Page 25 of The Chances We Take

You’d love Montana.The thought of her being here rolled through my mind.

“Montana has some of the best mountains,” I murmured without thinking twice. “You should come here.”

“I will be! In July,” she exclaimed. “Ellison told me to come out for the fourth.”

The Fourth of July was one of the holidays I actually liked. Mostly because I always competed on that day and it wasn’t a holiday with the obligation of going home. Most people, in fact, weren’t home. They were taking trips to the lake and having barbecues or going to rodeos.

“I also really want to go to Europe. I think that would be really fun,” she continued, looking like she was in a daydream.

“I’ve never left the country.”

“Me either. Maybe we…” she trailed off.

Maybe we could go together one day?I silently finished the thought for her.

“I’m excited to be back in Montana soon. It’ll be great to see everyone again.” Isa waved her hand in front of the camera to get my attention. “Are you listening to me?”

“Sorry, yes. I am listening.”

“What did I say then?” Her sassy tone made me blush.

“You’re excited to be back in Montana.”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

I’m excited for you to be back too.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

isabelle

LAST JULY: HOME OF CHAMPIONS RODEO, RED LODGE, MT

Isat reading a book in a foldable lawn chair in front of the fire pit by Colter and Ellison’s trailer. Ellison was doing something on her phone, and the guys were playing some game where they ran past each other swinging their ropes and tried to catch the other person’s foot to make them fall.

A loud thud made me look up from what I was reading—a cowboy romance, which I thought was quite fitting for the occasion.

“Ow! You fucker!” Mikey cursed as he lay rubbing the back of his leg.

“Oh, shut up, you were the one who wanted to play this in the first place, asshole.” Reid rolled his eyes and then extended a hand to pick Mikey up off the dirt.

I accidentally let out a laugh, causing Mikey’s head to snap in my direction.

“You wanna try, Blondie?” he taunted, his rope swinging over his head.

“I’ll go against you, Michael.” Ellison looked up from her phone, a devilish glint in her eyes. Ellison wascompetitive. And she was most definitely a better roper than Mikey.

Mikey grumbled something that sounded a lot like, “I’m not going to lose to a girl,” and tossed his rope aside.

“That’s what I thought!” Ellison called to him, flipping him the middle finger when his back was turned.

One thing I’d learned from spending time with Ellison and the boys was that they all treated each other like siblings. They were one big family, which wasn’t something I’d really experienced with my other friend groups.

I got up, setting my book aside, and walked over to Mikey’s discarded rope to pick it up.

“So, you do want to try?” Reid teased.

I looked at him, squinting my eyes in the sun. “What? You think you’re gonna rope me?”

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