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My heart dances a jig in my chest at the gesture, which is both extremely sweet and pretty romantic. I force down a swallow over the lump in my throat. “I would like that. Thank you.” I reach out to take the grass, but just as I’m about to wrap my fingers around it, Jake skids to a stop beside me and drops a handful of random flowers and weeds in my lap.

“I picked you a bouquet,” Jake says like he expects a gold star for his effort. “Flowers, not hay.” He sneers at the grass in Colton’s hand.

I have zero interest in Jake. Or the “bouquet” of flowers he picked so hastily that he ripped out the entire plant, roots and all. What the hell am I going to do with them out here? I doubt the supply wagon has a vase.

Colton’s collection of prairie grass, on the other hand, is perfect. The fact that Colton skipped lunch to pick out something specifically with me in mind makes my insides melt. I’m not sure anyone’s ever understood me so well before. Not only that, but I’ve also been wondering what my next art study subject should be, and filling a page or two of my sketchbook with features of the different prairie grasses out here would be just the thing.

“It’s grass, not hay,” I reply.

“Whatever. It’s boring. Colt should have stepped it up and gotten you flowers like I did.” Jake smirks at Colton. “When it comes to romance, you snooze, you lose, dude. Oh, wait. That’s right, you’re only interested in being friends with Riley.”

Wait, what? Did I totally misread the almost-kiss and the handful of grass spikes, or…

Nah, Colton’s actions speak way louder than any of Jake’s empty words. I pick up the pathetic pile of stems Jake tossed in my lap. The unopened black-eyed Susans seem to wither under my scrutiny. Jake didn’t get me the flowers out of the kindness of his heart, selecting each one because he knew which ones I’d be interested in. He didn’t even pick them to be sweet. The only reason I’m holding on to this sad bundle of vegetation is because he was trying to outdo Colton.

My eyes flick to where Colton was standing, but he’s gone. Damn. Now I’m going to have to try to hunt him down again.

“Can you even name one species in this ‘bouquet’?” I ask, flexing my fingers in air quotes on the last word.

Jake shrugs. “Meadow bloom flower.”

“That’s not even…” I close my eyes and count to five. “What’s one thing you know about me?”

“You’re, um…from California.” He squares his shoulders with pride.

Way to be observant.

“I can’t accept these flowers, Jake.” I hold them out for him to take.

“But I got them for you,” he says, as if he can’t believe I don’t want them.

“No. You got them for you,” I say, tossing the flowers at him. Jake scrambles to catch them as I dash off to where Colton tethered Chance, but neither horse nor human is there.

Once everyone finishes lunch, Captain Walker asks us all to gather round in front of Clark’s Sod House, an authentic reproduction of a prairie dwelling, to give us a lecture on the homes white settlers built as they moved to the prairie. I should pay attention, but I can’t focus on a lecture right now.

It’s pretty clear that there’s something between me and Colton. If Jake hadn’t shown up, I’m sure we would have kissed by now. But that will never happen if he keeps vying for my attention. What I really need is a few quiet minutes alone with Colton.

I look for him in the group congregating around Captain Walker, but don’t spot him. He’s probably off working. To clear my head, I pull out my sketch pad and a pencil. Sinking down onto a log, I let my pencil travel across the page. Lines become shapes that blend into a figure atop a distant hill. A cowboy on his horse.

Colton.

“Now, tonight we have a special treat planned for all of you,” Captain Walker says.

My ears perk up. Who doesn’t like a treat?

“Tonight, we’ll arrive at Fort Bellows. And to really liven up the experience, you’ll all be wearing historically accurate pioneer clothing. Everyone’s outfit has been selected based on the preferences you noted when you checked in back in Darby.”

He’s joking, right? This is not okay. I turn to my parents for answers but neither look my way.

Captain Walker continues. “Wild Wanda and Felix are available for any necessary wardrobe adjustments. We’ll be heading out in a little over an hour, so go on inside the sod house and get changed when Ty calls your name.”

“I did not sign up for this,” I mutter, flipping my sketchbook closed. For a moment, I consider disappearing into the prairie, but Caleb finds me. “Mom and Dad are looking for you. Come on.”

“Did you know about this?” I ask Caleb in a harsh whisper as we make our way across the clearing.

“Nope,” he says, completely unfazed by the fact that he’s about to don some wool trousers. “But it could be cool.”

“On what planet?”