Todd Christopherson got out of his huge tour bus, deciding on the spot that he should’ve been paying his driver a lot more to get him all over the country to compete in professional rodeo events.
This bus was huge, and Todd hadn’t had the easiest time getting it down the narrow canyon and into the valley town of Coral Canyon, where he was born and raised.
He took in a deep breath of the mountain air, glad to be back in a familiar place. A punch of loneliness hit him when he remembered he couldn’t get in the truck behind the bus and go visit his parents. They were still on-tour with Taylor, Todd’s brother, and they’d sold their house here in Coral Canyon when his sister had moved to Grand Junction. Years ago.
Todd hadn’t had a permanent home in almost two decades, and as he gazed at the Tetons above him, he knew it was time to change that.
Which is why you retired, he told himself. He fished in his pocket for his keys and headed to the back of the bus to unhook the truck he’d been towing. He’d be able to stay at the RV park for as long as he wanted, and the tour bus really had everything he needed—but it was on wheels.
Todd didn’t want to get rid of the bus, but he thought he was ready for more stable walls. And to do that, he needed to find a realtor. And lucky for him, he knew his cousin, Collin, happened to be one of those—and he still lived in Coral Canyon.
So twenty minutes later, Todd pulled into the office building where his cousin worked, and before he’d made it to the front door, Collin came out, a huge smile on his face.
“Well, if it isn’t six-time world champion Todd Christopherson!” He spoke in a rodeo announcer voice, like Todd would be flying out of the gate on a bull named Two-Timer at any moment.
Todd couldn’t help chuckling and shaking his head. “How are you, Collin?”
“You know they’re putting up a billboard with your face on it, right?” They shook hands, and Collin gestured him into the building.
“Who’s ‘they’?” Todd asked, mildly horrified. Though it wouldn’t be the first time he’d seen his face on a billboard, he certainly wasn’t advertising an upcoming event in Coral Canyon. He’d done plenty of photo shoots and promo spots for the rodeo in the various cities where he rode. More tickets sold meant more money for everyone, himself included.
“The town council,” Collin said. “It got final approval at last week’s meeting. Everyone is buzzing about when you’ll roll into town.”
“Well, that happened a couple of hours ago.” Todd followed Collin into his office. As far as he knew, nothing had changed. He didn’t need a parade. The air was still made of oxygen, and the sun still ruled the sky.
Todd Christopherson couldn’t change any of that.
“So you need someplace to live?” Collin asked as he sat behind his desk.
“Yeah,” Todd said.
“I think we can do that.” Collin tapped on his keyboard. “Let’s start with your wish list.”
Todd blinked and tried to think through what a normal person’s wishlist would be. “I’d like a backyard,” he said slowly.
Collin burst into laughter, but Todd wasn’t sure what he’d said that was so funny. When he didn’t chuckle along with his cousin, Collin quieted. He cleared his throat. “Todd, all the houses here have backyards. What size are you thinking?”
“Something big enough for a dog, maybe.”
“Sure, sure,” Collin said. “Keep going. Number of bedrooms? Mountain view? In a neighborhood? With horse land and water rights?” He looked at Todd. “What are you thinking?”
Todd had obviously not been thinking enough. He didn’t own any horses, but he could see that changing very easily. After all, he didn’t have dogs yet either.
A prayer ran through his mind that he could find clarity of thought as Collin asked, “What budget are we looking at?”
Todd didn’t need to worry about money. He had plenty of that. The real question was whether or not he wanted neighbors close to him or a little more privacy. And after living in a row of tour buses and RVs for nineteen years, he decided he’d like a bit more freedom to walk around the house in the buff if he wanted to.
Not that he’d ever done that.
But he could if he wanted to.
“The budget is…I don’t know. What kind of budget do I need for a house in the mountains somewhere? Maybe a bit away from the neighbor’s but not too far from a grocery store.”
Collin looked like he wanted to laugh again, but he didn’t. His fingers flew over the keyboard, and he said, “Let’s see what I’ve got.”
A couple of hours later, Todd had seen three mountain houses, all of them with thousands and thousands of square feet he didn’t need. At least not for just himself. Now, if he was planning a huge family reunion, the place on Prospect Bay Drive would be perfect, what with that boat dock right on the water’s edge.
A headache pounded behind his right eye, a result of an injury during a bull ride from a decade ago. He disliked the pain that seemed to plague him at the most inopportune times, but he’d used his health to get out of sticky situations in the past too. Today, for example, he’d said he had a headache and asked Collin if they could do Househunting Round Two another day.
His cousin had readily agreed, pointed in the direction of the drug store as if Todd had never been to Coral Canyon before, and gone back inside to pull a new list of houses they’d look at later.
A week went by, and Todd never did go out with Collin again. He hung around the RV park, hiked a few trails in the surrounding area, and wondered if this quiet, retired life was what he really wanted.
Problem was, Todd had no idea what he wanted. And that was odd, as he’d grown up with a desire to become a champion bull-rider. And he had. He’d worked, and trained, and clung to that dream until it had come true.
He didn’t mind the fame, and the fortune wasn’t bad either, so he’d stayed in the circuit, surrounded by family and friends, until he’d felt it was time to leave.
He’d been lonely before, but this was a whole new level of being alone he hadn’t experienced before. When he drove by the new billboard and saw his face up-close and in color on the twenty-foot sign, the breath left his body.
He definitely could not drive by that thing every day. “So a house up a different canyon,” he said to himself. Then he wouldn’t have to drive by that sign every time he needed bread.
At the gas station just inside city limits, he pulled behind a huge, boxy, black SUV, wondering if tourists came to Coral Canyon this early in April. Coral Canyon typically didn’t get many tourists at all, at least not that Todd remembered.
But this didn’t look like a vehicle that belonged in simple, humble Coral Canyon. A cowboy came out of the convenience store, whistling as if he was the happiest man on earth. He carried a bag that looked full of chips and candy, and Todd turned away to fill his own truck up with gas.
Someone calling, “Graham! Graham Whittaker!” had Todd spinning back. He watched as a woman handed him a bottle of Gatorade and rushed back into the store. Graham turned back to his SUV, and he glanced at Todd.
Their eyes locked, and Todd started laughing. “Graham Whittaker.” He left the pump and strode over to his childhood friend.
“Todd Christopherson.” Graham grabbed onto him and gave him several hearty slaps on the back as they embraced. He stepped back and grinned. “It’s great to see you. I didn’t know you were back in town.”
“You haven’t seen the huge billboard on the way in?” Todd snorted. “It’s embarrassing, that’s what it is.”
“Oh, I live up the canyon on the north,” he said.
“That’s where I need to be then,” Todd said, his mind searching into the past. “Isn’t there just a lodge up there?”
“And a ranch,” he said. “My wife’s ranch. Echo Ridge?”
“Oh, right. The McAllister place. You married Laney?”
Graham had a happy, married-man glow about him. “Yep, about five years ago.” He opened the door of the SUV and tossed in the bag of snacks. “And I bought the lodge too.” He cocked his head, clearly considering something.
Todd had seen that look in Graham’s eyes before, and usually nothing good came from it. “What?” he asked carefully.
“What are you doin’ these days?”
“Nothing,” Todd said. Literally.
“We need help at the ranch. I don’t suppose you’d be interested in something like that?”
Todd’s heartbeat leapt over itself. “I would,” he said. At the very least, it would get him out of his bus and into the fresh air. “What kind of work?”
“Echo Ridge is a cattle ranch,” Graham said. “We’re down a man this year due to health problems, and we need someone to start pretty much yesterday.”
“I can come out today,” Todd said. Right now. He could follow Graham up that north canyon and wrangle cattle right now.
Graham smiled. “Where you livin’?”
“In my tour bus out at the RV park on the road toward Jackson.”
Graham’s eyebrows went sky high. “Oh, I need to see this tour bus.”
Todd really liked that Graham wasn’t falling all over him like he was a celebrity. Not that Todd minded that kind of attention. But it was nice to have a normal friend too. A familiar face who didn’t act like he was somehow a different man because he’d won a few championships.
He chuckled. “I can drive it up to your ranch. Live in it while I work. Do you have water hookups?”
“Not at the ranch,” he said. “The lodge might, actually. But you know, you could just live at the lodge.” Those brown eyes sharpened again. “I mean, my brother—remember Beau?—and his wife live there, but they’re on a tour of Europe for the next few months. And it’s huge anyway. Even if you were there, they wouldn’t know it.”
“I don’t need a free place to live,” Todd said.
“Yeah, of course not,” Graham said easily. “But we typically offer room and board for our cowboys. Not at the lodge, but this is a special circumstance.” He pulled out his phone. “And I can find out if it has water hookups. If so, you could just use those and live in the bus.”
Todd felt the sparkle of opportunity, and he didn’t want to miss it. “Sure,” he said. “Okay. You just tell me what you want me to do.”
“Why don’t you come up to the lodge?” Graham said. “I’ll show you around, and we’ll check on the water, and then you can decide.” He tapped on his phone and lifted it to his ear. “Laney will be thrilled to have your help.” He grinned and said, “Hey, baby,” as he turned away from Todd and got behind the wheel of the SUV.
Todd pulled the now-finished gas hose out of his truck and got behind the wheel too, ready to follow Graham up the north canyon. He didn’t need a job, but it sure would be nice to have something to do with his time. Something outdoors. Something with the animals he’d spent his life around.
As he followed Graham and set his truck up the canyon, he felt like something good was about to come into his life—and this time, he wouldn’t let it get away.
* * *
The lodge was definitely of the upscale, posh, where-rich-people-stay variety. He didn’t remember the Whittakers being particularly wealthy growing up, but Graham had definitely struck something in order to be able to afford a place like this.
Todd parked in the circle drive, behind Graham, and looked at the beautiful wood front door.
Graham got out of the SUV, his phone still stuck to his ear, and Todd caught up to him just as he said, “Okay, thanks anyway, Will.” He tucked his phone in his pocket and walked up the steps. “No water hookups here. But the lodge is nice, I promise.”
He opened the front door and went inside. Todd wasn’t disappointed. A beautiful stained glass window spelled out Graham’s last name, and a sweeping staircase led up to the second floor. The spacious foyer gave way to a big living room with couches, chairs, and a fireplace.
“Living room.” Graham moved through that to a doorway. “Kitchen back here.” He went straight into the kitchen and stopped suddenly. “Who are you?”
Todd almost ran into him, but managed to stop and step to the side in time to see a woman with short, blonde hair standing in the kitchen. She held a regular spoon up as if she’d attack with it, and a smudge of chocolate sat in the corner of her mouth.
“Graham,” she said at the same time he said, “Vi?”
“What are you doing here?” they said in unison, and Todd felt like he was watching a tennis match. He liked looking at Vi a lot more than Graham, and his gaze stuck on her the next time it moved to her.
If he had to categorize her, she’d be in the drop-dead gorgeous category, with fair skin, a smattering of freckles across her nose, and curves in all the right places. She licked her lips and put the spoon down, casually stepping in front of something on the counter.
And Todd really wanted to know what it was. Who she was. And if she was interested in a retired bull rider with no roots.
