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Sierra, her arms now cradling one of the twins, laughed as Stevie and Andrea ran to Skye and pulled her into a group hug. ‘And you thought you couldn’t be surprised.’

Skye tucked her face between the girls. Her heart couldn’t take much more. ‘It’s so good to see you,’ she managed.

‘You didn’t think we’d miss this?’ Stevie asked.

‘We love you,’ Andrea whispered. ‘But we also got a free night at the resort.’

‘And Sierra texted us your schedule,’ Stevie added, ‘so we’re driving with you to Texas. We’ll watch your races in Odessa and then fly out of Midland and head back to Dallas while you turn around to make your race in Colorado.’

‘You’re coming with me?’ Skye asked in disbelief. ‘For an entire week?’ She stepped back, swiped her damp cheeks. ‘This is the best surprise ever. It’s been so long.’

It didn’t matter that they texted each other every day and kept abreast of what was going on in each of their lives; texting wasn’t the same as talking to your friends face to face or being able to touch them, to hug them.

Stevie, dressed in a tiny dress and thigh-high Western fashion boots, let her gaze track over Skye. ‘You look good. Like, really good. And that’s saying something given what you’re wearing.’ She sniffed at Skye exaggeratedly. ‘Eau de Cheval?’

Skye laughed, unoffended. Her jeans were faded; her boots were scuffed. And although she didn’t expect her friends to understand it, she wouldn’t have changed a thing. ‘It’s this place,’ she explained. ‘It’s … home.’

‘It shows,’ Andrea affirmed.

‘Skye!’ Sierra called her from across the room.

Skye walked to where Sierra stood with Mav, Stevie and Andrea trailing behind her. ‘Everything okay?’

‘We have a parting gift for you,’ Sierra explained.

‘You didn’t have to—’

‘It’s something important,’ Sierra said, cutting her off. ‘Everyone chipped in.’ She handed Skye a key with a ribbon tied through the hole at the top, then took her by the shoulders and, turning her around, propelled her back towards the front door.

Everyone followed.

Skye stepped out onto the porch and then simply froze. Because there, hitched to a Hunt Ranch Jeep parked on the front lawn, was a Sundowner living quarters horse trailer.

Skye shook her head in denial. ‘You did not.’

Sierra shrugged as if the gift was something small and inconsequential. ‘If you’re gonna be on the road over forty weeks on the year, you need somewhere to sleep that isn’t the cab of your truck.’

‘I can’t accept this,’ Skye said instantly and tried to pass the key back to Sierra. Even second-hand, the trailer had to have cost them upwards of twenty grand.

‘It’s a ’97 model we picked up at auction and fixed up,’ Sierra argued. ‘The heat doesn’t work, one window doesn’t open at all, and despite our best efforts to remove it, there’s something that looks like a bloodstain in the middle of the carpet.’ She held her hands palms up, refusing to take the key back. ‘It’s your starter home until you can afford something nicer.’

‘But—’

Andrea took Skye’s hand and gave it a squeeze, sealing the key between their palms. ‘A lot of people chipped in to make this possible for you,’ she said quietly.

‘It’s too much,’ Skye insisted.

Sierra heard that. ‘We all wanted to do it. If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have.’

‘I like her,’ Stevie said simply, making everyone laugh. ‘But, please, can we go look inside the damn thing now? I’ve only seen pictures.’

Skye looked down at the key in her hand and then back up at the trailer. Slowly, on shaky legs, she walked down the front porch steps and across the lawn, Stevie and Andrea close behind.

Perhaps sensing that she was close to tears, the others stayed back, giving her space.

Skye lowered the tailgate for the horse compartment first. Inside, to the left, there was a small tack room with a three-tier saddle rack and six bridle hooks. Someone had already neatly loaded her tack. Past it, three horse stalls separated by rubber-lined dividers stood side by side. The floors were lined with thick rubber padding; the overhead cargo light was working, and on.

Skye stepped into the trailer and opened the interior door.