Page 54 of The Chances We Take

“Yeah, well, romance books, right? Gotta put us through the pain before getting to the happy stuff. At leastthe characters in this book stay friends, though. They don’t completely stop talking.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.If I can’t have her romantically, then platonically is fine, kind of vibes.” I sucked on the inside of my cheek, raising my eyebrows as we held eye contact. After a few moments passed, I opened my book again, holding it in front of my face. “Well, this was fun, but I’m going to get back to it.”

Instead of leaving, he moved in front of me, gently pushing the book down. “Come on, Is. At least come hang out with us. We’ll make a cowgirl out of you one of these days, but I—weall like having you around.”

I looked up at him through my lashes as he extended a hand to help me up off the ground. I took it—albeit reluctantly—leaving the book on the ground for me to grab before we left.

“You don’t even have to get on a horse. Although, last time we went riding you looked good.”

“You’re lying.” I shook my head in disbelief.

“I’m not. You always look good, Honeybee.” His eyes averted from me after he said it, and a warm flush crept into my cheeks. Reid ruffled his hair as he pointed back to the arena. “I, uh, should get back.”

“I’ll be right behind you.” I let him walk a few paces before I started following. The interaction was already awkward enough, so I decided to save us both from getting more flustered.

“There she is!” Ellison cheered as we got closer to the arena.

“Yeah, yeah. You know this type of stuff isn’t my thing.” I shrugged, standing by the idea that I’d rather read than open a cow chute.

“It’s not your thing…yet,” Jake pointed out. “I mean, shit, look at Ellison here. She’s stubborn as a mule.”

“Hey! Leave me out of this!” Ellison snapped back. “But he’s not wrong. You rode a horse once this summer, you’re already on your way, Is. Once you find yourself a cowboy, you never go back.” She winked at Colter, who looked at her completely starstruck.

“I told her the real thing is better than the fictional ones,” Reid repeated his claim.

“Damn right, we are,” Colter agreed. “You should listen to him, Isa. He may not look the brightest, but he’s quick as a whip.”

Reid flipped him off as he mounted his horse and started to head over to the roping chutes again. “Let’s go, boys!”

I watched him ride away, sitting tall in the saddle, looking like every girl’s dream.

The real deal is right.

I wouldn’t admit it out loud, especially not to this group, but I was starting to think, in this case, reality was better than fiction.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

reid

Colter and I stood by our trailers, getting our horses ready for our next competition.

“Next weekend’s the big day.” I started making conversation as we brushed down the horses. “Are you ready for it?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. I’ve been waiting for a long time, man,” he replied with a grin.

I walked around Phantom, keeping a hand on him so he knew where I was, and started brushing his other side. “Well, let’s make sure we win this whole thing so you and Ellison can have a nice long honeymoon and not worry about the standings.”

He nodded in agreement. We were sitting fine in the world standings, but things could change rapidly.

The Livingston Roundup was the largest rodeo in the state of Montana in terms of prize money, so these next few days would be really important for us. We’d need to be at the top of our game.

As we continued to tack up our horses, Isa and Ellison walked over to us.

“Here, Sparky.” Ellison handed a bottle of water to Colter.

“Thanks, Blaze.” He pecked her on the cheek.

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