Love Me Some Cowboy by Lisa Mondello & Day Leclaire & Jean Brashear & Ginger Chambers & Barbara McMahon

Author:Lisa Mondello & Day Leclaire & Jean Brashear & Ginger Chambers & Barbara McMahon [Mondello, Lisa & Leclaire, Day & Brashear, Jean & Chambers, Ginger & McMahon, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Romance
ISBN: 9781939925039
Publisher: Day Leclaire Inc.
Published: 2013-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

The auction was well underway before the bull Bill Taylor had designated was presented. Lisa sat on the edge of the seat, her numbered paddle gripped in her hand.

Sam watched her, fascinated. Every damn thing she did seem to fascinate him. Always had.

“We have a limit,” she murmured to him.

“Of course. What is it?”

“No more than fifty thousand for the three bulls he wants.”

“So roughly sixteen to seventeen grand each?”

“Except this one is so good, I could go higher with him and then try to get the others with lower bids.”

“You and Bill discussed strategy?”

She nodded, leaning closer. “We played out several scenarios, but the ultimate decision will be mine here. He said he couldn’t second guess what might happen, so he trusts my judgment. I hope I don’t mess up for him.”

“You’ll do fine.” He squeezed her hand, then relaxed. She didn’t pull away, just smiled at him, her attention quickly caught as the bidding process began.

Auction fever was contagious. The desire to win, to outbid the competition grew as stakes became personal. Sam watched as Lisa bid time and time again, against eight or nine other ranchers. Gradually the competition dropped out and soon there were only three bidding. The price stopped jumping at five hundred dollars and began leaping ahead at a thousand dollars a pop.

Sam watched Lisa. She raised her paddle. The bid had risen to twenty-seven thousand. Well below her limit, but not if she was still planning to get Bill Taylor two more bulls.

The auctioneer raised the price another grand. A man two rows down and to the left raised his paddle. The auctioneer nodded, raising the price another thousand dollars.

Lisa started to raise her paddle. Sam covered her hand, holding it in her lap.

“Let go, I need to bid.”

“Think a minute, Lisa. You are almost at two-thirds your limit for the entire amount. Taylor wanted three bulls. What are you going to do if you go back with only one?”

She struggled to pull her hand free. Then stopped. Taking a deep breath she looked into his eyes, hers widening as reason took hold.

“You’re right. This is getting too steep.” She looked down at the auctioneer and shook her head slightly. He began the final spiel, then slammed down the hammer. The bull had gone to someone else for thirty-four thousand dollars.

“Now I have to tell Bill why I didn’t get the one he wanted.”

“I doubt he wanted it at any price. Ranching is a business. Making business decisions aren’t always easy, but if you follow prudent business practices, you can usually come out ahead. There are plenty of good bulls. You’ll get another.”

“Maybe, but I’m not much for selecting which one would be best.”

“Maybe I can help. Tell me what Taylor is looking for and we’ll scout out some stock that will suit.”

The rest of the morning they reviewed the catalog, went to look at livestock and discussed everything from yield potential to conformation to disposition.

“Haller, good to see you.” A rancher stopped them and offered his hand.