Page 19

We’re on our third round of exercising the horses—six down, six more to go. The other horses are in the fields, so I won’t need to ride them today. But there is no way I’m going to make it through another three rounds through the maple trees without Sadie finding some way to pry the words from me.

Fine.

“I just had a little run-in with Mayor Monroe earlier today, that’s all.”

“A run-in? How can you have a run-in with the nicest person in town?”

No one knows about my sparring relationship with the mayor. I discovered long ago that even if I did say something, no one would believe me. The mayor’s too loved. Sadie’s words only prove that belief.

“I just meant I ran into him,” I correct.

“With your car?”

That really would send me to jail. “No, figuratively. On the sidewalk. Him...and his daughter.”

Sadie’s eyes swing to mine. “Juliet? I thought she was still at BU.”

“She’s back for the semester. You know her?”

“We were a couple years apart in school. She was always super sweet.” She eyes me. “And really pretty.”

Oh, boy. It’s starting already. “She’s all right.”

Sadie’s smile grows, but I ignore it.

I share how I picked her up and drove her into town, only to find out the mayor is her dad.

“You didn’t know? Everyone does. I’m pretty sure she’s ridden here before, too.”

I stare intently as she pulls out her phone, presses the screen a few times, then holds it up for me to see.

She’s on the Horseshoe Holler Instagram account. When I remember, I take photos of trail riders and post them there, but it’s been a while since I’ve updated it. I get enough people finding me through metadata anyway, so keeping up on socials isn’t on the top of my priority list.

“There she is,” Sadie says. “In the middle.”

I take her phone and read the caption.

“Trail rides can be used for anything. Even day dates for high school dances. These cute couples enjoyed time in nature on our horses before dressing up to dance the night away.”

I cringe at the cheesy caption, then zoom in on the photo with my forefinger and thumb. The group is made up of two girls and two boys. I recognize one of the guys as the youngest Walker brother and the girl on the far right as Landrie Langford, but I already knew she’d been here. That’s why she’d chosen Horseshoe Holler as her wedding venue with Jaxon Walker.

I look closer at Luke Walker’s date, the one standing in the middle with a blonde bob. Squinting, I peer at her wide, blue eyes and pull back in surprise.

It’s Juliet, and I took the photo of her. No wonder I didn’t recognize her. She looks completely different here with her dyed hair and rounder face, though those blue eyes are still the same.

I vaguely remember leading the couples out on the trail ride, but not much else. It’s no wonder I didn’t log Juliet away. She would’ve been jailbait.

“So you saw her yesterday?” Sadie asks.

“Yeah.”

“And you’re going to see her again?”

I give the phone back to her. “Nope. I got the picture that the mayor would cut my eyes out if he caught me looking at her again.”

“The mayor would literally never do anything to hurt anyone. He is an absolute teddy bear. Not to mention eye candy,” she mumbles.

“What?”