“Come to the rodeo. It might not be the sort of thing you city slickers do, but if you’re in town indefinitely you should have some fun, at least.”
“I should head to bed,” she says in a clear effort to end the conversation, reaching to collect the wine bottle and glasses from the table.
I steal a glance at her bedroom window. “Remember when I used to sneak into your room after your parents went to bed?”
She stands, cradling her empty glass against her chest. Her eyes meet mine and her voice is barely audible. “Yeah, I remember. ’Night, Denver.”
I start toward the backyard gate, feet dragging because the last thing I want to do is go home. “See you tomorrow, Blair.”
“Maybe.”
“See you tomorrow,” I say over my shoulder.
“We’ll see….”
I turn and walk backward, staring her down with a grin on my face. “See you tomorrow.”
She rolls her eyes from the sliding patio door, corners of her lips slightly upturned, blue dress billowing around her legs. “See you tomorrow.”
Blair
(fifteen years old)
Slipping the curry comb from my fingers, I turned to find Denny staring at me from the barn alley. Leaning on the stall door, he tossed a handful of something into his mouth and chewed. Even in dirty jeans and a ratty T-shirt, he looked good—definitely better than the shape I was probably in. And I frantically reached up to smooth a hand over my hair, stopping to fix the scrunchie holding up my ponytail.
“Thought your grandpa had you fixing fences?” I brushed past him, swinging a bucket of grooming supplies on my short walk to the tack room.
Denny was hot on my heels. “Finished already. Was gonna see if you wanted to go fishing?”
Fingers running along the hem of my T-shirt, I peeled the thin cotton from my damp lower back. With the weather unseasonably warm for late May, I had to stop running barrels before lunch. Which meant a full afternoon with nothing to do until Kevin, one of the ranch hands, could give me a ride home in the evening. Hanging out with Denny under the shady canopy lining the riverbank sounded perfect.
“Heck yes.”
His dimpled grin filled my chest until I could float to the barn rafters, and he held a box of Nerds candy out to me. “Want some?”
I made a face. “That’s what I imagine eating aquarium gravel is like.”
He followed behind me, chomping as loud as possible, definitely aware that each crunch was sending shivers down my spine. “Maybe in texture, but not flavor. I don’t think algae is this sugary.”
“The texture is enough to turn me off, thanks.”
“More for me.”
We walked side by side down the gravel road toward the big house to grab Denny’s fishing rod. Funnily enough—and I pointed it out to him—the rocks under our boots sounded an awful lot like the handful of Nerds jostling around inside his mouth. Without hesitation, he reached down and scooped a handful of pebbles and dirt, then shook it in his cupped hand, as if he was considering eating it.
“Denny. Gross,” I warned him with a disgusted look. “That’s probably full of horse poop and whatever else.”
“Good for the immune system.” He shrugged, lifting his hand, poised to pour the fistful of earth into his open mouth.
“Denny!” I grabbed his hand. “Stop. That’s how you get worms. Don’t be such a boy.”
“You’re one to talk, Hart.” He gestured to my body and I looked down, suddenly filled with regret about my outfit. Jeans that were dustier than his, worn so thin in the knees you could catch a glimpse of skin when the lighting was right. And a Coors Light shirt I robbed from Cassidy’s beer T-shirt collection after a sleepover séance went wrong. I clung to the frayed hem, keeping my lips compressed as I swallowed hard.
As we approached the big house, Grandpa Wells rose from the wicker chair on the front porch and cleared his throat. A strange sight to see in the middle of the day—he preferred to work with the cowboys rather than sit around twiddling his thumbs. “Denver, you, uh…best head inside. Your parents want to talk to you. Blair, hop in the truck and I’ll take you home.”
Confused, I shook my head and looked at Denny to see if he knew what was going on. His nose crinkled, and he squinted in the harsh midday sun. “I finished up the fences already—swear.Blair and I were gonna head out fishing for a bit.”
“You can fish another day.” His chin jutted toward the screen door. “Do as you’re told and go inside.”
