The Musical Cowgirl (Bear Creek Rodeo)

  The Musical Cowgirl

  Bear Creek Rodeo

  Kirsten Osbourne

  Copyright © 2019 by Kirsten Osbourne

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  What’s Next in Bear Creek

  About the Author

  Also by Kirsten Osbourne

  One

  Brittany flexed her fingers, feeling like she’d signed her name at least thirty million times in the past hour. Of course, she knew she and her sisters hadn’t purchased that many of their CDs to autograph and sell, but it felt like it.

  She and her sisters were identical triplets, and worse than that, they lived together and had a musical group together. It was like they were going to be known as the identical triplets forever. It made her crazy.

  She pushed her glasses—that she didn’t need but set her apart—up farther on her nose and sighed. “I’m hungry.”

  Stephanie—the youngest and the shyest—said, “I have a huge stack waiting for you two. I’ll run and get food while you two keep signing!”

  Brittany groaned as she reached for another CD and scrawled her name on it. Emily—the middle sister if triplets had a middle sister—leaned over as soon as Stephanie was gone. They finally had a lull in the crowd trying to buy their CDs. “I have a secret that I just have to share with you!”

  Emily had spent a lot of time for the past couple of days hanging out with some guy, and Brittany was immediately nervous that her sister was going to run off and marry him, leaving her and Stephanie high and dry. Emily was the lead singer of their musical group, and they simply couldn’t do it without her. Brittany immediately voiced her concerns, but Emily just shook her head.

  Emily said something about the guy that Brittany completely blocked out, and then she heard, “The guy who runs Rebel’s Saloon came and talked to me. They need an act for a week from Saturday, and we’re booked.”

  Brittany felt for a moment as if the world was closing in on her. Rebel’s Saloon was one of the hottest venues for country music in all of Houston. In all of Texas. She wanted to get up and dance with excitement. “Rebel’s Saloon? Are you kidding me?”

  Emily gave her a few more details, and Brittany just sat there in shock for a moment. “I never dreamed . . . Rebel’s Saloon!” She screamed for a second. She had needed to get that out of her system.

  Stephanie was back a few seconds later.

  “I want to tell her!”

  “Then tell her!” Emily had a ridiculous grin on her face, and Brittany frowned, knowing that she was probably wearing the same grin. She loved her sisters, but she hated sharing the same face.

  “Guess what we’re doing a week from Saturday?” Brittany said, concentrating on Stephanie’s face. She was so excited to let her sister know what they were doing. Their career was being made both by this rodeo and Rebel’s Saloon. This rodeo had been amazing for them so far. Of course, as the opening act, it should have been.

  “By the look on your faces, I’d say the Grand Ole Opry. Tell me.” Stephanie stood holding their food—fair food, which wasn’t a favorite for Brittany or Stephanie, but Emily would gobble it up like there was no tomorrow.

  “Rebel’s Saloon.”

  Stephanie’s jaw dropped, and she looked like she was torn between wanting to vomit and wanting to do a celebratory dance. “Are you kidding me?”

  Emily laughed and responded to her.

  “Do you mean to tell me that ‘Lipstick on my Jeans’ is going to be played at Rebel’s Saloon? My song?” Stephanie was still looking shocked.

  “Our song.” Brittany refused to give her all of the credit. Stephanie wrote the lyrics, but they weren’t really songs until Brittany added the music to them. Strangely enough, Brittany wasn’t the lead singer, but she was still the most musical of the three. She could pick up any instrument and play it by ear.

  She stood and hugged her sisters close. This was their dream, and it was finally coming true for them.

  And then Emily’s man, Chris, was there, trying to introduce them to his friend. Matt. Brittany looked at the man and felt as if her heart was beating a million times per minute. Her legs felt a little weak, and she was sure she let out a gasp, but that would have been silly . . . but she was sure she did anyway.

  Matt looked confused as he looked at the three of them. “Why didn’t you tell me they were identical triplets?”

  Brittany stepped closer to him. Would it be strange if I touched him? “I’m glad he didn’t. It’s fun surprising people.” But she was glad her glasses were firmly in place. He’d never have trouble telling her from her sisters.

  His eyes met hers, and she felt it all the way down to her toes. What kind of magic did this man practice to have such power over her? “I guess it would be sometimes. Chris gave me one of your CDs. I really love your music.”

  Brittany couldn’t have been happier at that moment. “My sister Stephanie and I wrote all the songs.”

  “I’m very impressed, and you won’t hear me say that often.” Matt was only looking at her, and she appreciated that.

  Brittany could hear her sisters whispering behind her, but she didn’t care. The only person she had eyes—or ears—for was Matt. “Tell me about yourself.”

  Matt grinned. “Well, I’m a former bull rider, but now I’m ranching. I know Chris from the rodeo circuit. I guess we run competing ranches now, but we both felt a lot more competitive when we were bull riding against each other.”

  “Do you like ranching?”

  Matt shrugged. “I always thought my brother would run the ranch, but he and his wife were killed in a car wreck a few months back. I’m raising his daughter now. It’s not what I expected from life.”

  “I’m so sorry for your loss. How old is your niece?” Her heart went out to him, raising a child and living a life he’d never wanted.

  “She’s five. She’s a sweetheart, but I have no idea what to do with a five-year-old girl.”

  “Maybe I could help you. I used to be a five-year-old girl, and so did both of my sisters.”

  “Probably at the same time even . . .”

  “Definitely.” Brittany smiled. “You just let me know when and where you need me, and I’ll do what I can to help. Wednesdays are the only days I’m booked during the summer.” And she hoped she wouldn’t be doing any of the music lessons she taught once school started up. Hopefully by then their careers would be launched.

  She vaguely heard someone suggest they all go out after the vendor fair—which was connected to the Bear Creek Rodeo—closed, and her heart jumped. She wanted to spend more time with Matt. She wasn’t sure what it was that was so terribly special about him, but she wanted to find out. She didn’t pay attention to much, but when the guys started carrying some of the boxes of CDs to the car, she grabbed one, too. Looking at Emily, she said, “We need to keep them around!”

  Once the CDs were stowed in the car she shared with her sisters, they all piled into Chris’s truck, Emily in the front seat with Chris, and Brittany sat in the back with Matt.

  Brittany turned to Matt as soon as she was buckled, glad that she was able to sit beside him. Emily and Chris were talking in low tones in t
he front. “Tell me what a normal day is in your life,” Brittany said. She needed to know everything about him immediately. Never had she been so drawn to a man as she was to Matt.

  “Well, I get up at five and have breakfast with Olivia. My housekeeper keeps an eye on her during the day, but I really wish there was someone a little closer to her around to help out. She needs a mother—or an aunt, as the case may be.”

  “I feel so bad for her. Poor thing.”

  “Do you like kids?”

  “Yes, and no. I mean I like the idea of kids, but I hate teaching music lessons. They never practice, and they complain about how hard it is. Mostly I want to scream when they’re like that. But a kid away from music lessons is just fine.”

  He grinned. “I can understand that. Music lessons don’t sound pleasant.” He would never forget his days of practicing piano. He had hated every minute of it, and his mother had finally let him stop. He’d always preferred being on a horse to practicing music.

  “I teach piano and guitar, and let me tell you . . . if one more kid tells me they forgot to practice, I may scream.”

  He laughed. “Well, screaming can be fun when it’s necessary.”

  “Tell me about your niece. What’s she like?”

  He shrugged. “She’s a pretty little girl. She likes girl things. She has a million Barbies and spends all her time playing with them.”

  Brittany tilted her head to one side, trying to picture the man beside her sitting on the floor playing Barbies, and the idea tickled her. “Do you play Barbies with her?”

  He frowned. “I’ve been known to have Ken ride a horse on occasion, but she doesn’t seem to want me around.”

  “That’s sad. Do you look like your brother?”

  “We weren’t identical twins or anything, but yeah, we looked quite a bit alike.”

  “Maybe she has a hard time with you because you remind her of her father.” Brittany shrugged, reaching over and covering his hand with hers. “It must be hard to lose your brother and inherit a child all at once.”

  “It is. If I’d been married, then my wife could have helped, but we lost our parents a while back, and it’s just me for her.” Matt looked at her. “Wanna get married and help me raise my niece?”

  She blinked a couple of times. “I think I probably will need to sleep on that one.” For some reason, her sister Stephanie had been telling her for years that the man she was going to marry was going to propose within hours of meeting her. But Stephanie was into romance like no one else in her world.

  He laughed. “I’ll give you a week or two to get to know me before I expect a real answer.”

  “I really appreciate that. It’s hard to answer when I’ve only known you for an hour.”

  Matt twined his fingers through hers. “Well, good. Now you know what I’m after, and I’ll just have to mind my Ps and Qs, but I won’t have to propose again, right?”

  She frowned at him. “I’ve always dreamed of a man proposing to me at sunset, on one knee, declaring his undying love for me. After a couple of weeks, make that happen, and we’ll talk.”

  He sighed. “You’re going to make me work for it, aren’t you?”

  “Well, yeah. Do you think I’m just a Barbie doll you can buy from a shelf?”

  “No, of course not.” He shook his head. “If there was a way to find someone who would love her like I do, I’d be all over it.”

  “You could hire a nanny, couldn’t you?” Of course, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to. It was too soon to make a decision, but she was definitely interested in the idea of it.

  “I guess I could, but how would I know if the nanny wanted just the money, or if she was really interested in my niece?”

  “I’m not sure you would know. Nanny cams?”

  He shook his head. “No, I want to be sure that I find someone who genuinely cares for her. I’m going to be taking her to the rodeo with me tomorrow. I’d love it if you’d spend some time with us and get to know her better.” He hoped she and Olivia would get along, and she’d tell him she’d marry him immediately, and all his troubles would be over.

  “I’d like that a lot. I do have to spend every third hour at the table in the vendor area, selling CDs and signing autographs. My sisters and I are taking turns.”

  “I wish I hadn’t missed the concert last night. Chris told me it was absolutely amazing!”

  Brittany smiled. “Well, thank you! I thought we sang well, and my playing was the best I’ve done.”

  “What instruments do you play?” he asked.

  “I’m one of those people who can pick up an instrument and just play it. I am trained in guitar, piano, banjo, and saxophone, but I play so many more than that. I played banjo and harmonica for the concert last night.”

  “I really cannot wait to see you perform. I’m going to the show at Rebel’s Saloon. I have to!” He was sorry that he’d missed the performance the night before, but since he hadn’t heard of the group, he hadn’t felt the need to go. He was regretting that decision now.

  “I think you do,” she said with a grin. “Where are we going tonight, anyway?” They pulled up beside a building, but she couldn’t see a sign.

  “Just some bar that Chris says has amazing food and lots of country music. We’ll dance and eat.”

  “Works for me.” She pushed her glasses up, thankful all three of them weren’t there. As much as she loved her sisters, she didn’t want to be an oddity on a date. People would still see that she and Emily were identical, but the glasses would make it take longer.

  They went inside, and the four of them sat together at a table. They ordered food, and Brittany was as usual surprised at just how much her sister could eat without gaining an ounce. She knew it would come back to haunt her someday, but for now, she was good as gold.

  After they’d eaten, Emily and Chris stole away from the table, leaving Brittany alone with Matt, which was just what she’d wanted.

  “You don’t want to dance?” she asked.

  Matt shrugged. “Maybe later. I just want to get to know you for now. I know you’re in a country music band, and you teach music. What else do you do?”

  “Well, our sister Stephanie—who went home alone today—writes the lyrics for all of our original songs. I write the music. Emily just sort of reads through the songs at the end and makes them better. Sometimes it absolutely disgusts me, because we will slave for two weeks on a song and think it’s perfect. She listens once and she changes two notes and three words, and then it really is perfect.”

  “Sounds like she has a good ear.”

  “We all do. I swear we were born dancing and singing. I love that I get to spend time everyday with my two best friends, who are also my identical sisters, but it’s frustrating sometimes, too.”

  “Is that why you wear glasses?” he asked.

  She nodded. “They’re just clear lenses, but it feels good to usually look different. I don’t wear them on stage, because we want to play the triplet angle there, but the rest of the time I do.”

  “Your sisters don’t mind?”

  “You know, we’ve never really talked about it. The two of them embrace their sameness, but I . . . I don’t know why it’s always bothered me. After thirteen years of school with everyone stopping you saying, ‘Oh, you’re Emily’s sister.’ Or worse, thinking I was Emily . . . I guess I just got fed up with it all. I prefer to be my own person, not just a third of a set.”

  “Makes perfect sense. I think I’d get really tired of that in no time.”

  The other two came back to the table after a dance.

  “We’ll be right back,” Emily said.

  After they had left the building, Matt took Brittany’s hand in his. “I thought they’d never leave.”

  Brittany laughed. “I thought you and Chris were friends.”

  “We are . . . it’s just a little weird to have someone else with your face around.”

  “You’re going to have to get used to it. My sisters and I a
re a matched set. We live together, play together, and work together. You’re not going to find three sisters who spend more time together than we do.”

  “Think I could talk one of them into wearing a bright red clown nose and the other into rabbit ears? I would be less confused.”

  She grinned at him, shaking her head. “My glasses will set us apart enough. I promise.”

  Two

  When they got home, Matt and Brittany hurried up the stairs to the sisters’ second story apartment. Brittany had wondered all night if he would kiss her goodnight, and finally she had her answer.

  “I guess they’re saying goodnight in the truck,” Matt said softly.

  Brittany nodded. “I think they are.” The other couple hadn’t known one another much longer than she and Matt had, but a couple of days could be everything at the beginning of a relationship.

  “Do you mind if I kiss you goodnight?” In his memory, he could not recall ever asking permission to kiss a girl, but Brittany was special. He wasn’t sure what it was about her that attracted him so much, but he was sure he could tell the sisters apart, simply because he was so much more attracted to Brittany.

  She nodded, tilting her head up for his kiss. His lips came down onto hers, sweetly toying with hers and not pressing for more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed contentedly, moving closer to him.

  After a moment, he lifted his head, looking down into her eyes. “You pack a wallop, Brittany.”

  “I was just about to say the same about you!” She pulled his head down again, and he kissed her more deeply this time, his tongue tracing her lips. Just as it felt like she was about to be lit on fire, she heard a voice from far away.

  “Excuse me.” It sounded like her voice, so she knew immediately that it was one of her sisters.