"So, Sawyer, tell me more about yourself. It's an obligatory first date question."
It’s an opening to tell her about Brea, but it feels like terrible timing. “Not much to tell. You know most of it already. I work in real estate. I know how to ride a horse. I like my coffee black."
"Tell me things I don't already know."
I rattle off the first things that come to mind. "My favorite color is navy blue. I hate mint, but love mint ice cream. I'd much rather be hot than cold."
Jessie makes a sound with her lips, letting me know the details I'm sharing aren't cutting it. "I think there's a lot more to you than you let on."
My lips stretch across my face and my eyebrows pull together. "Oh yeah?"
"Mm-hmm," she says, her voice vibrating through my car.
I keep my eyes trained on the road, but the heat of her stare warms my skin.
"I guess you'll have to stick around and see." I dare a glance at her. Her tongue darts out to swipe over her bottom lip.
"Tell me about you," I say, slowing down as I approach a curve. "Why does your family call you Calamity?"
She tucks a curtain of hair behind her shoulder. "They've been calling me Calamity Jessie since I was little. Apparently I was pretty wild, running amok around the ranch." A tiny grin appears on her face. "And I cursed a lot."
"As a child?"
She nods. "That's what I'm told.Calamitycomes from Calamity Jane."
I look at her, trying to imagine her as a child, chubby-cheeked and cussing like a sailor. Right now, it's impossible. Long, tanned legs extend from her dress, and she fills out the top. She looks too womanly for my brain to envision her as a child.
I force my gaze back to the road. "It doesn't sound like you appreciate the nickname."
"Its synonyms are disaster and tragedy. Would you appreciate that?"
I shake my head slowly. "Can't say that I would."
She grows quiet for a few minutes, looking out her window as we pass the tall pines. We're at the point with the stark transition of tree to scrubby brush, signaling we're exiting Hayden land, when she punctures the silence with a question. "What's the scariest thing you've ever done?"
"I'm doing it right now." The words are out before I have time to think about them.
Jessie's silent. Of all the time I've spent around Jessie's quick wit and smart mouth, her silence is the most unnerving.
"How about you?" I ask, and the light turns green.
We're driving again. She's answering my question, and the moment has passed.
"I do scary things every day."
I chuckle. I can't help it. "You? You appear to be the most unafraid person I've ever met."
"I'm afraid every day. I'm afraid Wes won't let me be a part of the HCC. I'm afraid I'll be forced to find a career I'm only half as passionate about. Yesterday, Wes let me help on the ranch. I tried to tell him something I learned about the soil, and now I fear he'll never let me step foot beyond the backyard at the homestead ever again."
"He didn't want to hear it?"
"Not at all. Even though he’s the one who came to me and asked me to tell him my thoughts. He ran out of patience, I think.”
"Maybe it'll just take some time for him to warm up to the information."
Jessie sighs. "Gramps told me I have to work twice as hard and twice as long to prove to Wes and the cowboys that I'm serious."
"How do you feel about that?"
