Page 16 of Cowboy Friend Zone for Christmas

“It’s non-existent when I hold your hand,” he assured. “I don’t know why. Maybe your touch is helping reprogram my brain or something.”

It was a depressing reminder that he’d be departing Dallas and heading to Pinetop soon. She was going to miss him like crazy while he was gone.

“Let’s hope the reprogramming happens quickly, preferably before you hit the road and turn your klutzy horse trainer into a distant memory.” Though she offered him her brightest smile, her voice ended on a bitter note. Visions of him visiting with Adeline swept through her head. Would he relapse into wishing all over again that things had turned out differently between the two of them?

“A distant memory?” Nash gave her an incredulous look. “Not if you go with us!”

“Me?” She frowned at him. “Last time I checked, you were paying me to train horses.” She glanced around his office. “Here.”

He jutted his chin at her. “The Carson brothers always travel with an entourage. Get used to it!”

“Wow! Okay.” She stared at him, a little dazed by the news that he wanted to bring her along.

“Why do you look so surprised?” He sounded irritated again. “You’re still my accountability partner, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but?—”

“Not to mention your mom would probably try to have me drawn and quartered if I arrived in town without her only daughter in tow.”

I’m not sure she cares that much.

Even so, a giddy bubble of joy rose in her at how quickly she and Nash had fallen back into their normal brand of verbal sparring. Pretending to consider his request, she demanded, “Are you expecting the temptations in Pinetop to be that horrific for you, cowboy?” Adeline’s face floated through Noelle’s mind again.

“I didn’t say that,” he protested. “If I may remind you, our friendship pact was your idea. Maybe I just expect you to continue holding up your end of the bargain.”

Her heart sank again at his reference to the fact that they were nothing more than friends. Friends who held hands. It should be enough that he found comfort in her touch, that it helped with his phantom pain. She wanted it to be enough.

But it wasn’t.

Though she returned to the horse ring a few minutes later, she knew the exact moment Nash broke the news to his brothers about the invitation from Castellano’s. Ames’ and Flint’s whoops of delight echoed off the rafters, filling the metal barn. Startled horses whinnied and stomped their hooves in response.

By nightfall, the Carsons had sketched out a proposal for a rodeo routine to run past Angel and Willa Castellano. It was a comedy script called Dude Ranch Central. They’d start by riding into the ring together, with Nash on the center horse waving his bionic arm at the crowd. Ames and Flint would be riding backwards, pretending to be green riders barely hanging on to their saddles. From there, Nash would attempt to whip the two “city boys” into proper cowboys before the end of their weekend getaway to the country — by mastering everything from riding fundamentals to throwing lariats. They debated the idea of setting up a mechanical bull ride in the center of the ring to add to the hilarity. Most importantly, Nash’s bionic arm would not be over-taxed during any segment of the show. He was doing as much directing as acting.

They invited Noelle to join them in the dining room to pitch their ideas to Angel and Willa over a live video chat. The Castellanos’ answer was immediate and profuse.

“It’s going to be a hit!” The excitement in their voices was palpable.

Noelle and the Carson brothers packed and hit the road the next morning in Nash’s truck. One of their longest horse trailers was hitched to it. Not only was it big enough to hold all three of their favorite mounts, the trailer had built-in living quarters with a separate compartment on one end that Noelle had to herself during their one stopover.

As excited as she was to be included on the trip, her trepidation grew with each mile that brought them closer to Pinetop. She wasn’t looking forward to facing her mother again with all her intrusive questions. Noelle additionally feared that Triss Ward would be back to her less-than-subtle matchmaking shenanigans the moment she caught sight of Nash. On the upside, it would mean she’d given up pushing Noelle’s ex or Brady down her throat.

Nash was taking a turn behind the wheel for the last stretch of their trip. Noelle was riding shotgun, while his brothers were glued to a cell phone app in the backseat. They’d signed up for some online contest that reminded her of fantasy football, except it was for rodeo riders. They were deeply engrossed in predicting all this season’s winners.

She tried to focus on their humorous banter instead of thinking about how close they were getting to Pinetop. However, her gaze kept wandering back to the electronic display on the dashboard. The twenty-five remaining miles of their trip turned into twenty miles, then fifteen.

Nash glanced her way. “What’s on your mind?”

She fiddled with one of the fashionably frayed spots on her jeans. “It feels a little weird returning to Pinetop after the way I left.” She kept her voice low, hoping his brothers weren’t listening too closely.

He raised a single eyebrow at her. “You’d have to go back eventually.”

“Not this soon, though.” She searched his features. “You said you were bringing an entourage. You failed to mention it was an entourage of one.” She’d yet to figure out what he expected her role to be upon their arrival. It wasn’t as if any of the seasoned horses he and his brothers had brought along would require training.

“Actually, we have a couple of ranch hands coming in another truck and trailer,” he offered in a bland voice.

She squinted through her side-view mirror. There was no one behind them. “I don’t see them.”

“Because they’re a full day behind us.”

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