Roping the Cowboy Billionaire - Emmy Eugene Page 0,50

one cowboy on one horse. As such, Tam could charge a premium price, and the cowboys at Cattle Ridge Ranch would pay it.

It wasn’t the first custom saddle she’d made for the men up there, and she was hoping it wouldn’t be the last. She worked steadily, first cutting out the saddle by hand and then shaving down the edges of each piece she’d cut or pressed so it would lay precisely flat on the saddle tree.

She glued, crimped, and nailed the saddle horn pieces into place, using a strong needle to punch through the layers so she could then sew it too. Her hands had started to ache in the past few weeks, and she reached for her compression gloves before continuing.

As she turned back to the saddle horn with two needles now, the door to her shop opened. She expected Blaine to walk inside, but instead it was Cara.

A smile burst onto Tam’s face, and she left her needles on the workbench. “Hey,” she said, laughing as her sister ran toward her. They embraced, and Tam closed her eyes as she held Cara. “It’s so good to see you.” She stepped back and held Cara by her shoulders. “What are you doing here?”

Tam wasn’t a tall or thick woman, but compared to Cara, she felt like both. Another person entered the shop. Cara turned toward her boyfriend and extended her hand toward him. “We wanted to see what you were doing, and you weren’t home.”

“If I’m not home, I’m here.”

“Or at Bluegrass, and we drove by there. Your truck wasn’t there.”

“You can’t miss that new truck,” Tam said with a smile. She’d told Blaine last week that she was glad she’d let him talk her into getting that electric blue Velociraptor, and he’d laughed and laughed.

Tam smiled just thinking about him, but she played it off like she was thrilled her sister and her boyfriend had come to see her. She hugged Chris hello and watched as he and Cara exchanged a private glance between them.

“You don’t have to stop,” Cara said. “I want to see how you do this. Talk as you go.”

“It’s boring,” Tam warned. “You can tell me to stop anytime.” To her, it wasn’t boring. She loved what she did, especially when she got to create custom designs. “This saddle is for Jamie McGrath out at Cattle Ridge,” she said. “I’ve cut all the pieces, and I’ve started to put them all on the saddle tree.”

She indicated the semi-saddle shaped apparatus on the workbench. “I’ve just finished the saddle horn. Sort of. I have to sew it and cut off the excess leather around it there.” She picked up her double needles again and looked at Cara. “How was the first week of school, Chris?”

“Good,” he said. “Busy.”

“Third year of law school,” Tam said. “I can imagine.” She couldn’t really, because Tam had never formally gone to college. She’d taken several community classes on accounting and how to run a business. She’d gone to farrier school, but she very rarely shoed horses these days. Sometimes Blaine would ask her to come look at one of their horses in a pinch, but that was all. She’d taken her leather-working courses for certification, and she’d apprenticed for the best saddle-maker in Kentucky.

Now she was the best saddle-maker in Kentucky, and she listened as Chris talked about his classes, and Cara told them about what was new at the bank where she worked full-time as an assistant manager.

She’d gotten her degree in finance, but Tam knew her goals and desires were a lot like Tam’s. Marriage. Family. Stability. Cara was a bit of an adrenaline junkie, and she and Chris liked to spend their weekend on dirt bikes and four-wheelers, ham sandwiches in insulated bags and cans of cola that got shook up too much.

“Why aren’t you guys out in the Cumberland Plateau this weekend?”

Cara put both hands on Chris’s chest, her smile wide and playful. “Someone didn’t get up on time.”

“I’m adjusting to my new schedule,” Chris said with a smile. “Besides, Cara wanted to look at diamond rings.”

Tam dropped her head knife, her surprise instant. She gaped at Cara and Chris. “Did you get one?”

“Close your fishy mouth,” Cara said with a laugh. “No, we haven’t even gone yet. He slept so late, and we came straight to see you.”

“I see why you’re down this way now,” Tam said, bending to get her knife. “The diamond shop.”

“You’re an added bonus.” Cara grinned at her sister.