I crumbled up the foil of the gas station breakfast burrito and shoved it into the paper bag at my feet.
“Better?”Archer asked, shooting me a grin.
“Better,” I repeated.“I was getting hangry.”
“Getting?”
I mock-glared at him for a moment before changing the subject.“You sure she’s okay?”
“Lenni’s fine.”
“I still feel like a rotten person.”
“Shetoldus to go,” he said.
“You know what, you’re right.Actually, she commanded us to go,” I said with a laugh.
When we’d told Lenni we wanted to cancel our weekend getaway, she’d adamantly shook her head and refused to let us.
I looked out the window.
“I miss her,” he said.“And Mildred.”
“Oh, thank God.I thought I was just being weak.I miss them too.”
“This is why it’s good we went,” he said.“I’m glad the weather cleared up.It was nasty there for a while.”
It was still cold, but the sky was blue and the sun was out.It would make walking around an outdoor festival much more pleasant.
Archer reached over the truck console for my hand.I gave his fingers a squeeze.
“Tell me something,” I began.“How did you and Brooks get jobs at Elk Ridge?I have no idea how you guys wound up here.”
“Cas called me months ago.He said his future father-in-law needed some extra ranch hands, and Brooks and I jumped at the opportunity.”He shrugged.“We needed a change of scenery, anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“We were on the rodeo circuit,” he explained.“Brooks and I.We were working for a billionaire who was into racehorses.Nice guy, actually.Knew about Brooks’ past.He was okay with it, which is kind of insane.But one of his colleagues found out about it andwasn’tfine with it.So, we got the axe.”
“I see,” I murmured.
Archer looked at me.“You look confused.”
“I’m not confused about that.That makes sense.Sounds like a shitty deal, but it makes sense.Then again, if you guys were still on the rodeo circuit, Poet and Brooks wouldn’t be getting married next week.”
“And you and I wouldn’t be together.”
“Do you think you’d have Lenni?If you were still on the rodeo circuit?”I asked.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.“I wouldn’t have a lot of time for her.I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”
He squeezed my fingers and then took his hand back so he could place it on the wheel.
“You’re still confused about something, aren’t you?”he asked.
“Oh.Yeah.I’m wondering how the hell two bikers got involved with horses.I mean, I don’t know much about being a farrier, but it’s not like you can just decide one day to do it.It takes skill.Knowledge.”
Archer was quiet for a moment, his jaw clenching before he answered.“When Brooks went to prison, I signed up for a farrier program.We’d been around horses all our lives.Horses and motorcycles.”He shot me a grin.“So, I took a few courses and then I did an apprenticeship.Then I found a job on the circuit and made sure Brooks had a job when he got out.”
