Page 33 of I Knew You Were Trouble

“Mona Lisa’s cute, but not my type.”

“You know damn well who I mean.” She pats Mona Lisa’s muzzle, an uncharacteristic giggle slipping from her lips when the horse pushes into her and nearly knocks her over.

I use the distraction as a way to not answer my sister’s ridiculous question. If she knew that this is just how Candace and I talk to each other, then she wouldn’t have jumped to that conclusion. And there’s the fact that I’m basically teaching her to get a backbone so she can date another guy.

I cross to the stall that has… who was it? Merl? No… it was a P-something. The other horse. I peer inside the stall, looking down like an idiot, and I only catch the legs of a bright white horse.

My gaze follows those legs up and up, and I swear the belly is at my eye-level. Its long neck stretches out, swiveling to get a good look at me. She has pitch black eyes, and I’m pretty sure she just stole my soul.

“She’s gorgeous,” Maddie says next to me in a hushed whisper. Okay, yeah… Mona Lisaisa baby. I don’t even really register the massive brown horse standing just behind me, a rope swinging from its halter and down to Mad’s hand.

“Mmm,” I mutter. The thing is pretty, but it would flatten a person into a pancake if it ever took a seat while they just happen to stand behind it.

Does Candace ride that thing? And she gives me guff about Gertrude.

“Okay,” Candace says, and I turn away from the white beast. She signs for Luke while she talks. “Luke’s going to take you out that way. Pete and I will get Pearl and June ready.”

“I call June,” I blurt out. I want nothing to do with Miss Soul Sucker. I’ll take the thief any day.

Candace and Luke share a look, and Luke chuckles and heads out with Maddie.

“What’s that about?”

“June has an exercise buddy.” Candace jogs over to the farthest stall, and I step back, waiting for another horse to barrel out. Instead, it’s a foot-high dog, its long chestnut fur covering most of its face.

“Who’s this?” I ask, a grin playing on my face. “Leonardo DaVinci?”

“Her name is Peaches.”

“No paintings this time?”

“She’s Luke’s.”

I raise a brow. “That big cowboy out there owns this froofy dog?” The Pomeranian mix yips and pants, dancing in a circle around Candace’s feet, and I stifle a laugh.

“She’s tougher than you think.” Candace gives me a playful punch to the shoulder. “Just like me.”

“I recall a spider incident not too long ago.”

“And I recall I killed that sucker.”

“On instinct.”

“Well, yeah.” She brushes past me, a perfume of candied apples filling the air for a brief second. Maybe she made some before she came here. That pie she made was the best damn thing.

She gets June ready, the horse still not giving me my hat back. I stand in front of the stall, the yippy dog bouncing around my feet. I try to trick June by pointing and jumping up to snag my beanie, but June’s much faster.

“She ever gonna give it back?” I ask Candace, and her dark brown eyes lift to my hat sticking from June’s teeth. Her lips purse together to hold back a laugh.

“Ask her nicely.”

“What?”

“Just say, ‘June, can I have my hat?’”

“And that’ll work?”

“Maybe.” She lifts a shoulder. “She understands a lot.”

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