Her palms settle on my shoulders as she stares at me with gentle kindness. “You don’t have to worry about money. I’ll cover whatever you need when we’re out, and you can borrow a dress from my closet. We are basically the same size.”
My throat tightens. “It’s your birthday. I’m supposed to be paying for you.”
She flings a hand up like I’m being ridiculous. “Girl, please. I just want my bestie there.”
I let out a sigh. Of course she would never let me feel bad about anything. That’s what makes her so special.
“Okay, I’ll be there. Thank you, Mandy.”
“Don’t mention it. You can come to my place to get ready, and we’ll leave together.”
“Alright.” I grab the coffeepot and start back toward my section.
“Oh, by the way,” she calls, and I glance over my shoulder. “I found out the ranch is looking for a few people for the weekend shifts. I can ask them about Fridays if you want. Just say the word.”
Hope springs to life. “Really?”
“Yep.”
“Do you think they’d hire me?”
“Ugh, duh! What kind of question is that?”
I shrug. “I don’t know what they’re looking for.”
What I don’t tell her is how nervous it makes me to be that close to people I don’t know. What if they start digging and find out who I am? What happens to Milo then?
And as much as I love what the Whitlocks do for horses, there’s something about that family that’s always made me pause, like my intuition is screaming at me. Every time I see one of them around, my skin prickles.
But I really don’t have the time to be picky. Not like other jobs are knocking at my door.
“What’s wrong?” Mandy studies me. “Your face is doing that thing again.”
“What thing?” I lift a brow.
“The one that says you’re already talking yourself out of the very job you wanted to begin with.”
It’s scary how well she knows me.
“It’s just…I don’t know.” I rub my thumb along the edge of the counter. “They kind of…intimidate me.”
Mandy laughs. “Everyone intimidates you.”
“That’s not true.” But it kind of is.
“It is,” she says, still laughing. “But the Whitlocks are good people. And Jace is up here this week, so I’ll talk to him for you. He loves me.” Her grin turns sly. “Greer, not so much.”
Greer. Just hearing her name makes me tense. She’s Jace’s sister and the one who runs the Jersey ranch. Every time I see her around town, she scares the hell out of me. I swear she has a gun or five on her at all times, just waiting for someone to give her a reason.
I snort despite myself. “You and I must know very different versions of Jace Whitlock.”
Every time I see him, he always looks so serious.
She winks. “Trust me, the man is obsessed with me, in that brooding ‘you can’t have me, Mandy’ kind of way. It’s part of his Southern charm.”
“Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that.”
She smiles like it’s already been decided.
