Page 19 of All in with the Maverick Montana

When their conversation was finished, Amy followed him out to his truck and he drove them back down Central Avenue to the Silver Spur Café. They’d just missed the lunch rush, which meant it would be quiet inside, but they should still have enough time to eat before the café closed for the day.

“How’s this?” Josh asked as he stopped in the parking lot. There weren’t a plethora of options in Tenacity, but he could vouch that the food was good. Definitely not a five-star experience. It actually might not even compare to what she was probably used to having up in Bronco. But the owners were kind, and he’d never once heard a bad word about the service. “I know it’s not much,” he continued. Damn. Maybe he should have planned this out more. It was his first time asking her out. Should he have sprung for something better? Should he have cooked?

“This is perfect,” Amy said. “I’d been meaning to check it out, just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”

Josh nodded and took his keys from the ignition, emboldened by Amy’s words.

They walked inside, greeted by cozy booths and wooden tables and an eclectic mix of cowboy paraphernalia tacked to the wooden ceiling beams. There were photos of people from town in frames adorning the walls behind the hostess stand. Ranches and ranchers. Young couples and old. Newly married folks and babies. It summed up Tenacity pretty well.

“Cute,” Amy said, studying one of the photos.

They were seated quickly, and he briefly glanced at the menu, but put it aside knowing he was going to order his favorite. The brisket burger.

“There are too many options,” Amy laughed, lowering her menu. Her blue eyes twinkled in the low light overhead.

“What have you narrowed it down to?”

“Maybe the chicken club with the pickle spears on the side.”

“Good choice.”

Their waitress came over and talked Amy into also getting their homemade soup. When their food arrived, he was pleased to see Amy eating with gusto, again reassured that she really was feeling better.

“So, is this place like a Tenacity staple?” Amy asked, studying the photos on the walls again. “Been around since the beginning of time sort of thing?”

“I’ve actually been coming here since I was a kid,” Josh said. “I’ve lived in Tenacity my whole life. Never left town. So it’s been around at least that long.”

“Not for college or anything?”

“No, I took over the ranch from my parents in my early twenties.”

“And you never wanted to leave?”

He shook his head. “This place might not work for some people. But I’ve always been content with what the world had to offer me right here.” Though, of course, a nice woman, a partner in this life, could only make it better, but Josh had come to the conclusion that that ship had probably sailed. Still, with Amy sitting across from him it was easier to dream of a future that looked like that. “What about you? Get out of Bronco much?”

“Actually,” she said, wiping her hands on a napkin and giving him a sheepish little smile. “I’ve done a lot of traveling with my family. Like an exorbitant amount. For work mostly.”

“So, you’re not really a feed store shelf stocker?” he teased.

“No, I’m…actually in the rodeo business like Faith.”

“Wait! I knew Faith was one of The Hawkins Sisters, but I didn’t realize you were also one of those Hawkinses.” He tipped his head, staring like he was seeing her for the first time. He’d seen dozens of posters promoting local rodeo events, highlighting The Hawkins Sisters with their rhinestone cowboy hats and lassos. But even knowing Faith’s connection to the rodeo, he’d never once considered that Amy might also be involved. It seemed so obvious now. “I don’t know how I didn’t put two and two together.” It was literally in the name. The Hawkins Sisters.

“Yeah. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it before. I just… When I bump into people that’s usually the first thing they bring up. And if they’re rodeo fans, they want pictures and autographs. But you didn’t say anything, and at first I just thought you were being nice. But then I actually wondered if you really didn’t know who I was. You just seemed to see me, without the name and the family and the fancy rope tricks. And I kind of wanted to keep existing in that bubble for a minute.”

“I really had no idea,” he said. “I feel kind of like an idiot now.”

“Don’t,” Amy said. “Please. It was my choice not to tell you.”

Josh watched her wring her hands together. He hadn’t meant to make her uncomfortable. “If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to. I can steer clear of the conversation.”

“Oh, it’s nothing like that. I love my family. Don’t get me wrong. But sometimes it’s nice just to get to be Amy, if you know what I mean?”

“Sure.”

“But I don’t mind talking about it.”

“So… A Hawkins Sister. That’s…wow.” He was impressed not only by her rodeo prowess, but also by her worldliness. With his ranching responsibilities, he’d never been able to travel far. In fact, he might even be a little intimidated by how vastly different their worlds now felt. But he really did like her, and Amy genuinely seemed interested in him, so he tried not to dwell on how his simple life could possibly measure up to hers. “You said you did a lot of traveling?”