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 sun wasn't quite up as I slid the bit into Piper's mouth and struggled to secure the buckle over her head. Gabi hugged her coffee cup, yawned and propped herself up against the saddle rack. It was early for all of us, but it was the only time Gabi and I could train because of our work schedules.
"We have a problem," Gabi said with tired eyes.
"Which one?"
"I can't feed Penny at night because, well, I'm grounded." The plan had been that I'd feed Penny in the morning and Gabi would feed her at night. That way Penny would see both of us taking care of her. But with Gabi grounded from everything except work, which was where her dad thought she was now, that plan was busted.
My hands froze mid-air. "I'm at the café every evening."
"I know," she said. "Can you ask Jack? I mean, he's right there. It'd take him five minutes."
I was in no position to ask Jack anything. Especially that. "I could ask Cash. He's there all day."
"No. I want Jack. It's his ranch."
"Why not Cash?"
"So I owe him something? No way." She turned to grab the saddle off the rack. "What's wrong with asking Jack?"
"Just yesterday I told him to stay away from Penny." I sighed. "That I had to be the one feeding her. I kind of made a big deal about it."
"I'd ask him myself, but since I'm grounded and my dad took my phone . . ."
I could already see the gloat on Jack's face. "Isn't there any other option?"
"None that I can think of."
Every time I made some progress, got the upper hand on Jack, I was forced to ask him for help. One step forward, two steps back. He was going to bask in it. But Penny had to come first.
"Sure." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I'd love nothing more than to grovel at Jack's feet."
"Hmmm." She tilted her head. "You never know what might come of it."
"Nothing."
"Really?" She set the saddle on Piper's back. "Because the way you look at him-"
"I don't look at him." Piper flinched and whipped her head around to glare at Gabi. I stroked her nose so Gabi could secure the saddle.
"Yeah." Gabi gave me the side-eye. "You do."
"Nothing's going to happen. With him or anyone else."
She glanced at my wrist. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened, Chloe?"
I pressed my forearm to my stomach. "It's just . . ." I shook my head.
"I see you struggle. Wouldn't it be better to talk about it? I wouldn't tell anyone, you know."
