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 following night, Tara peeked out the window for the hundredth time to see if Mom was back from her first official date with the sheriff. "I wonder where they went," she said as the curtain fell back into place.
Yep. This was happening.
My phone buzzed. Gabi again. Are they back yet? My phone hadn't stopped buzzing all night. Gabi should've just come over for a wait-for-the-parents-to-come-home party.
"Isn't it romantic?" Tara flopped beside me on the couch and stared at the ceiling.
Romantic? Mom was my role model; a strong single woman taking on the world with her two daughters. I wanted to be her. Minus the daughters, of course. This could change things. Drastically.
Tara sighed and hugged herself. "One day maybe it'll be Jack and me."
I whipped my head around. "Jack?"
"Yeah." Her mouth curved up on one side as she eyed me. "Why?"
"It's just . . ." I hated those green acids roiling in my stomach.
"You like him." Her eyes widened. "You like him!"
"'Like' wouldn't be the word." I tried to spit it out. Truth was, the guy had me in fits.
"See?" She grabbed my shoulders and peered into my eyes. "You are falling in love again."
"I am not." I pointed the remote at the TV and flipped the channels as if I were looking for something to watch. "Aren't you the one who set your sights on him?
"Oh, I gave up on him a long time ago." She sighed. "If only he looked at me the way he looks at you."
My mouth went dry. "Trust me. It means nothing." Because he sabotaged me every time he got, even if his reasons were self-sacrificing.
"Well, at least Mom is ending her dating hiatus," Tara said. "I like the sheriff. Don't you?"
"I don't know," I said, glad the conversation was turning back to Mom. "Don't you like the way things are?"
"I want Mom to be happy."
"So do I. Which is why this is a mistake. If it doesn't work out, our lives will be a disaster in this town." As if mine already wasn't.
"Jeez, Chloe, give it a chance." Tara jumped when headlights drifted across the curtains. She hurried to the window. "They're here."
My stomach tightened. We'd know soon enough how it went. Mom's face would tell us everything.
Tara bounced on her toes. "I have to text Gabi."
"Please don't." Because then my phone would explode with more questions. But Tara ignored me and clicked away on her phone.
