Dylan

I HEADED INTO my bathroom just as my phone rang, and I smiled to see Asher’s name pop up. “Hey there.”

“Hey, beautiful. How goes the investigation?”

“Slow.” I sighed, plopping down on my bed. “Please reassure me that we don’t totally suck at this.”

He chuckled. “You guys took down one of the biggest players in Portland before you were even licensed. Small-town criminals don’t have a chance.”

I couldn’t help but smile. He always knew the perfect thing to say. “If you were here right now, I’d kiss those smooth-talkin’ lips right off you.”

“Promise?”

“Yep.” I glanced at the note pages spread out behind me on the bed. “And maybe you could help me piece together the shoddy clues we’ve collected, because I got nuthin’.”

“I’m sure you’ve got something. It’ll come to you.”

Sometimes his faith in me made a mockery of reality. “So far I’ve learned that Mrs. Rogers is trying to get into the pants of a guy who graduated the same year I did, Grandma thinks Addie and I are either Lebanese or lesbians (the jury’s still out on which one she meant), and Ms. Samuelson—my kindergarten teacher—doesn’t remember anything. Including me.” I paused, looking for the notes I’d written on Ms. Samuelson. “Which is really weird, because Dad said she was just asking about me the other day.”

“Hmm. Maybe that’s a clue,” Asher said.

“Maybe. I don’t know what it has to do with jewelry theft, but it did upset me a little. She was my favorite teacher ever. I used to mow her lawn for her and help her grocery shop after her hip replacement surgery. She was such a nice woman, always got me a card for my birthday. Never forgot.” Yet today she looked at me like I was a complete stranger and it broke my heart.

“Dylan, you still there?”

“Sorry. Yeah. I was just thinking. We still have to interview Ms. Long, but after Ms. Samuelson and Grandma we needed a break.”

“I bet. How’s Addie doing?” he asked.

“Not good, Ash. She’s totally devastated by this Jake thing.”

He sighed. “Yeah, it’s probably why she’s not answering my calls.”

“She’s ghosting you?”

“No, she’ll text back, but I haven’t heard her voice since you guys left.”

“It’s bad, Ash,” I admitted.

“Can I tell you something but you have to keep it from her?”

“Probably not.”

He chuckled without mirth. “I’ve seen Jake a few times since this all went down and he looks like shit.”

“Good.”

“Yeah, I’m with you, honey, but I think he’s just as busted up as she is.”

“And how does this help anything, Ash? My best friend is sobbing in the next room—”

“She’s crying?”

“No, she’s sobbing. As in wracked with sobs. I have never seen her like this.”

“Damn it. Addison doesn’t cry when she’s sad.”

“I know. She only cries when she’s pissed, but she’s really sad, Ash.”

“Okay, baby. I hear you. I’ll call her again.”

“That would be good.” I opened my laptop and sat down on the bed. “I’m working on something to cheer her up, too.”

“Oh really?” he asked.

“Yeah. I think a little horseback riding will do the trick. We have to—” I clamped my mouth down on what I was going to say, knowing it wouldn’t be wise to admit that Addison and I needed to train for our competition. No need for him to worry about the new level of stupidity we’d gotten ourselves into. “We have to do some more investigating, but I think a nice horse ride will be good for her.”

“Yeah, she’ll love that. Good idea. Do you know when you guys are coming home yet?” He sounded a little too curious, making me wonder if he was onto our buddy barrel antics after all. No, that was ridiculous. Asher probably didn’t even know such things existed.

“Tuesday at the earliest,” I sighed. “Too long.”

“Agreed.”

Yet he sounded relieved. Probably because he didn’t have to worry about us hunting down cheaters for several more days. Fearing what I was doing to my poor boyfriend, I pulled up the yellow pages and started looking for local ranches.

“I should get going so I can call around and find us some horses,” I said.

“You do that. I’ll give Addie a call and see if I can begin the cheering up process on my end.”

“You’re pretty much the best ever, you know that, right?” I asked.

“I keep tellin’ you, I’m the shit,” he replied, making me giggle. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” I hung up and got back to work.

I’d pulled up a possible option when my phone rang again, only this time I didn’t recognize the number. “Dylan James.”

“Hey, it’s Wyatt.”

“Oh, hi, how are you?”

“I’m good. I got your number from Dakota and I—”

“Dakota has my number?”

“Yeah. Of course. But I was calling to see if it would be cool to call your friend.”

Dakota hadn’t called me since I left town. All this time I’d assumed Dad had actually honored my request and kept my number private, but clearly that wasn’t the case. So what the heck was up with that?

“Dylan?”

I shook myself and tried to remember what Wyatt had just asked me. “Addison?” I set my laptop aside. “She left her card, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m not needin’ to call her about the missing jewelry.”

“Oh...ooooh, it’s like that, huh?”

“Like what?” he asked, chuckling.

“Like that summer you asked me to take Suzie Knight to the caves so you could ‘talk’ to her.”

“Damn, girl, you remember everything.”

Even though he couldn’t see me, I tapped my head. “Steel trap right here.”

“I’m counting on it. I need you to find that thief before they steal from my grandma.”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about,” I joked. “You don’t need to whore yourself out to Addie, Wyatt, we’ll look out for your grandma anyway.”

Wyatt was such a great guy. Like Dakota, he was like a brother to me, but come to think of it, I could say that about most of the guys I knew growing up. Every guy felt like a brother until Asher. Which was probably why my grandmother was questioning my sexual orientation.

Wyatt laughed. “I see the city hasn’t taught you to pull your punches. Good. Okay, I’ll be straight with you, your friend’s a looker and I’d like to get to know her better if she’s available.”

I bit my lip. “Well, she’s technically free, but she’s just out of a pretty heavy relationship, so I don’t know how available she is.”

“Let me worry about that,” he said.

“I have always liked your confidence, Wyatt.”

“Appreciate that.”

“While I have you on the line, do you have a place you’d recommend to ride?”

“You don’t want to ask your dad?”

“I’d rather have my eyeballs plucked out by crows,” I admitted.

“Don’t blame you. I’m not sure what you’ve been told, but his drinkin’ is gettin’ worse. Lots worse. And he’s a mean drunk, Dylan.”

I dropped my head to my hands. “Thanks for telling me. I appreciate it.”

“But you knew,” he said.

“Yeah. It’s why I’ve distanced myself from him and from this place. I can’t deal with it.”

“I hear ya, but you gotta remember there’s good folks here too. We’re not all like your old man.”

That made me smile. “Yeah. I see that. Thanks for the reminder.”

“Why don’t you come out to my place?” he asked.

“For...?”

“Riding. You know I got horses, Dylan. In fact, I’m a little hurt you didn’t come right out and ask me.”

“Ohmigod, I don’t know why I didn’t think about that. I’m surprised your horses are available right now.”

“I’ve rented all but one of them out for Roundup, but you’re welcome to ride a couple in the meanwhile.”

“Wow, Wyatt, that would be amazing. Are you sure?”

“It’ll give me a chance to get to know Addison.”

“Oh, I see your ulterior motive now.”

He laughed. “Am I that transparent?”

“Like a window. And not like one of those stained-glass ones at the church. We’re talking clear window here. A clean one. Spit-shined like that old janitor used to do at the courthouse.”

More laughter. “Do you remember how to get out here?”

“You still at your folks’ ranch?” I asked.

“Yep. If you come around eleven tomorrow, we can eat then head out for a ride.”

“I’ll have to call you about our ETA. We need to interview Ms. Long tomorrow, and Addison’s not an early riser,” I said.

“No problem. Just text me when you know, and I’ll get the horses ready.”

“Two questions. First, you said you have a horse free for Roundup? One we could possibly rent since Addie threw down the gauntlet at Brandy’s feet?”

“I have one.” He sounded way too hesitant. “But it’s complicated. I don’t know that you’ll want to use him. You’ll have to meet him.”

“Okay.” That sounded terrifying. “Second, you wouldn’t happen to have a horse that works with English would you?”

Wyatt laughed. “No, but I might have an old English saddle around here somewhere. I’ll look.”

“That’s really sweet, Wyatt. We both appreciate it.”

“No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He hung up and I smiled. Wyatt would be perfect for Addison. Maybe not as perfect as Jake...Wyatt was way more laid back, which Addie would probably find boring...but as far as meeting her alpha male and heart-stopping sexiness requirement, Wyatt fit the bill perfectly. I set my phone on the nightstand, feeling lighter than I had in a while.

I couldn’t wait to get back on a horse and see my friend happy again.

It was a little after five and I knew Addison would be getting hungry again, so I ordered us some Mexican takeout and crashed her room. Turns out the sappy novels weren’t working, so we put in a shoot-’em-up action movie and vegged out on her bed. All in all, it was a pretty decent second night in my home town.

* * *

Addison

The next morning, I awoke before my alarm. Rather than feeling refreshed, however, I still felt sad, which pissed me off. I wanted to be over this whole bag of shit that was Jake and the feelies he gave me. Gah! It was so inconvenient to be heartbroken.

I crawled out of bed and into the shower, knowing Dylan was probably dining on the wonders of the motel’s continental breakfast so I had a little time to blow out my hair. Maybe if I looked good, I’d feel good.

I had just swept the lip-gloss wand across my lower lip when Dylan knocked on my door. “You decent?” she called.

I walked out of the bathroom with a grin. “So decent.”

“Holy crap, you’re up. And dressed...and made up.”

“I woke up before my alarm, so I figured I’d take a little time and maybe I’d feel less like I wanted to slit my wrists.”

“Did it work?”

“Not really,” I admitted.

“Well, I have some good news and some better news.”

“Really?”

Dylan nodded. “Yep. I made some calls and found out Ms. Long’s jewelry was returned.”

“Returned?” I asked. “By who? When?”

“Let me finish.” Dylan held her hands up. “Apparently our good friend Brandy just happened to find it.”

“Convenient,” I huffed.

“Seriously. So now Brandy’s a suspect. We’re going to have to interrogate...I mean interview her. And...I think I know how to find out for sure whether or not she did it. I have an idea.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“You have no idea. I found out that Sergio Ramos is working security at the nursing home tonight.”

I gave her my best blank stare. “Am I supposed to know this Sergio fellow?”

She shook her head. “No, but he and I go way back. I know the way to his heart and believe I can get him to hand us over the video footage.”

“Wait, you’re not gonna date him are you? Because when I tried to do that for a case, it didn’t turn out so well for me.”

“No,” she giggled. “Definitely not necessary.”

“We could just call the nursing home, tell them we’re investigating the thefts, and ask for the footage,” I pointed out.

“And then they’d have to call the management, who’d probably make us get a warrant, and we don’t have time for all that mess. This way is much easier...and it will help us bust Brandy quicker.”

The end results did kind of motivate me. “I can’t believe the skanky ho might be behind the thefts.” I cheered, feeling much better. “Is that the good or the better news?”

“That’s the good. The better is we have horses to ride today.”

I clapped my hands. “We do?”

“Yes. Wyatt’s offered up two of his. We can ride whenever we want, and he might have one we can use during Roundup.”

“Oh, really? He’s cute.” I raised an eyebrow. “Does my brother have competition?”

She stared me down. “No, Addie. Never. But Jake sure as hell does.”

“What?” I squeaked.

Dylan gave me a sideways grin. “Wyatt wants to get to know you.”

“Seriously?” I breathed out.

“Seriously.”

I smiled. “Well, okay, then. I can handle that. He’s gorgeous and he seems really sweet.”

“You are correct on both of those,” she said. “I’m not sure how you’ll handle a western saddle, though.”

“Ugh, this is true. I hadn’t thought about that.” I waved my hands. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“And I’m sure Wyatt will move heaven and earth to make you comfortable.”

Mmmm, I liked the sound of that. “That absolutely works for me...on so many levels. Can we go now?”

* * *

Dylan

“Yes, we can go now. He wanted us there at eleven, but I didn’t know how long you’d sleep. I’ll text him and let him know we’re on the way.”

Addison did a little happy dance. “I need to change.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t wear this to ride, Dylan.” She frowned. “I’m not an animal.”

Addison was currently wearing white jeans, booties with a low heel, and a fitted T-shirt that hugged her curves perfectly. Yep, total animal material.

I laughed. “Ohmigod, you’re ridiculous.”

“You text Wyatt and I’ll change.”

“Okay. Are you hungry? Wyatt said something about lunch.”

“Lunch?” Her stomach rumbled. “As in, he’s feeding us? You know how I feel about guys who feed me?” Her eyes got a little misty and I got the feeling she was thinking about Jake and his first peace offering lunch.

“Stop that right now!” I demanded. “There will be no moping, no sad faces, and no freaking tears, you hear me? We have stuff to do.”

“Fine. I’ll put on my big girl panties.” She began pilfering through one of her suitcases.

I stepped into my room and texted Wyatt while Addison changed, then tapped on the connecting door. “You decent?”

“Yep, come in. I’m putting on my boots.”

I opened the door and froze. Addison was sitting on the bed zipping up knee-high black boots over her jodhpurs. She wore a fitted T-shirt, but had her protective vest and helmet laid out on the bed beside her.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I laughed. “Is that show gear?”

“No.” She made it sound like my question was ridiculous. “This is warm-up gear.”

Whatever it was, I was sure Wyatt would laugh us off his ranch the moment he laid eyes on her.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” she asked.

I wore jeans, an old T-shirt, and boots. “Uh...yeah?” I wondered if my attire made me an animal in her book. Probably.

We headed to the car and she threw her vest and helmet in the trunk.

“You look like you’re ready for a show,” I said as I drove. I was the designated driver since I knew where we were going.

“You say that only because you ride like a Barbarian. You just don’t know. You’re ignorant. It’s okay, honey, I’m here to educate you. I’ll drag you into the high-class world whether you want it or not.”

I giggled, but truth be told, her threat did scare me a little. “Oh, okay, thanks, buddy. You’re so good to me.”

“I know. I’m amazing. Hey, what’s going on here?” She pointed out the window to the fairgrounds.

“They’re putting up the carnival. It’s our big ticket event this time of year.”

“But it’s so small. There’s just a handful of rides.”

I nodded. “It seemed a lot bigger last time I was here for it. I remember going on the Zipper so many times it felt like I was still flipping when I went home.” I pointed at the partially put together ride. “You and me, kid. I’m gonna make you flip like you’ve never flipped before.”

“That doesn’t look so safe.”

“It’s okay. Between the ’80s rock music, the contact high from the carnies, and the chemicals in the cotton candy, you fry enough brain cells you don’t even worry about little things like falling to your death while trapped in a metal car.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“Hey, I do what I can.”

Lakeview had one radio station and it played country—which I loathed and Addison liked, ironically enough. There were a handful of rock artists we agreed on and, knowing we’d be somewhere without access to decent tunes, we’d compiled a playlist. As we motored out of town, Pink’s song, “Just Give Me a Reason” came on, so we turned it up and sang along, trying not to laugh too hard when I went totally off-key during Nate’s part.

“You missed your calling,” Addison said.

“Oh, don’t I know it. I could totally be the next Taylor Swift.”

“With autotune, honey, anything is possible.”

I nodded and turned off the main road.

“Whoa,” Addison mused. “The houses out here are really spread out. Like one every mile or so.”

“Yep. Lots of acreage. Wyatt’s family hays. Their house is sitting on eighty acres of alfalfa. Last time I was here they had about twenty head of cattle and one mean-ass Brahma bull. A dozen or so horses, chickens, a couple dogs.”

“Wait, he still lives with his parents?”

I laughed. “Yes. I’m sure he makes good money repairing heaters and air conditioners, but the amount of work a farm like this takes is insane. He couldn’t possibly do it all by himself. Most of these places have families working them.”

“Why don’t they just hire seasonal workers or something?” she asked.

I shook my head, still laughing.

“What? It’s a reasonable question.”

“Because most of these farms are one bad season away from bankruptcy. They don’t have the kind of money to hire workers.”

She seemed to chew on that as I turned off the main road and onto the long gravel driveway that led to Wyatt’s house. Wyatt was leaning against the pump house. His blue heeler, Boots, barked and turned toward us, but Wyatt silenced him with a command. He wore his Wranglers low on his hips, with his signature wife-beater, a pair of worn cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat that could only be described as swoon-worthy. I say that only because Addison made a quiet little whimper, then whispered, “Wow.”

“Yeah, it’s a nice ranch, huh?”

“He sure is.”

I laughed. “Are you going to be able to keep your hands off him long enough for us to get in a ride?”

“No guarantees,” she retorted.

I pulled up in front of Wyatt and he opened Addison’s door, holding his hand out. Addison took it and let him pull her from the car. “Welcome,” he said.

“Thank you. I love the special treatment. I feel like you should be doing that for Dylan since you two go way back,” Addison said with a smile.

“She’d kick my ass if I tried,” he said.

“Damn straight.” I opened my own car door and climbed out. “Now, where’s my boy? Boots, get over here.”

Wyatt gestured, releasing Boots. The dog was getting old. I dropped to my knees so he wouldn’t try to jump up on me and hurt himself and gave him a good scratching behind the ears before hugging him close. “I think he remembers me.”

“Of course he remembers you. You paid him more attention than you did to all the boys in town put together.”

“Oh, don’t be so salty. It’s not Boots’s fault he had better manners than the whole lot of you.” I gave Boots one final scratch before standing up.

“She’s got me there,” Wyatt said to Addison.

Addison giggled like a neurotic schoolgirl jacked up on energy drinks, but I was too thankful for her temporary happiness to be bothered by it. “Your place is lovely. Thank you so much for inviting us,” she said.

Wyatt brought an old picnic basket out from behind his back. “I packed us a lunch. Figured we’d eat on the ride, if that’s all right?”

We both nodded.

Wyatt smiled. “Let’s ride, then.”