Oh shit. Jessie.
My stomach drops, and just like that, I’m no longer hungry. My living situation since Knox and I moved out to Colorado last fall hasn’t been ideal. I’ve been bouncing between the camper, their guest bedroom, and occasionally the bunkhouse when it’s too cold out. But that was temporary. I was always planning to find my own place close by, but it’s only been a few months, and I’m gone so much it didn’t seem like a big deal.
I knew I’d need to go somewhere when Knox left for the summer run without me, but that’s not for several weeks, and I never dreamed it would mean moving in withher. There is no way she agreed to this; she barely tolerates me.
“You can move in with Jessie. Tomorrow. She has an extra bedroom, and she’s hardly ever home because she works so much. Plus, there are no stairs, so it’ll be easier on your backthan climbing in and out of the camper. It’s perfect.” Kacey claps.
“Perfect” isthe lastword I’d use to describe this situation. Sure, I’ve been trying to get Jessie into my bed for almost a year, but at this point, I think the only reason she’d get into my bed would be to smother me with a pillow.
“And she agreed to this?”
“For a price,” Knox mumbles under his breath.
Kacey gives him a glare. “Yes, she has, and she’s expecting you tomorrow. She said you can Venmo her the rent money.” She senses my hesitation. “We’re worried about you, Trey. Getting in and out of the camper is hard, and Knox is going to need it soon, anyway. We think it would be good if you had a place to settle down for a bit while you heal.”
The worry in Kacey’s eyes shoots straight into my heart. I always make light of things to cover the real issues or worries in my life, but sometimes I swear she can see straight through me. As I meet her gaze, I feel like a burden. I should’ve found my own place months ago. I put it off because I’ve never lived alone, and it sounds, well . . .lonely.
Before I lived with Knox, I lived in a house with three other bull riders. Before that, with my parents. I’m a people person; I like having someone around to talk to and do things with. Since Knox and I moved here, I’m always in the bunkhouse with the ranch foreman Chet and the ranch hands—usually kicking their asses in poker. I’m not sure what I’d do in an empty house by myself.
I glance at Knox, trying to gauge his thoughts. He knows I’m teetering on the edge of obsession when it comes to Jessie. How could I not be? She’s a smokeshow, and I love verbally sparring with her. She’s quick-witted, sharp-tongued, and I admire she isn’t scared to go for the throat. But she’s shut me down at everyturn, clearly disinterested in giving me a shot at anything more than my role as Knox’s best friend.
“I’m not going to say this is a good idea, but I do think it’s your best option,” he finally says. “But you have tobehave. And I mean it, Trey. I know you like her, and you two have some weird battle of wills going on, but you’re going to be roommates, so don’t make it messy. It’s only a few months. Just do whatever she says.”
They seriously want me to move in with Jessie Hawkins. Knox is right, this is ahorribleidea. I drum my fingers on the counter, glancing between them.Fuck it, a lot of horrible ideas have worked out for me in the past. “We’ll be fine. I’m pretty sure she could tell me to go to hell, and I’d look forward to the trip.”
Knox groans. “That’s precisely my worry.”
Kacey chuckles and pulls out her phone. “Great, I’ll text her.”
“What’s her Venmo? How much is the rent?”
Kacey mumbles a reply too low for me to hear.
“Huh?”
“Fifteen,” she squeaks.
“She only wants fifteen bucks?”
“Fifteen hundred a month,” Knox corrects me with a smirk.
“Fifteen hundredfor a room? I could get a whole house for that,” I exclaim.
“You can afford it. Look at it as backpay on all the rent you never paid me.”
He’s right, I can afford it, but that price is still insane for a single room. The reason I have so much money in the bank is because I hardly spend any of it. My expenses have always been low and I’m not one to blow money.
I roll my eyes. “Your house was paid for.”
“Do you want me to tell her no?” Kacey’s fingers hover over her phone screen.
I sigh. It won’t break me. Maybe she needs the money. It can’t be easy owning her home and living alone. “No, it’s fine. I’ll send her the first two months tonight.”
And just like that, Jessie Hawkins and I are roommates. But why do I feel like it’s against our will?
The GPS on my phone tells me I’ve arrived as I pull into the driveway. I park behind Jessie’s SUV that’s seen better days. I wonder about the last time she changed the oil.
The house is older and small. It’s plain with white paint, no front porch or awning—just a brown roof and two sad-looking bushes out front. She’ll need to mow the spring grass coming up soon. If my damn back would stop hurting so bad, I’d mow it for her.
