Seventeen-year-old Chloe Matthews is done with guys, done with her ex, and done with the cowboys of the Grand Teton Mountains. She refuses to get hurt again.
All that matters now are the horses. Every horse Chloe helps is another piece of herself pu...
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The barn was empty and Jack's stalls were clean when I arrived at Spotted Horse the next morning. He must've been leading the morning ride, which left the barn quiet and kind of lonely. The solitude used to calm me. Now I only felt the absence of Jack.
I'd crossed a line.
All my focus was supposed to be on learning self-defense, on keeping myself and my family safe. My attention was not supposed to be on Jack, or on how his hands made my entire body catch fire. I wasn't supposed to notice that being around Jack felt very different - worlds apart even - to how it'd felt with Billy.
A chill ran up the back of my neck. What would Billy do if he saw me dancing in Jack's arms as I had the night before? He'd kill Jack, or try to. It wasn't fair to put Jack in that position. I wouldn't. I had to stop things before they got out of control.
There could be no Jack and me.
That afternoon, Tara bounced up to me when I got to the café. "It's Jack Night!" She cheered and pumped her fist. I glanced toward the front window where he usually set up. None of his stuff was there yet, but he'd arrive any minute for sound check.
"Are you okay?" Tara waved her hand in front of my face.
"Yeah." I wandered into the bathroom and raked my fingers through my hair to fix the wayward strands. What was I doing? Primping for Jack? I turned from the mirror in disgust and began moving tables like we always did for 'Jack Night.' A few minutes later, I almost ran into him when he walked in the back door.
"Oh, hi." My cheeks completely disobeyed the rules and burned beneath his gaze.
"Hey, partner." A slow smile spread over his face that made my insides melt. "The rodeo manager asked if we'd do another demo next week. You game?"
"No." If this was going to stop, it had to stop now.
He frowned. "No?"
"I have to work."
"Can't Tara cover for you?"
Tara perked up from behind the counter. "Did I hear my name?"
"Yeah." Jack eyed me. "Can you cover for Chloe next Thursday night?"
"Probably. It's not like I have a social life or anything." Tara pouted. "You two going on a date or something?"
"No," I said quickly.
"We've got another demo at the rodeo," Jack said.
My jaw dropped. "You already signed us up?"
He shrugged. "So, Tara, can you help us out?"
"You should've asked first." I grabbed a chair and shoved it out of the way.
"Like you don't want to do it." He stared at me. "Show all those people there's a better way."
