Just because Weatherby couldn’t breed a decent horse to save his life doesn’t make him right.”

Lance drew back in surprise. “Sheesh! Didn’t realize that was such a big deal to you.”

“Really?” Aria shot him a dirty look. “Isn’t that why you told me? I know you. You’re stirring the pot, Lance. But you better be careful. Weatherby is going to get you burned.”

Aria turned her attention back to Bella and gave her young charge a thumbs-up. Smokey and Aria were moving around the ring with absolute confidence as though they had been doing this all their lives. The smile on Bella’s face was pretty much the equal of the one Aria felt stretching across her own, and it also looked like the one on Laredo’s face up in the stands.

Aria found his gaze in the crowd. The swell of love in her chest for this man made her so ecstatic that she couldn’t hold it in. Putting her hand on her chest, she mouthed the words I love you to him. She could see from his expression that he was sending that sentiment right back to her. Sometimes life was just good and there was no two ways about it.

 

LAREDO FELT A swell of love inside his heart for Aria, for Bella, and for pretty much everyone else in his life at the moment. For once, it felt like there was nothing that could dampen his spirits. In what world had he ever expected to sit with his parents, his brothers, and his friends to watch his daughter in her first horse show?

“Look at my girl go!” Laredo felt so proud he was in danger of popping wide open.

Beside him, Jesse, Darren, Maggie, and Jaeger were clapping and waving as they watched Bella get her first blue ribbon. Then Laredo heard someone a few rows down in the bleachers snort. There was a ripple of unease throughout the crowd, and Laredo began to wonder what was going on.

That was when he heard the first “boo” coming from the front row. It received an immediate reaction from Joe Hernandez. “Hey! You don’t boo a kid! What in the hell is the matter with you?”

The spectator turned around and made a face at Joe Hernandez. “Well, what do you expect when that Hernandez brat is winning on a stolen horse?”

“Stolen?” Jesse stood up. She pointed her finger at the stranger. “Look here, you. I don’t know where you heard that crap, but it’s a lie! Cal Hernandez bred that horse on the Hernandez ranch, and that’s a fact!”

The spectator whispered to his companion. They were both wearing Flying W T-shirts, which seemed to suggest not only where their kid rode but also where they’d heard the rumor. “Of course you would say that,” the stranger asserted. “You’re a Collins. Everyone knows the Collins and Hernandez ranches are stealing good stock from the Flying W and using Clouds End Farm to sell it off!”

Beside Laredo, he could feel Jesse getting ready to launch herself at the strangers who had dared to say anything negative about her integrity—or her friends. Laredo put his hand out. “Don’t, Jess, it isn’t worth it. These people are victims of Paul Weatherby’s smear campaign just as surely as the rest of Denver is at the moment. Someday they’ll wake up and realize the man is a flaming liar.”

The strangers drew back in surprise and turned back around to cheer for their kid, who was apparently getting a sixth place ribbon. Laredo clapped politely because that’s what the Hernandez family did. They played nice even when other people didn’t.

Soon the negative comments were forgotten. They were too busy cheering for Bella’s pole bending class where she was so overeager that she knocked over two poles. Laredo and Jaeger were groaning but clapping for their favorite girl, but her big barrel racing debut was coming right up.

The excitement was palpable. Laredo waved to Aria as Bella put her determined face on and steered Smokey into the alley where they would get a running start. Laredo was leaning forward. He felt as though he were the one in the saddle. Then the buzzer went off and Smokey shot forward. Bella was not doing a million miles an hour. But that girl was moving pretty darn fast for a nine-year-old riding a little grey mare. Laredo whooped and hollered with his family and friends as Bella rounded the last turn and sent Smokey galloping home. They crossed the finish line, and it was over! All twenty-two seconds of it! Laredo felt like he’d run a marathon and won. His whole body sagged with giddy relief.

“You’re very lucky to have found someone like Aria to share this with you.”

Laredo looked over to see that his mother, Avery, had moved closer to him on the bench. Laredo nodded his head. “It’s about time I did it right. Don’t you think?”

“We all knew you’d get around to it.”

Avery Hernandez had just opened her mouth to say something else, when Laredo suddenly spotted a ghost coming toward them up the bleacher steps. It had been so long since Laredo had seen his ex-wife that he had almost forgotten how one look at her could curdle his blood. From her bleached-blond hair to her fake nails and thick makeup. She looked like she was attending a high society event, not a kids’ horseshow. On his right side, Jesse let out a low curse. It was enough to let the entire Hernandez family know that something was most definitely up.

“Hello, Laredo.” Helena let her gaze travel dismissively over the assembled friends and family sitting on the bleachers. “I see the peanut gallery came with you. How sweet.”

“Why are you here?” Laredo asked flatly. He could not believe she would have the gall to show up.

Helena gave a shrug. “My daughter was competing. My sister told me. She said she saw you. I thought I would come and watch.”

“You mean you thought you’d come and see if there was something in this for you,” Jesse retorted. “You never change.”

“And you’re still mooching off the Hernandez family,” Helena shot back. Her cool gaze dismissed Jesse out of hand. “How cute. The little orphan still thinks she’s important.”

“Enough,” Laredo growled. “We don’t need you here. We don’t want you here. You should go.”

Just then, Laredo heard a pounding on the bleachers. Bella was coming. She was beaming, and Aria was right behind her with a huge smile on her face as well. Bella was just bubbling over. She laughed and launched herself at her father.

“Did you see?” Bella asked excitedly. “Did you see us? Did you?”

“I saw you, sweetheart. You were amazing.”

“Did you see us, Aunt Jesse?” Bella grabbed onto Jesse and pulled herself into her aunt’s lap.

Jesse was laughing and giving Bella a high-five. Laredo could not help but notice that Bella had not even noticed Helena. Aria had though. Her glowering frown was proof enough of that.

“Why are you here?” Aria demanded of Helena. “Nobody wants you here.” Aria gestured to Bella. “She doesn’t even know you.”

Helena’s expression grew even more pinched. “Excuse me, Isabella, I wanted to talk to you about your performance today.”

Bella actually turned and frowned at Helena. “I don’t talk to strangers. Do you know my daddy? Maybe he could introduce us and then I could talk to you about my horse, Smokey. My stepmom, Aria, is helping me learn to ride her. It’s fun. Lots of fun!” Bella was picking up speed. She babbled a mile a minute about Aria’s farm and Aria’s horses and how Aria was going to teach her to rope calves.

Laredo couldn’t stop the smile that touched his features. He shook his head at Helena. “This is what you wanted. Remember? You didn’t want any part of this. You didn’t want any part of us. You don’t get to change your mind just because you’re single again.”

“Who said…?” Helena’s brow smoothed as she realized that she’d given herself away. “You’ll regret this. You know you will. I was the only thing that made you tolerable to society.”

Laredo did not even have to think twice before throwing a response her way. “Then it’s a good thing I don’t care what society thinks. I’m happy with my life. I’m in a fantastic relationship, and I have a beautiful daughter. I think I’m a pretty damn lucky man.” Laredo turned away from Helena and winked at Aria. “I could not have hoped for a better path for my life. And that’s my story.”

“So, you’re sticking to it!” Bella supplied with glee.

The poor kid hadn’t even noticed Helena as any more than an interested spectator at a horse show. With that sort of reception, Helena didn’t stick around. She left, and the Hernandez family returned to enjoying their afternoon together. Soon though, Laredo knew that they were going to have to tackle these rumors from the Flying W. Nobody called the Hernandez family a bunch of crooks. Not without consequences.