Montana Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page A

for him to ride in future events.
    But Jace didn’t want to have to learn the quirks of another animal right now. He didn’t want to have to think about cues or how best to communicate with someone new. He and Rio were a team, and besides, he could use this time to think about what he wanted to do with his future. Sooner or later, his body would give out, too, and he would have to find a different career.
    Jace put his sunglasses on, and keeping his head down, he walked from his hotel room to the local restaurant for a bite of food. He glanced at his watch. Almost two p.m. The main lunch crowd should have cleared out by now, giving him the privacy he craved, but the Bozeman Stampede had drawn hundreds of visitors into the area. He’d be a fool to think he could remain hidden for long. He’d have to eat and run before anyone recognized him.
    It was because he kept his gaze turned toward the wall of buildings that he caught sight of Gavin McKinley’s big bold outfitting poster tacked to the bulletin board outside the hardware store, and recognized Delaney’s last name hanging out below. He stopped short to look at the advertisement and realized there were two posters on top of one another.
    Gavin’s poster contained photos of hunters with an elk head, a black bear, and a mountain lion, and proclaimed that if you wanted to hunt there was only one outfitter to choose—­Fox Creek Outfitters: The Best in the West. Except whoever had put it up hadn’t done a very good job and the bottom fragment of the Collins Country Cabins advertisement still stood out.
    Curious, he tore Gavin’s poster away and gazed at the one beneath featuring a beautiful two-­story log lodge, with a row of outlying guest cabins beside a fantastic fly-­fishing river. There was also a stable, a small arena, and an octagon gazebo “perfect for weddings.” Jace thought that the dude ranch—­surrounded by pockets of green trees, open fields rising into soft rolling hills, and panoramic views of the distant mountains—­seemed perfect for anyone.
    Glancing across the street, he spotted several other posters and realized Gavin McKinley hadn’t just covered one of the Collins posters, he’d covered all of them. And this wasn’t even either of the two rivals’ hometown. They were both located in Fox Creek, a good half hour from Bozeman, which meant Gavin may have spread his posters across the entire region. No doubt the bothersome outfitter thought he could drum up business while wiping out his competitor’s at the same time.
    His hunger forgotten, Jace tore each of Gavin’s offensive posters down, stuffed them under his arm, and deposited them into a nearby dumpster. Then he jumped in his truck and headed straight for the animal hospital to check on Rio and receive the test results.
    The veterinarian at the hospital was more encouraging than the one he’d encountered at the rodeo. “The good news is that Rio’s injury should heal just fine,” the doctor told him.
    Jace released his breath and relaxed as a truckload of worry eased off his shoulders. “Thank God for that,” he told the doc. “I don’t want to lose him.”
    â€œThere’s no break, but he’s strained the tendons all along the side of his leg and will be out of competition for the rest of the season,” the doctor warned.
    â€œI already figured as much.” Rio nuzzled his nose against Jace’s side and he gave the horse’s sleek neck an affectionate pat. A year ago the prospect of dropping out of a winning streak, giving up his chance at the championship, and holing up in Montana would have aggravated him to no end, but lately he’d found himself thinking he might need a vacation. “I guess we’ll head back to Arizona and catch up on some sleep. Get ourselves some decent home-­cooked meals.”
    Maybe he’d even look into buying his own