“Yeah. She bounced back quick.”
My eyes slide over her before I can stop them. Denim minidress, a hint of cleavage beneath the tie front, and bell sleeves. The same knee-high suede boots she was wearing last night. Her hair falls loose down her back beneath a rust-colored cowgirl hat.
She looks … unreal.
And she smells like jasmine.
“Having a good time?” I ask.
“Yeah. Matty sent us for ribbon fries and fried pickles before the competitions start.”
Ruby comes running back a moment later with a stuffed unicorn, Harleigh smug behind her.
“Daddy! Look! Harwee won!”
“Thanks for showing me up,” I tell Harleigh.
She grins.
“Can we go watch the horse games?” Ruby begs.
“Horse games?”
“Grown men playing on horses for cheap buckles,” Harleigh says.
“Pleeeeease!” Ruby sings.
I laugh. “All right, let’s go.”
We follow the girls, who stop by a food truck and place an order, then head to the arena, where Case, Matty, Cabe, Axle, and Royce sit in the bleachers. Bryce and Charli arrive a minute later with kettle corn.
They call for bull riders, and I ask Bryce if he’s riding.
Axle laughs. “If he entered, they wouldn’t bother. They’d just hand him the buckle and save everyone the trouble.”
Royce taps my shoulder. “Hey, you want to enter the team roping contest with me? I need a heeler.”
“I haven’t roped in years,” I tell him.
“Like riding a bike.”
I glance back at him. “What about Axle?”
“I’m not risking injury over a cheap buckle and a gift certificate to Blackie’s Barbeque,” Axle says.
I nod, sliding my eyes back to Royce. “Why are you taking the risk?”
“Because, unlike some people I know, I enjoy the thrill of a challenge, no matter the purse.”
Harleigh scoffs. “Bullshit. He just wants to peacock because Elise is watching.”
“Elise? Elise Vassey?” I ask.
“Yep,” Harleigh confirms.
Elise’s family owns the pharmacy in town. She was a couple of grades below me in school. The same age as Shelby.
“It’s not called peacocking when you have raw God-given talent,” Royce quips. Then his pleading gaze comes back to me. “Come on, man. Let’s show the punk kids how it’s done.”
