Hometown Roots: A Small Town, Opposites Attract Romance (Lost Canyon Ranch Book 1) by Crystal Joy

Hometown Roots: A Small Town, Opposites Attract Romance (Lost Canyon Ranch Book 1) by Crystal Joy

Author:Crystal Joy [Joy, Crystal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-14T00:00:00+00:00


On Friday, Knox settled onto the stadium seats at the Beartooth Equestrian Center. The seats surrounded a large sand-filled arena with plenty of space. Thanks to Cheyenne, the manager of the center had eagerly agreed to let her rent their facility for free as long they could post pictures for marketing purposes.

The double doors to the arena opened as people arrived—Floyd Isaacson, the lawyer; Hank Guthrie, the sheriff; followed by Scarlett and Will; Amos and Travis; and many familiar faces of those whose names Knox hadn’t learned.

For a last-minute event, the turnout was good. About fifty people, give or take.

Fifty suspects who might have cut the fence and killed four cows.

Amos had found six missing cattle grazing five miles away from Lost Canyon Ranch. The other four were not so lucky. They were found dead on the shore of Piney Creek. Someone had poisoned the water in the same area where the cows had taken a drink. It couldn’t be a coincidence.

Losing four cows would cost them ten to twelve thousand dollars.

Worse than that, Lainey and her sisters had lost their sense of security. They hadn’t come out and said it, but ever since Amos discovered the cattle, Lainey had been biting her fingernails, Cheyenne jumped at the slightest noises, and Quinn kept peering out the windows.

He couldn’t blame them. It was alarming to think someone had purposely damaged their property and killed their livestock.

He had to be on high alert tonight, watching for signs of odd behavior. It could be anyone.

Georgia waltzed into the arena in pink cowgirl boots and a red furry coat.

Anyone except for Georgia. No way could a woman who dressed like her have a deep dark motive to kill.

She sat down beside him and removed her matching red earmuffs. “Why in the world did they plan something like this in two days? They should’ve scheduled it months out.”

He gave her a playful grin. “And yet, you were still able to make it.”

“That’s because I’m an old single woman with nothing better to do.”

“You’re not old. You can’t be more than forty.”

She fluffed the bottom of her short curly hair, clearly enjoying his flattery. “I’m actually sixty-two.”

He feigned surprise.

Georgia scanned the crowd. “Where’s Quinn?”

“She’s at the ranch taking care of a mare and its foal.”

Voices quieted as Lainey led a gray horse into the arena. She stopped near the audience, her cheeks becoming a dark shade of crimson. She noticeably swallowed before lifting the microphone.

Knox smiled. Her nervousness was endearing.

“Thank you for coming. For as long as I can remember, people have brought troubled horses to my grandpa because they couldn’t figure out what to do. Over the years, he transformed horses from being afraid of water to loving it, he nursed malnourished horses back to health, and he even taught blind horses to be reliable on trails.”

She took an unsteady breath into the microphone. “I could go on and on with examples. But what I’d like to point out is that I was right by his side, watching and learning.



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