Then she glances at me. “I guess not.” She swirls her wine. “Looks like she’s got him wrapped around her finger.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” I say.
“You think he realizes it?”
“Yep.”
She sighs. “Good for them.”
The evening settles around us. The mountains glow beneath the moonlight. Somewhere, a horse nickers as a breeze kicks up.
For the first time since opening my flooded cabin door, I finally relax as I take it all in.
Not exactly how I planned to spend my evening. But things could be worse. A lot worse.
I’m temporarily displaced, but at least I’m not sharing a tiny bed with Royce.
Jovie lifts her glass toward me. “To new neighbors.”
I grin. “To hoping this cabin’s pipes are stronger than my last.”
She giggles softly, and wine nearly sloshes over the rim.
As I watch her cheeks flush, I think to myself,The plumbing disaster might not be so bad.
But then she bends to set the glass at her feet, and the oversize shirt she’s wearing slips off one shoulder, revealing the creamy skin underneath.
Fuck.
Bad.
Very, very bad.
Jovie
The first official day of the academy is barely half over, and I already have a newfound respect for every teacher who’s ever stood in front of a classroom full of teenagers.
Give me a fractured wrist, a dislocated shoulder, or a nasty rope burn any day of the week.
At least when they’re injured, they will sit still and listen to you.
These kids?
Not a chance.
I stand at the front of one of the classroom buildings, remote in hand, trying to keep a dozen aspiring rodeo stars focused on a presentation titled “Fitness & Nutrition for Competitive Athletes.”
The title alone nearly loses half of them.
A boy in the back yawns and tugs the brim of his hat lower, hoping I won’t notice as he starts to nod off.
Two barrel racers in the front row are whispering while scrolling on their phones.
One of the younger bull riders can barely contain his antsy energy. He keeps bouncing his knee so hard that his entire desk rattles and I can feel the vibration through the floor.
Another kid keeps glancing out the window toward the arena, where the morning riding sessions are taking place.
I clear my throat. “Ladies and gentlemen.”
