THE COWGIRL OUTSHOT EVERY MAN AT THE FALL CONTEST — THE COWBOY WATCHING FELL FOR HER ON THE SPOT
Chapter 7
The agricultural competition began three weeks later.
Farmers arrived from across the state.
The Carter ranch was one of the smallest entries.
Voss arrived with a team of professionals.
He didn’t hide his confidence.
When he saw Emma, he smiled.
“Still fighting?”
She looked at him.
“Still losing?”
His smile disappeared.
The competition lasted two days.
Emma excelled at everything.
Her cattle scored high.
Her horse was exceptional.
Her irrigation system impressed the judges.
Her pasture-management plan earned praise.
By the final morning, Emma was in second place.
Voss’s team was first.
The final event was shooting.
The same range where Emma had defeated Cole.
The same crowd.
The same targets.
But this time, the stakes were different.
Cole stood behind the fence.
Emma looked toward him.
He nodded.
She smiled.
The first competitor fired.
Two hits.
The second.
Three.
Then Voss’s representative.
Three perfect shots.
The crowd applauded.
Emma stepped forward.
The wind was strong.
She waited.
Bang.
Hit.
Bang.
Hit.
Bang.
Hit.
The crowd erupted.
The judges checked the scoreboard.
Emma was tied for first.
The final shot would determine the winner.
The target was placed seventy-five yards away.
The wind shifted.
Emma closed her eyes.
She remembered her father.
She remembered the first rifle he had placed in her hands.
She remembered his words.
“Don’t fight the wind, Emma. Learn it.”
She opened her eyes.
Raised the rifle.
Fired.
The target spun.
Perfect.
The crowd exploded.
Emma had won.
Cole rushed toward her.
She laughed as he lifted her off the ground.
“You did it!”
“We did it.”
He put her down.
“No.”
He smiled.
“You did.”
The award ceremony followed.
Emma received the $250,000 grant.
The crowd cheered.
Voss stood at the back.
He looked furious.
Then he approached.
“You think this changes anything?”
Emma turned.
“Yes.”
“You’re still in debt.”
“Not for long.”
He stepped closer.
“You don’t understand who you’re dealing with.”
Emma smiled.
“I know exactly who I’m dealing with.”
The sheriff appeared.
“Mr. Voss.”
Voss turned.
“We’d like to ask you a few questions.”
His face changed.
“What about?”
The sheriff held up a folder.
“Financial fraud.”
Voss looked at Emma.
She had given the sheriff the evidence.
But there was more.
Cole had found bank records proving Voss had paid an employee to access the Carter ranch’s financial system.
Voss was arrested.
The county investigation widened.
Several officials resigned.
The bank canceled the foreclosure.
Emma had saved the ranch.
That evening, she stood on the porch with Cole.
The sunset painted the fields gold.
“You know what I’m thinking?”
Cole smiled.
“That I’m handsome?”
She laughed.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t have to leave.”
He looked at her.
“No.”
“I can stay.”
“Yes.”
She turned toward him.
“Do you want me to?”
Cole stared at her.
“More than anything.”
She stepped closer.
“I love this ranch.”
“I know.”
“I love my father’s memory.”
“I know.”
“I love this life.”
He nodded.
“And I love you.”
Cole smiled.
“I know.”
She frowned.
“You’re supposed to say it back.”
“I was going to.”
“When?”
“Now.”
He took her hand.
“I love you.”
She smiled.
Then he kissed her.
Neither noticed the old envelope sitting on the porch table.
It had arrived that afternoon.
It was addressed to Emma.
And it contained a letter from her father.
A letter he had written shortly before his death.
