Page 70 of Untamed Heart
‘So tell me how this all goes,’ Bailey asked. ‘I mean, I get the idea but what’s the strategy?’
We were next to each other in the tack room, a saddle and bridle each, cleaning and oiling the leather. I’d had the influencers provide their height and riding ability in advance, allowing Bailey to choose which of the horses would suit them best.
‘The strategy? You’re making it sound like a military manoeuvre.’ I chuckled, watching as she smirked in return.
‘Tryin’ to corral city folk into saying exactly what you want about the ranch? I’d say so. I’m always thinking strategy,’ she added, finishing one bridle and moving on to the next. ‘Barrel racing is all strategy.’
I nodded. ‘Yeah, you’re right, I guess. Well, the first thing is choosing the right people. This bunch have similar but slightly different audiences, all into travel in theUS. That way we stand to reach out to as many of the people who are most likely to want to come and stay here as possible. The second thing is giving them the experience they really want, and making it look good. They could have the best time of their lives but if the cabins don’t look bougie enough or it rains the whole weekend, the content won’t work.’
Bailey considered my words, her well-practised handling of the bridle, the methodical way she used the cloth to get the oil into the leather appearing somewhat meditative.
‘So it was you that arranged the good weather we’ve got forecast for this weekend?’ she said, smiling and finally turning to me, eyes crinkling. ‘What we gonna do with these cowpokes then? Anything you need us to know?’
I nodded, grateful for her understanding. This whole thing would only work if they all played their parts. I’d already briefed Jesse and Cole and received a mildly bemused, albeit supportive response. But Bailey held the key role; she was the grounding influence in the whole thing.
‘Well, Jesse and Cole are going to be, uh, occupied with their own tasks.’ She raised her eyebrows but didn’t venture anything, just waited for me to go on, her expression calm but her eyes still glimmering. ‘So I need you and Lil to tag team-leading them through the itinerary.’ I raised myself up from the bench and reached into my back jeans pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. ‘Your focus in particular is to show them what can be done with the horses, give them a barrel riding demo – maybe even coach them to do their own, easier version.’
I unfolded the paper as she chuckled, setting down her cloth to reach for it.
‘Well, jeez, it’s sure packed full.’ She nodded as she read through the list and paused as she got to one of the activities. ‘Cold-water swimming in the mountain river? You sure a bunch of city folk are gonna go with that?’
Smirking, I carried on with the saddle I was working on, buffing out a mark near the pommel.
‘That one’s tried and tested by another city girl. It definitely got the endorphins going and it’ll be fucking hilarious to film.’
Bailey side-eyed me.
‘I don’t want to know.’ She laughed. ‘No shooting on here? We do that with some of the regular guests. Jesse has a whole range set up that he can get out.’
I shook my head.
‘Nah, one of the influencers is really anti-guns. I was scanning through her feed and she made a couple of really strong opinion videos on it. We’ll just leave it – I don’t want to create any kind of negative vibes.’
‘You really have thought of everything, haven’t you?’ said Bailey. She waved the piece of paper. ‘Can I keep this?’
I nodded. ‘Oh – and the two women I’ve invited, they’ve both ridden before, but they’re both a little intimidated. One of them – Kendra, I think, but I’ll double-check for you – had a bad experience once; her horse bolted and she was okay, but it really dented her confidence.’
Bailey narrowed her eyes, thinking.
‘Okay, I’ll swap her out for Jasper, if you don’t mind. He’s our gentleman – well, except around Domino. But he always behaves beautifully for greener riders. A little slower these days, except when you’re on him.’
I grinned, remembering the speeds we’d reached on the way back from the cattle drive.
‘Now, not to rain on the parade or anything, but what’re the chances of this not coming off?’ Bailey asked, frowning. ‘I mean, I can see how you’ve thought all this through, but how do we know it will work?’
I shrugged. ‘Hard to say. I mean, I know itcanwork – I’ve seen it happen in my own job, and with other brands and products on social, but there’s no guarantee. But if we show them the best of the ranch, if you guys give them every last bit of your western charm’ – I smirked at her, receiving one in return – ‘then it’ll work. They’re all super influential, so if they give it their approval, we’ll be back on track.’
She nodded, looking thoughtful as I held my breath. The real truth was, we were walking a very fine line. If they didn’t have a good time or something went wrong, it’d likely come out. The fees weren’t a golden ticket to wholly positive reviews, especially as I’d chosen them all based on their authentic approach to creating sponsored content. It was one of the reasons why they all had really engaged followers that listened to them, but it was also a bigger risk to the ranch.
‘Lil said one of them’s British, right?’
I became still, then tried to cover it. She’d homed in on the biggest risk of all, the one I’d hidden part of the truth about.
‘Yeah, that’s right – Leo. He’s from theUK, lives in New York now but . . . uh, I kind of know him, through an . . . acquaintance. It’s the only reason it happened, actually – he’d be too expensive otherwise. He’s got a huge following that seem to do everything he tells them to. I got mates rates.’
I scrubbed at Jasper’s bit, trying to distract myself from the way I was connected to Leo: he was one of Kyle’s oldest friends from school. They only saw each other once or twice a year at most, but they were still close enough.
‘Huh,’ said Bailey, swapping cloths as she moved on to Penny’s conker-brown saddle. ‘I didn’t realize they got paidandgot a free vacation. Maybe I’m in the wrong business.’
