“I know, but…why her, Jake? She was so different from you. So different than any girl I thought you’d ever marry.”
Miranda had been sleek and dark. Moody and edgy with her fashion—at least compared to the rest of Small Town, Idaho. She’d been beautiful but didn’t fit with the sweet, happy, mischievous vibe that was Jake Evans.
“And don’t laugh it off and say it was because she was hot. You’re not that shallow. What’s the real reason?”
He sighed. “You know, I thought having you back was going to be fun, but you’re the same pain in the butt you’ve always been.”
We rode in silence for a long moment, until it felt so long that it seemed like he was going to avoid me.
“I will start humming ‘99 Bottles’ right now, if you don’t start talking. Don’t think I won’t.”
“Joke’s on you. That’s my favorite song.”
“No, it’s not.”
He groaned, the sound low and mild in my ears.
“Alright, Shelby May. I’ll give you the whole sad story because I can see you’re going to be pecking at me this whole time. But you need to do something for me first.”
“Something for you? I’ve already taught you how to kiss on the doorstep; you want me to teach you how to kiss on a horse? I’ve got to say, I’m surprised by you. We’ve got a kid here?—”
His right hand immediately clasped over my mouth, immediately making me smile.
“I never said you got the doorstep kiss down. You were passable, is all.”
“I was not just passable!” I demanded, pushing Jake’s hand off my face. “I was good.”
“As long as I didn’t get sneezed on, I was going to pass you.”
I laughed and gave his thigh a soft smack. Two days earlier, I would have died talking about this with Jake, but here and now…the mood was right. I couldn’t see him, and it made it much easier to talk about these things.
“How was I really? Did I ring your bell?”
He reached down and tickled me until I laughed and leaned away from him.
“No more talk about kissing,” he said. “In case you’ve forgotten, you’re the safety vest here, Tuck, so you’d better start acting like it.”
“Vest?”
His brow furrowed. “Wait. Safety vest or net? What did we decide?”
“Net. But figures you’d change it to some rodeo thing—even though you’re too chicken to participate.”
“I’ve actually been thinking about it.”
“Really?” My body stilled.
“Yeah, Dusty’s coming down and wants me to rope with him.”
I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice. “You going to ride a bronc too?”
“Maybe.”
“That’s a yes.”
“That’s a maybe. Now shut up and let me think of a question.”
“Wait. First you tell me to shut up, and then you tell me to start talking? I’m not sur?—”