Chuckles rippled through the crowd. Adele side-eyed Brighton, and Brighton stuck out her tongue.
“Before we get started,” Jenny said, “I just want to give you a few tips about our wonderful animal friends.” She waved toward the horses that the Hazelthorne employees were now leading out of the paddock. Jenny went on to talk about mounting, how to work the reins, and how all of these horses had been chosen for their gentle temperaments.
Regardless, Brighton’s stomach clenched as a guy in a flannel shirt and puffy vest brought a brown horse to a stop next to her.
She gulped.
“This here is Cupcake,” the guy said, smiling a wide cowboy-like smile, all swagger and ease. His name tag read Scott. “She’s sweet as sugar.”
Cupcake’s eyes were doelike, long lashes surrounding a soft brown in which Brighton could see her reflection, but still, she was gigantic and muscular, and Brighton couldn’t believe people actually straddled these things willingly.
“Take a second to get to know your horse,” Jenny said. “Pet them. Let them sniff your hand so they can get to know you.”
Brighton held out a hand to Cupcake, determined to conquer her fear, but when Cupcake’s nostrils flared and she let out a loud huff, Brighton yelped and yanked her hand back.
“Good, everyone, good,” Jenny said, then motioned to a woman next to her with short red curls sticking out from under her hat. “This is my wife, Shannon, and she and I will both be leading the tour through the woods in case anything goes awry.”
Brighton relaxed a little at the wordwife, just like she alwaysdid when in the company of other queer people. She could be undergoing a root canal, and as long as the dentist was queer, she was bound to be at least 50 percent calmer, the feeling of safety and camaraderie like a mild muscle relaxer.
Still, Cupcake’s nostrils were the size of whole human fists, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wasn’t sure how she felt about anything right now.
“Okay, everyone, mount up!” Jenny announced, and Brighton’s stomach flipped.Mount up? Just like that? Just…mount up?
Everyone around her did exactly that. She watched as Elle got onto a black-and-brown horse, and Manish let out a triumphant whoop as he settled into the saddle of his black horse. Adele and Sloane slipped onto their horses like selkies into water, and Lola…
Lola was looking right at her.
She already sat astride a brown horse, her posture perfect as she nodded at something Wes was saying atop his own horse next to her, but her eyes were on Brighton.
Brighton looked back, her hands on the saddle as Scott held on to the horse’s reins. Brighton waited for Lola to…what? Smile? Nod in encouragement?
Anything, really. Brighton just wanted Lola to do anything but gaze at her with that dead-eyed expression, as though her ex-fiancée were nothing more than a photograph on a wall.
“Just grab hold of the horn there, ma’am,” Scott said when Brighton didn’t move.
She blinked, and Lola’s gaze was gone, turned toward Wes. Brighton focused on Cupcake, but everything Jenny had said about getting on the damn thing flew right out of her head.
“Ma’am?” Scott said, but Brighton couldn’t stop watching as Lola laughed at something Wes said. It actually took quite a lotto get Lola to laugh genuinely. She didn’t let everyone in like that, didn’t—
“Can I help you with something?” Lola asked.
Brighton blinked. She’d been so lost in thought about how Lola used to be, she hadn’t realized Lola was staring right at her again.
And Brighton was staring back.
“Help me?” Brighton asked.
Lola looked her up and down. “You have to get on the horse in order to ride it.”
“Oh, is that how it works?” Brighton asked. “How about common courtesy?”
“Do you really want to talk about courtesy right now?” Lola said, her hands tightening on her reins.
No, in fact, Brighton did not. But goddammit, Lola’swho the fuck are youattitude was making her skin feel too tight for her body.
“Do you two know each other?” Wes asked, his eyes darting between them.
“No,” Lola said before Brighton had even opened her mouth. “Not at all. Just not hitting it off.”
