Page 36 of Training the Heart

I don’t know what to say here—too much info and it might get back to Wade, and I’d die of embarrassment. Too little and they’ll know I’m full of shit. Having girlfriends is sort of a tricky thing.

“We, uh … get along pretty well. There are moments I think he’s annoyed with me and then there are moments where we just feel in sync if that makes sense.”

“It does,” CeCe says. “You two will be working awfully close for the next while. And as my mama says, time has a way of working these things out.” She winks, and I sigh, relieved she’s so easygoing.

“Whether he’s your boss or not, the fact remains, he is a single cowboy,” Ginger chirps from the kitchen.

“Say it.” Olivia looks at Ginger. “We all know you’re going to.”

I look at Ginger, confused as hell, as she hands me back my glass, full to the brim of Nash’s delicious sangria with Ginger’s Mama’s twist.

“Now you’ve just ruined it,” Ginger says.

“Fine, I’ll say it. Save—” Olivia starts.

“No, no, it’s my saying,” Ginger interrupts, looking me in the eye. “Look, Ivy, Wade is hot stuff, always has been. I’m just saying, if the opportunity presents itself, save a horse. Scientifically, it will probably help you train better, because you’ll be less stressed out and even more in sync. It’s practically a no-brainer.”

Olivia laughs as CeCe groans.

“God, this town is too small. I need to be related to less of the single men around here.” She laughs, and I smile in spite of myself.

“Ooh, speaking of single men, let’s prank-call Cole and tell him we did something illegal.” Ginger giggles as she pulls her phone out of her purse. Because we’ve all had one too many this seems like an excellent idea to all of us.

We wait with bated breath as the phone rings and she holds it out on speaker so we can all hear. The sounds of Nash and Wade yelling at the football game in the background come through.

“You don’t have a very reliable list if no one else would come get you, Vixen,” is what Cole answers with, and I wonder if Ginger knows exactly how tightly she grips this man’s balls with every word she speaks.

“You were the first I called, baby. I need a man of the law, we tipped Mr. Saulito’s cow.”

The three of us snicker as silently as possible. We are clearly excellent at this.

“Don’t quit your day jobs to run out and become actresses,” Cole says, totally monotone over the line.

“Really, come save us, baby, they’re gonna haul us off to jail.” Ginger sounds like an actress in a 1950s southern drama as she speaks.

“Four tipsy-ass women, that have a combined weight of four hundred and fifty pounds, one of whom has a twisted ankle, tipped a seventeen-hundred-pound cow?”

“We’re stronger than you think, Cole,” Ginger says, now hot and bothered that he doesn’t believe her as the rest of us silently die laughing.

“I know you’re fucking strong, woman. But I can hear your damn cronies laughing in the background. They aren’t as inconspicuous as they think. I am a cop, remember? I spot bullshit pretty easily.”

“Goddamn, you guys need to work on your incognito!” Ginger yells at us. “We’ll do a better job next time of convincing you. Also, I definitely am gonna need that ride home, so come soon. Ta-ta, Law Daddy.”

“Fuck, I’ll be there at eleven,” Cole says before hanging up as we cackle.

“Speaking of saving a horse, when are the two of you ever just going to do it already? It’s obviously destiny,” I blurt out.

All three of them turn to look at me.

Shit. Was I not supposed to say that?

CeCe scoffs, “As if, they’re way too close for that.” She looks at Ginger to confirm. It takes her a second, but she glances from CeCe to me.

“Definitely. I’m not saying I haven’t thought about it, I’m only human, but if I let him into my Garden of Eden, things will never be the same. Besides, he’s a complicated soul, and furthermore, I don’t get down with fuckboys,” Ginger says.

I smile at her, but I’m not sure I believe her.

“Ew …” CeCe swats her.

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