Page 15 of Eight Second Hearts

Trip turns toward me, and I know this was stupid before he speaks. He clearly doesn’t like me, but I had no one else to ask. I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.

“No,” he says immediately.

Before I can even sigh, Beau scoffs. “Come on, Tripp. I like her.”

“No,” Tripp repeats, turning away to load another crate in the back.

“It’s definitely not a good idea,” Ramiro agrees. “Sorry, Indie.”

They turn away and I panic. The plane tickets are six hundred dollars this last minute. I really don’t want to have to pay for that shit.

“I’ll pay for your gas the whole way there,” I spit, half panicked, half desperate.

They stop and the three men turn to look at me.

“We’re heading back to Tucson,” Ram points out.

“I know that,” I say, nodding.

Tripp hesitates and looks from me to the truck. “This is a diesel dually with a sixty-gallon tank.”

“I’ll pay for the whole trip,” I repeat, hoping that it’s enough to get me in that truck.

Ram raises his brows and glances at Tripp. “She’ll pay for the whole trip,” he repeats, as if Tripp didn’t hear me.

Beau wiggles his eyebrows. “I’d be fine with you paying in other ways, personally.”

Tripp scowls. “You pay for the whole trip to Tucson,” he says, pointing at me.

“Yes, sir,” I reply, breathing a sigh of relief and grabbing my duffel bag from the ground. I move over to the back door.

“And anything we say is off the record,” he adds.

I scowl back at him. “Fine,” I agree. “Off the record.”

He nods and gesture for me to get in. “Then come on. We’ve got a schedule to keep.” I open the door and get an eyeful of the happy wagging chocolate lab in the back seat. “That’s Bilbo. You’ve gotta ride with him.”

“I like dogs,” I say, petting the excited lab while pushing him back so I can climb up in the truck. He’s cute, and I really do like dogs. Honestly, this just makes the road trip even better.

Beau climbs into the backseat on the other side and grins over at me. “Looks like we’re gonna get nice and comfy after all, little outsider.”

Somehow, those words sound a little bit like a threat.

Chapter 11

Ram

The life of a rodeo cowboy is one spent on the road or on the dirt. There’s not much else. So, the twenty-hour ride to Tucson from Jackson is a very normal thing. What’s not normal is the woman in the backseat watching the three of us with curiosity. I’m not sure it was wise to let her ride with us, not if we’re trying to stay out of the limelight, but it can’t be any worse than Beau sleeping with the buckle bunnies. At least this way, we can control what’s revealed.

Beau talks her leg off for the first hour, keeping the conversation mostly surface level. The second hour is him trying to convince her to play I Spy with him. When she refuses, he ropes me into it until I’m trying to be as ridiculous as possible.

“I spy something. . . blue,” I say as I look out the passenger window.

“The sky!” Beau shouts. “That little beat up truck! Tripp’s eyes!”

I snort. “You got it. How do you always know?”

“I’m a master spy,” he replies. “Duh.”

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