I’m just upset because I never wanted to be divorced like Mama. Cowgirl up and stop acting like a jilted girlfriend.
I throw my shoulders back and lift my chin. “Hey, Logan.” I give him an impersonal nod. “How are you?”
He nods back. “I’m good. You?”
“Great. Target practice is going super well.”
Logan clears his throat. “Maybe Gigi can watch you shoot for a while so I can um…run an errand?”
I furrow my brow. “An errand? Why can’t Gigi go with you?”
And why are we talking about her like she’s six and needs a babysitter?
Logan steps away from Gigi and thrusts his hands into his pockets. She stumbles backward and scowls.
“Because I—um…have something to do at the ranch.”
Logan’s eyes drop to his boots, and I consider letting him hang, but I don’t.
“Sure.” I gesture to Gigi. “Come on inside out of this heat.”
Gigi follows me inside after hugging Logan good-bye.
She pulls her shades off and slips them into the breast pocket of her stylish shirt, and then she takes a seat on a stool and fans her face. “Hot out there, isn’t it? I don’t know how you stand it.”
“I don’t know how you’re going to like living here then,” I say to her. “Texas is hot.”
She tells me, with a loud laugh, that she’s not going to have to like it. She and Logan will live in New York City once they marry.
I burst out laughing. “Logan in New York City? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Gigi laughs harder. “I’m a sophomore at Columbia. I can’t quit on school, can I?”
My stomach drops to the floor.
“New York?” I swallow. “Y’all are really moving to New York?”
“After our wedding,” she confirms. “So I only have to deal with this blistering sun for a little longer.”
Any sympathy I had for Logan and his secret “errand” goes out the window, and I want to get rid of Gigi right now. But I don’t see how. However, my urge to shoot something right this moment is overwhelming.
“Hey, Gigi. You want to learn to use a shotgun?”
* * *
Logan
“Hey!” Blake catches up to me as I’m halfway to my cottage. “You’re entering the bronc riding competition at the Hunt County Fair this year, right?”
“Yep.” Practicing for the rodeo has been a welcome distraction from the shitshow that my life has become.
“Cool.” He takes off his cowboy hat and wipes the sweat off his brow. “If you want, I can be your spotter at the competition.”
“Sure.” I glance over at him. “Why do you want to be a part of it? You hate town events.”
“True. But I promised Freedom I’d go on the roller coaster with her.” He chuckles. “She’s never been on one and she wants to do it once before going off to college.”
I chuckle too. “Henwoods have a tendency to puke on those rides.”
