Page 36 of Stick Around,
I ran a hand through my hair. “Well, yeah, but?—”
“And now you want to add what, exactly? More trail rides? More lessons? Boarding for more horses, even though we are at capacity? Events?” Reid put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t getme wrong. This is great publicity. But we need a plan, not just enthusiasm.”
The adrenaline that had been carrying me since I’d checked my notifications started to fizzle. “I didn’t think through the logistics.”
“No kidding.” Reid’s lips curved just enough to count as a smile. “But it doesn’t mean we can’t build on this. We need to be smart about it.”
“We could hire a few people. It’s summer; there are probably some kids home from college looking for summer jobs.”
“That could work.” Reid nodded thoughtfully. “It would be easy to find someone to turn over the cabins between guests.”
“Exactly!” I started to pace, unable to control my excitement. “We can make this happen. This is the break we’ve been waiting for!”
Reid’s shoulders dropped slightly. “How are we going to tell Enzo about this?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We have a few hours until he’s back from his Sunday morning ride.”
I faltered mid-stride, images of Quinn in Enzo’s shirt flashing through my mind. “He didn’t help with morning chores and never left on his ride… well, at least not on a horse.”
He stared at me blankly, his brain was trying to catch up with the nonsense that had fallen out of my mouth. I could practically hear the gears grinding to a halt. “What?”
“Enzo was with Quinn.”
“Enzo was with Quinn,” Reid repeated, his tone flat.
“In his shirt,” I added, then immediately wished I could stuff the words back in my mouth. I ran a hand across my stubbled jaw, fumbling through the clarification. “In her cabin. She was in her cabin, and he was there, and she was wearing his shirt. Like, his actual shirt. Not a replica or anything.”
As I waited for Reid’s response, I swear I could hear the grass growing in the pasture ten feet away. He simply stood there, dustmotes floating in the sunbeam between us while the implications sank in.
“What?” I demanded, throwing my hands up. The way he was looking at me like I’d announced I was selling my share of the ranch made me defensive. “Don’t give me that look. I’m the messenger here. An unwilling messenger who wished he’d texted instead of knocked.”
Reid shrugged, his expression far too innocent. “Just wondering if that’s why you’re all keyed up.”
“I’m excited about the video.”
“Right.”
“I am!”
“And you’re not at all jealous that Enzo was with her?”
I scoffed. “Jealous? That’s… that’s ridiculous. Quinn’s leaving in like, what, two point five days? It’s not like anything more was going to happen anyway. And I’ve got the ranch to focus on.”
“Right. The ranch.” Reid sighed. “We need to get our infrastructure sorted before we overcommit.”
As if on cue, Enzo walked in. His expression was tense, phone gripped in his hand like he was trying not to crush it. “Marisol had emergency surgery last night. Appendicitis. She’s going to be out for at least two weeks. Possibly more.”
Marisol ran the summer camps and was the only reason we even did them. She wrangled the kids; we provided the animals and helped her as needed.
Reid dropped his head into his hands. “Perfect timing.”
The three of us stood in silence, the weight of our newest challenge settling over us. Our viral breakthrough suddenly felt like the universe was playing a cosmic joke.
Chapter 13
Stick Around
Quinn
Idumped the last of the fresh hay into the goat enclosure, brushing stray pieces off my jeans. Enzo had given me a list of ranch chores this morning while he, Kellan, and Reid were busy with their kids’ camp sessions. It felt good to be useful, even if I suspected the guys had given me the easiest tasks on their list.
