"Extremely."
Hazel looks up at me, smiling, and something in my chest settles.
This is right.
This is—
Her phone buzzes.
She pulls it out, glances at the screen, and goes still.
I feel it immediately. The way her body tenses against mine. The way her smile disappears. The way she takes a half-step away, breaking contact.
"I'll be right back," she says.
"You good?" Shae asks.
"Yeah. Just need to take this."
She's already walking away, phone pressed to her ear.
I watch her go, that happy certainty from thirty seconds ago evaporating.
My hand tightens on my beer.
The conversation flows around me. Someone mentions Fall Classic—only a week out now. Addie lights up, talking about the colt, how confident she feels, how ready they are.
"Hazel's amazing with him," Addie says, grinning. "Seriously. He listens to her better than anyone."
"That's all you," I say automatically. "You're the one riding him."
But I'm not really listening. My attention tracks Hazel, standing alone by the water, her free hand gesturing as she talks.
She's gone maybe five minutes. When she comes back, the ease from before is gone. She takes her place beside me, but there's distance now. She's composed. Guarded. I put my arm back around her waist.
"Everything okay?" Shae asks.
"Yeah. Just—that was my boss. In Denver."
The fire crackles in the sudden silence.
My arm is still around her waist. I don't move it. Don't pull away.
But something inside me goes cold.
"Denver?" Chace asks carefully. "Thought maybe you'd stick around after the Classic."
"I don't know yet." Hazel's voice is careful now. Defensive. "My leave already ended. They've been calling all week. I'm just—I'm keeping my options open. I mean, I'm here now. I'm helping with the ranch. But I don't know what happens after Fall Classic. I'm just taking it day by day."
Taking it day by day.
Keeping her options open.
Her leave already ended.
The words land like physical blows.
"Makes sense," Chace says quietly. "Don't want to burn bridges, right?"
