I quirk a brow. “Too busy to talk to clients?”
“You’re not a client.”
I blow out a frustrated breath. “I’m trying to be.”
Charli’s head snaps back and forth between us like she’s watching a tennis match. “A client for what?”
“I’m trying to get Shelby to train my little girl.”
Charli blinks. “Is that right?”
“Yes,” I say. “And she’s being stubborn about it.”
“Stubborn?” Shelby snaps.
“Seems like it to me.”
She lets out a little growl that I think she means to be intimidating, but it’s adorable as hell. “I told you I’d have to think about it.”
“You still thinkin’?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.”
“Well, do you think you could speed it up? Because I promised Ruby if she slept in her own bed, I’d get her lessons.”
Shelby’s eyes go wide. “You did what?”
“I was desperate, okay? She’s never slept alone, and she’s scared. I told her if she was brave and tried, I’d let her take barrel racing lessons.”
“Bartering with a four-year-old?” Charli says.
“Yep.”
She shrugs. “Not a bad plan.”
Shelby cuts her a look. “It was a bad plan because I hadn’t agreed.”
Charli sighs dramatically. “Come on, Shelby. If it was just Waylon asking for something, I’d say tell him to kick rocks. But it’s for a little girl.”
Shelby’s jaw tightens, but I can see it—the crack in the armor.
“Besides,” Charli adds, “you can make him pay double your rate.”
“Deal,” I say immediately, grinning.
“You said triple,” Shelby quips.
My smile only widens. “That I did.”
She exhales sharply, eyes lifting to the sky, like she’s asking for patience from a higher power. “Fine. We’ll give it a shot. But you’ll need to be here for the lessons, and if I decide she’s not ready, then you will respect that decision.”
I extend my hand. “Yes, ma’am.”
She eyes it like it might bite her, then finally takes it.
“I’ll have Matty put her on the schedule. She’ll call you with the details.”
“Pleasure doing business with you, Stormy,” I say.
