It was amazing how gorgeous she looked with no makeup on, her blonde hair thrown in a messy ponytail. I wondered if anyone else ever had the privilege of seeing her like that. We hopped out of the car. “Why country though? I know a bunch of people give you shit because they think you’re not the real deal.”
Huffing, her smile faded. She joined me on the sidewalk, her arm brushing mine. Instead of playing the role of siblings, we decided it was best to be past lovers. “I don’t see how anyone can say I shouldn’t be singing country. My first song was about my mother and father, who in fact did grow up on farms in Idaho. He was her cowboy, her first and only love. They moved to New York before I was born. Once that song took off, the image kind of stuck. But then people found out where I was from. It’s been a battle ever since.”
“I know how that goes,” I grumbled.
“How is that?”
“Once you meet my friends, you’ll find out. First, let’s find you some clothes.”
Multiple outfits and an hour later, we were headed back to the car. “I didn’t bore you, did I?” she asked, elbowing me in the side.
I chuckled. “No. It’s nice to be around a woman who knows what she wants. That indecisive bullshit is what gets me.” The shopping trip had actually been pleasant with her company, which was a first for me.
“I’m not like that, well except for when it comes to ice cream. There are just too many flavors to choose from.”
I had to admit, she was different from the stars you saw on TV. “We can pick you up some when we go to the store. I need to make sure the house is stocked so you can cook me dinner when you lose the bet.”
Hadley punched me in the arm. “You are so full of yourself. Have you always been like that?”
I winked at her. “It’s part of my charm. The ladies love it.”
“I bet,” she said, rolling her eyes.
We were almost to the truck, but I took us on a quick detour. There was one more shop I wanted to take her to.
“You know, you haven’t told me much about yourself.”
I shrugged. “There’s not really much to say. I’ve been doing undercover work for years. It’s the only thing I’m good at.”
“That’s not true. You’re good with horses. I’ve seen you with Snowflake.”
“So you’ve been watching me?” I teased.
She smiled, her cheeks turning red. “Don’t flatter yourself, jackass. But in all seriousness, you have a talent. You’re gentle with them. Coming from your line of work, I never thought that’d be possible.”
We reached the shop and I opened the door for her. “It took time. I’ve had help though. Tyla, the woman who works for me, is the best trainer in all of Wyoming. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her.”
“Wow, that’s cool,” she said, genuinely impressed. She walked inside the store and I followed behind her. “Where’s she been? I haven’t seen her around.”
“She’s out of town, but she should be back soon. Hopefully you’ll get to meet her before you leave.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. What’s up, city?” a voice called out.
Chuckling, I turned around and found a short, red-headed bastard with a scruffy beard grinning at me; it was one of my good friends, Mitch Bennett. We shook hands and I slapped his back. “What’s up, cocksucker? It looks like it’s a little slow today.”
He shrugged. “It’s off season still. It’ll pick up at the end of the month. You know how it gets around here.”
I snorted. “Tell me about it.”
Tourists would come from all over the place to visit our national parks. There were also plenty of women who were interested in finding out what it was like to ride a stallion . . . and I wasn’t referring to the horses. I’d learned the hard way to stay away from the tourists. I’d had one who didn’t want to leave after I slept with her, and another one who wanted me to fuck her in the ass. I pissed that one off when I sent her packing out my front door. Needless to say, it was a learning experience.
Mitch smiled at Hadley. “I see our friend here is rude. I’m Mitch. Who might you be?”