Champion At Heart (Sequel of Breaking Ice)

Chapter Thirty-Five

Home Sweet Home.

Those were Brooklyn's thoughts when they arrived at the ranch. She was eager to get everything done in Italy and come back to the people who loved her the most.

As they pulled up by the house, they spotted Sophia and Jonah sitting on the porch steps, laughing together as they watched videos on her tablet while Abilene sat down on the grassy area, playing with her toy horses Aunt Bexley had gotten her.

But two black pickup trucks had caught both their attention, and her sister was nowhere around. Marshall turned the ignition off and studied the vehicles, curious to know who could be at his house.

They both stepped out of the truck, and Abilene, lifting her gaze, noticed her mother while squealing loudly before she ran towards her, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Welcome back, Mama. I've missed you."

"I missed you, too, my beautiful Peach. Did you behave?" she asked as she held her hand and led her back to her play spot while Marshall walked into the house after greeting the teenagers.

"I did! And guess what? We have the foals. Do you want to see them, Mama?"

"Of course. Later, sweetheart. For now, Mama wants to shower and change, and then see who our visitors are."

"They said they were from the rodeo circuit," Sophia mentioned, shrugging her shoulders. "Who knows what they want with my brother."

Her curiosity was bigger, and she made her way inside, where she saw Marshall standing by the kitchen table, greeting a man in a suit, and another one in jeans and flannel shirt, his cream-colored cowboy hat in his hands.

"Good morning, Mr. Redd. We hoped to see you before we left. Your sister-in-law was kind enough to offer us some refreshments while we waited," the man in jeans mentioned, and that's when Brooklyn noticed her sister, rushing to her arms, happy to see each other and promising to catch up later.

Forgetting how tired she was, and deciding a shower could wait, she greeted the men with a handshake and invited the men to the living room, where they could be more comfortable while they talked.

The man in the fancy suit put a briefcase on the coffee table, taking his sunglasses off before his brown eyes met Marshall's, whose curiosity was getting the best of him.

Brooklyn sat on the armchair, right by her boyfriend, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as he leaned forward, waiting for an explanation to their presence.

"Well, Mr. Redd. We'll get to the point. No reason to delay this further as we have traveled quite the distance and we're hoping to find a hotel in town before nighttime," the cowboy said. "My name is Leon Klaus, and this is Gillian O'Donell. We both represent the Redd's Rodeo just outside of town and we're about to start the season..."

"Wait. Redd's Rodeo?" Marshall asked. It could just be a coincidence that they named a rodeo event after his family's name, but anything was possible.

Gillian sat forward with his elbows on his knees, looking more casual than the executive type of outfit he had on.

"Yes, we named it that way in honor of your father. The choice was just recent, and your uncle Jacob agreed to it. It's one of the reasons we came, to give you the news about honoring your father, and your family's name."

"Well, I feel honored that you all thought about us, but that was something you could have told me over a call, or a letter."

Leon sighed, rubbing his hands together as he looked at Gillian with encouraging eyes. The young man in the suit opened the briefcase, showing an array of documents, and a pile of dollars in it as Marshall and Brooklyn's eyes opened wide. There could easily be thousands, if not millions of dollars in there.

But why were they driving around the state with such an amount of money?

Gillian pulled the documents out and set them in front of Marshall on the table before he picked it and read the first few lines.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at both men.

"We came here to offer you one last ride, Mr. Redd," Gillian replied, taking a pen from his briefcase pocket and setting it on the table, as if feeling hopeful that Marshall would sign. "We'll take care of the travels there, and you can give your fans a ride, retiring properly and walking out of the rodeo circuit instead of a gurney."

Brooklyn took a deep breath and gently squeezed his shoulder as she looked at her sister, who stood at the other side of the living room, listening in to the conversation.

"We understand you were left badly injured, but we'll be cautious and keep you as safe as possible. The bull that tossed you was put down not too long ago, as he unfortunately killed one of our men while he tried to stop him from stomping over one of the cowboys, so you won't be riding him."

"I am not sure I can go back."

"You will ride a gentler bull, we promise," Leon pitched in, desperate to hear a yes from the cowboy.

"It's not about the bull, gentlemen. There is no such thing as a gentle one, I and hundreds of other cowboys should know. It's about me, and now I have a family, so it's not worth risking my life again, not when instead of long weeks of recovery, it could be an eternity underground."

Brooklyn grabbed the paperwork from his hand, seeing that it was a contract and as she read the second page, she saw how much they were offering him. Five million dollars. Her eyes opened wide, and her body started to shake. Would Marshall risk his life for this amount of money?

She just came back from being away from him for so long, and Abilene needed her father safe and sound, not to mention their baby. She felt the air leave her lungs, and gave the contract back to Marshall, excusing herself to the gentlemen and walking out of the room towards their bedroom. Bexley followed to make sure her younger sister was all right. Meanwhile the men tried to convince Marshall to join as he kept reading the contract, seeing the prize money in large, bold letters.

"It's just one last ride, Marshall. And win or lose, we will give you that buckle you deserve for all the years you've given the rodeo. One weekend is all we ask," Gillian said.

"One weekend means more than one ride, gentlemen. I am not risking my life," he repeated.

"Come on, Marshall," Leon mentioned. "You can be the champion of the people. Your family will look at you with pride in their eyes. What do you say, son?"

Marshall chuckled humorlessly and sat back, studying each gentleman with detail. They both looked hungry for talent, and as much as he wanted to go back, he just... couldn't.

"I am already a champion at heart. Had my fans, had my time, had my fame. Now, it's just not me, but I have a woman, a daughter and another kid on the way to think of. So as much as I appreciate you thinking of me, I will have to politely reject such an offer."

The men stood from the couch and sighed. "Are you sure, Mr. Redd?" Gillian asked.

"More than sure. Now, have a wonderful day. There's a hotel down on Main Street with plenty of vacancy. You can spend the night there." he replied while he led them out, seeing them drive away and disappear over the hill.

Five million dollars was something he would probably regret letting go, but his life and his girls were worth more than that.

Much more than that.