Page 95 of Love, Lies, and Whiskey

“Oh, yeah,” Seeley said. “You should see him ride a bull. The kid’s a natural.”

Lucas beamed at his praise, which warmed Juliette’s heart.

“Have you talked to your mom about riding?” Billie asked.

“Yeah,” Lucas said with a grin. “She’s cool with it.”

Billie looked at Juliette. “Yeah?”

“There’s no stopping him,” Juliette said, glad Billie had thought to check with her.

Billie eyed Lucas. “Then we’ll talk.”

“Awesome.” Lucas was absolutely glowing, as he had when he’d first talked about bull riding.

“Kenny, how much did I win by?” Billie asked.

“Dream on, Mancini.” Dare crossed his arms, dipping his chin with a serious expression. “Go ahead, dude. Give her the news.”

“I hate to say this.” Kenny paused, dragging out their anticipation. “But you were three-tenths of a second behind her, Dare.”

Billie’s arms shot up. “Yes! I am the reigning champ!”

Everyone laughed.

Dare pointed at Billie. “We’re going again.” He looked at Juliette and Lucas. “You guys are sticking around, right? Dinner and we’re beating you in paintball later?”

“You wish,” Lucas said.

“I see you’re a dreamer like your old man,” Dare teased. “I hear you like old cars. I’ll show you my garage and the cool cars I have.”

“Seriously?” Lucas asked.

“Hell yeah.” Dare draped an arm around Billie. “Come on, beautiful. Time to lose.”

As they headed back to their bikes, Kenny told Lucas about Dare’s affinity for cars, and as he filled Lucas’s head with dreams of classic cars and motocross, Seeley leaned closer to Juliette and whispered, “I think our boy likes it here almost as much as you did when you first showed up.”

“I like it even more now.”

SEELEY SHOWED THEM around his veterinary clinic, and as he explained how the rescue process worked, Juliette thought about their teenage dreams, of working together to save horses and raising their own family. It was funny how, as kids, everything had seemed not only possible but as if by dreaming it, their futures were cast in stone.

“Can we see the rehab horses?” Lucas asked as they left the well-horse barns.

“It’s not easy to look at horses that have been abused and neglected. We might want to skip the rehab horses,” Seeley said.

“I’ve seen plenty of sick animals,” Lucas objected. “Right, Mom? I’ve gone with you a bunch of times.”

“You have, but Seeley’s right. A sick animal is very different from one that has been abused or neglected,” she explained. “It can be heart-wrenching, Lucas.”

“I can handle it,” he insisted. “I want to see them. I want to see the work they do here.”

She looked at Seeley. “What do you think?”

“I think if he says he can handle it, we should let him try. But, Lucas, I’ve been around horses like some of the ones you’ll see since I was a little boy, and I still have a hard time seeing the horrible shape our rescues are in. So promise me if it’s too much, you won’t try to tough it out. There’s no shame in walking away.”

Lucas set his jaw. “I swear, but I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, let’s head over,” Seeley said. “But the horses can be skittish. You’ll want to talk softly, approach slowly, and don’t make any sudden movements.”